the decline of verizon service - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

since I've had my gnex these are my favorite highlights of verizon service
1. LTE started at 25 megs it's now at 10
2. My unlimited contract is technically still valid but for some reason I can barely ever break 4gb since they stopped offering it
3. Following my internet service Verizon now pre compresses data like pictures sent to my phone = crappy resolutions
4. 2 years after the launch of LTE the service area has steadily declined
5. Google voice magically stopped working on the first day of last months billing period = 140 extra dollar bill they wont discount
6. They dont improve the signal they rewrite the software to display more bars
7. When you go to the speed test app magically your phone is faster, something Samsung was recently caught doing
8. This month our 17% employee discount mysteriously needs to be renewed - they forgot to notify us - last time we went for 11 months without it. And we can't do it online.
9. My phone has problems charging but they claim the internet is lies about it being a charging port issue even though I can wiggle it fixed in front of them.
10. bloatware
11. Mysterious connection delays that they say is "solved" by purchasing a new phone
I know I have some more, the point being that before you go out and get a Verizon phone because it's supposed to the best service, look around and make sure it still is.

In my area Wyoming. Verizon really screwed up and sold alltel to at&t. Verizon used to piggy back on alltel towers and alltel was the main cell provider. At&t is now turning off the old alltel service on the towers and making them gsm only. Seems like my service gets worse monthly now and some areas like where I work have quit completely but att that was non existent before is full bars on my work phone. If it wasn't for their better costumer service and having unlimited data I would be done. They day they say no more unlimited data I say goodbye. Probably go back to dumb phone as I can't afford a 12gb data plan.
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circuitsports said:
since I've had my gnex these are my favorite highlights of verizon service
1. LTE started at 25 megs it's now at 10
2. My unlimited contract is technically still valid but for some reason I can barely ever break 4gb since they stopped offering it
3. Following my internet service Verizon now pre compresses data like pictures sent to my phone = crappy resolutions
4. 2 years after the launch of LTE the service area has steadily declined
5. Google voice magically stopped working on the first day of last months billing period = 140 extra dollar bill they wont discount
6. They dont improve the signal they rewrite the software to display more bars
7. When you go to the speed test app magically your phone is faster, something Samsung was recently caught doing
8. This month our 17% employee discount mysteriously needs to be renewed - they forgot to notify us - last time we went for 11 months without it. And we can't do it online.
9. My phone has problems charging but they claim the internet is lies about it being a charging port issue even though I can wiggle it fixed in front of them.
10. bloatware
11. Mysterious connection delays that they say is "solved" by purchasing a new phone
I know I have some more, the point being that before you go out and get a Verizon phone because it's supposed to the best service, look around and make sure it still is.
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Click to collapse
Not that I'm terribly happy with Verizon, but I'm not sure what you mean by some of these?
1. Probably congestion with all the 4g phones.
2. How can you not get more than 4gb? Does your service stop?
3. How would this do this without extra local software?
4. 4g service is pretty extensive in my area, but it's no bigger than their 3g was and att now has much better coverage.
5. How would you suddenly be charged if Google voice stops working?
9. Likely crud in your micro use port. Sharpen a toothpick to get it out. I've had this from time to time.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

That's really odd. I will say that i've noticed a tad bit of slowdown in general on their LTE network but i would attribute that to the great increase of traffic compared to what it was when the Nexus originally came out.
I just broke 8 gigs of data usage this month, not sure why you are having problems. Do you have insurance on your phone?

I disagree with everything you're saying, OP.
The next town over, to this day, I get around 40 Mbps down consistently, and last month I used 17 GB.
Speeds and coverage depend on the phone of course, like the Droid RAZR M RIGHT NEXT TO MY GALAXY NEXUS was getting around 2x the download speeds.
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Is it really not that obvious? New phone have better radios hardware and software wise. When you upgrade your service and speeds will be better
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I just wanted to update my previous post about the service Wyoming. They actually are putting up towers and 4g in the middle of nowhere that was previously lost when they sold to att. So my service is actually getting better now. I have service now where I need it.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

I don't know how to address all of your points, because I'm pretty sure some of them aren't problems with Verizon's network, but I can say that network speed was absolutely destined to decrease after the boom of LTE phones.
It's happened with every network after they hit a critical mass of LTE devices.
Network congestion is a serious problem that isn't easily solved. Throwing more towers at it can help mitigate the issue, but much of the problem boils down to limited spectrum- the same reason why populated wifi connections are unusable. It doesn't have to do with the routers being bottlenecked, it's simply the spectrum being overcrowded.

bubarub said:
Is it really not that obvious? New phone have better radios hardware and software wise. When you upgrade your service and speeds will be better
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
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No its not because I have a galaxy s4 on Verizon my girl has AT&T with a iPhone 5 and AT&T 3g/hspa is faster than Verizon's 4g/LTE/3g
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2

