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Even though I'm posting in the Evo section of a mainly rooting community, I was hoping someone could provide a little insight onto my situation. Perhaps there is a Sprint representative on these forums who can better assist me as well.
So I purchased a new Evo June 20th after coming from 3 years of using the iPhone. I love the phone, but I've had nothing but issues with it. It's less the phone itself and more the companies surrounding it - Radio Shack, Sprint, etc.
So like I stated before, I got my Evo on June 20th. After using it a few days I noticed I had terrible signal at home. Normally if I was using the phone for personal reasons only, I could live with it, but I do work 1-2 days per week from home so not having voice service is a pretty big deal to me. After about 7-9 of fighting with the signal loss while walking around my home looking for a sweet spot (Also while on the phone with Spring customer service) They told me it was probably my home or area and that they couldnt guarantee coverage everywhere. My issue with this is, I've test all the carriers in my home. ATT, Tmobile, and Verizon get a minimum of 3 bars in my house. I dont like out in the middle of nowhere, I live in the suburbs of Houston. All other carriers penetrate into my home just fine, except Sprint. Well after arguing with Sprint reps over and over, I finally decided to take it to the Sprint store.
After waiting in a terribly long line (45 min), I was finally speaking to a Sprint rep. I told them about my issues and asked if there was anything I could do. He stated there was a booster that was $99. I flat out denied this as I thought it was ridiculous I had to pay more money just to get voice signal (something that was shown to be EXCELLENT coverage in their computers). He played with the phone for a second, then stated that an update would be coming out shortly that would improve the Wifi, 4G, and radio of the phone. The rep suggested that I was still within my 30 day cancellation period and that I should wait for the update and see if that improved anything.
So, a few short days later I got the OTA message on my phone. Well, this turned out to be a huge mess because I ended up being one of those unfortunate people who had their phones bricked. So at this point I'm phoneless and very frustrated. I take the phone back to where I purchased it, Radio Shack, and they tell me they've seen other customers who had this problem and will gladly exchange the phone for me. The manager of the store states it should be here on Friday, so I say thank you and leave.
Well, the phone didnt come Friday. It didn't even come the next Friday. Yep, it came THREE Friday's later - almost 3 full weeks later. So after not having a phone for two and a half weeks, I finally get my new phone in. The radio shack rep applied the update for me in the store and I left.
Well the weekend went by and I didn't notice any dropped calls, but I wasn't using my phone heavily. Then yesterday I was working from home and my phone was finally getting put to its full use. Call after call dropped and I couldn't even hold a signal for more than 10 minutes. I eventually had to run next door and borrow a neighbors phone to finish up my convo with a client. Normally I could live with this issue for personal use, but for work it was becoming a serious problem.
So I called Sprint and explained the situation. Eventually after sitting on the phone for an hour and talking to person after person I spoke with a manager who basically said either buy the $100 booster or pay $200 to cancel your contract and leave. At that point I was furious - I didn't understand why I should be forced to pay more for something when I was already paying for signal. I explained that I originally had planned on returning the phone earlier, but that had held off at the advice from a Sprint rep I talked to, and that my phone had been broken for over 2 weeks of my 30 day trial period. She continued to iterate that there was nothing she could do. She instructed me to contact Radio Shack and see if they would accept the phone back after 30 days (I'm on day 34 right now).
I just spoke with Radio Shack but they stated I'll need to call back when the manager is in the store - which will be 3-4 hours from now. I suppose maybe I'll get lucky and I'll be able to return the phone - but I'm worried about what will happen if they refuse. I'm going to be stuck with a phone that is unusable for work, while forced to either pay $100 for a booster, or shell out another $200 for the ETF (screwing me out of $400 total).
Anyways, maybe there is nothing that can be done, maybe I'm just an idiot for not testing the phone more aggressively sooner. I'm just sharing my experience on here with the hopes that someone has come across a similar situation or perhaps someone with a Sprint customer service background.
TLDR - got an evo, noticed bad signal, Sprint said OTA would fix the issues, OTA broke phone, waited 2 weeks for replacement, tested phone, reception still suck, Sprint says im stuck.
Wow, that sucks. Sorry to hear that.
I'm curious...you do get to keep the phone if you pay the ETF, right?
If you do, I would pay the $200 ETF and sell the phone on ebay or craigslist because I really doubt the $100 booster is going to help much and with the EVO in short supply, I'm sure someone is willing to buy it.
PS: If you do, just be sure to do a factory reset so all information is erased from it.
Maybe try the Verizon PRL, I looked briefly but cant seem to find the post. It is here somewhere though. Might work for you.
Yea PRL would work, but I don't want to use up my 450 anytime minutes nor do I want to switch back and forth between PRL's. I get great service at work and other places, it's just a dead zone where I live.
Airave?
Is the signal issue only at home? Airave hooks into your broadband service and then you can make phone calls via airave and it routes the calls like Vonage. And if your service really sucks sprint will give you the device for free if you complain the right way. I have had mine for 2 weeks and have had no dropped calls at home. This won't help you outside of your house though....Just my $.02
Really?
Really for free? Sprint was adamant that I would have to purchase one. They said over and over they would not wave the fee since their computers show I'm in excellent coverage area.
I too have been with Sprint for sometime now and I have the booster and it has worked wonders for me at home my office is in my basement so I spend a great deal down there and dint get service upatairs I got 3 bars but now I can make a call anywhere and it doesn't drop or anything well worth the 100 dollars if you can't get them tk give you one for free
Are those boosters provider specific?
