Develop Bugs

Spint woes

Even though I'm posting in the Evo section of a mainly rooting community, I was hoping someone could provide a little insight onto my situation. Perhaps there is a Sprint representative on these forums who can better assist me as well.
So I purchased a new Evo June 20th after coming from 3 years of using the iPhone. I love the phone, but I've had nothing but issues with it. It's less the phone itself and more the companies surrounding it - Radio Shack, Sprint, etc.
So like I stated before, I got my Evo on June 20th. After using it a few days I noticed I had terrible signal at home. Normally if I was using the phone for personal reasons only, I could live with it, but I do work 1-2 days per week from home so not having voice service is a pretty big deal to me. After about 7-9 of fighting with the signal loss while walking around my home looking for a sweet spot (Also while on the phone with Spring customer service) They told me it was probably my home or area and that they couldnt guarantee coverage everywhere. My issue with this is, I've test all the carriers in my home. ATT, Tmobile, and Verizon get a minimum of 3 bars in my house. I dont like out in the middle of nowhere, I live in the suburbs of Houston. All other carriers penetrate into my home just fine, except Sprint. Well after arguing with Sprint reps over and over, I finally decided to take it to the Sprint store.
After waiting in a terribly long line (45 min), I was finally speaking to a Sprint rep. I told them about my issues and asked if there was anything I could do. He stated there was a booster that was $99. I flat out denied this as I thought it was ridiculous I had to pay more money just to get voice signal (something that was shown to be EXCELLENT coverage in their computers). He played with the phone for a second, then stated that an update would be coming out shortly that would improve the Wifi, 4G, and radio of the phone. The rep suggested that I was still within my 30 day cancellation period and that I should wait for the update and see if that improved anything.
So, a few short days later I got the OTA message on my phone. Well, this turned out to be a huge mess because I ended up being one of those unfortunate people who had their phones bricked. So at this point I'm phoneless and very frustrated. I take the phone back to where I purchased it, Radio Shack, and they tell me they've seen other customers who had this problem and will gladly exchange the phone for me. The manager of the store states it should be here on Friday, so I say thank you and leave.
Well, the phone didnt come Friday. It didn't even come the next Friday. Yep, it came THREE Friday's later - almost 3 full weeks later. So after not having a phone for two and a half weeks, I finally get my new phone in. The radio shack rep applied the update for me in the store and I left.
Well the weekend went by and I didn't notice any dropped calls, but I wasn't using my phone heavily. Then yesterday I was working from home and my phone was finally getting put to its full use. Call after call dropped and I couldn't even hold a signal for more than 10 minutes. I eventually had to run next door and borrow a neighbors phone to finish up my convo with a client. Normally I could live with this issue for personal use, but for work it was becoming a serious problem.
So I called Sprint and explained the situation. Eventually after sitting on the phone for an hour and talking to person after person I spoke with a manager who basically said either buy the $100 booster or pay $200 to cancel your contract and leave. At that point I was furious - I didn't understand why I should be forced to pay more for something when I was already paying for signal. I explained that I originally had planned on returning the phone earlier, but that had held off at the advice from a Sprint rep I talked to, and that my phone had been broken for over 2 weeks of my 30 day trial period. She continued to iterate that there was nothing she could do. She instructed me to contact Radio Shack and see if they would accept the phone back after 30 days (I'm on day 34 right now).
I just spoke with Radio Shack but they stated I'll need to call back when the manager is in the store - which will be 3-4 hours from now. I suppose maybe I'll get lucky and I'll be able to return the phone - but I'm worried about what will happen if they refuse. I'm going to be stuck with a phone that is unusable for work, while forced to either pay $100 for a booster, or shell out another $200 for the ETF (screwing me out of $400 total).
Anyways, maybe there is nothing that can be done, maybe I'm just an idiot for not testing the phone more aggressively sooner. I'm just sharing my experience on here with the hopes that someone has come across a similar situation or perhaps someone with a Sprint customer service background.
TLDR - got an evo, noticed bad signal, Sprint said OTA would fix the issues, OTA broke phone, waited 2 weeks for replacement, tested phone, reception still suck, Sprint says im stuck.