Same thing happened to me. My 4G is now almost non-existent at my house. Used to get 20mbs down. I still broke 80gbs last month (sick and staying at home) but speeds are a fraction of what it used to be.
I opened a T-Mobile line to test out their service in my area (LA/OC) and its pretty awesome. Dead spot here and there but nothing I didn't experience on Verizon either. Also wanted to test how true their unlimited data is. Its been 3 days and pushing 8 gigs. I bypassed the tether block as well. Looking good so far but still got 20 more days to go.
Also picked up an S4 with T-Mobile. Really blows my Gnex to shame. Tethering and charging doesnt turn my phone into a brick of fire. Its been a few hours and the phone is still very cool. Battery even lasts 2-3x longer than the Gnex even while tethering vs Gnex being idle. Its crazy.

antawnm26 said:
No its not because I have a galaxy s4 on Verizon my girl has AT&T with a iPhone 5 and AT&T 3g/hspa is faster than Verizon's 4g/LTE/3g
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Agreed, this is a common occurrence. LTE has a theoretical max of what, 100mbps? So eventually it *should* surpass HSPA+/HSDPA.
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antawnm26 said:
No its not because I have a galaxy s4 on Verizon my girl has AT&T with a iPhone 5 and AT&T 3g/hspa is faster than Verizon's 4g/LTE/3g
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk 2
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In context of the O.P's comment he is right. Within Verizons network if you update to a new device it will have better optimized software and radios compared to an older device that Verizon refuses to allow an update for.

my only issue with Verizon is their charging out the ass part
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Related

Verizon Offers: Do you take the bait?

Well I very into getting the Nexus, and I've been disappointed with Sprint speeds, but I am happy with my Epic Touch. So I've been mulling over a few things.
Data cap: I've monitored my data usage. I rarely go over 3GB. I do heavy audio streaming, but not video. The promise of unlimited data is nice, but when you can't stream audio and retain background processes. That's a shame. Currently Verizon is offering double data for the rest of the month if you sign up with an LTE phone. I live in an LTE area.
Reference: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/07/verizon-to-begin-offering-double-the-data-for-your-buck-tomorrow/
Moving to a different company: Verizon is announcing a switch bait to move from another carrier, and this also applies to my area. $300 dollars (not sure of restrictions) to jump ship.
Reference: http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/18/verizon-wireless-kicks-off-trade-in-program-for-southern-us-resi/
I have dual residence, where I work and where I go to school. Where I go to school does not have Sprint service, so I am sure I can get the ETF fee waived.
The Galaxy Nexus: I love my Epic, but it isn't a Google phone. I'm sure we will get unadulterated ICS at some point. I am not sure about moving from SAMOLED to Pentile screen. I need to go inspect in person.
Price: I am a school employee and receive a 20% discount across all services. This translates into about a $10 increase per month by moving to Verizon from Sprint.
What would you do? If I fail to get the ETF waived, then I am going to pay the price. I have thought about it, and can't think of many downsides. Can you guys think of any. This isn't a convince me thread. This is an open analysis.
It is also a SAMOLED. It is nearly identical to our panel in size and it has the absolutely identical amount of sub-pixels as our panel except they make a pixel out of 5 sub-pixels and ours uses 12. I don't think the problems that have plagued much lower resolution pentile sub-pixel panels in the past will be a problem at such an insane density...
This is like a sell your soul scenario for an inferior phone. It'll eventually be available for the GSM carriers as well, I dont know what the huge rush is to get nickled and dimed to death by VZW. I'd at least wait for T-mobile, for what $20 more than sprint? And still get a pseudo unlimited data incentive.
Verizon throttles you to 1x speeds after 2gb just so you know.
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They would throttle after 4, as per the plan that I would get.
Well, speed and coverage is an honest issue.
I went with Sprint initially for the savings. I'm not completely sold on leaving. Thanks for the info.
I wouldn't say the phone is inferior though.
Hmmm, I don't like the nickel and diming potential by Verizon. That is what scares me most.
Having blazing data is very appealing though, but you gotta pay to play.
The GN isn't ready for prime time yet on Verizon. There's already reports of touch screen issues and poor signal and data loss, and low volume lol. It's gonna need some time for updates and fixes. Just Google "galaxy nexus issues", it made into all the big tech blogs much faster than the Epic Touch.
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apparently the Verizon nexus has atrocious battery life, 4 hours or less on LTE. 3g data speeds on Verizon aren't that great 500-1500kbps
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I have the GS2 with Sprint, and I purchased the GNx because I was simply tired of the slow speeds with Sprint.
I pay $85 a month and get 4GB of data since they are running their current promotion. The phone isn't much of an upgrade over the GS2, but the network is well worth it. I'm holding on to my GS2 because it only costs me $30 a month.
I was actually in the Verizon store just the other day in Times Square playing with the nexus, when I decided to do a speed test against my phone at the same time. The 4g, with full reception, was 4 times slower on the nexus than the epic. The results were 400kB/s on the nexus, compared to 1547kB/s on the epic touch. I'm sure LTE is faster, but these results are implying that it can't a handle high volume of users as well as wimax can. At the end of the day, actual results are more important than maximum potential results.
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All valid a good points.
I'm not really thinking of switching for the nexus. Just the network and coverage. The nexus is just their best offering.
I switched from tmo for the same concerns. Albeit coverage was a bigger concern than speed ever was.
Lots to think about.
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Very tempting, but Verizon is like an extra $80/month than my current Sprint plan, and I heard the Galaxy Nexus has speakerphone issues (which is exactly why I took my EVO 3D back). The biggest thing that makes this tempting is that Verizon pulls 20 mbps DL in my house on LTE.
Overstew said:
Very tempting, but Verizon is like an extra $80/month than my current Sprint plan, and I heard the Galaxy Nexus has speakerphone issues (which is exactly why I took my EVO 3D back). The biggest thing that makes this tempting is that Verizon pulls 20 mbps DL in my house on LTE.
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It was, until I found out they don't really give you anything for your phone. I might try and hustle the sales rep. I've decided that I'll do it if I walk out paying nothing up front, and remain within 10 dollars of my Sprint bill.
bbedward said:
apparently the Verizon nexus has atrocious battery life, 4 hours or less on LTE. 3g data speeds on Verizon aren't that great 500-1500kbps
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I would say that's good compared to what a lot report with Sprint (thankfully I'm not one hampered by data speeds).
I have both now just to compare and i have to say that the epic and the nexus are pretty much the same. But verizon's network is way better for me than sprint is honestly. I get coverage in places where my epic roamed or just pretty much had nuthin. I tested during peak hours and the nexus pulled over 1mb on 3g and my epic pulled 60-100kb. The data caps are not an issue for me cuz im on wifi most of the day anyway so even with sprint i barely used 1gb evey month. I was honestly tired of sprints speed and need a more reliable network here in the bay area and also its a bit refreshing to have a phone that u know will be updated and see a lot of development but to each there own. Im keeping my sprint line open because of the network vision and honestly if i see good enough improvements ill come back to sprint because of the prices. Otherwise I will prolly stick with vzw if sprint dont get its act together
The review engadget did along side of another phone and tablet, said the GN got just above 1600 in Quadrant Standard to our D-710s reaching 3200, is this true? While I know these are just synthetic benchmarks, I can't imagine the performance of the " next big phone " is half of what ours is?!
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I dont kno what problem ppl are having with spring 3g but mine been fast I get 2.10md down .60mb up now that's fast I love sgs2 its worth it nexus is a good phone but don't go sell your soul
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Anyone leave Sprint and Galaxy SII ?