I was thinking about getting one for the basement, but we have Sprint and Verizon Androids in the house. Don't want to have to buy one for each carrier.
I can confirm that if your a new customer with sprint they will do absolutely nothing for you, except sell you more stuff. I just went through a very similar situation and after offering me the airwave twice for free only to double back and say no sorry its 100 bucks.
BTW if you get the airwave for free they extend your contact back to 2 years, might be worth it for some.
I'm rocking the verizon prl's now and well its decent enough to stick with it, the phone rocks.
I also got an Airave for free when I was having issues. The only problem it would have is not supporting 3G data, but I suppose if you are at home, you can use wi-fi. The best benefit I saw was paying $10/mo and getting unlimited calls while on the device since I don't have unlimited minutes.
Sprint gave me an Airave for free, waived the fee for 2 years, and didn't touch my contract. But I also have 5 towers within 1.9 miles and they compete for signal...
The thing is, while I don't drop calls within range of the Airave, it doesn't hand off to a tower like it is supposed to so it drops when I walk out of range. :/
I'm pretty pissed at Sprint right now... They had a 2 1/2 outage that affected ALL of Colorado (voice and text - data worked fine in most areas) and just gave me a 25 dollar bill credit for it - couldn't even dial 911 and when people called me phone, it was just dead air - not even voicemail. BIG NO NO! Then on top of that, the subpar 3G speeds (900kbps max, 600 average compared to 3Mbps/1.7 on at&t in the same area), I've had two data outages (another two 25 dollar bill credits) and they charged me an activation fee on my corporate liable line through Comcast which was supposed to be free so I'm fighting to get that waived.
I love the phone. Hate the service.
Ok, so I've been having horrible reception issues out here where I live. I have called Verizon multiple times due to this issue. I have received 2 replacement phones in addition to the 1 I started out with. They finally opened a tech ticket and they got someone out to go check the towers. They called back stating they received word from the tech team that due to recent "bad weather", one of the dishes that serve the area in my direction was turned and it was affecting the service out in my area. I have stated multiple times when calling them that my mothers cell gets great service, even though shes getting only slightly better service (I get -105dbm and she gets -96dbm). They ran through the paces on each of those phones and they get the same issues from replacement to replacement. Has anyone else been given some bull**** excuse to try to play off an issue you're having with your phone/service just so they don't have to satisfy your requests until they feel they want to?
No you have to call them and say u want the signal booster for you home or you will go elsewhere.. did it for sprint and they wavied all fees related to the signal antenna
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
Other callers say that I'm Fading out, I'm breaking up and then eventually that they can't hear me at all,
All the while I can hear them fine.
And my Signal strength bars are usually at 4.
Once in awhile the calls Drop.
Sometimes if I move a few inches or a foot, one way or the other, the other party says they can hear me.
But sometimes they still can't hear me.
This usually happens after I'm on the call for 2-4 minutes, But sometimes after only a few seconds.
This is happening on a majority of my calls,
There are certain areas, approx. 3, where I have no issues. And I know if I make a call from those exact areas I'm fine.
I've been on the phone with Sprint multiple times regarding this issue over the past 2 months, and there are trouble tickets out on this.
The issues began 2 months ago when I first activated my S3.
I came from a SE4GT without issue for 9 months.
I'm on my 3rd S3, and continue to have the issues.
The issues are occurring Every day, multiple times a day. The 1st replacement was within the 14 day return period.
The 2nd replacement was due to the Screen Rotation feature failing to operate. The device was checked out by the Sprint tech in store, and my S3 was replaced under TEP.
Because I have been experiencing the same Fading and Breaking up call issues on all 3 S3's, I thought the issues were with the Sprint Network build and LTE device communication. I thought either that or that the S3 has a hardware or software issue on their devices, but because others seem to not have issues, I thought it may be a Network, Upgrading the Tower issues.
But then I just found this thread:
http://www.samsunggalaxys3forum.com/forum/samsung-galaxy-s3-audio/898-poor-call-quality-3.html
I troubleshoot landlines and phone systems for a living, including LED lighting, AV and cctv systems, but this issue has me baffled, and Sprint is unclear what the issue is, and are still working on it.
Sprint has said -
- the upgrade to the Towers, is causing my issues
- the upgrades to the Towers can't be causing the issues because LTE isn't switched on yet in your area
- your S3 sounds like it has an internal antenna problem
- Do you live near water, because living near a body of water, the ocean for instance, can cause issues, although we're still not clear why the body of water causes issues (and this reasoning was given to me by Account Services)
- they're working on Towers in your area. 112 Towers have been upgraded, and they have 72 Towers left.
Etc., etc.
You see why I am also confused because I can't get a straight answer. Sprint is working on the issues and is in communication with me,
After extensive googling, I'm still unsure it it's a:
- Sprint Network issue
- S3 hardware, or software failure on some of the devices. If true, I've had 3 of them already
- combination of the S3 and the Sprint Network communicating with each other due to Tower upgrades, regarding Network Vision LTE.
I disabled the Noise Cancelling feature on my 2 other S3's, But the issues continued.
I just disabled the feature on my current S3, and will see if that helps this time.
I was discussing this issue in someone else's thread whose title was about not being satisfied with Sprint, but didn't want to clutter up that thread with an issue as specific as this is.
