Develop Bugs

[Q] Leaving Sprint, and my Epic, new phone options. (Suggestions Greatly Appreciated)

Hey all,
First off, I love my Epic, and I will be sad to have to switch to a new carrier, but Sprint is too darn expensive, and Cincinnati Bell is offering cellphones (and a bunch of internet and landlines for our company) plus massive minutes and data for a tiny fraction of what only a few of us would pay for our personal Sprint bills... so naturally, we are moving.
Did I mention we can pick ANY phone from Cincinnati Bell's current or upcoming line-up to receive..... for FREE?
The two 4g phones they have right now are the HTC Panache and the Huawei Ascend X .
They also have a Samsung Vibrant available, which I understand is a Galaxy S phone nearly identicle to our Epic, but without the 4g or the keyboard.
Currently, I am leaning towards the HTC, from all the nice things I heard about the company's handsets in general, and moreso because I have heard zip about the Huawei and it seems a bit chinsey. ( I should add here that he gave us about 4 of the Huaweis to play around with for a bit to test out coverage and data speeds. ) The Huawei is a bit awkward to hold, as it is sharp and thin, whereas I am used to the brick of the Epic in my pocket.
What I ask of all of you is this: Do you have any suggestions on which handset I should grab from these guys? (Remember: It's being given to us, FREE) If so, why? In general, I am trying to either get as close to my Epic experience as possible, or to exceed it. I will miss the keyboard, but I am OK with loosing it.
For the record, I am rooted on my epic with CWM3 and running the latest Frozen Syndicate Mod (and LOVING it ), so ease of rooting, stability and availabilities of quality mods are certainly factors. ... I've just never heard ANYTHING about Huawei and there seems to be a bunch of different kind of info out there for the Panache (It's also call the Glacier and mytouch... I think?)
There you have it! Any suggestions would be killer.
NOTE: I do have access to the 4g Huawei right now, if anyone would like pictures or reviews of it, impressions etc, and I also have the chance soon to get my hands on literally any of the other handsets in their inventory to test out (the Panache, it seems is coming out on Friday). Hopefully I will be able to get a hand on that a bit early, and if so, I'll def. post some info. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, let me know, and also if anyone wants me to grab a given phone for a test run to review on here, I'm more than happy to try!
Thanks!
tl;dr: Moving from sprint to cincinnati bell, I currently have a epic, whats the best phone I can get from them?

like keyboards? where are those phones. that htc look like a mytouch slide. does it have one?

Sprint too expensive sorry but your nuts. Ever heard the statement you get what you pay for. If you make the switch I GUARANTEE YOU WILL BE BACK. Why would you even consider a local company next to a national company just sounds ridiculous. They have to throw all those extra incentives at you because their service blows.

jbadboy2007 said:
Sprint too expensive sorry but your nuts. Ever heard the statement you get what you pay for. If you make the switch I GUARANTEE YOU WILL BE BACK. Why would you even consider a local company next to a national company just sounds ridiculous. They have to throw all those extra incentives at you because their service blows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would appreciate not being called nuts, first off.
Second: Between myself, my fiance and my mother, we have a 1500 minute shared plan + "unlimited" data and the extra 9.99 / month for my epic 4g data. We average between 325 and 400 per month.
The plan they are offering us gives us 5 4g phones, unlimited data and 3000 minutes, all for under 300 dollars.
In terms of service, I've never been a huge fan of sprint, I rarely have anything more than 2 bars of 3g coverage, and in many places less. Their 4g network in this area is abysmal, also.
In any case, I was asking about which of those phones people thought to be equivalent or superior to my current phone, not about whether I should switch. I have been continually disappointed with sprint service for years, this is just the final nail in the coffin.

jbadboy2007 said:
Sprint too expensive sorry but your nuts. Ever heard the statement you get what you pay for. If you make the switch I GUARANTEE YOU WILL BE BACK. Why would you even consider a local company next to a national company just sounds ridiculous. They have to throw all those extra incentives at you because their service blows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, in taking the loaner phones around they gave us, comparing relative signal strength and speed as I drive around town, the CinBell phone is consistently the dominate force in terms of signal strength, quality and data speed.

austin420 said:
like keyboards? where are those phones. that htc look like a mytouch slide. does it have one?
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Click to collapse
Nah, none of them have the keyboards unfortunately, thats why I'm trying to find the best phone to get given their lineup. Would you go for the HTC over the Huawei?

Get the vibrant. Its a galaxy s and it like the epic with no keyboard. And the vibrant community has a lot of roms including a stable cm7 and miui gingerbread
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

The HTC page you linked states it's already on Gingerbread, the other is still Froyo. You should do your research on how often/if that phone gets upgrades. Basically find out which phone is closest to end-of-life.
To the guy who called him nuts for dropping a national carrier for a local: To each their own man. The OP found something that works for his needs. What's the issue? Roaming charges? It's an assumed cost of doing business when jumping to a local carrier.

