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Hey guys I have had my Evo for awhile now and Sprints network has great coverage BUT the 3g seems abysmally slow. For instance, I can rarely stream videos without it buffering - youtube videos on regular quality mind you. If I stand still in a place with good signal I will be fine but if I'm moving etc it is slow. I get around 100KB/s during daytime where I live and 130KB/s night time which is great but luckily I also get full signal where I am. On the go, it sucks.
Are there any ways to increase 3g speeds or is it purely network related?
Welcome to sprints idea of 3g
God's honst truth man... if thats all you get... thats all you are going to get because sprints 3g network is the worst i have ever seen. Bar none. Even little us cellular has better coverage and twice the data speeds as sprint does here in iowa.
There is no possible way for the phine or any hack to it to speed up sprints crap network.
My advise to you is to cqll sprint and plead your case, that you paid for 3g and are getting 1x rtt speeds 24/7 and politely demand a credit to your account like i do every month.
And then call back about 5 minutes later and ask to speak to the retention center because you want to cancel your service because you arpe not getting service you are paying for.
Then tell the retention persion you were thinking of getting the Airave but cant afford it and see if they will give it to you free on the basis of poor service and they typically will.
I did, and got one for when i am at work and the boss wont let me use it because it uses works internet for voice and data.
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Figures... Should have went with ATT or Verizon.
I know in the old days of 3g internet hacks Sanyo phones had a data cap screen that was accessible via ##040793##. From there you could change the data rate, 144K/230K. Not sure if we have the same here but phone codes may be a place to start.
Mmmmhmmm. Just be glad you don't have the epic and are capped at 150kbps up.
I think sprint has finally gotten 2 good phones and 4g, so now they think they're the top dog and can do whatever they damn well please...it's like a cycle with them. Bad service>>>loose all of their customers>>>cheap, semi-good service>>>get customers back>>>become assholes again>>>loose their customers...
werxen said:
Figures... Should have went with ATT or Verizon.
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lol, good luck getting a decent phone on att or verizon. Let alone coverage. Oh and dont forget about the data caps on the phones, 100mb right? or was it 200mb?
Last-Chance said:
lol, good luck getting a decent phone on att or verizon. Let alone coverage. Oh and dont forget about the data caps on the phones, 100mb right? or was it 200mb?
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Well Verizon has amazing android phones for one. There is a data cap for ATT which is true but no cap for Verizon. You know now that I think about it I might do the force roam hack on my Evo and see if if I get better 3g speeds.
I have no idea what any if you are talking about, I get better 3g speeds on Sprint then I ever did with any other carrier I've had.
Sent from my HTC Evo 4g
am I doing something wrong?
on 3g I pull down at least 512 up
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werxen said:
Hey guys I have had my Evo for awhile now and Sprints network has great coverage BUT the 3g seems abysmally slow. For instance, I can rarely stream videos without it buffering - youtube videos on regular quality mind you. If I stand still in a place with good signal I will be fine but if I'm moving etc it is slow. I get around 100KB/s during daytime where I live and 130KB/s night time which is great but luckily I also get full signal where I am. On the go, it sucks.
Are there any ways to increase 3g speeds or is it purely network related?
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Click to collapse
I wish I could get speeds that fast consistently. Actually what you are getting is right about on par for 3g. That's prob the avg speed one would expect to get. There are higher areas and lower areas depending on a lot of things. A 100KB connection is nothing to complain about. I've personally never had a connection over 150 KB.
Sent from your mom's phone.
Not sure if its sprint or my phone but I can't break 40kbs down on anything and 3g cuts out all the time. Crappy....
The first thing I would do to verify your 3g speeds is to unroot your phone, and make sure you are running the latest .93 hboot release and sprint ota release. If your phone is already in this state (un rooted and latest hboot) then ignore me.
You should also look into unrevoked forever if you haven't already...it runs off the current hboot, and I've noticed that something about that hboot does help 3g speeds on some rooted phones if you go that route.
I've done a ton of research and practical testing on this subject and I can say without a doubt that the evo's current rooting methods DO have a negative impact on some 3g phones in some areas. And I'm not talking about 100 or 200 kbps here or there. In the same house, same phone, 1 rooted and 1 not. That was the ONLY difference. The rooted phone got 7 kbps. The stock got 1800kbps. I swapped phone setups so that the rooted one was now unrooted and vice versa. That time the rooted one got 47kbps and unrooted was 1681 kbps...in other words the problem followed the rooting process, and not the phone. I've done dozens of tests like this and others in various areas within the surrounding wilmington delaware area.
I have access to 3 rooted evos, 1 evo that is always stock, as well as a samsung moment. The 4 evos are all rev 3 nova. I also did similar tests on the hero with the same sorts of results. Feel free to pm me or post here with any questions.
EDIT: the kbps numbers I listed were for download speeds. Upload speeds on both rooted and unrooted, regardless of build or boot version, were consistent at around 600 -700 kbps during almost all of my testing.
EDIT2: I forgot to say - this problem also happened to me when I changed recoveries from clockwork to AmonRA. So it's not JUST the rooting process that can cause this, but several low-level engineering commands, such as flashing a kernel, upgrading a ROM, etc.
Tiepoz baught two yoo bi swype"3
That's pretty crappy, I get full 3g pretty much everywhere around St. Louis until I get out to the country. And pretty good 4g around town. My 3g is about 1.5mb down. 4g is 5 to 7mb down.
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Flash the PRL to connect to Verizon's towers. I get 1.2 mb/s even see 2mb/s occasionally. Of course ping times are raised.
It's pretty hit or miss here, one day I will get 50-150k down and the next it will be +1meg. Next time it get drops below 500 you can bet I will be talking to somebody about it though, their advertised 3G speed is 600kb - 1.5mb.
100kb is ridiculous
I get anywhere between 500-1mb down 100-200kb up. My 4G easily does between 2-6mb down and 1mb up. People just love to complain. You didn't realize this within your 30 day trial? If so, why didn't you switch carriers?
What should the prl be right now ? And how are you guys testing the speeds? Nvr done it
Sent from my netarchy_toast, froyo beast of a machine evo!