Any ideas as to what the cause of the above issues are welcomed.
same trouble
I had the same trouble and i came to the conclusion that it was the mute when phone is flipped over setting in the motions menu. may seem like a simple idea but its worth a shot. Hope you get your problem solved.
Biker1 said:
Other callers say that I'm Fading out, I'm breaking up and then eventually that they can't hear me at all,
All the while I can hear them fine.
And my Signal strength bars are usually at 4.
Once in awhile the calls Drop.
Sometimes if I move a few inches or a foot, one way or the other, the other party says they can hear me.
But sometimes they still can't hear me.
This usually happens after I'm on the call for 2-4 minutes, But sometimes after only a few seconds.
This is happening on a majority of my calls,
There are certain areas, approx. 3, where I have no issues. And I know if I make a call from those exact areas I'm fine.
I've been on the phone with Sprint multiple times regarding this issue over the past 2 months, and there are trouble tickets out on this.
The issues began 2 months ago when I first activated my S3.
I came from a SE4GT without issue for 9 months.
I'm on my 3rd S3, and continue to have the issues.
The issues are occurring Every day, multiple times a day. The 1st replacement was within the 14 day return period.
The 2nd replacement was due to the Screen Rotation feature failing to operate. The device was checked out by the Sprint tech in store, and my S3 was replaced under TEP.
Because I have been experiencing the same Fading and Breaking up call issues on all 3 S3's, I thought the issues were with the Sprint Network build and LTE device communication. I thought either that or that the S3 has a hardware or software issue on their devices, but because others seem to not have issues, I thought it may be a Network, Upgrading the Tower issues.
But then I just found this thread:
http://www.samsunggalaxys3forum.com/forum/samsung-galaxy-s3-audio/898-poor-call-quality-3.html
I troubleshoot landlines and phone systems for a living, including LED lighting, AV and cctv systems, but this issue has me baffled, and Sprint is unclear what the issue is, and are still working on it.
Sprint has said -
- the upgrade to the Towers, is causing my issues
- the upgrades to the Towers can't be causing the issues because LTE isn't switched on yet in your area
- your S3 sounds like it has an internal antenna problem
- Do you live near water, because living near a body of water, the ocean for instance, can cause issues, although we're still not clear why the body of water causes issues (and this reasoning was given to me by Account Services)
- they're working on Towers in your area. 112 Towers have been upgraded, and they have 72 Towers left.
Etc., etc.
You see why I am also confused because I can't get a straight answer. Sprint is working on the issues and is in communication with me,
After extensive googling, I'm still unsure it it's a:
- Sprint Network issue
- S3 hardware, or software failure on some of the devices. If true, I've had 3 of them already
- combination of the S3 and the Sprint Network communicating with each other due to Tower upgrades, regarding Network Vision LTE.
I disabled the Noise Cancelling feature on my 2 other S3's, But the issues continued.
I just disabled the feature on my current S3, and will see if that helps this time.
I was discussing this issue in someone else's thread whose title was about not being satisfied with Sprint, but didn't want to clutter up that thread with an issue as specific as this is.
Any ideas as to what the cause of the above issues are welcomed.
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Click to collapse
tymansdaddy said:
I had the same trouble and i came to the conclusion that it was the mute when phone is flipped over setting in the motions menu. may seem like a simple idea but its worth a shot. Hope you get your problem solved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have that feature off.
I'm still not sure what the issue is.
I haven't made many calls after deativating the noise cancelling option.
I'll continue to monitor the situation.
Biker1 said:
I have that feature off.
I'm still not sure what the issue is.
I haven't made many calls after deativating the noise cancelling option.
I'll continue to monitor the situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Consistently having the same problem here.
BJBes said:
Consistently having the same problem here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sprint closed out my trouble ticket, and said their Towers are working properly.
They wrote me an eTicket, and asked me to go to the Sprint store to have my S3 checked out. They said it must be a device issue, and if the S3 checks out ok, to call back and they'll open up another ticket.
I ain't wasting another 4 hours at a Sprint store between traveling to and from the store, and waiting for the S3 to be checked out.
Last time my S3 was checked out, I had to come back a 2nd time to pick up the replacement S3 due to a fault Screen Rotation. A total of 6 1/2 hrs.
I'm on my 3rd S3, and All 3 have had the problem, and I'm through wasting my time.
The issue is either:
- Faulty S3's. Not all customers are having the issue though.
- the way the S3 communicates with the Towers in certain areas.
I'll give it another 2 months, and if the issues remain, I'll get up and go. I'm not fond of the other carriers though, but I need my S3 to work 100% of the time as a Phone.
Having slow as molasses data is bad enough, while other Carriers have been way ahead of us for years.
14 years, and I've Never had these Fading Calls issues.
The problem is that you get caught up in the Never Ending Sprint Trouble Ticket Circle, either because they know what the cause of the issues are, and are not saying, or they don't know.
Believe me, either Sprint, Samsung or Both Know What the Problem is.......
With the above being said, I've noticed my calls are not Fading as Frequently the past couple of days as they have the past 2 months. But that may be due to the fact I've made very few calls. I definitely will be paying attention.
Same issues are still occurring.
Called Sprint to have my ETF waived due to consistently poor service regarding Fading calls for over 2 months.
Rep offered to connect me to account services.
AS was no help, and had quite a different attitude from years ago.
Apologized for the poor service, but the ETF stands as is because they are fulfilling the contract.