Wow, that sucks. Sorry to hear that.
I'm curious...you do get to keep the phone if you pay the ETF, right?
If you do, I would pay the $200 ETF and sell the phone on ebay or craigslist because I really doubt the $100 booster is going to help much and with the EVO in short supply, I'm sure someone is willing to buy it.
PS: If you do, just be sure to do a factory reset so all information is erased from it.

Maybe try the Verizon PRL, I looked briefly but cant seem to find the post. It is here somewhere though. Might work for you.

Yea PRL would work, but I don't want to use up my 450 anytime minutes nor do I want to switch back and forth between PRL's. I get great service at work and other places, it's just a dead zone where I live.

Airave?
Is the signal issue only at home? Airave hooks into your broadband service and then you can make phone calls via airave and it routes the calls like Vonage. And if your service really sucks sprint will give you the device for free if you complain the right way. I have had mine for 2 weeks and have had no dropped calls at home. This won't help you outside of your house though....Just my $.02

Really?
Really for free? Sprint was adamant that I would have to purchase one. They said over and over they would not wave the fee since their computers show I'm in excellent coverage area.

I too have been with Sprint for sometime now and I have the booster and it has worked wonders for me at home my office is in my basement so I spend a great deal down there and dint get service upatairs I got 3 bars but now I can make a call anywhere and it doesn't drop or anything well worth the 100 dollars if you can't get them tk give you one for free

Are those boosters provider specific?
I was thinking about getting one for the basement, but we have Sprint and Verizon Androids in the house. Don't want to have to buy one for each carrier.

I can confirm that if your a new customer with sprint they will do absolutely nothing for you, except sell you more stuff. I just went through a very similar situation and after offering me the airwave twice for free only to double back and say no sorry its 100 bucks.
BTW if you get the airwave for free they extend your contact back to 2 years, might be worth it for some.
I'm rocking the verizon prl's now and well its decent enough to stick with it, the phone rocks.

I also got an Airave for free when I was having issues. The only problem it would have is not supporting 3G data, but I suppose if you are at home, you can use wi-fi. The best benefit I saw was paying $10/mo and getting unlimited calls while on the device since I don't have unlimited minutes.

Sprint gave me an Airave for free, waived the fee for 2 years, and didn't touch my contract. But I also have 5 towers within 1.9 miles and they compete for signal...
The thing is, while I don't drop calls within range of the Airave, it doesn't hand off to a tower like it is supposed to so it drops when I walk out of range. :/
I'm pretty pissed at Sprint right now... They had a 2 1/2 outage that affected ALL of Colorado (voice and text - data worked fine in most areas) and just gave me a 25 dollar bill credit for it - couldn't even dial 911 and when people called me phone, it was just dead air - not even voicemail. BIG NO NO! Then on top of that, the subpar 3G speeds (900kbps max, 600 average compared to 3Mbps/1.7 on at&t in the same area), I've had two data outages (another two 25 dollar bill credits) and they charged me an activation fee on my corporate liable line through Comcast which was supposed to be free so I'm fighting to get that waived.
I love the phone. Hate the service.