You live in an area with poor coverage or your phone has a faulty radio.
I get good signal and up/Downs on 3g. If I nandriod away from cm6, I can get 6-7mb down and 1mb up with 4g in San leandro CA.
evohack99 said:
What should the prl be right now ? And how are you guys testing the speeds? Nvr done it
Sent from my netarchy_toast, froyo beast of a machine evo!
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Speedtest... its in the market.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
I think it is my radio. I was getting fine speeds up until 3 days ago when I noticed severe loading lag in my tethered apps. I get decent pings ~ 200-300ms which is not too out of the ordinary. I did a speed test other day and it was 50KB/s down and 70KB/s up. I figured it was just a faulty day but it has gone on far too long now. This is with 5/5 bars too... Just gotta wait for my new Evo to come in. Seems like every hardware ****up is happening at once.
So I've been on t-mobile for quite a few years now, and this throttling bs is getting at me. I'm considering to come to sprint, and get the evo 4g. its 99.99 with a contract. but i have a few questions..
1- is rooting the evo 4g simple? i have a mt4g with t-mobile and rooting was simple.
2- what are the 4g speeds like? I get 4g in my area and when i went to a couple of sprint stores to test the speed using speed test in the market, i got speeds ranging from 1mbps to almost 4mbps. with t-mobile, i get on average about 4 and at my home, 7ish. I wanted to know opinions on the 4g speed because i use it a lot for tethering.
3- is it possible to bypass the 29.99 charge for mobile hotspot with sprint so i can get it for free? and if so, is it fairly simple?
I really want the unlimited data. that's the only reason I want to move to sprint. yeah i use my phone for voice and texts, but these days, data seems pretty important too and i hate being throttled.
If anybody has any advice for coming to sprint, or reasons why I shouldn't; I would appreciate that as well.
Thanks in advance for questions and advice..
1) You can not root brand new EVOs at this time (HBOOT: 2.16, Android 2.3.3). This applies to most you get as replacements for insurance claims too.
2) 4G uses very high frequency, and thus can be hit or miss. I live in a full coverage area and can't pickup 4G until I go down the street to the intersection. Thus, I can't comment, but I heard the speeds are decent but slower than Verzion
3) Perhaps, if you are able to root. I never use this feature so you'll have to wait for someone else.
P.S. if you still want a new EVO, shop around. You might be able to get it free or a penny from places like Amazon Wireless.
1. No root for current EVO coming out.
2. Fair 4G speeds for me KC, MO.
3. Hacked hotspot or wireless tether app.
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rooting evo 4g is simple
1. Not currently. The current GB version of the EVO has no known root method. It is almost certain you would get a GB EVO if you bought one today. If you are able to check it, and its Froyo (Android 2.2) then yes, its easy.
2. WiMax 4G depends a lot on where you are, and its notoriously bad at penetrating inside large buildings. I have rarely seen slower than 2mbps when I have signal, and upwards to 10mbps. I would put the average at 4-6. Depends a lot on your location and signal strength.
3. To do wireless tethering without paying the tethering fee requires root. See point 1. If you can root, then yes its easy. You can tether through a wired USB connection without root and without paying, see several options available on market (pda.net for example).
You have 30 days to try it out, take one home, see how your 4G is.
The questions have been answered it seems but I would like to ad that I came from T-Mobile too and have never been happier. Whether you go EVO 4g 3d or another device you will enjoy. My plan rates are lower, I phone choices are higher. Just overall better.
I will ad this. Root on cdma is not the same. It had a slight learning curve not having a him card but if you are familiar with rooting then you should have no issues.
When T-Mobile came out with the vibrant 4g as their next best thing I knew it was time to move on. They just have never put out quality phone CHOICES its always been "here is are great device" the rest are just ok. Vibrant 4g was basically the vibrant 3g with a 4g antenna and front camera. No thanks.
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IMO its worth the extra 100 to get the photon, and the photon has root via the webdock.
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emtchrisbishop said:
1. No root for current EVO coming out.
2. Fair 4G speeds for me KC, MO.
3. Hacked hotspot or wireless tether app.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
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Fail there is root being worked on. You should research before you start spitting out brainless comments.
Evo4eva said:
Fail there is root being worked on. You should research before you start spitting out brainless comments.
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Punctuation fail.
Also, "being worked on" could very easily turn out to mean "never gonna happen." I think it was an apropos warning, if a bit pessimistic.
Thanks for all the advice. I'm really debating whether to jump up to the 10gb data with tmobile or just jump ship to sprint. I've been debating all day and want to decide in the next day or so. What's the wiimax 4g? and what's the thing I hear about sprint planning on going to 4g lte?
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SilverZero said:
Punctuation fail.
Also, "being worked on" could very easily turn out to mean "never gonna happen." I think it was an apropos warning, if a bit pessimistic.
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Hmmm. I don't remember ever asking for your response. Also you're the one trying to be pessimistic. Most of you are so negative. I can pretty much say for sure that there will be root for stock EVOs coming 2.3.3. Now how about you shut the hell up and take your negativity somewhere else. Yes there is a difference between Realism and negativity, yours is negativity. Take it somewhere else.
desikilla said:
Thanks for all the advice. I'm really debating whether to jump up to the 10gb data with tmobile or just jump ship to sprint. I've been debating all day and want to decide in the next day or so. What's the wiimax 4g? and what's the thing I hear about sprint planning on going to 4g lte?
Sent from my My Touch 4G using XDA App
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Here is the thing about the T-Mobile data plan..... it's governed. You are more than welcome to surf the t-mobile phone forums to back this up. Sprint is not.....yet.
The lte migration won't happen until you want a new phone anyways so I wouldn't worry too much on that. Even then Sprint I am sure will be showering us with phones.
I used to be the biggest T-mo fanboy so understand that me saying run is a big deal.
Also, all the people can't be wrong lol.
http://www.bgr.com/2011/08/04/t-mobile-loses-50000-subscribers-in-q2-reports-revenue-decline/
desikilla said:
Thanks for all the advice. I'm really debating whether to jump up to the 10gb data with tmobile or just jump ship to sprint. I've been debating all day and want to decide in the next day or so. What's the wiimax 4g? and what's the thing I hear about sprint planning on going to 4g lte?