After being nice for over 2 months, and most of the 14 years, and getting the run around with the old - -
Must be the Towers
Well have the Towers checked out.
Here's your trouble ticket.
Then it goes like this:
The Towers are ok
Must be your device
Bring it to a store
Then it goes like this:
Your phone is ok
There's nothing wrong with it.
Then I call customer lack of support again:
Oh, your phone is ok?
That's what the store says, but the issues remain.
Ok, I'm sorry to hear that.
I'll open up another ticket for you......
Then the Continued same Old Non Resolution Endless Circle Continues.......
With Hours and hours and hours wasted on the phone, going to the Sprint store, going back to the Sprint store, calling customer lack of support again, and on and on and on.....
It's bad enough when Sprint Plays All their Customers (except for a few) with the BS Data or lack of Data Excuses for All these Years, and most of us Fall into the the Sprintlobotimization Mode, me included.
But that is coming to a Well Deserved End.
After almost 14 years with Sprint, I am Looking Very Forward to Leaving.
The past 2 Months have been Horrendous!!
Oh, the idiot rep had the balls to tell me they can help me to pay the $350 ETF by buying back my S3 for $149!!!!!!!
I laughed at them. You're kidding me, right??
I can sell it for more than double that.
Ok, there you go, they said. That'll help you out.
I verbally blasted the crap out of this Idiot!
I asked where I can escalate this?
They said they're it.
Where can I file a complaint?
They said the BBB
I said I'm also writing the PSC.
I asked what state to file in. State of residence or where issues are?
They said state of issues.
Anyway, see my Signature for what's next.
Good luck to everyone, but don't let Sprint Tread on you too much, and when it gets too much, just leave and save yourself Much Aggravation.
Btw, just a little heads up about Verizon:
Even though I always said they had the best coverage, I always hesitated going to them because of what I thought was their extremely high and ala carte pricing structure. Meaning you have to pay for every little thing when other Carriers included them.
But after researching their plans recently, I found out that things are a little different now, and they are pretty reasonable for my needs. Here's the plan I'll be on:
Unlimited Minutes & Texts w/2GB Data - $100/mo.
Each additional 2GB Data increment is $10/mo.
For example:
If you want 4GB data total, you pay:
$100 + $10 = $120 + taxes & surcharges.
All Equipment Protection - $6.99/mo.
Includes equipment failure, loss, theft, water damage, etc.
The deductible is $99 for loss, theft, or water damage.
They have very generous discounts for employees of many different Companies.
I know what you're thinking.
Only 2GB of Data??
But if you think about it, Sprint Unlimited Data is for slow 3G right now, for most customers.
I will tell you this, and Mark my Words--
When and if Sprint's LTE gets off the ground, Unlimited Data will go Bye Bye.....
In addition, I have read that there are compatibility issues with the equipment they are using to upgrade their Towers, due to using equipment from 2 different manufacturers. This was posted on that Site that keeps up to date on the LTE build out. SEGRU4, or something like that. I posted the link to this topic a while ago. When I find it, ill repost it.
Sprint will not be able to afford to give away Unlimited Data at LTE Speeds to Tens of Millions of Customers, especially with the influx of iPhone customers.
They have to pay for the $$31 Billion dollars they laid out for the iPhone, in addition to the expenses for upgrading their network.
Remember that sprint has already matched the other Carriers regarding:
- Raising the ETF
- Discontinuing the Gold Premier program
- Increasing TEP
etc. etc.
Don't think for a moment that Sprint is going to keep offering Unlimited Data.
That will Stop in a heartbeat.
Anyway, some things to think about.
I made the mistake of renewing my contract 2 months ago, instead of just buying my S3 outright, or just switching Carriers.
As they say, it's better Late than Never.....
After being together for the holidays with everyone for a week and travelling all over the place together while watching what other peoples results for coverage and speed tests were on other carriers and other smartphones, I am leaving Sprint.
I've had sprint since 2007 starting with a Palm Treo 700wx. I went from that, to a 750wx, to a Palm Treo Pro, to a temporary hiatus with a Windows Phone 7 on T-Mobile for a month, then back to Sprint with a HTC Evo Shift 4G and to my current phone; the SGS2/Epic 4G Touch.
I'll admit, I have loved playing with the previous two android phones I've had and loading tons of different ROMs, radios, PRL's, etc. I've found sweet spots and balance in them for my needs but..
My problem is, Sprints serivce has become extremely lacking while other providers move full steam ahead in their data coverage and speed offerings. Comparing just my brothers (ATT iPhone 5) and my GF's (VZW SGS3) phones to mine while they have been with me when we are travelling both around home and away on vacations has left me with a really bad taste in my mouth.
The SGS3 stays on 4G 95% of the time, the battery life is incredible, the speed tests are always returning 18-35Mbps downstream speeds wherever we go, and there are no times where the phone appears to have data coverage, but the network is unresponsive.
The ATT iPhone5 would slightly rival my 4G test results at times (when I actually have 4G coverage that is! :laugh, but 90% of the time it returned consistent 5-18Mbps downstream tests and was locked to 4G 90% of the time when I checked the phone wherever we went.
I travel all the time and I just can't deal with Sprint anymore. Their network, mostly the data aspect of it, is unbearable. Sprints implementation of WiMAX is a joke.
TLDR. So finally, here is my question:
I have 15 months left on my current contract. I have been looking for a way out without the full $350 ETF for the past couple weeks.