blueoxide said:
Hey all,
First off, I love my Epic, and I will be sad to have to switch to a new carrier, but Sprint is too darn expensive, and Cincinnati Bell is offering cellphones (and a bunch of internet and landlines for our company) plus massive minutes and data for a tiny fraction of what only a few of us would pay for our personal Sprint bills... so naturally, we are moving.
Did I mention we can pick ANY phone from Cincinnati Bell's current or upcoming line-up to receive..... for FREE?
The two 4g phones they have right now are the HTC Panache and the Huawei Ascend X .
They also have a Samsung Vibrant available, which I understand is a Galaxy S phone nearly identicle to our Epic, but without the 4g or the keyboard.
Currently, I am leaning towards the HTC, from all the nice things I heard about the company's handsets in general, and moreso because I have heard zip about the Huawei and it seems a bit chinsey. ( I should add here that he gave us about 4 of the Huaweis to play around with for a bit to test out coverage and data speeds. ) The Huawei is a bit awkward to hold, as it is sharp and thin, whereas I am used to the brick of the Epic in my pocket.
What I ask of all of you is this: Do you have any suggestions on which handset I should grab from these guys? (Remember: It's being given to us, FREE) If so, why? In general, I am trying to either get as close to my Epic experience as possible, or to exceed it. I will miss the keyboard, but I am OK with loosing it.
For the record, I am rooted on my epic with CWM3 and running the latest Frozen Syndicate Mod (and LOVING it ), so ease of rooting, stability and availabilities of quality mods are certainly factors. ... I've just never heard ANYTHING about Huawei and there seems to be a bunch of different kind of info out there for the Panache (It's also call the Glacier and mytouch... I think?)
There you have it! Any suggestions would be killer.
NOTE: I do have access to the 4g Huawei right now, if anyone would like pictures or reviews of it, impressions etc, and I also have the chance soon to get my hands on literally any of the other handsets in their inventory to test out (the Panache, it seems is coming out on Friday). Hopefully I will be able to get a hand on that a bit early, and if so, I'll def. post some info. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, let me know, and also if anyone wants me to grab a given phone for a test run to review on here, I'm more than happy to try!
Thanks!
tl;dr: Moving from sprint to cincinnati bell, I currently have a epic, whats the best phone I can get from them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can i have your epic???

blueoxide said:
Nah, none of them have the keyboards unfortunately, thats why I'm trying to find the best phone to get given their lineup. Would you go for the HTC over the Huawei?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the Panache, its the same phone as the Mytouch 4G without the god awful mytouch logo.

I voted for other because nothing was not an option.
I have had a great experience with Sprint and don't plan on leaving when my contract is up.

You shoulda got 3 unlimited everythings for cheaper than your shared plan duh. But if sprint in your area is not as good than that's a different matter. I've been with sprint for 8 years and they are excellent

I suppose I should also mention that along with this we are overhauling all of our business land lines, internet, dedicated internet/phone lines for security and camera etc and cinbell is offering one mega-package for us etc. The plan details are apples to oranges I'd imagine.

Screen size = Huawei (4G)
Hardware = Samsung (no 4G)
Roms = HTC (4G)
Voted "Other" because non of those options are > the Epic all around.

Looked through the phones and I would go with the Panache. It has Gingerbread, more RAM than the Ascend (768MB vs 512MB) and it has 4G, which the Vibrant does not. The Ascend concerns me a bit...it just came out, and it has Froyo on it. Who knows if and when it would get Gingerbread and a few places I see reviews for it refer to it as "low-cost" and "low-end". Not to say it doesn't have a lot of features, but that is how it is referred to (Which on the low-end of the phone market, the phone rates well) If you are getting the phones for free, I would think the HTC would be the winner for you. Cincinnati Bell looks to have good plans and good national coverage... I don't think you will be disappointed. Best of luck to you!

I would really use the loaner you have for awhile.. I myself had cincinnati bell and the signal was horrible all over the west side of town and northern ky.. I have three friends who jumped into cincy bells low rates they advertised.. And really in the end they are still paying more that the sprint bill.. But if you are on a huge corporate deal price will be cheaper.. But those friends are constantly asking me to text so and so or call someone cause they all constantly have signal issues.. So I would def check that the signal is good in the areas you most frequent. just giving some personal experience. But if the signal is there for you jump on that good deal..

Ever consider flashing to a prepaid unlimited plan?

yeah im pretty sure sprint is among the cheapest and has some of the best phones, service, and coverage. only verizon bats spint on the coverage. im am on a family plan with three phones, unlimited everything, 1400 minutes i believe, and 4g for my epic. it totals to about $120 something a month.
my dad on the other hand has verizon. he just bought the new iphone, unlimited everything, and 1400 minutes too. he pays about $75 a month. 4g for verizon is like $20 or $30 (i cant remember). thats outrageous compared to the $10 a month for 4g on sprint.
i really suggest sitting down, working out a budget, working out a reasonable phone plan to work with that budget, compare different phone services, and research phones for each. i think youll find that sprint is among the best and cheapest.
Sent via the Matrix

blueoxide said:
I would appreciate not being called nuts, first off.
Second: Between myself, my fiance and my mother, we have a 1500 minute shared plan + "unlimited" data and the extra 9.99 / month for my epic 4g data. We average between 325 and 400 per month.
The plan they are offering us gives us 5 4g phones, unlimited data and 3000 minutes, all for under 300 dollars.
In terms of service, I've never been a huge fan of sprint, I rarely have anything more than 2 bars of 3g coverage, and in many places less. Their 4g network in this area is abysmal, also.
In any case, I was asking about which of those phones people thought to be equivalent or superior to my current phone, not about whether I should switch. I have been continually disappointed with sprint service for years, this is just the final nail in the coffin.
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Click to collapse
i think u r not right about comparing minutes... remember sprint gives unlimited calls to any mobile phones... n plus i have 5 phones n pay under 200 w/ all 4g phones. that includes everything.... not saying that to convince u. but what u said is not right at all about plan... n i love sprint. their C.S is the greatest. peaceee
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

my 1500 everything data plan with 3 lines, 2 premium data fees, 2 insurance fees, and an airave, with my meager corperate discount comes to 171.36 per month. i can bundle this with my time warner cable bill for more savings, since they are partners, but i prefer not to have all my eggs in one basket. id hate to get everything cut off at once if i were late. i can do with out cable, or phone. but never both at once!