Curious if anyone that was on Sprint and had the Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch, moved to Verizon for the Nexus ?
I love my Galaxy SII, great phone and I am rooted with awesome custom ROM and ICS theme. The device is butter smooth and warp speed fast with great battery life.
But Sprint is as good as whacking off with sand paper. Sure it works but sucks. 3G service is like 1995 dial up modem. But their family plan pricing is very competitive.
I am possibly thinking moving to Verizon for the Nexus, big want some advice first please. Looking at their plans they do not have free mobile to any mobile like Sprint and ATT ? And their text messaging plan is 1,000 at the most per month ? If I go unlimited minutes plan Texts should be in that. Texting is part of the phone not data per say.
Thanks ahead time
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I made the switch to Verizon. Even tho I loved my e4gt the sheer difference in 3g/4g speeds is more than worth it. I hated sprint with a passion just because of the data speeds. Of course the monthly plans are a lil more pricey but it feels good to have such a nice phone (nexus galaxy) and be able to use it like its meant to be.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
I actually left sprint on launch day because of a service issue with my galaxy s. I kept having to have it replaced. When I finally got one that worked right, service was lackluster at best. Got fed up when I tried to use data on launch day because my phone had zero data connection (for hours) no matter where I was. Enter Galaxy Nexus LTE and ICS... not looking back, looking forward to the future.
Looking over the Verizon family plan, and it looks extremely more expensive than Sprint.
- No free mobile to any mobile calls ? Sprint + ATT offer that.
- No unlimited Text plan ? 1,000 for $10 for the most ?
- Data, looks like the $30 for 4gb is the smartest option ?
If I go unlimited minutes, what else does that give ? Unlimited texts too ?
I switched from AT&T to Verizon and I'm loving it. It may be a bit pricey but the 4g speeds are awesome. Speed test clocked me in at 33Mb/s and I get the Galaxy Nexus. Never had Sprint so I guess I can't give a good response here though.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Zorachus said:
Looking over the Verizon family plan, and it looks extremely more expensive than Sprint.
- No free mobile to any mobile calls ? Sprint + ATT offer that.
- No unlimited Text plan ? 1,000 for $10 for the most ?
- Data, looks like the $30 for 4gb is the smartest option ?
If I go unlimited minutes, what else does that give ? Unlimited texts too ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No unlimited mobile-to-mobile and my free minutes after 7 PM is what's keeping me on Sprint. I spend most of my time in NYC, so the data service isn't too bad. If I go rural, there is RoamControl which allows me to roam on VZW. My wife and mother in law are in a family plan with VZW, and I was considering giving up my SERO Premium and jumping onboard for the Galaxy Nexus - but use way too many minutes and without free mobile to mobile it's a no go
I switch to verizon from sprint yesterday for the nexus. Both the eve 03 d in the epic touch sucked. I'm so glad I made the switch
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
I went from t mobile to sprint which if I stuck around I could have got a unlocked one. I'm just not happy with sprint but I can't afford ending my contract ans then Verizons prices are steed
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk
dohturdima said:
No unlimited mobile-to-mobile and my free minutes after 7 PM is what's keeping me on Sprint. I spend most of my time in NYC, so the data service isn't too bad. If I go rural, there is RoamControl which allows me to roam on VZW. My wife and mother in law are in a family plan with VZW, and I was considering giving up my SERO Premium and jumping onboard for the Galaxy Nexus - but use way too many minutes and without free mobile to mobile it's a no go
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Click to collapse
Yeah the no free mobile to any mobile is a deal breaker, with both Sprint and ATT offering it, makes it hard to switch. And doesn't Verizon offer free minutes at night and weekends ?
Zorachus said:
Yeah the no free mobile to any mobile is a deal breaker, with both Sprint and ATT offering it, makes it hard to switch. And doesn't Verizon offer free minutes at night and weekends ?