I saw this thread, and someone had suggested doing what I planned on doing after reviewing the ETF policies for Sprint: They purchased a basic phone, replaced their smartphone with the basic phone, and cancelled a few weeks later. They claimed it successfully offset their ETF to the lower ETF price of a basic plan.
I have a personal plan with my single line on it.
My plan is the simply unlimited plan.
I have a LG Remarq sitting here with a clean ESN.
I plan on replacing my Epic 4G Touch with the Remarq, changing my plan to a basic $30/mo plan, use it for a week or two, and then call in to cancel service, paying the lower ETF associated with basic phones.
Has anyone else done this with success?
Thanks in advance!
This is a great idea. I will try it out
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
I believe the etf is associated with the phone you purchased when you signed the contract, not the phone you are currently using. If you signed a contract without purchasing a subsidized phone you aren't supposed to have an etf. The etf comes from a phone subsidy and is actually prorated (Sprint isnt always forthcoming about this and something charges the full etf unless you bring it up).
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
kingsway8605 said:
I believe the etf is associated with the phone you purchased when you signed the contract, not the phone you are currently using. If you signed a contract without purchasing a subsidized phone you aren't supposed to have an etf. The etf comes from a phone subsidy and is actually prorated (Sprint isnt always forthcoming about this and something charges the full etf unless you bring it up).
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, this is the part I am worried about.
I figured it might not work as I had hoped since the reason my contract was renewed in May 2012 was due to the upgrade to the Epic 4G touch.
If it isn't going to work, I'll just sell off the Epic 4G Touch to recoupe some of the ETF..
Can't always have it all!
I would like to just say that you complaint about "sprints implementation" is wrong. Wimax is Clearwire implementation and sprint is/was using it for 4g but are abandoning it in favor of FDD-LTE / TDD-LTE (800/1900 & 2500 mhz).
They (clearwire) deployed it wrong and ran out of money in their deployment by trying to go for the blanket coverage which is practically undoable since they were using 2.5ghz/2.6ghz BRS/EBS spectrum which is highly inferior to ATT and Verizons sub ghz (700/850) spectrum.
Furthermore, your account says you live in Miami, FL which is an active Network Vision deployment area which means they're upgrading the backhaul from their crappy T1 (low data speed.. that problem) to fiber / microwave / aav etc and installing "their" implementation of 4g which is LTE-Rel 9 equipment on 1900mhz frequency at every cell site.
Just wanted to inform you on some things before you think sprint has no future and that Vz and ATT will be forever superior. Saturation of Verizons LTE network is coming along with somewhere around 50% of data usage being LTE. This is noticeable nowadays literally everywhere as Verizons 4g LTE speeds are quickly decreasing from the >20 mbps you see from speedtests all the time to somewhere in the 4-10mbps range during peak hours and average. They may have great coverage but what they lack is density because their great coverage comes from a blanket type approach where one tower in a cluster has LTE activated so that it covers other towers around it. This ensures a faster rollout and larger coverage area in a short time frame but will falter under heavy loads. ATT will face this problem as well since they are undertaking the same type of rollout as Verizon.
This is the reason why Verizon and ATT is attempting to quickly utilize AWS spectrum for LTE to relieve the high data demand on their towers. Sprint does not have this problem with LTE 1900 on every tower, LTE 800 (deployment begins when iDen is shut down and 800mhz freq is refarmed), and LTE on the 2.5ghz BRS (Clearwire) for heavy loads in high demand areas such as cities and metros.
Anyways. Good luck in where you go and maybe check back with Sprint later when their NV program is mostly complete nationwide at the end of 2013/ early 2014.
Are you in the retentions department or something?
Who has been the primary shareholder and has had control of Clearwire for the past few years?
Regardless of that, why does it matter who implemented it? My complaint is about the network they are utilizing and making available to their customers. I could care less about the details.
I don't really think any other network is forever superior over another.
In fact, I never even mentioned anything about that..
I'm just noting what I have seen in my Sprint usage over the past 5-6 years ALL throughout the east coast. I used to love Sprint, but with how much I rely on a good data connection now, I can't deal with them.
My Christmas vacation was spent in Dallas. And guess what? Sprint was even worse there than when I am at home in the unobstructed, pancake state of Florida. Everytime I take trips up to Boston and New York for work, my battery drains much more quickly. Not to mention, my coverage is terrible. I've tried all of the radios for this phone. I did the same with the Evo Shift.. same terrible data coverage.
I've moved several times over the past 7 years all throughout the east coast and everywhere I have gone, my service has never been better than it has been here. Voice coverage has always been great for the most part.
My purchase point is a reliable, dependable data connection at this point.
Maybe when Sprint can satisfy my needs and lower their prices a bit I'll come back.. I'n the meantime I will be heading over to VZW for their $80/mo unlimited + 2GB data plan since I never go over 1.5GB anyways. Sure beats the $130 I'm paying now.
element1966 said:
Are you in the retentions department or something?
Who has been the primary shareholder and has had control of Clearwire for the past few years?
Regardless of that, why does it matter who implemented it? My complaint is about the network they are utilizing and making available to their customers. I could care less about the details.
I don't really think any other network is forever superior over another.
In fact, I never even mentioned anything about that..
I'm just noting what I have seen in my Sprint usage over the past 5-6 years ALL throughout the east coast. I used to love Sprint, but with how much I rely on a good data connection now, I can't deal with them.