Tonight was the first time I considered leaving sprint

I've been with Sprint for 7 years, mainly because of cost (I'm on Sero) and phones. That and I've always considered CDMA to be superior to GSM with regards to coverage. (in the US) But tonight I second guessed myself.
In my apartment, which is half underground, I need an airwave to get a decent signal from sprint. My girlfriend is visiting and for ****s and giggles I did a speed test on her atnt HTC inspire. Now I had heard people mock atnt's 4G network for not being true "4G," but with one bar of signal this phone is pulling 25mbs down and 6mbs up. Most of the time in my area I only get 3G and when I travel to the city next to mine the 4G is around 2mbs down.
I went to atnt's website and priced a plan similar to mine and it would end up costing me around $100 per month to get from atnt what I get for $60 from sprint. And thats not technically accurate since sprint gives us unlimited data. For that price difference I can't justify switching yet.
This phone is awesome and looks like it will be enough to hold me over for some time. (time as defined by a cell phone addict) The upcoming galaxy nexus may have a nice screen, but its raw power seems lacking compared to the SGS2. Which makes sense. The galaxy S series is samsung's flagship, the nexus series is google's flagship provided by samsung, who would get the better hardware? The only phone I see on the horizon right now that is a challenger (besides the S3 ofc) would be the samsung note. Now if I was going to go through the trouble of importing a phone (note will be only international initially it seems) and getting it to work on one of the carriers here, atnt would be the easiest option. If they made a CDMA international version with the right radio I could probably figure out or find/pay someone with the appropriate knowledge of CMDA workshop to get it working on sprint, but the alternative would be easier. I am an admitted sprint fanboy, but tonight is the first time in a while I actually priced out other options. I will probably stick out the rest of this contract (about two years obviously) and see how network vision and the LTE rollout pans out; however if things aren't looking much better I'm jumping ship or getting a second phone.
Anyway I apologize for the extremely random rant. I was shocked by atnt's "4G" network performance. Thats something I would've expected from a verizon LTE phone, but apparently the stereotypes I've held onto about the different networks are incorrect. Or the tower her phone is connected to is extremely uncongested, who knows. Like I said, I'm a sprint fan and a share holder, but if something doesn't change, my opinion will.
/endrant
TL;DR
Sprint's network blows worse than I thought compared to others

25mbs down and 6mbs up? Amazing!
Nothing like downloading a movie in under ten minutes... better be a good movie though since that uses up a good chunk of the 2GB you get per month.
Sorry, but it has to be about more than just raw speed.
This is like saying "I have a Lamborghini! But I can only drive in 40 miles a month"
The real question is, does 2mbit/s do it for you?
Because I don't know one thing you can't do on a phone [from stream music to streaming video] at 2mbit/s.
These aren't servers, they're phones.

mattykinsx said:
25mbs down and 6mbs up? Amazing!
Nothing like downloading a movie in under ten minutes... better be a good movie though since that uses up a good chunk of the 2GB you get per month.
Sorry, but it has to be about more than just raw speed.
This is like saying "I have a Lamborghini! But I can only drive in 40 miles a month"
The real question is, does 2mbit/s do it for you?
Because I don't know one thing you can't do on a phone [from stream music to streaming video] at 2mbit/s.
These aren't servers, they're phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Win.
Sent from my SPH-D710 Galaxy S II [suck it]

mattykinsx said:
The real question is, does 2mbit/s do it for you?
Because I don't know one thing you can't do on a phone [from stream music to streaming video] at 2mbit/s.
These aren't servers, they're phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are very correct. If I got a consistent 2mbit/s I'd be very content, but the only time I get that is on wimax when I make a trip to best buy in the city adjacent to me. If its night time, and I'm outside, I'll get 1.5mbit/s. Daytime outside 500-600kbit/s, most of the time I'm inside so that drops to 200-400. The building I work in has wifi and when I used my Evo it wasn't an issue, but with the epic touch's horrible wifi reception there are times when my 3G signal is present and the wifi isn't x.x
Furthermore when driving around I can't even use pandora without a good 20 seconds between songs due to lag. Now maybe the same thing would be true with atnt or verizon 4g, I can't be sure since my test was isolated to one spot, but I have a good idea it would be better.

What phone are u saying is international only?
Sent From My Evo Killer!!!

musclehead84 said:
What phone are u saying is international only?
Sent From My Evo Killer!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
samsung note, but it might be coming to atnt here

Never mock the marketing names. Only mock the actual experienced speeds.
How much would it cost to go family plan on your GFs account?

Verizon's got 20mbps LTE in my house, but I'm with Sprint because they pull 2500 kbps on 3G and it's unlimited.

yeah, I think about this constantly...and it's not even the price that keeps me anymore, it's the unlimited. My use can vary between 1.5gb a month to 20gb a month depending on where I go and what I do. I don't even want to know what that would cost me on ATT or Verizon...and T-Mobile is just a non-starter due to even worse coverage than Sprint.
But lets say I get some of that ATT or Verizon 20-40mbps action. I can peg that for minutes before burning through my limit of data...that's scary. Now, okay, even sticking to my same usage pattern...no, honestly I can't even gauge that. If I didn't get cut off or lagged to death I would almost certainly consume tons more data.
Is this fear enough to keep me? Not for much longer. Do you hear that Sprint? A lot of us are thinking very seriously a bout switching. Sure, 20-40mbps is on the 'ideal-to-high' side for HDSPA+ and LTE but I would jump ship for half of that, or even a reliable quarter of that. DO YOU HEAR THAT SPRINT? I WOULD PAY MORE MONEY FOR A TIERED PLAN THAT PROMISED TO DELIVER MY DATA AT SPEEDS THAT THEIR NETWORK WOULD CONSIDER 'CONGESTED' Meanwhile we're over here on Sprint praying to get 1/16th of those speeds and failing to get even that. Sure, promise us unlimited data and then fail to provide a speed that would even allow half of us to hit the limit of the equivalent plan on Verizon or ATT...
I'm very seriously considering leaving Sprint after more than a decade. This service is bad and just getting worse. Now we have the iPhone. Big fncking deal. I hope it was worth it to Sprint, cuz it certainly wasn't to me.
Galaxy Nexus...nice phone...a slightly bigger slightly higher res version of this phone (essentially, lets not nit pick here) except it's not only on Verizon's awesome 3G network (which I'm roaming on right now), but also Verizon LTE network.....for $10 more a month and watching my data usage a little I never have to worry about getting hosed with 250-500kbps service on a constant basis....hmm, not too bad.