Screwed for iPhone 4GS rant

WE have been duped by Sprint people. Go to their website and you will notice the announcement of the iPhone 4Gs. You can even pre order it. This privilege was not given for the Samsung Galaxy S 2 ET4G.
Why...was this you say...it's obvious that Sprint knew it had made a deal to buy a **** load of IOS devices to secure this deal with Apple.so they didn't promote the galaxy ET4g. Now they have a big announcement tomorrow. They are going out of their way to let you pre order the iPhone as well.
Sad, and yes I feel they used us to get this deal, by canceling all perks, while giving us crappy service. My Photon has a red circle and no service, and I don't have a ET4G yet. Service has been terrible most of the summer all over NY and in mid town NYC.
If service was being interrupted to better service I may stick around, but not getting signal, failed messages, and paying for it and no credit with lies is unacceptable. Not being able to pre-order the phone I wanted because they made a deal with Crapple is also unforgivable. Price isn't the only thing that matters in a business relationship. It's I pay for service and expect to have it when I want it, not when you decide to give it.
Hell I was told by a customer service rep that I should be happy because I have had a lot of usage on my line. I then said yes that is true, but when I need my service to work it failed to deliver....I missed important calls. and meetings with people because of failed service.
People were telling me when they called the phone rang 3x's and hung up no message was able to be left. Others told me that they would get a network busy message please try again later. One rep verified this condition of calling me, and could not get through. The phone rang 3x's and the line just went dead when they called. I have been to tech centers, and have made many battery pulls, and software reboots, and finally I was told that there was a net work issue and they did not know when it would be cleared. Now when I call to talk about it they put me on hold no music and never come back to talk.
I just don't see it getting better, and when the next generation of phones IE Prime or what ever hits Verizon, and this is not cleared I am gone. When I feel I have to beg for service, or a credit for not receiving service after paying my bills for 15 years, and at one point having a $300 a month phone bills for business it's time to go.
My bill analysis shows that I average 240 msg a month, and average about 2g of data a month, and since I use my phone mostly for calls a Verizion 69.00 phone plan with 10 data, and 10.00 for data equals what I am paying now. So if this doesn't clear with the loss of perks I am outta here.lol

My service is better than ever...by far too. I never saw over 8Mbps download speed in Los Angeles on 4G and now....
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Enjoy the larger bill on Verizon. It fast and rather reliable
Life is too short to complain on services you are not happy about. Great thing about America is that we have three major carriers
The sprint network can't compete with Verizon in "most" areas,

Can I have your phone when you leave? I've got a line with no phone....

care cup \__/
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

When sprint cancelled premiere the writing was on the wall. It was on your august bill statement. In addition, sprint raised the admin fee by 50cents which invalidated every contract. Also on your bill statement.
Then sprint raised ETF from $200 to $350. Then they changed 30 day phone trials to 14 days. All this in september.
I am here on this board with an E4GT because of these changes - I had to get my final premiere upgrade prior to 10/2/2011. Otherwise I was fully planning on just waiting another month for nexus prime.
Now the E4GT has serious radio issues. Like OP, I had calls go to voicemail for hours at a time. Others have LOS, dropped calls, no signal bars, phone refuses to roam, etc.
Sprint's CEO said that 54% of sprint customer churn is due to not having an iphone. Thats a pretty hard fact to not pay attention to.
It is clear sprint is putting all eggs in one basket - the iphone basket. Sprint has lost money for 15 straight quarters. This will either save sprint or ruin sprint.
I've been with sprint 10 years now, and im no iphone fan. THe writing is on the wall: We'll let you keep your android devices and stay on our network, but we really don't care about you now. Of course I knew all this over a month ago and I was still willing to sign a 2 year contract in september for the Epic 4g touch. That was before all the LOS issues arose.
We'll see what the next 2 years brings. But the days of customer loyalty perks, retention plans, etc are clearly over.

I just switched from verizon to sprint, so I can give you a good preview of what to expect.
First of all, the service is top notch, and the lte speeds were incredible - I regularly got over 20 mbps in my area, many times close to 30. Of course, keep in mind that their lte service is fairly new, and at the time they only had 3 expensive phones that could use it, so that will likely change as more people upgrade and the network gets saturated.
So why did I leave this awesome service? Price. Everything across the board is way more expensive - service and phones. I paid $50 more for a Droid Charge than I did for my E4GT, and that phone isn't even in the same league. For our family plan with unlimited text, only 700 minutes, 2 data plans and 2 other phones, it was $230 a month. Our kids wanted smartphones too, but to add 2 more data plans would have put our bill up to $300. I'm not broke, but not rich either, and that cost is pretty hard to justify.
Also, keep in mind that all those policies Sprint just changed are the same policies Verizon has - 14 day return, $350 etf (even after being way overcharged on the phones up front), and no more New Every Two program.
The only carrier I've found with good pricing and great coverage (in my area) is Tmo, and I almost jumped to them, but no way in hell I want to risk being an att customer again.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