Sent from my My Touch 4G using XDA App
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I came from T-Mobile as well. I loved my 4G speeds but the plans were too high and the data cap was a pain. I love my sprint service. I just wish they would "beef" up the 4G or stop charging $10 in areas its weak or non-existent. I can only get it is on my porch or near the kitchen window but even with a weak (1 bar)signal its been 3.5 mb or faster. I sometimes think of going back for the data speed+ coverage alone but with the money I save and the uncapped unlimited data I think its enough to stay. We won't have LTE for at least 1 to 2 years from now. So Wimax will be running until the buildout is complete.
Sent from hell.
I've been a Sprint user for at least 10 years. (Not 10 year member because of a break or two due to SERO nonsense.)
The suckiness that is Sprint 4G is making me considering moving to Verizon. I live in a good 4G area based on the signal strength I see. But in the area around my home, I speed test 3 MB/s down max. Maybe 4.5 MB elsewhere if I am lucky. I see people on the boards seeing 7.5 MB. I don't know where they live but that's not my experience.
I try to look up my wireless usage stats on my Sprint account. There is a line for 4G but the number is basically zero (32kb). Is Sprint not showing 4G usage at all or is it counted with the 3G number?
I'm seeing 3G usage last month of almost 600 mb. I'm guessing that if 4G is not counted that could be double or triple, but still under 2Gb. I'm not a heavy broadband user. I mostly look up web information and do social networking on the go. Those things are not multimedia intensive.
I'd love to improve the 4G experience and stay with Sprint. But I doubt the situation will be fixed anytime soon.
Before any discounts, the equivalent Verizon plan with 450 Anytime, unlimited texting, and 2GB data = $40+$20+$30 = $90 or $10 more than sprint's 450.
Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.
You could buy my thunderbolt and take over my contract. $69 unlimited everything except 450 minutes.
4G is a luxury item and ALL the networks have issues.
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Also, how many people here really use the speed of 4G only on their phones anyway? Sure it is nice to have and nice to be able to use data and voice at the same time... But Sprint could have fixed that with their current network but didn't. but anyway.... who cares. I'm bored! Who wanta be my gf. you gotta be hot between 18-27 closer to 18 the better. and virgin is a plus. LMAO!!!!!!!
I really don't use 4G, I have WIFI at work and at home 3G is good enough to do the light browsing I do on the go, I only use 4G to tether my laptop and if I'm doing that I'm usually out and about in an area where 4G is available and free WIFI isn't... which is rare.
I actually use my 4G all day long at work and at home if I'm goin out it depends on where I'm at but most likely I'll grab a 4G connection real short but just enough just to show somebody something and what not but Southern California or well Orange County area Anaheim to be exact a lot of its covered that's messed up Sprint isn't spreadin out to you guys fast enough for 4G at least
Spectacles, Testicles, Wallet & Watch,
evO²·³·³ *ROOTED*
EVOlvedROM r3chargeD RC1
DiRtY POoNSeNSe 2.3.3-1
V6 SuperCharged like OMGee
I have watched LTE knock down 20mb dl speeds and It's blazing fast. I am w Sprint and in a 4G test area...thank god for WiFi at home or I would have went back to Verizon. Sure the plan is cheaper but also the network. Where I live the base I work at has a deal w Verizon...so I have spotty data coverage everywhere. I was running deck ROM and used the affiliate network setting when I needed data and could roam 3g at 2mb dl speeds and it was plenty fast for being out and about but Sprint has a 300mb roaming limit. Pretty lame. I would rather them up there complete network rather than pour out some more pretty useless 4G networks for me...hopefully they will change my mind...I remember having my Droid and having data everywhere I went. It was amazing. My EVO is the best phone I have ever owned but is being crippled. Once again...thank you WiFi!
Why do u need 20mbits ina phone
6 is more than enough
I can do everything I want/need with my phone getting 300k on Sprints "3g".
Including streaming music, surf web, etc
As "cool" as having 20mbit on my phone.....or even 6mbit is....its not necessary.
Eventually? Of course.
But its not now.
mattykinsx said:
I can do everything I want/need with my phone getting 300k on Sprints "3g".
Including streaming music, surf web, etc
As "cool" as having 20mbit on my phone.....or even 6mbit is....its not necessary.
Eventually? Of course.
But its not now.
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Ok Matty, you are obviously a sprint fanboy buy seriously. You rail about the importance of unlimited data and then claim that you only need enough bandwidth to stream Pandora.
newter55 said:
Ok Matty, you are obviously a sprint fanboy buy seriously. You rail about the importance of unlimited data and then claim that you only need enough bandwidth to stream Pandora.
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I love name calling on these forums.
It's all people do anymore.
All I said was that speed is only important to a point, for normal phone usage.
There's really no need for a phone to have 6 + mbit/s bandwidth.
I'm not sure what that has to do with cap limits? I still want the ability to use more than 2GB of data without getting overages.
I love when people try to redirect what I say.
Even netflix can run just fine with 1mbit/s..maybe even lower.
There's no need for 20mbit/s [or even 6mbit/s] for phones...yet.
mattykinsx said:
I love name calling on these forums.
It's all people do anymore.
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Click to collapse
+1 I've noticed that and I've only been here a month or 2
Spectacles, Testicles, Wallet & Watch,
evO²·³·³ *ROOTED*
EVOlvedROM r3chargeD RC1
DiRtY POoNSeNSe 2.3.3-1
V6 SuperCharged like OMGee
I use the phone a lot on the go, around town. 3Mb/s is generous. Sometimes I test 1.5 Mb/s or less. A lot of times it's on 3G.
It's not about having brute speed, say 6+ Mb/s, for minutes or hours. When you need the phone to look up something on Facebook or the web, you want it to work right then and fast. It might only take a few seconds. But if the network is sucky or unreliable, then that few seconds becomes a minute or two.