daneurysm said:
yeah, I think about this constantly...and it's not even the price that keeps me anymore, it's the unlimited. My use can vary between 1.5gb a month to 20gb a month depending on where I go and what I do. I don't even want to know what that would cost me on ATT or Verizon...and T-Mobile is just a non-starter due to even worse coverage than Sprint.
But lets say I get some of that ATT or Verizon 20-40mbps action. I can peg that for minutes before burning through my limit of data...that's scary. Now, okay, even sticking to my same usage pattern...no, honestly I can't even gauge that. If I didn't get cut off or lagged to death I would almost certainly consume tons more data.
Is this fear enough to keep me? Not for much longer. Do you hear that Sprint? A lot of us are thinking very seriously a bout switching. Sure, 20-40mbps is on the 'ideal-to-high' side for HDSPA+ and LTE but I would jump ship for half of that, or even a reliable quarter of that. DO YOU HEAR THAT SPRINT? I WOULD PAY MORE MONEY FOR A TIERED PLAN THAT PROMISED TO DELIVER MY DATA AT SPEEDS THAT THEIR NETWORK WOULD CONSIDER 'CONGESTED' Meanwhile we're over here on Sprint praying to get 1/16th of those speeds and failing to get even that. Sure, promise us unlimited data and then fail to provide a speed that would even allow half of us to hit the limit of the equivalent plan on Verizon or ATT...
I'm very seriously considering leaving Sprint after more than a decade. This service is bad and just getting worse. Now we have the iPhone. Big fncking deal. I hope it was worth it to Sprint, cuz it certainly wasn't to me.
Galaxy Nexus...nice phone...a slightly bigger slightly higher res version of this phone (essentially, lets not nit pick here) except it's not only on Verizon's awesome 3G network (which I'm roaming on right now), but also Verizon LTE network.....for $10 more a month and watching my data usage a little I never have to worry about getting hosed with 250-500kbps service on a constant basis....hmm, not too bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I say you set the font size to 7 so Sprint can really hear you.
Oh wait, XDA is not a Sprint forum...
If your service doesn't do what you need it to, switch to one that does instead of making empty threats on a hacker forum that can't help you.

Guess I'm not the only one with insomnia at 4am...
Sent from my SPH-D710

I have to say I'm also thinking about jumping ship from Sprint. I love my ET4G but the network speeds are complete crap. I'm in Los Angeles, only 15 minutes from downtown and I get CRAP speeds everywhere I go in Los Angeles County and in Tucson. Sprint's network just plain sucks. I get slow 3G speeds and rarely even connect to 4G and 4G speeds are usually about the same as my 3G speeds if it stays connected.
I've been with them for a decade now and get pretty good pricing but I want good data now more than ever. As soon as they change from 5GB cap on data service for phones I'll be able to dump my contract without an ETF and I'll go to Verizon. Sprint's prices are only a deal if you get comparable service to other providers. http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/1...ost-iphone-launch-45-pages-of-complaints-bad/

mattykinsx said:
I say you set the font size to 7 so Sprint can really hear you.
Oh wait, XDA is not a Sprint forum...
If your service doesn't do what you need it to, switch to one that does instead of making empty threats on a hacker forum that can't help you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, did I hit a sensitive spot? Slow speeds gettin' ya down? LTE envy?
To think that someone from Sprint doesn't keep an eye on this place is outright stupid....though it likely isn't someone who could help. I think it's even more idiotic to think that Sprint would listen to one lone complainer when they haven't listened to hundreds of thousands yet. Hell, on their own forum they can just delete the dissenting comment.
A thread full of impotent rage is surely more useful than a dump-truck full of deleted comments.
Besides, do you think Sprint would prefer to be the discount third-rate network? If they could snap their fingers and come up with the capitol to say "make it so" and have the network be competitive I'm sure they would. They can't. I could email everyone one of the top brass at Sprint, fax it to them, have the message hand delivered to everyone that mattered and it wouldn't be any more effective.
Here I am among a group of peers who share many of the same issues, at least here my comment can't be deleted by the company it criticizes. I'm bouncing ideas around, thinking out loud, commiserating. Sometimes "just talking about it" can be cathartic and be enough to relieve the frustration...or perhaps lead to solutions.
If this thread doesn't have only messages that you like switch to one that does instead of leaving *****y replies on a hacker forum that can't help your either?
....This is the /General forum, that's why...a thread about considering leaving Sprint no less. Seems the perfect venue to me. What else did you think you'd find in here?
That said this is no empty threat. If things don't start turning around soon it's going to be pretty hard to stick around here once that LTE Nexus Galaxy comes out...I've got a couple 'outs' on my contract like a dead-spot that an air-rave couldn't fix. The Verizon signal there is fantastic and I hear it's an LTE tower too.