My Christmas vacation was spent in Dallas. And guess what? Sprint was even worse there than when I am at home in the unobstructed, pancake state of Florida. Everytime I take trips up to Boston and New York for work, my battery drains much more quickly. Not to mention, my coverage is terrible. I've tried all of the radios for this phone. I did the same with the Evo Shift.. same terrible data coverage.
I've moved several times over the past 7 years all throughout the east coast and everywhere I have gone, my service has never been better than it has been here. Voice coverage has always been great for the most part.
My purchase point is a reliable, dependable data connection at this point.
Maybe when Sprint can satisfy my needs and lower their prices a bit I'll come back.. I'n the meantime I will be heading over to VZW for their $80/mo unlimited + 2GB data plan since I never go over 1.5GB anyways. Sure beats the $130 I'm paying now.
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No. I'm not in the retention department nor am I affiliated with sprint. I am someone who went beyond and educated myself in what sprint is doing in the present, past, and future because of the sad state of their current legacy network and data speeds.
To answer your questions.
1. Sprint, although they own a majority share of a little bit over 50% of Clearwire, does not control them. They can surely veto things that they don't like but Clearwire is an independent entity with their own goals and aspirations. They've been "rebellious" in the past and bumped heads with sprints multiple times and is one of the reasons why SoftBank/New Sprint is buying them out. Make sure they don't get any fancy ideas.
Also. You mention the past experiences and how you're unsatisfied with it and that's exactly what I'm saying that Sprint is changing with their Network Vision project by updating their legacy backhaul to modern fiber / mw/ aav.
By the way. I wished you luck in your purchase and never told you to stay with sprint. Every persons need is different but it is always nice to inform people on things.
www.s4gru.com is where I get my information from and good luck with Verizon.
As someone who travels a bit, I am in the same boat. I'm pretty locked in by my family account, though. Sprint's data network is awful right now. I sure hope it gets better.
The one common thing that occurs often with Sprint that I hate the most when I am travelling is when the phone shows locked to 3G and the upload/dowload arrows are lighting up while you are trying to use google maps, the browser, or update your e-mails, and NOTHING happens!
I could be sitting at an intersection trying to figure out where I am on gmaps with 3G or 4G coverage indicated and nothing happening. I'll search for a location, it will act like it has gone through and the "Searching for ...." bubble that grays out the screen will dissappear but nothing else will happen. I'll sit there and restart the phone like a dummy at wits end and the same thing will happen afterwords. I just don't have the time to play these games anymore. I've tried all the radios, roms, prls, you name it. And I have spent plenty of time determining which radios work best for me in the SGS2. But that begs the question; why should I waste my limited free time trying to improve the reliability of my phone on a unreliable network? I've got better ways to spend my time than in constant frustration.
This has happened with my phones on sprint since the Palm Treos through all 3 of the androids I've had. No way can you point fingers at poorly designed radios in the phones. I've done everything I can to deal with the possibility of actual phone issues.. it's not the fault of the phones and I give up.
I'm sure there are plenty of places where sprint is great.. but everywhere I have been along the east coast and to TX recently, it hasn't been reliable enough for me in comparison to other major providers. I am up north and all through the east coast 10-20 times a year. And when I'm not away for work, my daily travels to customers and such can include any destination from central Florida down to the keys. It just never meets my needs wherever I typically go.
I refuse to stick around and twirl my thumbs in anticipation but I hope Sprints new rollout is a game changer for people in my situation.
Sprint just booted me
I called ther customer service enough and told them how far they could shove my account up their A S S that eventually an executive service agent called and told me my account was being canceled with no ETF's. I had to be a pretty big A S S to them, but their customer service was the worst I've ever dealt with.
firemanwill28 said:
I called ther customer service enough and told them how far they could shove my account up their A S S that eventually an executive service agent called and told me my account was being canceled with no ETF's. I had to be a pretty big A S S to them, but their customer service was the worst I've ever dealt with.
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You sound like a real winner. When I have to deal with people like you at work I go out of my way to find a reason to deny their claims. Just cuz you want to feel entitled to something doesn't mean you are, you should have just sucked it up and paid your ETF instead of crying til you got out free. Customers like you are the whole reason sprint posts losses every quarter and cant afford to build their network out fast enough to keep you pissants happy. :thumbdown:
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Xparent ICS Tapatalk 2
firemanwill28 said:
I called ther customer service enough and told them how far they could shove my account up their A S S that eventually an executive service agent called and told me my account was being canceled with no ETF's. I had to be a pretty big A S S to them, but their customer service was the worst I've ever dealt with.
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I'm sure.
I already know what I had to go through with the BBB and T-Mobile when I dropped their service after a month and tried to get out without having to pay all sorts of fees. I didn't even have cell service in my condo in the center of downtown Miami when I was living there!
I'd rather not get my blood pressure up again and just easily port my number over without delays.
-EViL-KoNCEPTz- said:
You sound like a real winner. When I have to deal with people like you at work I go out of my way to find a reason to deny their claims. Just cuz you want to feel entitled to something doesn't mean you are, you should have just sucked it up and paid your ETF instead of crying til you got out free. Customers like you are the whole reason sprint posts losses every quarter and cant afford to build their network out fast enough to keep you pissants happy. :thumbdown:
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Xparent ICS Tapatalk 2
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So you stick up for Sprint, who probably pays you less than $20/hr to do their slave work and subjects you to putting up with angry customers all day?