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Check your usage with Sprint. Despite using my phone for business, I make most of my calls to family and friends, most of whom are already with VZW. Free minutes with Sprint are before 7 AM and after 7 PM, with VZW: before 9 AM and after 9 PM. Edge: Sprint, but again check your usage (when you tend to make most of your calls). I use less than 3 GB data with Sprint, and hardly any of it with Sprint 4G which sucks indoors. Now that VZW offers a 4G plan and there is a hacked hotspot for GNex, it is much more tempting to switch. My individual plan + insurance is still close to $70 a month; an extra line + data + insurance on VZW = $60. Galaxy Nexus >> Epic 4G, although I wish it had a hardware KB. And... I get to write off my phone as one used for business
Leaning back to VZW and GNex now. The way I see it, the combination of pretty good hardware, great software + development, great network coverage/frequencies that actually work indoors and very good data speeds = hard to beat. Sprint is working on its LTE but it seems that it won't be implemented until the mid to late 2012 and their LTE will initially be on 1900 band, which stinks for building penetration. I saved a ton with Sprint and SERO, but it is time to move on.
Zorachus said:
Looking over the Verizon family plan, and it looks extremely more expensive than Sprint.
- No free mobile to any mobile calls ? Sprint + ATT offer that.
- No unlimited Text plan ? 1,000 for $10 for the most ?
- Data, looks like the $30 for 4gb is the smartest option ?
If I go unlimited minutes, what else does that give ? Unlimited texts too ?
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Click to collapse
i made the switch from sprint yesterday. i admit, it was a tough decision. i had unlimited mobile to any mobile, plus the promotional 300 (i think) extra minutes they were offering a few months back.
I switched from Sprint. I've been a customer for over 10 years. No problems with reception, but 3g has gotten worse and wimax is not going anywhere. Plus, I don't like sense, touchwiz, etc. Honestly, I don't see much difference between 3g speeds. But lte is way more ubiquitous. I never go over 400 minutes or 4gigs of data.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
I have been a sprint customer for 10 years and left sprint for Tmobile. I absolutely love tmobile service i get data speeds around 16mbps while on sprint i was getting like .2mbps. I did get a unlocked galaxy nexus and live it. I also had the gs2 on sprint but this thing is a beast. There is really no comparison.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
Anyone else care to chime in ?
I am curious to hear from people that had a version of the Galaxy SII, and how they feel about switching to the Galaxy-Nexus ? A good upgrade, or more of a side grade only ?
One thing that confuses me, I keep reading all the tech forums, and they say the Galaxy-Nexus has worse hardware than the SII ? Saying the GPU is the same from the Nexus-S, and it outdated compared to what the SII is running ? And that once the SII gets ICS, it will eb a better/faster devcie than the Galaxy-Nexus ?
Is that true ? I would think since the Galaxy-Nexus is 6 months newer than the Galaxy SII, the hardware should be better ?
Anyone else ?
I switched from Sprint and my Evo 4g.
3G data speeds were killing me on Sprint with an average of 300-400kbps down...
4G took too long to turn on and it didn't work indoors at all.
Even though Verizon is more expensive, I really do feel like I'm getting quality service. My 3G speeds are about 1mbps or more down and 4G is anywhere from 6-25mbps depending on where I'm at.
I'm glad I made the switch.
ben dover said:
I switched from Sprint and my Evo 4g.
3G data speeds were killing me on Sprint with an average of 300-400kbps down...
4G took too long to turn on and it didn't work indoors at all.
Even though Verizon is more expensive, I really do feel like I'm getting quality service. My 3G speeds are about 1mbps or more down and 4G is anywhere from 6-25mbps depending on where I'm at.
I'm glad I made the switch.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the info, yeah my biggest beef with Sprint has been their 3G service, slow as 1990's dial up modem. And in some towns around Chicago Sprint has dead areas, like no signal. In Orland Park where both my parents and sister live Sprint just doesn't even work around their homes.
But I am very happy with my Epic 4G Touch, it is rooted with a great ROM, and ICS theme.
Not sure if it is worth leaving Sprint for the Galaxy-Nexus and move to Verizon ? Would hate to leave, and then all of a sudden Sprint gets a kick ass ICS phone, and improves their network.