Overstew said:
Verizon's got 20mbps LTE in my house, but I'm with Sprint because they pull 2500 kbps on 3G and it's unlimited.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
/Rant/
holy cow. I wish i could just get over 200kbps in my area....
I have to drive like 8 miles to just get 800-1000kbps in Tucson. BUT if i go DEEP into tucson by the university and everything else ill get about 1600kbps - 1900kbps.
Sprints towers in my neighborhood have been on and off since August 21st. Ive dropped more calls in those few months then with the 8 years ive had them and keep roaming and at times wont even get my texts and calls.
I also have been getting a call from the same Rep every tuesday asking if signal is any better and i give the same response and he puts out a trouble ticket.
just this bs alone makes me want to get verizon (my GF has a Droid Inc 2 and she gets 2000kbps in my house. ) But the 2gb cap and the fact that for the family of smartphones with discount is $264 and alot more than i pay now.
I know its not just my phone, its every sprint phone that is in my area.
/End of Rant/

daneurysm said:
-- snip --
Besides, do you think Sprint would prefer to be the discount third-rate network? If they could snap their fingers and come up with the capitol to say "make it so" and have the network be competitive I'm sure they would. They can't. I could email everyone one of the top brass at Sprint, fax it to them, have the message hand delivered to everyone that mattered and it wouldn't be any more effective.
-- snip --
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now now lets look at what Sprint has bet the entire farm on. They have betted over 20 BILLION dollars just to accomodate the IPHONE and iphone alone. Yes you read that right 20 Billion dollars. What about the rest of the other phones in their lineup.
I am not knocking a thing here just saying that is Sprint can bet the farm aka 20+ Billion just for the iphone then they can put some cash toward supporting the other phones.
I am now looking at Verizon and will be pricing a plan that compares to what I have with Sprint and if its not too much more money then well sorry Sprint I am gone.
Here in my hometown Verizon is rock solid and with 4g. Sprint sucks the big arse big time and the speeds I am getting is 200K down and about 170K up. Its so bad and has gotten worse in the last year that I have to use my TWC internet connection just for data uses on my Epic 4 g touch. I am paying that extra 10 bucks a month just because of the phone and for what crap service.
Again if Sprint can bet the farm and shell out over 20 Billion dollars just for the iphone then they can invest in the rest of us. If not then maybe its time to find another provider.

Wizard220 said:
Now now lets look at what Sprint has bet the entire farm on. They have betted over 20 BILLION dollars just to accomodate the IPHONE and iphone alone. Yes you read that right 20 Billion dollars. What about the rest of the other phones in their lineup.
I am not knocking a thing here just saying that is Sprint can bet the farm aka 20+ Billion just for the iphone then they can put some cash toward supporting the other phones.
I am now looking at Verizon and will be pricing a plan that compares to what I have with Sprint and if its not too much more money then well sorry Sprint I am gone.
Here in my hometown Verizon is rock solid and with 4g. Sprint sucks the big arse big time and the speeds I am getting is 200K down and about 170K up. Its so bad and has gotten worse in the last year that I have to use my TWC internet connection just for data uses on my Epic 4 g touch. I am paying that extra 10 bucks a month just because of the phone and for what crap service.
Again if Sprint can bet the farm and shell out over 20 Billion dollars just for the iphone then they can invest in the rest of us. If not then maybe its time to find another provider.
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Click to collapse
I agree. Granted, to stay competitive, I think they had to do whatever it took to get the iPhone... does that give them a fighting chance? At best. This wasn't capitol either, it was a promise of future sales. This, honestly, all looks terrible for Sprint in the short term and uncertain, at best, in the long term. Have you seen what their shares have been trading at?
Meanwhile I have seen the once ass-kicking network where with my LG Lotus I could pull down 2mbps on a regular basis tethered (for only $15 more than my $69.99 plan) only ~2 years later I can barely hit 500kbps for $10 on top of my $69.99 plan...and then the onslaught of iPhone users comes in to gobble up the rest. So I'm paying $5 less than I was ~2 years ago for 25% of the speed and 25% of the availability...My connections time out so much that I have to hit 'reload' so many times it's absurd. Pop on 00001.PRL to see what the other side lives with....1.5mbps all day every day, even in my apartment where I routinely get 150-500kbps. Randomly, except during peak hours (noon, give or take 6 hours) where I'm lucky to even get a connection. I absolutely need to use Opera Mini to even load a non-mobile version of a web page....how fast is it going then? Who knows, the speedtest app hangs at 'finding server'.
Things did seem to be picking up in the weeks leading up to the iPhone launch, but, that phone has made any gains moot. If in the next month I don't see some real action it's over...I'm going *sigh* Verizon. Paying too much for data you do get is preferable to paying anything for data you don't get.

I've wanted to switch for 6 or more months now. The only thing keeping me is the Google Voice/Sprint integration. Being able to check and answer all my texts and calls online regardless of where I am geographically or what state my phone is in is huge for me.
I'd easily leave and tolerate a 2GB cap that I actually have the capacity to reach, than deal with poor service even in the midst of an AirRave. I too am experiencing abysmal network speed in a decent sized American city.
I'd also love to tap in to the international developement base as far as having a popular unlocked GSM phone like the (original) GSII goes.