My complaint is the network consistency. I always have voice but data is spotty where i work. The only reason I am w Sprint is the price. I'm a cheap ass. Sprint is the best network for my cheap needs. But trying to grow another 4G LTE from Sprint when they still have coverage issues seems redundant. Maybe they will amaze me and start expanding but if the would just focus on Peking a consistent 1mb + 3g speeds nationwide they could have sooooo many more happy campers. 4G is nice when you are on it but as everyone has stated it does use more power. Why not optimize what's currently available. If they can't get the right how can they ever get the rest of it right. I agree, if you are in a great Sprint area then you have these speeds but it is not like that everywhere. Verizon expanded. Sprint is now playing the "i have this game" and Verizon already covered as much as they could. I'm not a Verizon fanboy, I am however speaking facts. If everywhere you went Sprint had great data in 3g, wouldn't you as a customer be happier. I never roamed w Verizon. Never worried about my monthley roaming. I am a fan of the high end phones Sprint offers but am not sure if thats going to be enough a year from now if I still have the exact same coverage I have had for the last 2 years w them. It seems worth it to pay more for better service. That's the only reason Sprint is cheaper currently. They can't charge what a larger provider can because they can't compete directly based on network coverage alone.
I definitely would... Sprint has no 4G at all in Kentucky and I have seen nothing on them even building towers. I am tired of paying the extra $10.00/month for their 4G and not having it even close to me.
i spent the last 8 years on Verizon, and I will never leave sprint due to 4G speeds simply because of the money i have saved. The only thing I use 4G for is downloading ROMS, watching netflix in my car with bluetooth surround (in sales), and youtube. The 4G speeds are more than fast enough to accomplish these tasks.
stkiswr said:
My complaint is the network consistency. I always have voice but data is spotty where i work. The only reason I am w Sprint is the price. I'm a cheap ass. Sprint is the best network for my cheap needs. But trying to grow another 4G LTE from Sprint when they still have coverage issues seems redundant. Maybe they will amaze me and start expanding but if the would just focus on Peking a consistent 1mb + 3g speeds nationwide they could have sooooo many more happy campers. 4G is nice when you are on it but as everyone has stated it does use more power. Why not optimize what's currently available. If they can't get the right how can they ever get the rest of it right. I agree, if you are in a great Sprint area then you have these speeds but it is not like that everywhere. Verizon expanded. Sprint is now playing the "i have this game" and Verizon already covered as much as they could. I'm not a Verizon fanboy, I am however speaking facts. If everywhere you went Sprint had great data in 3g, wouldn't you as a customer be happier. I never roamed w Verizon. Never worried about my monthley roaming. I am a fan of the high end phones Sprint offers but am not sure if thats going to be enough a year from now if I still have the exact same coverage I have had for the last 2 years w them. It seems worth it to pay more for better service. That's the only reason Sprint is cheaper currently. They can't charge what a larger provider can because they can't compete directly based on network coverage alone.
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Thanks for putting in better words what I was trying to express. The issue is consistency. I should have framed the issue better. I don't need the data network to be blazing fast, I need it to be consistent. I would be happy with a network that I can connect from reasonably anywhere in my town at decent speeds consistently.
I guess you can call me cheap too. But looking at my usage, I would be comfortable under a 2Gb cap. $10 more on Verizon buys a better network. If easily go over 2Gb or 5Gb, you would stay with Sprint.
churro7 said:
Why do u need 20mbits ina phone
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So you can max out your 2GB data plan in a minute and a half.
I currently have the droid bionic with a iPhone as my back up. Is it worth me switching to sprint to pick up the Epic touch? How's the battery life and reception with sprint compared to VZW? Right now with juice defender I get about a consistent 20 hrs actually using my phone.
Verizons network is better as far as data speeds go. I don't think it's worth the switch for just a device.
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Depends on where you are and where you tend to travel to.
I get 2-2.5Mb 3G speeds with Sprint (250 - 300KBytes/s) at home and and work. I also get 1-1.5Mb 3G in the middle of the forest up in northern Wisconsin. All with a lowly Moment.
There is an active 4G tower where I work (according to a friend's Evo) despite it not being on the coverage map.
On the other hand, if you are stuck anywhere where Verizon has the only network, you will have crappy data speeds because Verizon refuses to allow anything more than 1x roaming to Sprint customers. This also applies if you are on the edge of a Sprint tower... Sprint tends to want to keep you connected to a Sprint signal, regardless of its strength. This can get frustrating at times.
If you do go with Sprint, the first app you should download and pay for is Roam Control.
That all depends on your needs...
Sprint's voice and data plans are much cheaper and 4g data is unlimited. 3g is limited to 5gb per month.
If you do need coverage in remote areas, check Sprint's coverage maps and see if there is signal where you need it.
http://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp
If you dont use much data and want to spend more to get faster speeds while paying more for voice as well, Verizon is the way to go. I would only hang with Verizon if coverage is an issue.
I had Verizon for many years and switched to Sprint in 2006. I've never regretted making the change.
-logik- said:
That all depends on your needs...
Sprint's voice and data plans are much cheaper and 4g data is unlimited. 3g is limited to 5gb per month.
If you do need coverage in remote areas, check Sprint's coverage maps and see if there is signal where you need it.
http://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp
If you dont use much data and want to spend more to get faster speeds while paying more for voice as well, Verizon is the way to go. I would only hang with Verizon if coverage is an issue.
I had Verizon for many years and switched to Sprint in 2006. I've never regretted making the change.
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Sprint doesn't cap data at 5GB for mobile phones. Only on their usb cards.
eakrish said:
I currently have the droid bionic with a iPhone as my back up. Is it worth me switching to sprint to pick up the Epic touch? How's the battery life and reception with sprint compared to VZW? Right now with juice defender I get about a consistent 20 hrs actually using my phone.
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Click to collapse
Pick your provider FIRST, then pick your device.
As stated be sure to not just check a coverage map but to check with friends and coworkers who have Sprint and live/commute/work in your area.
I've traveled the country a little and I have never been without Sprint coverage except in two tiny holes in my home town...where not a single provider has anything but threshold levels of service out doors, indoors you get squat from any of them. These "holes", however, can be deal breakers if you happen to live and/or work in them. Coverage maps help, a little, but asking people (and looking at their signal meters) is far more precise.