txmikester said:
I just switched from verizon to sprint, so I can give you a good preview of what to expect.
First of all, the service is top notch, and the lte speeds were incredible - I regularly got over 20 mbps in my area, many times close to 30. Of course, keep in mind that their lte service is fairly new, and at the time they only had 3 expensive phones that could use it, so that will likely change as more people upgrade and the network gets saturated.
So why did I leave this awesome service? Price. Everything across the board is way more expensive - service and phones. I paid $50 more for a Droid Charge than I did for my E4GT, and that phone isn't even in the same league. For our family plan with unlimited text, only 700 minutes, 2 data plans and 2 other phones, it was $230 a month. Our kids wanted smartphones too, but to add 2 more data plans would have put our bill up to $300. I'm not broke, but not rich either, and that cost is pretty hard to justify.
Also, keep in mind that all those policies Sprint just changed are the same policies Verizon has - 14 day return, $350 etf (even after being way overcharged on the phones up front), and no more New Every Two program.
The only carrier I've found with good pricing and great coverage (in my area) is Tmo, and I almost jumped to them, but no way in hell I want to risk being an att customer again.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
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Perspective ftw!
This is called "grass is greener" syndrome. You're gonna love it at first. Then 6 months later you're posting the same crap in another forum.

AbsolutZeroGI said:
Perspective ftw!
This is called "grass is greener" syndrome. You're gonna love it at first. Then 6 months later you're posting the same crap in another forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It all comes down to service.....ETFs, and other fees are basic...it's about service when I want it....I am worn out this summer by Sprint's evasive bull**** regarding the service issues that we are experiencing. Collecting my money for inferior service, and lying about is bad business practice......

Piece out!!!!

QWIKSTRIKE said:
It all comes down to service.....ETFs, and other fees are basic...it's about service when I want it....I am worn out this summer by Sprint's evasive bull**** regarding the service issues that we are experiencing. Collecting my money for inferior service, and lying about is bad business practice......
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Click to collapse
Amen. I am tired of flipping on Roam Control and dealing on 1x every time I enter a building. What good is unlimited 3g if it is slow as molasses, and 4g which is spotty and hardly ever works indoors? At this point, I am off contract and if Prime comes to VZW and is not full of bloat I may be gone.

dohturdima said:
Amen. I am tired of flipping on Roam Control and dealing on 1x every time I enter a building. What good is unlimited 3g if it is slow as molasses, and 4g which is spotty and hardly ever works indoors? At this point, I am off contract and if Prime comes to VZW and is not full of bloat I may be gone.
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Click to collapse
+1
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

I was told that the unlimited everything plan for the IPhone will be $20 a month more than ours..
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium

I like android and I never want a I-PHONE.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

Feel free to kick me in the Jimmy if I ever buy an iAnything.
Sent from my extra sensory space modulator while performing the slippery cricket

dohturdima said:
Amen. I am tired of flipping on Roam Control and dealing on 1x every time I enter a building. What good is unlimited 3g if it is slow as molasses, and 4g which is spotty and hardly ever works indoors? At this point, I am off contract and if Prime comes to VZW and is not full of bloat I may be gone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It doesn't really matter if it has bloat where cause you can root the stock rom and use titanium backup to remove it all. Its super easy to do

dohturdima said:
Amen. I am tired of flipping on Roam Control and dealing on 1x every time I enter a building. What good is unlimited 3g if it is slow as molasses, and 4g which is spotty and hardly ever works indoors? At this point, I am off contract and if Prime comes to VZW and is not full of bloat I may be gone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not just talking 3g/4G.....I get a red circle with a line almost daily. I have been missing calls. getting network busy try back later errors, and not receiving calls for hours a day. I missed getting calls with 4-5 bars in mid town Manhattan, and people told me the phone just rang 3 times and stopped ringing with no option to leave a voice mail. Others were told to "try back later network busy". This can only get worse if iPhone is coming. I am not the only one experiencing this issue the Sprint online community is filled with this same complaint.

JohnCorleone said:
I was told that the unlimited everything plan for the IPhone will be $20 a month more than ours..
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using xda premium
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Nope, it is the same price. You can go on and pre-order to see the pricing.