dmexs said:
I've wanted to switch for 6 or more months now. The only thing keeping me is the Google Voice/Sprint integration. Being able to check and answer all my texts and calls online regardless of where I am geographically or what state my phone is in is huge for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just port your number out to Google Voice. I did that with my last phone when I got out of contract for free. It cost $20 and took 3 days. They still haven't gottem MMS straightened out yet but in the past week they made it a priority...currently Sprint-to-Sprint MMS works. But I just sent a mass-text to everyone that would even send me MMS (few people, honestly, 8 or 9 maybe?) and told them to send MMS to the new number. So now I get that same integration no matter where I go. So now all voicemails and text to that number go to my phone, web browser GV tab and my tablet. It's insanely handy and totally worth the $20 and minor hassle.
I myself was thinking about going to Verizon for the Nexus Prime...and they still have month-to-month plans if you buy the device outright. That way if Sprint happens to get their **** together and fixes this network up--or if the tiered data plans end up being too much to deal with--I can just bail.
EDIT: I just looked into Verizon:
450 Minutes : $39.99
250 Messages : $5.00
2GB Data : $30.00 = $74.99 a month
or 5GB Data : $50.00 = $94.99 a month
...not to bad if I can keep it under 2GB, palatable for 5GB plan.... I'm not thrilled about it, at all. But, to get usable data on a month-to-month plan I'll just might take it.
T-Mobile:
Unlimited Everything + 2gb "full speed" = $79.99 a month
Unlimited Everything + 5gb "full speed" = $89.99 a month
...not too shabby, but, they have no compelling phones right now and even though I hear their 3G and "4G" (aka 3.5G) is pretty damned fast I'm not so sure about their coverage
AT&T:
450 Minutes : $39.99
2GB Data : $25.00 = $64.99 a month
4GB Data + tethering: $45 = $74.99 a month
though they don't seem to have any txting packages except the $20 unlimited, which is ridiculous. that's fine for me, I use GVoice, but, how to MMS count, just data? Their coverage around here ain't bad and their data speeds are very fast from what I hear.
hmmm

And lets not forget, Sprint has taken the "first" step toward teired data plans. Yes if you have mobil plan with them ( not cell phone ) you now have a teired data plan. before you pay a flat rate and got unlimited.
To me this is the last step before teired data plans comes to us cell phone users. With all the changes that Sprint has done this will be the final nail in its coffen. If Sprint does roll out teired data plans there will be zero reason to stay with them. Why because you can pay about the same price maybe just a little more and get solid service, solid data rates.

If sprint losses unlimited data I'd be gone. My 3g is miserable in Toledo 200-300 kbps. i'm never off wifi anymore.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

Using a Verizon PRL to get service cancelled for excessive data roaming?

OK I have to ask.
I have HORRIBLE 3G speeds where I live. I'm lucky to see 20~30kbps on a speed test, inside or out. I try it all over the city, it's the same everywhere. I've tried different modems, Roms, kernels, nothing helps.
Other Sprint users tell me the same thing.
We have 4G here but I'm about a mile too far away from the towers to use it on a daily basis and it seems like everything I do is in the opposite direction as the 4G so I maybe get to use 4G like once or twice a month. 4G rocks, I get 20~25mbit, again 3G sucks. Most of the time it simply does not even work. I get errors about no network connection etc.
So anyway my buddy just got an AT&T Skyrocket (same phone basically) as our Epic Touch and he showed me a speed test on 3G as it was almost 3mbit.
He said he got out of his Sprint by using this thread, flashing the 00001 PRL file, installing ROAM Control and slamming torrents. He said after about 15 days of letting it run non stock, Sprint contacted him saying he had 30 days to find a new carrier, they were canceling his contract.
He claims he was just out, he had to pay his final bill, NO ETF, and his ESN is clean so he was going to sell his Galaxy on eBay.
Is this true or is he BS'ing me?
I'm REALLY sick of Sprint. What is the point of unlimited date if it NEVER [email protected]#[email protected]#
On a side note, I get eh, 700~800kbps when I ROAM to Verizon.

kdoggy said:
OK I have to ask.
I have HORRIBLE 3G speeds where I live. I'm lucky to see 20~30kbps on a speed test, inside or out. I try it all over the city, it's the same everywhere. I've tried different modems, Roms, kernels, nothing helps.
Other Sprint users tell me the same thing.
We have 4G here but I'm about a mile too far away from the towers to use it on a daily basis and it seems like everything I do is in the opposite direction as the 4G so I maybe get to use 4G like once or twice a month. 4G rocks, I get 20~25mbit, again 3G sucks. Most of the time it simply does not even work. I get errors about no network connection etc.
So anyway my buddy just got an AT&T Skyrocket (same phone basically) as our Epic Touch and he showed me a speed test on 3G as it was almost 3mbit.
He said he got out of his Sprint by using this thread, flashing the 00001 PRL file, installing ROAM Control and slamming torrents. He said after about 15 days of letting it run non stock, Sprint contacted him saying he had 30 days to find a new carrier, they were canceling his contract.
He claims he was just out, he had to pay his final bill, NO ETF, and his ESN is clean so he was going to sell his Galaxy on eBay.
Is this true or is he BS'ing me?
I'm REALLY sick of Sprint. What is the point of unlimited date if it NEVER [email protected]#[email protected]#
On a side note, I get eh, 700~800kbps when I ROAM to Verizon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can do that. The will normally let you out ETF free but they are not obligated to.
On a side note, people who do this are driving up prices for the rest of us.

Well, let me start off by respectfully saying that I'm not sure I care about the prices being driven up and let me explain why.
I'm not just some new Sprint customer who showed up and now something else it out I want on another network. I've been a Sprint customer for over 10 years, actually it will be 11 years in June and frankly Sprints service as gone to hell. My biggest complaint is the data.
My Samsung Instinct and my Palm Pre actually worked GREAT! About the time I got my EVO, things started to go down hill.
I complained about my EVO and it's crappy battery life and speed and they actually upgraded me to the Epic Touch when it first came out and it's not any better from a speed stand point. Sprint advertises this "Unlimited" network but I barely get 15~30 Kbps anywhere in a 50 mile area and it's not just me. First off, I work in the technologies department for my local school district. Our work issued phones are Sprint iPhones. We also have some Android stuff and ALL of them suck. Pretty much everyone but myself also has a AT&T iPhone too and the speed difference is unbelievable. What I mean by that is that a few of my co-workers actually have TWO iPhones, Sprint (work phones) and AT&T (personal phones) and EVERY one of them says the same thing, there is no comparison between the two for 3G data, AT&T blows Sprint out of the water.
One of the guys just gt the Skyrocket and I can't get over how much faster the 3G is then Sprint. The LTE is amazing too.
I look this stuff and I wonder what the hell happened to Sprint?
I can see why they are able to keep the unlimited data, its so freaking slow no ones using much! Just annoys me. I feel like its time to move on and like I said, I've been a loyal customer for over 10 years, I almost hate to start over.