What were you expecting when you started a call center job? An enjoyable career?
Just remember, it's not YOUR fault or problem that an angry customer calls in to ANY cell provider. If you signed the employment contract to handle their customers BS in exchange for money, then that is an unfortunate part of the job, right?
I don't think any of the customers that call in angry are personally angry at you.
element1966 said:
So you stick up for Sprint, who probably pays you less than $20/hr to do their slave work and subjects you to putting up with angry customers all day?
What were you expecting when you started a call center job? An enjoyable career?
Just remember, it's not YOUR fault or problem that an angry customer calls in to ANY cell provider. If you signed the employment contract to handle their customers BS in exchange for money, then that is an unfortunate part of the job, right?
I don't think any of the customers that call in angry are personally angry at you.
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I dont work for sprint genius. And I make way more than $20/hr at my job
Sent from my SPH-L900 using Xparent ICS Tapatalk 2
Nothing good will come out of a thread asking about how to get out of the ETF. It is there to help keep subsidized phone prices low and helps all of us. You breaking contract without paying an ETF hurts us.
Also these discussions are not proper for a development site.
Has anyone been charged by Sprint for their Airave when it malfunctions? We got a free Airave a year ago due to our poor in house signal. It worked fine until about 3 weeks ago, and lights started flashing. We following tech support's instructions and they finally said it was malfunctioning and that they would send us a new one. When we got the new one (it only took about 3 days) we were to package the old one back up in the same box and send it via UPS back to them. Well, everything was fine until our last bill which showed we were being charged $125 for an Airave "Damaged Beyond Repair." Several calls have not resolved this issue as of now, but they are saying it the warehouse classified it this way, due to corrosion.
rando991 said:
Has anyone been charged by Sprint for their Airave when it malfunctions? We got a free Airave a year ago due to our poor in house signal. It worked fine until about 3 weeks ago, and lights started flashing. We following tech support's instructions and they finally said it was malfunctioning and that they would send us a new one. When we got the new one (it only took about 3 days) we were to package the old one back up in the same box and send it via UPS back to them. Well, everything was fine until our last bill which showed we were being charged $125 for an Airave "Damaged Beyond Repair." Several calls have not resolved this issue as of now, but they are saying it the warehouse classified it this way, due to "damage beyond rpair," but couldn't tell me exactly why. One supervisor said it was probably corrosion or liquid damage, but the waiver request came back denied without an explaination, only that it was DBR and she wouldn't or couldn't say what of the 5 items my device was classified for.
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UPDATE: A call back from a different tech we talked to upchanneled the issue to his manager and that person made a decision that the charge was "unjustifiable" and gave us a $125 credit. The whole thing was weird, but now I won't going to Verizon over it after all.
rando991 said:
UPDATE: A call back from a different tech we talked to upchanneled the issue to his manager and that person made a decision that the charge was "unjustifiable" and gave us a $125 credit. The whole thing was weird, but now I won't going to Verizon over it after all.
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Thanks for the update, put "SOLVED" in the thread title. Sucks that you had issues, Sprint reps have usually been very nice when I call, but then theres always the one a** that has to mess it up.
I would've replied to this, but I dont even have an Airave haha
Sent from my PG06100
Beyond Charged
rando991 said:
Has anyone been charged by Sprint for their Airave when it malfunctions? We got a free Airave a year ago due to our poor in house signal. It worked fine until about 3 weeks ago, and lights started flashing. We following tech support's instructions and they finally said it was malfunctioning and that they would send us a new one. When we got the new one (it only took about 3 days) we were to package the old one back up in the same box and send it via UPS back to them. Well, everything was fine until our last bill which showed we were being charged $125 for an Airave "Damaged Beyond Repair." Several calls have not resolved this issue as of now, but they are saying it the warehouse classified it this way, due to corrosion.
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Not sure if you're a new user to the Airave or not but I figured I had better share this.
Oct. 2011 my wife and I switched carriers from a local carrier to Sprint, against my better judgement. I was a long time loyal Sprint customer from 1991-2002 until the digital switch. When we signed up this time we both got the Nexus S 4g. Thank God, because the only thing that saved us was the ability to use Google Talk over Wi-Fi throughout the next period of time.
I was working out of town 5 days a week and home on weekends at the time and from October to December Sprint nearly ruined my marriage and effectually ruined my good name and the state of my account standing because they simply could not get the two devices to communicate properly. We were experiencing things like missed calls, missed texts, no notifications of either, if missed call left a voicemail we would not be notified, texts would arrive 12+ hours after they were sent and Sprint decided we needed to implement an Airave in BOTH locations to improve reception. Unfortunately getting my roommate while working to cooperate with Sprint was virtually impossible, in hindsight, I'm glad he didn't.
Sprint never disclosed that every call going through the Airave was actually changed to an Airave usage minute that came off our then small plan because we were enjoying the unlimited mobile to any mobile minutes. It didn't matter if you were calling a mobile or a Sprint mobile even... every minute through an Airave ate away at your plan minutes. Our $169.00 bill became over $1000.00 in far less than a month. The use of it did decrease our connection issues but throughout the course of troubleshooting with support, executive services and engineers we determined the reason it helped is because the Airave had a single, hardwired MSID that all calls through it used that matched the cellular number that it was assigned. Because it isn't a mobile device it's MSID didn't have to differ from it's mobile number.