Sprint vs Tmobile. If you could switch.

Ive been with Sprint for a year, and Ive been putting up with there slow network for a couple of months. Im trying to give Sprint a fair chance to launch LTE in my area( there suppose to start network vision this month) before I start making a decision. I have no prblem buying my device outright so Tmobiles value plan woould save me some money (no i dont want the galaxy nexus, its already last year tech and i would like to see what happens for the holiday season or how the beastly the next nexus is) and i had them before so I know how the service is in my area. My question is if some of you had a chance to switch to tmobile (or some other carrier) rite now or by the end of your contract would you switch.
Sprints in a much better position than tmobile in terms of spectrum and network upgrades. In a year or so sprint will be up there on par with Verizon. If you're in an LTE area, you have unlimited and lte.
Tmobile is good in major cities in terms of data speeds, but I think their building penetration and voice over gsm technology aren't too good. Sprint can roam on Verizon so in theory you have so much coverage.
Tmobile has unlimted data and Tmobiles future position will allow them to roam with at&t 3G/3.75G network and use unlocked devices in there network natively (since the pcs 1900 DC-HSPA+ refarm) and on top of that since their using aws for LTE they can roam on Verizons and at&t future LTE network. So, Tmobile is looking good as well, plus they could always sign with clearwire for extra bandwidth.
Master_sk3 said:
Tmobile has unlimted data and Tmobiles future position will allow them to roam with at&t 3G/3.75G network and use unlocked devices in there network natively (since the pcs 1900 DC-HSPA+ refarm) and on top of that since their using aws for LTE they can roam on Verizons and at&t future LTE network. So, Tmobile is looking good as well, plus they could always sign with clearwire for extra bandwidth.
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I doubt Verizon and att will allow that lol
Sent from my iPride 6g
They will cause the FCC is suppose to put that clause in the deal to allow Tmobile and Verizon sell/swap spectrum around.
Bump. Anybody else have thoughts?
Very tempted. 7 years with Sprint but the prospect of International unlocked phones unlimited data and no contract is attractive.
let's face it sprints data speeds suck. I've been on LTE since it went live and the coverage is too spotty to be effective. Ends up being just a faster mostly 3G experience with frequent loss of connection due to constant 1x, 3G, LTE handoff.
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I switched to T-Mobile for six months last year but I couldn't stand it. I could only get a decent signal if I was outside or near a large window. I came back to Sprint and would rather deal with "slow" speeds than have faster speeds that are severely limited by location.
I'm in the St. Louis area but if T-Mo has great coverage where you are and you can't wait for Sprint's network then you should choose maroon.
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How's TMO in Atlanta?
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washjayb said:
Very tempted. 7 years with Sprint but the prospect of International unlocked phones unlimited data and no contract is attractive.
let's face it sprints data speeds suck. I've been on LTE since it went live and the coverage is too spotty to be effective. Ends up being just a faster mostly 3G experience with frequent loss of connection due to constant 1x, 3G, LTE handoff.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
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Sprint is still working in Atlanta. You'll have LTE everywhere you get 3g when it's finished. Sprint also has HD voice, which is where gsm is lacking.
LTE will have a crystal clear voice with VoLTE and IMS plus I dont care about voice quality cause i mostly text or dont use minutes at all. I mostly use data only anway.
Ascertion said:
Sprint is still working in Atlanta. You'll have LTE everywhere you get 3g when it's finished. Sprint also has HD voice, which is where gsm is lacking.
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well in overall its a matter of choice, personally ive been with sprint for about 7 years now non-stop, yeah ive had some issues with connectivity and signal loss but very rarely...not enought to make me wanna swich to another carrier, now only reason why im still with sprint is for 3 reasons, 1 is verizon, 2 is AT&T huge desapointing networks very expensive and very limited to their service data plans. now T-mobile does have great service and cheaper plans, but u gotta pay extra just to get 4g if u wanna use it for longer times, and now that 4g LTE is coming i can garantee u that their data plan is gonna sky high up the roof, not by much but it will go up i can garantee u that. so if i had my choice betwen does 2, limited 4g LTE or unlimited 4g LTE, id still stick with sprint, ive hadnt had any issues with their CS ive actually had great customer services no problems their althought maybe 2 or 3 every now and then in a blue moon that didnt know jack sh**. i can deal with the slow 3g i barely get 1.5mb/s over here without LTE still waiting for LTE which hasnt been listen just yet in my area but comming soon. if i can listen to music on pandora, watch netflix and surf the web at decent speeds without taking 10 seconds to load a page and have any interruptions then im happy enought and can deal with it. thats why i got wifi waiting for me back home when i get there so i can download does big files that i know i wont be able to download in seconds. until LTE arrives.