If the problem is your whole city/town and not just your house, why not look up the thread about getting a free airrave, and instead of asking for an airrave, ask to be released from your contract, as your phone is just going to roam all the time costing them money anyways. The number in that thread (in e4gt general I think) is account services or whatever their euphemism is for retentions. They may just let you out if you've been such a good customer... you can always come back if the Network Vision pans out in your area... its worth a shot... if that fails, you have no choice but to roam like hell.

I live in a pretty big city and we do have 4G here but unfortunately, that is only downtown which really does me no good.
The 3G is almost non-working as I said. Now I work about 30 miles from where I live which is another decent city, not a big one but a well known one and the 3G issues are the same there too.
As I said, pretty much everyone who works in our technology department has the same opinion of Sprint's 3G, it simply doesn't work as it should. They all prefer their AT&T phones so it's not just me having issues.
I'll have to call them tonight. I get GREAT signal. Almost full bars but the data just won't perform. We were out a couple weeks ago for example, I wanted to look up a phone number and some movie times, we had to fine a Panra Breads and use there Wi-Fi to get anything to load. Dolphin and my stock browser just basically did nothing. I was watching the pages load like I was on 14.4 dial up.
As I said, the phone aspect is fine, should I tell them I'm force roaming to make a point? I really want to tell them how much of an issue this data crap is and WHY I'm forcing my phone to roam and that I intend to keep it on Verizon unless they let me go or fix it, which I know they can't fix it but I don't want that to cause more issues with them.
Thoughts?
Can anyone who works for Sprint weigh in here? This is ridiculous. Again, it's not just me or my phone, it's everyone in my area who I know uses Sprint and we are just some random phone morons who wandered into Best Buy and bought a cool looking phone. We are all technology professionals who use and test mobile devices etc, CCNP's, Apple techs, database engineers etc.
I know my way around a phone, so do the people I work with. We can't all be wrong here.

My friend did this and was not charged the etf. His brother decided to try it as well and was not able to get them to waive the etf. So in my opinion you have a 50/50 chance of having to pay the etf.

JsVerbal said:
My friend did this and was not charged the etf. His brother decided to try it as well and was not able to get them to waive the etf. So in my opinion you have a 50/50 chance of having to pay the etf.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to revive an old thread but I'm also attempting to do this for my two lines with Sprint.
So you're saying that they can cancel your service and STILL charge you ETF???

sTr3utr said:
Sorry to revive an old thread but I'm also attempting to do this for my two lines with Sprint.
So you're saying that they can cancel your service and STILL charge you ETF???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes in the newer contracts there is a clause that excessive roaming is in breach of the contract. IIRC, don't quote me on that though, you should check it over yourself to be safe first.

Hmm, interesting. I signed up on December 2011, I don't know if that counts as new. I will check out my contract and report back, might help others
Thanks! :good:

Any class action lawsuits over 3G speeds?

Does anyone know of any class action lawsuits over Sprints 3G service? I tried doing some searches but I haven't seen any yet.
I know there was one for the 4G premium data crap,
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/10/01/SprintCA.pdf
Anyway this 3G is ridiculous. I just got a replacement Epic Touch, I'm still getting between 7 and 30 kbps everywhere within a 50~60 mile range of my house and that is IF it works. I get a lot of no connection crap too.
I've been a Sprint customer for 10+ years, they just can't handle all these new smart devices and it's ridiculous that I should have to pay for this level of service and or pay for an ETF.
Thoughts? Input?

Due to Supreme Court decision and your contract, you are prevented from seeking class action status for this issue. IANAL but maybe if they are enterprising they could reframe as a false advertising issue and bypass the contract restriction on class actions. The thing is Sprint doesn't advertise an minimum speeds and specifically states in the contracts service level varies.

I feel bad for all of you with data speed issues. I just got 900kbps sitting here in a bathroom stall in the middle of my office building. I get 1,500kbps when sitting at my office desk next to the window. Hopefully Sprint's network upgrades happen quickly or their going to continue to lose customers.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

not gonna happen

I wish there was, I'd join it!

The best thing you can do is call up A LOT in retentions and continue to complain about speeds. If you're in a poor service area, they will allow you to cancel ETF free.

sfhub said:
Due to Supreme Court decision and your contract, you are prevented from seeking class action status for this issue. IANAL but maybe if they are enterprising they could reframe as a false advertising issue and bypass the contract restriction on class actions. The thing is Sprint doesn't advertise an minimum speeds and specifically states in the contracts service level varies.
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Click to collapse
I thought they had it on their website 300-1.5mbps?
I know there is a FCC requirement/spectrum that it has to be in, in order to call it 3g....
ill do some digging and see if I can find a few links.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA

I get horrible speeds and connectivity at the house, only one tower close by. At work I get amazing speeds and connectivity. I can only assume there are more towers around the work place. But it is devastating to have weak speeds where you sleep. I've never had Wimax in my area, I have to drive twenty or so miles north to get Wimax.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S II via XDA Premium

What is the advertised speed?
I get about 150 consistently.. I know it's slow but is it slow enough to complain?