Poor service at home? Free AIRWAVE

Call this #: 866 556 7310
A Sprint representative will pick up directly- no machines.
*edit* If the above number doesn't work out for you, try: 855-790-4878 (thanks coldcaffeine)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=25069171&postcount=145
Tell them you've been having problems getting a signal where you live and have to walk around outside to use it.
They sent me a free AIRAVE. I mentioned this to my coworker a few days later and they sent him a free one too
[edit 12-27-11]
Was curious about this myself:
page 6 of Airave FAQs @ nextel.com:
29. Can other Sprint customers use my Sprint AIRAVE?
All Sprint customers with a Sprint phone can use the AIRAVE and benefit from the
enhanced coverage as long as you have not restricted the AIRAVE. However, the
“visiting” customer must have the Unlimited AIRAVE Voice calling Plan on their
own account in order to take advantage of unlimited domestic calling.
30. Can I limit access to my Sprint AIRAVE?
Yes, you can limit access to your AIRAVE device by creating a list of approved
Sprint phone numbers (up to 50 phone numbers). You can create your list by
calling Sprint Customer Service at (866) 556-731
Click to expand...
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[edit 08-18-12]
See following post about how to configure who can access your AIRWAVE (and also to set the zip code for where it will be used):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=29087683&postcount=194
[edit 08-18-12]
Some uses report problems with certain websites/ internet connectivity when using the AIRWAVE behind a router.
See following posts for reports/ solutions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30233927&postcount=206
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30234036&postcount=207
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30236434&postcount=208
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30236557&postcount=209
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=30403429&postcount=214

This seems a little sketchy... Are you sure they're not charging you a monthly fee?

Master Thief-117 said:
This seems a little sketchy... Are you sure they're not charging you a monthly fee?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure they're not :]
Although they still own it, so once I am no longer using it/ cancel my account they're going to take it back.
My primary device shows:
`Your agreement with us, which started on xx/xx/xx, will be completed on xx/xx/xx.`
The AIRAVE shows:
`You have no agreement or your agreement with us is complete.`

You don't get charged a "service fee" but it is considered a "line" so you are charged the $1.49 "administrative surcharge". Also you are charged electricity every month to fix a Sprint issue.
This is NOT really a big deal, but I estimate you are paying around $30-$36/yr to fix a Sprint problem.

I did this.
I got my new service and part of my house didn't have service and would roam, I was really upset because I really liked the phone and wanted to stay on Sprint.
They offered the Airave and sent it out, service is great. I don't mind paying the 1.49 or whatever if that's true.

Got one after I picked up the evo3d and couldn't get a signal in my house. Now I don't need one I turned it off. For some reason it dosent work half the time.

Well, I hadn't seen this before 10 minutes ago.
I called the direct # in the OP, guy picks up the phone on the first ring.
5 MINUTES later, and I have a new, completely free Airrave being shipped to my house.
Thanks, OP... I prolly never would have even messed with the whole thing if you hadn't made the process so simple.
**** like this is why I love XDA.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

I got one awhile ago, no fees or anything. Im sure it uses a fraction of the electricity a light bulb uses. I got one primarily due to basement coverage, but every carrier has poor coverage in my basement.
Its worth it, its tougher to make a deal with sprint when you're in an excellent coverage zone like I am. They told me they don't guarantee coverage indoors bit then they sent me a free airave.
Also your account has to have enough available credit and be in good standing, even though its "free"
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

I live in a three family home and there are four or five phones in my building in Brooklyn.
As of three days ago we allbjave been having problems with sprint service in a 3 block radius. I called sprint and worked with one of the reps and after a few phone calls she is sending this device to us. It's funny because we have been living on this block for 5 years with sprint and never had a probably and supposedly they don't know what the problem is.

bbedward said:
I got one awhile ago, no fees or anything. Im sure it uses a fraction of the electricity a light bulb uses. I got one primarily due to basement coverage, but every carrier has poor coverage in my basement.
Its worth it, its tougher to make a deal with sprint when you're in an excellent coverage zone like I am. They told me they don't guarantee coverage indoors bit then they sent me a free airave.
Also your account has to have enough available credit and be in good standing, even though its "free"
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in an excellent coverage zone, but Sprint doesn't get service in my basement... T mobile got full bars anywhere in my home.