As far as data speed is concerned it's a mixed bag. I came from a line of HTC devices where changing the PRL on-the-go was simple so I used the "00001.prl" a lot. This PRL, essentially, puts you on Verizon's towers, full speed 3G. I can honestly say that while Verizon's speeds tend to be far more consistent than Sprint's that even though I had the chance to get out of Sprint this month (for free) that instead of going to Big Red I used that to upgrade to the Epic Touch without hesitation...The data speeds can drag-ass in a highly congested area at times but unless it's lunch time in a 1-bar area I don't tend to dip below 500kbps and if it is later in the day (or evening) and/or in a sparsely populated area (or higher-income area, draw your own conclusions) I have seen as high as 2.7mbps...my friend lives in a low-population high income area and he may be the only Sprint subscriber for miles, lol, and they get 2.5~2.7mbps all day every day. There are also times/places where Sprint's 3G speed absolutely spanks Verizon's.
...as far as 4G goes it can be blazing fast but you probably won't ever get the signal indoors unless you are in a 4G saturated metropolitan environment. I hear lots of complaints about 4G speed but when I get connected it's always faster than my home internet (6mbps, the most you can get from residential ATT DSL around here), I have seen 15mbps too.
As far as price is concerned Sprint wins hands down especially if you consider the unlimited data and free roaming. Voice roaming is unlimited. There is a "soft" limit of 3G roaming at 300mb, but, that is a floating line. If you aren't usually roaming but happen to travel somewhere that you are forced to roam at worst they will call or send you a letter telling you that if you do it again your contract may be terminated. But as long as it doesn't happen at work or at home they are mostly forgiving...and if not? That's a free out on your contract and now you have a $500-$700 (retail) phone for trade-up or resale to go back to Verizon.
EDIT: Oh yeah, battery life. It's killer. Very very killer compared to a Moment, Hero, Evo 4G and Evo 3D this thing slaughters them all. It's hard to say since I have been using my phone more than breathing these past 2 days, but, considering that I'm very impressed....*very* impressed.
I agree with most everyone here take a look and see what you are using and what you need. make sure you have coverage at home and work and other places you visit regularly. if it works out for you make the switch. You can save alot of money with Sprint depending on your needs and they have a great selection of phones, I just the the GSII and it is awesome about 50% faster then the evo3d it just flies. but all of that power doesn't mean anything if you can't get signal.
I just switched from Verizon because I wanted the GS2 really bad.
I live in Seattle and Sprint has good coverage here so I'm pretty happy. (i've had Sprint in the past as well)
You can always switch and test drive Sprint for 14 days (or maybe it's 30) and if you don't like it, return to Verizon. No big deal.
PS: I had the Droid Bionic for a few days before switching to Sprint. Honestly, I think the GS2 is simply better in every way. That's just my opinion. Couldn't deal with the Pentile display and the camera was quite a disappointment.
If the service is good in the area then go for it. Of not I wouldn't change. If I could do it all over again I would have switched to vz before they started the data caps.
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk
I switched about 6 years ago and never looked back. I had voice and data with them for over 10 years, back in the Bell Mobile days. They kicked me off of a BroadbandAccess for using too much data claiming I HAD to have violated the ToS (P2P, video streaming, web hosting) by using over 5GB in a month. Really, that is only 150MB a day and that goes very quickly with just web and e-mail if you use it daily. I work on the road a LOT so naturally, I went over this regularly. I had to explain what I do and that I did NOT violate the ToS, which said NOTHING about 5GB. I didn't do any of the activities it stated. This was back when everything was unlimited with no fine print. They didn't charge an ETF and asked if I wanted to reactivate the account. I declined and moved to Sprint and eventually took voice too. Have been very happy since.
I still consider Sprint to be the best value in wireless. It always seemed that VZW nickle and dime'd me to death. My bill fluctuated month to month by $20 with no changes in service and additional fees. Just "taxes". They charged for web order shipping, activation, and everything they could have.
I forgot to mention I have unlimited data
Bigjim1488 said:
If the service is good in the area then go for it. Of not I wouldn't change. If I could do it all over again I would have switched to vz before they started the data caps.
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk
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I wouldn't have switched. As stated below I was on them with true unlimited before they started the caps. Then they terminated the account and offered to reactivate, probably to instate a cap on me. I suspect the same would have happened to you.
When I switched data to Sprint, I asked if they had unlimited data and bandwidth, and got multiple confirmations (with chat transcripts) that it was 100% unlimited. They introduced the 5GB limit a year or two later. And, since I haven't renewed the contract or accepted any new modems on that line, it today is still unlimited and I use 8-10GB (sometimes more) monthly. They've called and tried to get me to renew, which would activate 4G but put a cap on 3G... and I've declined. Until 4G is everywhere I need on the road, I can't do it.
Phones are still unlimited, so I wonder if a cheap phone to tether with an unlimited plan is worth it for tethering only?? Just a thought.
I don't need a phone to tether, just need a bad ass phone that looks great, feels super fast and has great battery life. I also want a great looking display and widgets that are good for social media.
daneurysm said:
Pick your provider FIRST, then pick your device.
As stated be sure to not just check a coverage map but to check with friends and coworkers who have Sprint and live/commute/work in your area.
I've traveled the country a little and I have never been without Sprint coverage except in two tiny holes in my home town...where not a single provider has anything but threshold levels of service out doors, indoors you get squat from any of them. These "holes", however, can be deal breakers if you happen to live and/or work in them. Coverage maps help, a little, but asking people (and looking at their signal meters) is far more precise.
As far as data speed is concerned it's a mixed bag. I came from a line of HTC devices where changing the PRL on-the-go was simple so I used the "00001.prl" a lot. This PRL, essentially, puts you on Verizon's towers, full speed 3G. I can honestly say that while Verizon's speeds tend to be far more consistent than Sprint's that even though I had the chance to get out of Sprint this month (for free) that instead of going to Big Red I used that to upgrade to the Epic Touch without hesitation...The data speeds can drag-ass in a highly congested area at times but unless it's lunch time in a 1-bar area I don't tend to dip below 500kbps and if it is later in the day (or evening) and/or in a sparsely populated area (or higher-income area, draw your own conclusions) I have seen as high as 2.7mbps...my friend lives in a low-population high income area and he may be the only Sprint subscriber for miles, lol, and they get 2.5~2.7mbps all day every day. There are also times/places where Sprint's 3G speed absolutely spanks Verizon's.