washjayb said:
How's TMO in Atlanta?
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My Buddy gets around 10-17mbps all the time. T-Mobile in Colorado is also really really good.
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I think it's all a matter of where you live but here in ol San Antonio at least for me, Tmo suckssss! I've been with Sprint for 7 years and all I have to say is that 3g does suck compared to ATT but at least I have unlimited 4G which I use at least 5+GB's worth a month. Okay 4G is spotty but I'm only paying about $70 a month and super slow 3g is my only complaint. Mostly connected to wifi anyways and have never had a dropped call.
Sent from my Galaxy S III baby!
I got to give a thumbs up to Sprint's customer service too. They always take care of their long-term customers or did when I was in the financial bind a few years ago.... during the Fed lockdown in arguing over unemployment for two months I never lost my cell and couldn't pay the bill for quite a while. They were great.
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Tmo if I didn't go out of town so much
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iphones are the creation of people with nowhere left to turn
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washjayb said:
How's TMO in Atlanta?
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I was with t mobile for about 7 years before I switched to Sprint. Only reason I switched, was my company put me on their plan and started to pay for the bill. That being said, I think t mobile was hands down better than Sprint. (I'm in the Atlanta area btw). T mobile had extremely better data speeds 99 percent of the time. Reception is about the same. My gf still has t mobile and I check mine vs hers all the time. Every once in a while I'll get a decent data speed, but usually t mobile is faster. If I had to pay for my own line, I would switch back to t mobile in a heart beat. Better service, better data, upgrades every year (even let me do my upgrades every 6 months if you call their customer service).
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
jonathanm1978 said:
I got to give a thumbs up to Sprint's customer service too. They always take care of their long-term customers or did when I was in the financial bind a few years ago.... during the Fed lockdown in arguing over unemployment for two months I never lost my cell and couldn't pay the bill for quite a while. They were great.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
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I don't like the fact that T-Mo outsources CS jobs.
Honestly if i do decide to switch to Tmobile, i wouldnt be apposed to coming back to Sprint if I had to. (Tmobile goes bankrupt, I move and Tmobiles coverage is bad.. etc) Sprint has a god network vision strategy theyre moving slow and there wont be any real results of network vision until 2015, after most markets will be complete and they phase out iden for use of the 800mhz band for LTE-A. Also Clearwire should have a good LTE-A coverage by then.
dougstoner said:
I was with t mobile for about 7 years before I switched to Sprint. Only reason I switched, was my company put me on their plan and started to pay for the bill. That being said, I think t mobile was hands down better than Sprint. (I'm in the Atlanta area btw). T mobile had extremely better data speeds 99 percent of the time. Reception is about the same. My gf still has t mobile and I check mine vs hers all the time. Every once in a while I'll get a decent data speed, but usually t mobile is faster. If I had to pay for my own line, I would switch back to t mobile in a heart beat. Better service, better data, upgrades every year (even let me do my upgrades every 6 months if you call their customer service).
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
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if that is true that t-mobile does have better service and better data, then whats stopping u from switching back to t-mobile, despite that ure company is paying for sprints service, that shouldnt stop yah from switching...the fact of the matter is...if u really wanted to switch to t-mobile u would have and just spent that money out of ure pocket, im sure u earn well enought to pay for it on ure own, other whize u wouldnt be saying that. as for upgrades u can also do ure upgrades every year with sprint as well.