kdoggy said:
Does anyone know of any class action lawsuits over Sprints 3G service? I tried doing some searches but I haven't seen any yet.
I know there was one for the 4G premium data crap,
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/10/01/SprintCA.pdf
Anyway this 3G is ridiculous. I just got a replacement Epic Touch, I'm still getting between 7 and 30 kbps everywhere within a 50~60 mile range of my house and that is IF it works. I get a lot of no connection crap too.
I've been a Sprint customer for 10+ years, they just can't handle all these new smart devices and it's ridiculous that I should have to pay for this level of service and or pay for an ETF.
Thoughts? Input?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't mean to thank you post haha but, I was always told that if you want sprint to have great speeds, wait 2 years and it will be sooo fast. I watched wimax come out...only deploy in 5 cities and basically become a failure. Now I'm about to watch lte come out in 5 cities...in extremely similar deployment. Hopefully it won't be a bust but I have lost all faith in sprint. I left and went to Verizon. Call it what you will. They cover more. I pay barely more per month and have leaps and bounds better data and more coverage. Win win for me. I got tired of waiting for them, always promised things would get better when I never actually saw things get better. Verizon is steadily expanding their 4g and hopefully next week we will be getting it in Warner robins GA. They did testing recently and we got a glimpse of 4g here.
Wimax on the other hand has been I Warner robins for over 2 years...for barely a mile. I am in a test area...for 2 years. I was in a sprint store a month ago and actually heard sales people say that 4g wasn't anywhere in our area but when it gets here it will be amazing. I could get 8mbps on Wimax in my carport and if sprint doesn't even know where the hell they can get service in their own area how can I honestly pay for them.
The lack of support/knowledge made me gladly leave. I clearly just don't live in a big enough area for sprint to be worth a ****...but at least know I am fairly confident if I drive anywhere I am covered by a solid network. No more hair pulling

On their website they say that you can EXPECT AVERAGE download speeds to be between 600-1400kbps.

there's no mention of minimum data speeds on the contract, so you have no legal basis for a lawsuit. I average around 100 kbps but consistently.
my co-worker has the sgs2 on att, he gets way faster speeds but it's all over the place and he has to deal with total loss of coverage at random intervals. I'm happy with the stability. I wish my data speeds were higher, but if I had to deal with it constantly dropping out, I'd probably break the phone in half, lol.

If they don't make the advertised speeds then you are within your rights to get the ETF waived and move on.
IF you have signed another contract, knowing full well the speed issues, then you have no legal recourse.
The only "lawsuit" that could be filed is if Sprint is unwilling to refund you the ETF for your lines if they are truly guilty of not offering the services they promise.
But if you try, they will waive them.

Sprint avoids false advertising because they just say fast network never really say what speeds you should expect and suing over there 3g service is nearly impossible to do simply because you have the right to change carriers

master acehole said:
Sprint avoids false advertising because they just say fast network never really say what speeds you should expect and suing over there 3g service is nearly impossible to do simply because you have the right to change carriers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They told me I should get anywhere from 500kbps to 1.5mbps depending on the tower/traffic when I set up service...
Its been true to far.. (2miles out of my town and I roam tho lol)
http://transition.fcc.gov/3G/
Dunno how well anyone can interpret that but there are "guidelines" for 3g im assuming otherwise its 1x/2g
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA

kdoggy said:
Does anyone know of any class action lawsuits over Sprints 3G service? I tried doing some searches but I haven't seen any yet.
I know there was one for the 4G premium data crap,
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/10/01/SprintCA.pdf
Anyway this 3G is ridiculous. I just got a replacement Epic Touch, I'm still getting between 7 and 30 kbps everywhere within a 50~60 mile range of my house and that is IF it works. I get a lot of no connection crap too.
I've been a Sprint customer for 10+ years, they just can't handle all these new smart devices and it's ridiculous that I should have to pay for this level of service and or pay for an ETF.
Thoughts? Input?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me get this straight... you've been with Sprint for 10+ years. You renewed your contract at least 5 consecutive times; their slow dataspeeds have existed almost the entire time. Now the million-dollar question: WERE YOU IN A COMA EVERYTIME YOU RENEWED YOUR CONTRACT?? Seriously, how are you going to deliberately remain a customer with Sprint for more than an entire decade, yet have the audacity to complain about their network speeds then seek out and hope for a class-action lawsuit? Cry me a river. You renewed your contract at least 5 times, meaning you had at least 5 times to tell Sprint to screw themselves and move your ass to another carrier with better service.
You had a chance to get out, but no, you stayed. You intentionally KEPT yourself into the very situation you're complaining about. GTFO with that garbage.

cnstarz said:
Let me get this straight... you've been with Sprint for 10+ years. You renewed your contract at least 5 consecutive times; their slow dataspeeds have existed almost the entire time. Now the million-dollar question: WERE YOU IN A COMA EVERYTIME YOU RENEWED YOUR CONTRACT?? Seriously, how are you going to deliberately remain a customer with Sprint for more than an entire decade, yet have the audacity to complain about their network speeds then seek out and hope for a class-action lawsuit? Cry me a river. You renewed your contract at least 5 times, meaning you had at least 5 times to tell Sprint to screw themselves and move your ass to another carrier with better service.
gtfo, this thread is garbage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoa whoa whoa.
Up until about a year and a half ago, Sprint's speeds were very solid.
500 to 1.5mbps on 3G
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

mattykinsx said:
Whoa whoa whoa.
Up until about a year and a half ago, Sprint's speeds were very solid.
500 to 1.5mbps on 3G
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope.jpg. definitely hasn't been only a year and a half.

cnstarz said:
nope.jpg. definitely hasn't been only a year and a half.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has in my area.
Let's not make sweeping statements when there is such clear variation.
Hell, some areas never had a speed issue.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

Bear gri11z said:
I thought they had it on their website 300-1.5mbps?
I know there is a FCC requirement/spectrum that it has to be in, in order to call it 3g....
ill do some digging and see if I can find a few links.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you look at your contract, they don't guarantee anything at all, not even service.
I doubt you will find an FCC requirement. 3g is a marketing term. It isn't a standard.

[Q] Cancel Sprint - Offset ETF by transferring a basic phone onto account

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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.