...as far as 4G goes it can be blazing fast but you probably won't ever get the signal indoors unless you are in a 4G saturated metropolitan environment. I hear lots of complaints about 4G speed but when I get connected it's always faster than my home internet (6mbps, the most you can get from residential ATT DSL around here), I have seen 15mbps too.
As far as price is concerned Sprint wins hands down especially if you consider the unlimited data and free roaming. Voice roaming is unlimited. There is a "soft" limit of 3G roaming at 300mb, but, that is a floating line. If you aren't usually roaming but happen to travel somewhere that you are forced to roam at worst they will call or send you a letter telling you that if you do it again your contract may be terminated. But as long as it doesn't happen at work or at home they are mostly forgiving...and if not? That's a free out on your contract and now you have a $500-$700 (retail) phone for trade-up or resale to go back to Verizon.
EDIT: Oh yeah, battery life. It's killer. Very very killer compared to a Moment, Hero, Evo 4G and Evo 3D this thing slaughters them all. It's hard to say since I have been using my phone more than breathing these past 2 days, but, considering that I'm very impressed....*very* impressed.
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Sprint does NOT offer unlimited roaming.....I found this out while traveling to Florida in August. When I got done with explaining the Ambiguity in their false claims it has now since changed from unlimited roaming to unlimitting roaming on their network. They are such good corporate game players(liars).
Misleading people is what I don't agree with, but they are the cheapest game in town and suffice "if" you can get a signal. That said you get 800 minutes of roaming on their unlimited plan, and what ever your land line minutes are on their lower plans is the amount of roaming you will have before you have to PAY overages. If the overages happen too much they void your contract after making you aware that their is no unlimited. Now before any one starts debating this look at the advertisements and if that doesn't clue you in call and ask what I said.
They advertised unlimited roaming until I got done with them. They had a little fine print in the back of that agreement letting unsuspecting people that went over know that there was no unlimited roaming. Then they try to collect money for it. But, I let them know that ambiguity in contract law goes to the consumer, and that we can all void our contracts based on this lil tidbit of a lie, because many of us joined because of the roaming plan when we lose their coverage, and since it was a hoax the contract was null and void. They have now changed it to read unlimited roaming on their network only. How can you roam on the very network that you reside.
eakrish said:
I currently have the droid bionic with a iPhone as my back up. Is it worth me switching to sprint to pick up the Epic touch? How's the battery life and reception with sprint compared to VZW? Right now with juice defender I get about a consistent 20 hrs actually using my phone.
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QWIKSTRIKE said:
Sprint does NOT offer unlimited roaming.....I found this out while traveling to Florida in August. When I got done with explaining the Ambiguity in their false claims it has now since changed from unlimited roaming to unlimitting roaming on their network. They are such good corporate game players(liars).
Misleading people is what I don't agree with, but they are the cheapest game in town and suffice "if" you can get a signal. That said you get 800 minutes of roaming on their unlimited plan, and what ever your land line minutes are on their lower plans is the amount of roaming you will have before you have to PAY overages. If the overages happen too much they void your contract after making you aware that their is no unlimited. Now before any one starts debating this look at the advertisements and if that doesn't clue you in call and ask what I said.
They advertised unlimited roaming until I got done with them. They had a little fine print in the back of that agreement letting unsuspecting people that went over know that there was no unlimited roaming. Then they try to collect money for it. But, I let them know that ambiguity in contract law goes to the consumer, and that we can all void our contracts based on this lil tidbit of a lie, because many of us joined because of the roaming plan when we lose their coverage, and since it was a hoax the contract was null and void. They have now changed it to read unlimited roaming on their network only. How can you roam on the very network that you reside.
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Roaming on their network!? I'm trying really hard to find some way to make sense out of that... my legalese-to-english converter is usually pretty good but I just can't....wrap my....anything around that.
daneurysm said:
Pick your provider FIRST, then pick your device.
As stated be sure to not just check a coverage map but to check with friends and coworkers who have Sprint and live/commute/work in your area.
I've traveled the country a little and I have never been without Sprint coverage except in two tiny holes in my home town...where not a single provider has anything but threshold levels of service out doors, indoors you get squat from any of them. These "holes", however, can be deal breakers if you happen to live and/or work in them. Coverage maps help, a little, but asking people (and looking at their signal meters) is far more precise.
As far as data speed is concerned it's a mixed bag. I came from a line of HTC devices where changing the PRL on-the-go was simple so I used the "00001.prl" a lot. This PRL, essentially, puts you on Verizon's towers, full speed 3G. I can honestly say that while Verizon's speeds tend to be far more consistent than Sprint's that even though I had the chance to get out of Sprint this month (for free) that instead of going to Big Red I used that to upgrade to the Epic Touch without hesitation...The data speeds can drag-ass in a highly congested area at times but unless it's lunch time in a 1-bar area I don't tend to dip below 500kbps and if it is later in the day (or evening) and/or in a sparsely populated area (or higher-income area, draw your own conclusions) I have seen as high as 2.7mbps...my friend lives in a low-population high income area and he may be the only Sprint subscriber for miles, lol, and they get 2.5~2.7mbps all day every day. There are also times/places where Sprint's 3G speed absolutely spanks Verizon's.
...as far as 4G goes it can be blazing fast but you probably won't ever get the signal indoors unless you are in a 4G saturated metropolitan environment. I hear lots of complaints about 4G speed but when I get connected it's always faster than my home internet (6mbps, the most you can get from residential ATT DSL around here), I have seen 15mbps too.