I've had one for about a year and the 3G version (current offering) has been invaluable to me. My data speeds are 1800-2300 kbps deep within what I'm convinced is a bunker of a basement, texting and voice calls are great, and of course there is a noticeable improvement in battery life as a result.
Downsides include unreliable operation (unit goes offline at times requiring a reboot), incompatibility with texting certain short codes like 1311, and power consumption. It gets pretty warm...
Not worth the regular monthly fee and purchase price; definitely worth when offered as a concession.

I've had two Sprint Airaves, one for Illinois (Verizon Land) and one in South Texas (Sprint Land). I got the one in Texas to try and fix LOS. It only helped my giving a much stronger signal.
If you go this route, get the Airave that has the external GPS Antenna. Airave works best in GPS antenna is in or close to window.
My first Airave didn't have external GPS Antenne, but I was lucky and a window was close to DSL wireless router.
Hope this helps someone.

I live in a rural area where there are no sprint towers anywhere close to me. They sent me one and I have been using it for two years now strong signal no problems, free of charge.

Yea, I can voucher that they'll send one out for free to you if you needed one. It helped in my house so that I'm not always at one bar or searching for signal. Sprint's speed and coverage around my area still sucks in general.

I actually have had both of these devices. The first one was the Samsung Airave that worked decently except it only did 1xrtt data..which blew chunks. I ended up getting the new Sprint Airvana due to the fact the Airave was having issues with my HTC Evo 4G. The Airvana supports 3G data speeds over your broadband connection. Coverage on these devices are actually pretty good. If you call into Sprint Airave department they can acutally change the coverage output on the Airvana so that it covers up to I believe 5000sqft. I actually did this when I lived in a downstair apartment and the phone would disconnect right outside my door...after the update the airvana would go across the street. I would really recommend you get one of these if you have coverage issues...call the department, tell them your issue they will send you one. Also make sure they don't charge you a month fee for it. It should show you getting charged and then credited on your bill. I have a new one coming out next week (lost cables) and hopefully my Epic 4G Touch works well with it.

Thank you so much for this! I just did this and they're sending me one now, too. [=
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

this might be a noob question but does airwave support 3g or 4g signal?
and i just called and the rep said he need approval from the airwave tech and once he got a approval from the tech and the supervisor which will takes about 2business day then he will send me one.

I can confirm this. I went today to get a new phone and complained about the signal in my town. The manager gave me an AirRave for free. Its a loan since I need to return it if I bail out. I did not have to pay anything for it and they are not going to charge any monthly fee. I even got the activation free!

This is all true, I'm a tech for Sprint, you just have to pay the monthly regulatory fees and taxes(mine is like $1.16). If you end your services you do have to return it, or you will be charged. It is a awesome device. Keep in mind that the airave team is open Monday through Friday 9-9 central time.
Merry Christmas °<
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium

Yep. called last night and told the guy I was Googling ways to improve my sprint signal and came across some info with the number and decided to call. He asked what was happening and I told him I was getting the roaming indicator alot while at home. Told him I was really happy with my service when I was out running around it just kinda sucked at home. He said OK and set up and order for the air wave. Should have it before too long. Just asked if I had DSL or broadband. Thats it. Took like five minutes total. Thanks a ton for the info.

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.
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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.
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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???
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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:

Sprint Customer Service is about as useful as a football bat!!!

I have just about had it with Sprint's horribly inefficient and poorly capable Customer service representatives. I have been having the issue of no network connectivity.......well excuse me, not no network connectivity, extremely poor connectivity. My speedtest.net speeds are consistantly lower than 10kbps. When I tell this to the customer service people I'm told that the service in my area is showing up green and I should be experiencing the best service that Sprint has to offer. I understand what's going on. I know that it's because of the network visioning upgrades and they're replacing the towers. However, the last thing any customer wants to hear (after paying the $200/month bill (I have multiple lines with Sprint)) is that there's nothing wrong and it's the device's fault. I have been to the store as instructed by the technical support.....nothing's wrong with the phone, it's the network. All I have to say is that Sprint really needs to better train their support staff to not only be more knowledgeable about what's going on but also how to deal with unhappy/unsatisfied customers. I've worked in customer service industries for the majority of my adult life and I know how aggravating it is to deal with unruly customers. But at the end of the day it's their J O B!!!!! If they can't do it then they need to find another line of work.....that's what I did! :victory:
Anyone else have issues with Sprint's customer service?