Sprint reluctantly refunded the majority of the excess charges, added the unlimited calling feature to the Airave and credited us for it's addition throughout the remainder of our contract and promised not to charge us an early term fee should we decide to take our service elsewhere. From October through April 2012 each my wife and I received 2 replacement NS4G's in spite of the fact that we asked to try something different back on October 10th and was REFUSED believe it or not because of HOW our order was placed. It was a web order that required an instore reservation and for some reason the store cancelled the web order and placed an entirely new order now requiring a deposit where my web order did not. In less than a week of receiving our 3rd NSG4 each, in March of 2012 we both knew the devices still weren't working and with the help of a couple engineers within Sprint, not only did we find the problem we also determined that Sprint was unwilling to admit it and certainly unwilling to address it or repair it.
In our area, our devices have their cellular number and an MSID that differs from it. When I would place a call to my wife, my MSID would receive it's necessary approval from the DSLAM but then the DSLAM proceeded to record a second, different MSID that it randomly assigned to me, her or our communication as you would have it depending on who was initiating the call. Then when the equipment handed off the approved network communication to the receiving end, the second fictitious MSID was handed off and not the originating MSID and because it had no actual communication associated with it, it would simply not notify the receiving party of any call, text or voicemail whatsoever. Not only that, but when the receiving DSLAM received the communication, it recorded a third, altogether different MSID through some dynamic assignment I would assume.
Starting in Feb or Mar Sprint then decided we needed to try new numbers with new devices which was this 3rd NS4G, assuring us both that neither of us would lose our original number since we ported them in, never receiving the benefit of the $125.00 port in credit they claimed we received back in December. All I remembered was a $400.00 bill in December 2011. We tried it and they found even with the new numbers the same MSID issue was going on which prompted the next decision they made which included different devices.
Sprint finally decided to try different devices sending us both used Galaxy S II E4GT's that we were told would be new. By this time, I was no longer working out of town and because we were no longer away from each other and I wasn't using my phone near as much the trouble wasn't seen as often so when we got the new devices it was almost like the issue was non existent. However, the several times I did travel the issue resurfaced immediately. I video taped the opening of the "NEW" devices because they both showed up in a FedEx bubble pack flexible envelope in tiny little boxes with batteries free floating in the envelop in their own plastic bags. No chargers, no headsets, no documentation, no disk with drivers, and no retail box. Both phones had cosmetic damages that appeared to be scuffs. Nicks in the plastic cases on the edge near the glass display and when we registered them on Samsung dotcom, I was sure to use the live representative to do so to make sure it was all documented. We were assured by Samsung that we wouldn't have any trouble receiving warranty service for a year.
Still experiencing the issue with different devices, new numbers and actively engaged engineers calling us to test services we thought for sure they would finally get the issue resolved. Then the time came to put our numbers back where they belong as promised and somehow miraculously Sprint not only lost my number but they continued to hold it hostage until December 2012 when the VP of Consumer Credit was finally forced to send me a "loaner" phone with my original number on it. She agreed to create us a new account with only our two original numbers on it sour current account wouldn't make us look like credit derelicts to any representatives we talked to for any service or support but instead of honoring her agreement, less than a week later, just following Christmas, we receive a letter from Sprint Legal Department telling us we had 30 days to find another carrier since they were deciding to exercise their right to terminate our contract.
Executive services left us hanging, none of our service ever worked as expected, our bill was never repaired virtually none of their representatives were completely honest or knowledgeable and on top of all that, their executives were equally dishonest and frankly I feel damaged irreparably because that period of time I will never get back, I felt like a project manager for them every step of the way because expected call backs would almost never occur and I was constantly prodding someone to do their job in a timely fashion. Over the course of 16 months I spent over 400 hours on the phone with someone from Sprint and we shall see if the Legal department makes good on, not only repairing the account's final status or if they will decide rather to leave the account until it can be written off rather than crediting the account as it should be...
I am monitoring the reporting at the different bureaus very closely right now because if I see any notice of any delinquency I am prepared to take this even further because I am almost certain I will have no problem finding a lawyer in a defamation of character law suit.
I hope your charges don't get nearly as bad as mine did.
Good Luck.
OH, and P.S. This is for Sprint, when I finally complete the project I've been working on I am certain you, like all the other carriers and ISP's, will be interested in utilizing it's functionality because it, if as effective as I think it will be, will reduce network congestion by over 90% by changing the way transferred data is perceived by routing and switching equipment along the path. Don't think you will receive any consideration whatsoever.
I just had the same issue. Took 4 calls to get a new unit, and once I did I thought I was OK. Well my bill showing 300 plus owed said another. Called sprint, guy said it was because I had an innactive unit that I was being charged for it. As last long ad I sent it back I would not be charged, per the rep. It has been a week since I sent it back and still looking for the charge to be removed.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
WOW! I was going to put [SOLVED] in this post header, but maybe I won't now after some of the other comments that had unresolved issues. Very similar. No call backs...I had to call back each day they told me a call was scheduled (and none came). But for the work of one young service rep named James, who IS a concerned and valuable agent, I would have been stuck with that charge and as of today probably would have been a Verizon customer. Note, he missed a call back due to a family emergency. My wife wrote Mr Hesse a 2 page letter (no idea if he will get it) describing this poor situation, but praising the work of young James and his manager in keeping us.
On the subject of the minutes being used by Airave, I haven't noticed that because we have land lines and don't run up cell minutes at home, but I'll be watching that now because I was unaware of that.