As far as price is concerned Sprint wins hands down especially if you consider the unlimited data and free roaming. Voice roaming is unlimited. There is a "soft" limit of 3G roaming at 300mb, but, that is a floating line. If you aren't usually roaming but happen to travel somewhere that you are forced to roam at worst they will call or send you a letter telling you that if you do it again your contract may be terminated. But as long as it doesn't happen at work or at home they are mostly forgiving...and if not? That's a free out on your contract and now you have a $500-$700 (retail) phone for trade-up or resale to go back to Verizon.
EDIT: Oh yeah, battery life. It's killer. Very very killer compared to a Moment, Hero, Evo 4G and Evo 3D this thing slaughters them all. It's hard to say since I have been using my phone more than breathing these past 2 days, but, considering that I'm very impressed....*very* impressed.
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Agreed. Carrier first. A phone shouldn't really be a reason to switch, although this phone is pretty awesome.
Sprint has been AWESOME in nearly all areas. They seem better than VZW for me in rural areas. I live in the middle of nowhere and have EXCELLENT EVDOrA signal.
---------- Post added at 03:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:35 PM ----------
eakrish said:
I don't need a phone to tether, just need a bad ass phone that looks great, feels super fast and has great battery life. I also want a great looking display and widgets that are good for social media.
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Verizon has plenty of phones in that department.. and nearly any Android phone would fill those needs. If you want the best Android phone available right now, this is it.
Also you may want to keep an eye out for the sprint network meeting October 7th. They are going to talk about this new thing called "network vision".
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
I switched on Friday and I'm already starting to regret it - I haven't seen a 3G download speed higher than around 90kbps here. The phone is absolutely amazing on wifi and I love the device itself, but out around town it's pretty bad. I tried to download a 2MB or so app at a restaurant where I had a full 5 bars of signal last night and it was still trying to download 15+ minutes later because of how slow the actual download rate was. It's worse than a dial-up modem at time.
I wasn't even thinking about the unlimited data on VZW when I did it too - did I lose that now even if I do a winback?
TabsAZ said:
I switched on Friday and I'm already starting to regret it - I haven't seen a 3G download speed higher than around 90kbps here. The phone is absolutely amazing on wifi and I love the device itself, but out around town it's pretty bad. I tried to download a 2MB or so app at a restaurant where I had a full 5 bars of signal last night and it was still trying to download 15+ minutes later because of how slow the actual download rate was. It's worse than a dial-up modem at time.
I wasn't even thinking about the unlimited data on VZW when I did it too - did I lose that now even if I do a winback?
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I think they are doing something for the launch of the iPHONE. It was never this slow until recently. It had better go back to how it was or I will ditch their asses
TabsAZ said:
I switched on Friday and I'm already starting to regret it - I haven't seen a 3G download speed higher than around 90kbps here. The phone is absolutely amazing on wifi and I love the device itself, but out around town it's pretty bad. I tried to download a 2MB or so app at a restaurant where I had a full 5 bars of signal last night and it was still trying to download 15+ minutes later because of how slow the actual download rate was. It's worse than a dial-up modem at time.
I wasn't even thinking about the unlimited data on VZW when I did it too - did I lose that now even if I do a winback?
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Did you investigate Sprint coverage before you switched? What is signal strength like? Are you metering 90 kbps with SpeedTest app, tethering, or a program like DU Meter?
I'm guessing your PRL is up to date..
I'd also make sure you don't have any background apps downloading stuff.
Also, are you saying 90 kilo-bytes per second or 90 kilo-bits per second. 90 kilo-bytes is almost 1Mbps, and is a low-side average for 3G. That could also vary by network congestion, etc.
90 kilo-bits sounds like 1xRTT and not EVDO.
I'd also check with other users, or try a mobile broadband card if you can.
You will lose unlimited from VZW if you go back, but like I posted earlier, I am surprised they didn't terminate you to get you on limited like they did me.
Hello,
I love the Epic 4g Touch but I am getting beyond frustrated with the Sprint service. I am feeling more and more like I should have waited a couple months and gotten the Galaxy Nexus instead. The problem is not that I don't love the phone I have or that the Nexus hardware is better, but I just feel like the Verizon network is light years ahead of Sprint. I chose Sprint because I had already been waiting for the Galaxy S2 for many months and I expected Sprint coverage and speeds to be better. I also originally expected the Galaxy S2 to come to Verizon last fall.
I just didn't want to wait. However, the usability of this phone is coming into serious question with the poor network performance. Call quality is decent, but internet speeds are pretty bad. Plus, there are numerous spots where I lose internet altogether. The speeds fluctuate wildly and it is very rare that I can get decent speeds for an extended period of time.
This means that most apps become difficult to use. I can't stream video or audio without it being horribly choppy. Web browsing can be frustrating as well.
If I could get any 4g service where I live, the speeds would be fast enough. But I only can get 3g service nearly everywhere. Not only that, but since WiMax is outdated, it is unlikely they will be expanded coverage and instead rolling out LTE coverage across the country. Thus, it is unlikely that the situation will improve in the future.
It seems to me that I had my priorities out of order when I decided to get this phone. I was looking only at the hardware and didn't pay nearly enough attention to the network speeds and reliability of the coverage.
So, do you think I should switch to Verizon? I understand that the Nexus hardware is remarkably similar to the Epic 4g Touch.
Is there a way to get out of my Sprint contract without paying a large amount of money to be let out early? Is there some loophole or method to voiding the contract somehow?
And, if I DID decide to go with Verizon, do you think it would be wise to go with the Nexus, or should I wait for the next super phone to come to Verizon? Do you anticipate that the Galaxy S3 will launch on Verizon?
So, do you all think I am overreacting to the network problems? For those who have switched, is the network improvement on Verizon vs Sprint dramatic and worth it for you?
I still haven't made a final decision on this, but trying to use my phone on the go has become more and more frustrating of late. I cannot stream video reliably or use many apps without frustration due to poor coverage and wildly fluctuating internet speeds.
Please advise me on what you would suggest.
Thanks.