Sprints cs is actually the best one of the carriers. If you had to deal with Verizon cs, you'd cry.

Ascertion said:
Sprints cs is actually the best one of the carriers. If you had to deal with Verizon cs, you'd cry.
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I will concede to that point. I just recently came from Verizon and their customer service was absolutely unbearable!
The lure of unlimited LTE and the Galaxy SIII was just too much for me to resist so that's why I jumped ship from Big Red. I just wish that I would have been told up front that when they upgrade the network it would result in significant down time. I specifically asked that question when I switched and I was told that I shouldn't experience any hiccup in service.....just the superb service that Sprint customers have come to expect from their service provider........

A football is pretty darn useful in my neck of the woods. Get out more.
Sent from my billion dollar GalaxiPhone S3.

JohnnyEpic said:
A football is pretty darn useful in my neck of the woods. Get out more.
Sent from my billion dollar GalaxiPhone S3.
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HAHA, well I figured that a football bat could serve some purpose......just like customer service.......but only sometimes, on very special occasions, like every other Tuesday but only on leap years! :silly:

Its hit and miss. One out of 3 try's and you get someone who speaks English well enough to understand. But the fact is, who of any company's have good customer service? I had a number to Sprint that got me to someone very nice and smart that spoke clear every time. AAA+ CS. Its was like a back door number. The phone would ring once and there they where. That number doesn't work anymore but it was so nice! 877-775-4886. If anyone has the replacement number to it, PM me please!!

I dunno, I've had to call them 4 times since I started using Sprint just short of 2 years ago. First time was because of an order screw up, which was actually my fault. Wanted to return the stuff. The csv rep sent me to a store, the store told me they didn't take returns and to mail it all back. Called them again, and the rep I talked to said the store was clueless, then overnighted a box to me to mail the returns back. 1 FAIL, 1 WIN.
Then last month I had to activate 2 S3s, each seperately. First rep was awesome, friendly, knew exactly what she was doing. Then I called again that night, and got some middle aged woman who managed to help me without issue.
In comparison, I have to call Comcast countless times because the cable stops working, boxes break down, internet goes AWOL, etc. I once had service reps at my house all day long several days in a row because they couldn't fix an issue with the internet.
My Playstation 3 died from a YLOD (overheating) despite being in the open. Sony rep told me they didn't care, but if I wanted it fixed I could send it to them and pay them to fix it. Nevermind the fact Microsoft has fixed my 360 several times without asking questions. Only issue I had with Microsoft was they once charged my credit card $10 for a subscription I had canceled, and they refused to refund me. Also gotten plenty of freebies from Microsoft.
So by comparison... Sprint is pretty decent imo. But like all customer service, it's the luck of the draw. It's a job. Some people take it seriously, others cringe when they have to answer a call.

i am in VA beach and we are getting the network vision updates now as well as LTE next month (if they dont delay it) and i get ~1.82 mbps (average; also using speedtest.net app) and my fastest was 2.04 mbps
EDIT: of course on 3G and those are my download speeds

jamcar said:
i am in VA beach and we are getting the network vision updates now as well as LTE next month (if they dont delay it) and i get ~1.82 mbps (average; also using speedtest.net app) and my fastest was 2.04 mbps
EDIT: of course on 3G and those are my download speeds
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Just a heads up, be prepared for your service to go straight in the toilet. If you experience ANY issues at all, make sure that you contact Sprint and get them to note that you're having issues. This way you can get your account adjusted appropriately once the complete upgrade is done and the service has been restored.

Football bat. Now that had me laughing on the crapper.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

dennistpm said:
Football bat. Now that had me laughing on the crapper.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
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Eli could have used one against the Bucs at the end.