[Q] anybody else get " the letter"

i just got my letter (about my unlocked phone/ wifi tethering ). the same day i got my new S3,
the phone is nice but cleveland has no LTE...and won't until mid 2013
i've been with sprint 10 years so if they terminate F U C K ' E M
i'll get the Galaxy note 2 (cheap ) / wit a new contract.:highfive:
How much data did you use while tethering?
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
I had that letter numerous time with my Epic. I used roam control and strictly roamed for 3 months straight. Nothing ever came off it though. No Sprint data, 10gb a month of roaming data.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
It would be nice if their network was at least useable enough that you don't have to force roaming just to check your email or load a damn Facebook page.
BWFBezerk said:
I had that letter numerous time with my Epic. I used roam control and strictly roamed for 3 months straight. Nothing ever came off it though. No Sprint data, 10gb a month of roaming data.
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that's a lot. maybe if people had consideration and didn't abuse tethering it would be included in the plans.. obliviously downloading 10gb of data while roaming seems blatantly excessive. surprised they didn't pull the plug, perhaps it takes a bit for the system to raise a flag. the fees must be costing them more than you're worth having as a customer, as harsh as that may sound..
I'd rather use roam control and get 3g Verizon speed, instead of 1 bar of Sprint 3g. So if they upped their network then I wouldn't have to. I'm not complaining though, just giving op my situation.
I wasn't tethering though. Just lots of high quality Spotify. I don't think they'd even know the difference.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
I got the phone call from sprint about 5 months ago, after only one month of high roaming data (was using samsung epic 4g touch at the time). I wasn't force roaming. I was just doing my usual work, home, kids stuff routine. That's how bad the sprint signals are in pockets of where I live. So for one month I used 6g of data roaming, which is my monthly average. Pandora, email and facebook.
In fact, my house, which is about 6 blocks from LTE coverage is a dead zone with roaming only (even with an air rave).
I reverted the modem back a couple versions the next month and problem was solved, of course with much slower data.
What I don't really understand is how sprint can know that the 2 mile stretch of area I live and work in is a deadzone and still give me crap for it. Basically, the rep said turn roaming off and have no service, or terminate. I like sprint, I've got 6 lines. It's the only carrier i can afford. I never call to complain, specifically because of that. I am happy with what I get.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
i live in Michigan and have no 4G service. I pay $10/mo for "premium data" services. IDK about you but 3G speeds so slow that you dont even wanna use data is hardly "premium". i only use about 1.5GB/month. I am sure as soon as 4G LTE becomes available for me (end of year or early next year) i will get the same letter/call from them.
dgn_sandibalz said:
I got the phone call from sprint about 5 months ago, after only one month of high roaming data (was using samsung epic 4g touch at the time). I wasn't force roaming. I was just doing my usual work, home, kids stuff routine. That's how bad the sprint signals are in pockets of where I live. So for one month I used 6g of data roaming, which is my monthly average. Pandora, email and facebook.
In fact, my house, which is about 6 blocks from LTE coverage is a dead zone with roaming only (even with an air rave).
I reverted the modem back a couple versions the next month and problem was solved, of course with much slower data.
What I don't really understand is how sprint can know that the 2 mile stretch of area I live and work in is a deadzone and still give me crap for it. Basically, the rep said turn roaming off and have no service, or terminate. I like sprint, I've got 6 lines. It's the only carrier i can afford. I never call to complain, specifically because of that. I am happy with what I get.
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the thing that gets me is why don't they at least give out some numbers on how much you're allowed to roam data.. or are people not allowed data roaming at all?
i also assume if you tether, unless you do some type of work around on the device they can tell whether it's tethering or normal phone data.
Call to action!
TO ALL!!!! this is a call to action. I too, like many others are experiencing unacceptable data speeds while on 3G and in great reception while using the Galaxy S III. the speeds I should be receiving are 1.5-3 MB/s but instead I am receiving around 128Kb/s in the city and within excellent service. We all have to pay a 'Premium Data Add-On' charges just to own these phones and this is unacceptable. Please write an Email to [email protected], vice president of customer experience at sprint and let him know what you are experiencing. Maybe if enough pissed off customers write, they will finally listen!
4g4me said:
TO ALL!!!! this is a call to action. I too, like many others are experiencing unacceptable data speeds while on 3G and in great reception while using the Galaxy S III. the speeds I should be receiving are 1.5-3 MB/s but instead I am receiving around 128Kb/s in the city and within excellent service. We all have to pay a 'Premium Data Add-On' charges just to own these phones and this is unacceptable. Please write an Email to [email protected], vice president of customer experience at sprint and let him know what you are experiencing. Maybe if enough pissed off customers write, they will finally listen!
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That's a good idea. Cause I was thinking of doing the data roaming thing here and there when I need too. Some parts of Long Island is like a dead zone for Sprint. Esp, where I use to work. Now I work in New York City, signal is great there, but still tends to be funky and speeds are different (enough to notice) with all full bars. My friend who has Verizon, goes through his pandora, without skips, or downloads much quicker. I am just trying to wait it out for this 4G move to take place so my $10.00 extra a month addition won't feel that bad.....but its taking them forever!
It does suck. I've been paying the "premium" data few now for almost 3 years. I've never had had 4g and my 3g is pretty terrible.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
tft said:
the thing that gets me is why don't they at least give out some numbers on how much you're allowed to roam data.. or are people not allowed data roaming at all?
i also assume if you tether, unless you do some type of work around on the device they can tell whether it's tethering or normal phone data.
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They do its in your contract. And to the previous guy. 1.5GB of data is a lot for someone who doesn't get signal...
Sent from my SPH-L710 using XDA Premium HD app
Use the hell out your phone tethering included, we pay way more than it cost to use data. Roaning cost them money that's why the carrier get mad, but on there network they could careless. Most people ain't power users only most people on xda, well in the real world we make up a small group I highly doubt we would interrupt service. Sprint 3g is just slow it don't matter if 1500 people are connected or just 2 it sucks. I Been tethering over 20 gigs a month along time atleast five years. That's not a lot when you consider downloading games from gameloft downloading roms on xda tethering to use your xbox 360 online watching netfrix and so on. It needs to be unlimited all times free tethering an all I rather pay more for that.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium App
Since Dec 16,2012-Jan 9, 2013 I have used 20.40GB and have not received any letters from sprint
Patrickw6789 said:
Since Dec 16,2012-Jan 9, 2013 I have used 20.40GB and have not received any letters from sprint
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I am trying to roam using roam control but my GS3 won't get a signal in Chicago. I others on here roaming fine. I'm using version 2.6.2 which is the latest version. I have the app set to Samsung GS3. What can I do to get this working?