I'm in almost the Same situation, I'm going to wait it out because as they update to lte it is my hope that it Will increase my 3g speeds with tower upgrades. Sprint is still the best deal for me with 4 phones and I just use wifi at home.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
im getting pretty frustrated also. 3g speeds are horrible. 4g works well but is so spotty here. works in one place, 5 feet away, its disconnected lol.
i wnt be switching as i have a $400 deposit from Verizon lol. And I do enjoy having no data caps, which comes in handy when downloading roms and music right from the phonr when I do get 4g coverage
no, and here is why
limited data sucks a big fat one, i cannot survive on limited data, that is the only reason you need
To answer your question, yes, there are ways to get out of your contract that will *probably* by ETF free. If you find yourself roaming too much, Sprint will kick you off their network, normally without an ETF. Do a forum (or Google) search to learn more about people being kicked off Sprint for roaming.
Whether or not you want to switch to Verizon is up to you. Yes, you will likely notice significantly increased data speeds. I notice that when I'm roaming, my data speeds are far more consistently "usable" than when I'm on Sprint's native network. The reason I haven't switched is twofold... First, Sprint is cheaper, and because I spend 90% of my time connected to WiFi somewhere. When I'm not on WiFi and experiencing slow network speeds, I use Roam Control. The second reason I haven't switched is because Verizon does not work in some areas that I travel to frequently. I'm sure its a rarity nationwide, but I happen to fall into the category of going places that Verizon doesn't (or doesn't reliably, anyway).
So, if data speed is your only concern, you will likely be happier with Verizon. But the faster the data speeds, the more you use, which means you might need to pay for more bandwidth.
I've had this same thought for so long but Sprint customers are so close to them finally getting their Network Vision upgrades complete and LTE rolled out that i don't want to leave until I see if they are right or full of crap.
Thanks for the responses,
I am really leaning towards switching. I just have a couple more questions.
Could you guys elaborate on how I can get out of my Sprint contract without paying anything? Is it very difficult to do?
Second, exactly how limiting do you think the data caps are? When I am on the network, I could see it not being very difficult to refrain from downloading massive files. I could see myself generally only downloading larger files at home with wifi and only web browsing or streaming video or audio on the road.
I just am not sure how limiting the data cap would be. On the whole, however, I think the slow data speeds on Sprint are much more limiting than a data cap that I would hardly ever reach.
How easy is it for you to reach the data cap? Also, I heard if you pay a little more, you can get twice the data each month. How much extra is that and is it worth it?
And I asked this question in my original post but no one has responded yet. If I DID choose to switch, would it make sense to get the Galaxy Nexus or wait for the next great phone to come to Verizon?
Thanks for your help.
epic touch > galaxy nexus
My 3G speeds were slow when I first got this phone (no 4G here), but since then it has gotten better and better. I think the speed is awesome now!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
Don't any of you guys utilize roam control and swapping PRLs? I too was leaning toward dropping Sprint because of their horrible 3g speeds, they were more like 1x constantly. Don't forget fellas we do roam on Verizon for free, so for the OP I would recommend downloading roam control, swapping your PRL to 1115 and giving that a try prior to cancelling your contract. Then if you still cant live with the speeds, then I would just use roam-control to roam,roam,roam until you get kicked off ETF free. Just my suggestion...
jasone4gt said:
Don't any of you guys utilize roam control and swapping PRLs? I too was leaning toward dropping Sprint because of their horrible 3g speeds, they were more like 1x constantly. Don't forget fellas we do roam on Verizon for free, so for the OP I would recommend downloading roam control, swapping your PRL to 1115 and giving that a try prior to cancelling your contract. Then if you still cant live with the speeds, then I would just use roam-control to roam,roam,roam until you get kicked off ETF free. Just my suggestion...
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yeah thats the only way i survive but I only get 1x data. im gonna have to load a diff prl, wasnt aware of that! thanks gonna try it
Success100 said:
yeah thats the only way i survive but I only get 1x data. im gonna have to load a diff prl, wasnt aware of that! thanks gonna try it
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So you have just been using roam control with the 60683 PRL? If so, yeah I would definitely give another one a try. Korey has a thread in the general section which he runs through the different PRL options.
i had verizon then i switched to sprint because of how expensive they are but i did like there service and signal. I would think about switching back to verizon if they lowered there prices which i doubt they would.
Why don't you just switch so we don't have to waist time and space on threads like this, Sprint is going through upgrades right now and it's gonna be hit and miss with service if your in a shady area. Sprint has a lot of plus to their service right now, like the no data cap. I don't think it's fair to compare this company to a giant like Verizon, they have come a long way since taking over Nextel and their crappy service....
Verizon phone n plan suck. I rather go with att or t-mobile if I ever thing about dishing sprint.
Have you tried different modems and ROMs? Not sure what to do tbh. I think they'll charge you early termination fees which can cost quite a lot. And I would go with the Nexus. The GS3 probably won't come out for awhile in the US since I hear it will be released internationally first. And the S2 took like 5 months to come to the US after international so yeah.
I was on Verizon and switched to Sprint the day they started throttling the unlimited data they sold me to the point it was unusable. After repeatedly complaining to corporate and the BBB, the etf was waived.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Sprint is cheaper and no data limits. These are 2 huge factors for keeping me. Yeah they have limited 4G now but as soon as LTE rolls out, could be much better.
abusedcloth said:
Why don't you just switch so we don't have to waist time and space on threads like this, Sprint is going through upgrades right now and it's gonna be hit and miss with service if your in a shady area. Sprint has a lot of plus to their service right now, like the no data cap. I don't think it's fair to compare this company to a giant like Verizon, they have come a long way since taking over Nextel and their crappy service....
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Don't be a [email protected]&k.
Back on topic. I've been with sprint for 10 years. They just decided to dump me for to much roaming data. ( Prl 11115 and roam control). I had to use it. Data out here if any was painfully slow. Oh well, Im headed to at&t for the note
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yamaford said:
Don't be a [email protected]&k.
Back on topic. I've been with sprint for 10 years. They just decided to dump me for to much roaming data. ( Prl 11115 and roam control). I had to use it. Data out here if any was painfully slow. Oh well, Im headed to at&t for the note
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium
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Yeah, my contact tells me they are getting really strict about that.
I hear AT&T has a 200MB roaming limit... Even a worse option for me, since they have virtually no coverage in northern Wisconsin...
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