burnout8488

New carrier update with iOS 11.1. It updates to Sprint 30.0, and when you check, it will prompt you to update again taking it to Sprint 30.1. And no, Calling Plus/VoLTE did not get added after the carrier update.

I counted ~8 3G only sites left in DE on the map. Soooooo close! In real life, there might be less as of this writing.

Still waiting on that Felton site to get LTE, figures the only one I really need down there is one of the last. Looks like DE got a big update in the last coverage map though. Filling in very nicely.

Right, and on the device itself (for 99% of users) there’s no way to know since both types of roaming will say Extended LTE, correct?

That might be risky, isn't there still Extended LTE non-native roaming as well? The user would have to be 100% sure they are in the correct part of the coverage map that is treated as native roaming before doing this. I think...?

Sprint has seriously gotten to work in the last few months eliminating the rest of the 3G-only sites. It should have happened years ago, but we're finally there.

Nice find!!

Ended up returning my watch. The signal issue was a little ridiculous, it's just way too weak to be useful indoors. If I exercised more outside rather than in a gym, I could justify it.

It really seems like it - this whole experience is taking me back to the coverage when this area only had B25. It performs exactly as if B26 isn't working at all, but there's no way to know. Or, the radio is just poor. I hope others are able to chime in with similar findings.

My day 1 impressions of the AW LTE is that it can't grab LTE very well. In my home with completely usable band 26 on my iPhone, the watch struggles to find a signal. If I go outside, it will manage to connect, but still doesn't have great signal strength. (Though it is usable) I'm hoping a carrier/modem update fixes this soon, but if it's inherent with the antenna design, I'm going to have to return it. It doesn't get LTE at all at my gym where my phone *does*, and that's the whole reason I got the LTE model. Is there an avenue where I can log this with Apple in the hopes for a fix?

How long did you talk on the phone when you had CP turned on?

Looks like it's going to be 3-months free initially per their press release. Macworld states: "Sprint's data plan for Apple Watch Series 3 costs $15 a month, but customers who sign up for auto-pay will get a $5 discount, bringing it down to the same $10 as the other three carriers. And Sprint is also offering a three-month free trial with no activation fee." Pretty crappy if you don't do AutoPay, so that's a must. Sprint intentionally pricing themselves higher than the competition seems like a bold move to me.

Here's how I look at it: Is there LTE in the areas where you would plan to ONLY have your watch, and not have it tethered to your phone? I can find plenty of 3G around here, but if I have my phone with me anyways (not working out, or on a walk), the watch will still work. When I'm at the gym and don't have my phone on me, that's when LTE matters. (And the gym does have LTE) I would still get the LTE watch if you can, chances are those 3G areas will be upgraded and even if not, are they somewhere you don't plan on having your phone with you? Yup. 25/26/41. No word on CA though

Really? Of course, Sprint has to be the odd man out. I guess at 3AM EST Friday we'll know for sure. If they were coming out with an amazing deal, I'm sure they would have touted it by now in front of the competition. Probably going to be $10/mo.

In a few days we'll know if Sprint plans on using Calling Plus for LTE calling on the new Apple Watch Series 3. If not, it might be the first VoLTE device rolled out en masse on the network, since it lacks CDMA entirely.

Just came back to Sprint.... First thing I did was install iOS11 and try the Wi-Fi to LTE handoff. :-) Seamless! Hopefully there is a carrier update in a few months that allows Calling Plus, if not full on VoLTE. Sprint has been building out like crazy in Upstate NY the last few months and I think that's why. The time is up for GMO sites....

At the Whiteface Mtn. Summit right now, gf has Sprint LTE. I think that narrows down which site has it in this area.

We spotted some LTE between Binghamton and Oneonta on 88 yesterday, where the map says it's 3G. That's definitely gotten built out very recently. Also, we got Sprint LTE on a hike in Lake Placid. Downtown Lake Placid is still 3G, but I think there is another site in the area that is broadcasting LTE. (There's probably only two Sprint sites up here in total, if I had to guess)

There is absolutely no reason to get anything less than an iPhone 6/iPhone SE right now. iPhone 4 through iPhone 5S are the point where the original batteries aren't going to be good for much longer.

Sounds about right for Binghamton... severely overloaded sites with little capacity. I wonder if it was a bandwidth limitation on B25.

Yup! This tower was slated for B41 (They had permits and everything) however it never received it. B25/B26 only now.

My experience has only been with iPhone to iPhone, in my post above. Not sure how it applies to iPhone --> Android calling or vice versa.

Who/what were you calling? Also, I don't know why they say HD voice is disabled with Wi-Fi calling, because it sounds glorious when talking to another Sprint user that is on Wi-Fi calling. Maybe they mean it doesn't work, because they assume you'll be calling Cellular sprint users? (In which case they're right, it won't be HD from wifi to cellular)

For iPhones: HD Voice will work over cellular Sprint to cellular Sprint calls even if either device has Wi-Fi Calling enabled on their account. This was fixed last year. If one party is using Sprint Wi-Fi calling for the call, and one is cellular, it will not be HD. If both parties are using Sprint Wi-Fi calling for the call, it will be HD. Really all that's left is the ability to do HD voice on cellular to Wi-Fi calls (or vice versa).... and then cross-carrier compatibility.

Did it come in the form of an OTA software update?