Torn. Keep E4GT or get GN2?

I've been due for an upgrade for a few months now, was waiting on the GS3 then heard about the Note 2. I know the Note 2 will be my next phone. The only thing stopping me is lack of LTE coverage in my area.
Major reason for staying with my E4GT is Wimax. I use it to tether at home. Leaving Wimax for 3G on the Note 2 would be a noticeable difference.
Thoughts?
Went from et4g to s3 to note 2 and haven't looked back. The 3g in St Louis is awful but I couldn't pass up the hardware of the other 2 phones. I can use wifi at home and get by with 3g for the time being. My wife's s2 feels like a toy after the other two I have used now.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
And this alone makes up for it...
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Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Check S4gru.com to see when Sprint LTE will be available in your area
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda app-developers app
I changed on release day. It's so awesome that I can't even describe how much better the phone is.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda app-developers app
Haha,
You guys are awesome and I see all of your points. I wonder if I post in the E4GT forum if I'd get different responses.
If I had wifi at my house I would've gone with the GN2 at launch.
I've checked S4gru and apparently Orange County isn't getting LTE until the middle of 2013. That's a long time to wait for someone who runs their internet via tether. I called Sprint a few times and they couldn't give me an answer one way or another when LTE would be lit in my area.
I was in the EXACT same dilemma as you (OP), I was on my old Evo4G and had great Wimax connection and speeds. But after watching all of the videos for the options(software) and hardware I couldn't pass it up. But then again I know that LTE is coming to my area within a month and a half. But regardless after picking up this device I am sooo happy I did, even with 3g which internet surfing is fine on really I just use the multiple page loader in the browser(tabs basically) and i have a few pages open and switch between them while surfing. Ex) open two on XDA then maybe one on PA another on AA and maybe another on TB (phonearena, technoBuffalo,AndroidAuthority) along with other sites after changing. Then just click a link on one after reading an article or thread then flip to the next which has the page loaded already(which loaded while I was reading my previous thread or article). And you don't even notice the difference with that method. Not to mention the 3g isn't all that bad anyways nowadays. Yes compared to 4g it is horrible but hey.
In short YES upgrade. if you dont want to take a good hour to 2 to get it setup at home with 3g which I did and it wasn't bad at all. I am speaking of using the Play market and downloading all the apps you want, then maybe stop at a Wi-fi hotspot and piggyback. hit a Mcdonald's or Starbucks.
I sure hope when the LTE hits here in my area it is comparable to AT&T the speeds on the tablet in my household connected to that is crazy fast. 42mb/s - 48mb/s
Orange County CA? LTE is due in Riverside in April....and i know the OC started before Riverside.
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Jcossack88 said:
Orange County CA? LTE is due in Riverside in April....and i know the OC started before Riverside.
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How do you know this?
Yup. OC, CA. April is 6 months away.
And let me play devils advocate for a sec: What good is this phone if Internet is so slow it's almost unusable (at times).
To the OP simply_Dave and the poster above me, you guys know you are looking at the "Launch date" for Orange County which is April. The launch date is when it is roughly 45-50% completed, chances are if you live in a populated area of OC you could be using the LTE market much before. Basically how is works is you can pick up signal much before the date but if you are having spotty coverage or issues dont complain cause they haven't "launched" it yet. But you know your city, Like for instance in mine on a map our City covers roughly a 25mile diameter each way from downtown, but my actual address and location is literally within the actual city. So when they start work in my City in December I will theoretically have 4gLTE fairly quickly(which has also been verified by acquaintances at Sprint). Although my city doesn't Officially "Launch" until June 2013.
I'm stoked though cause I have a Sprint tower that is scheduled for an LTE upgrade within a 1/4mile of my house!!
simply dave said:
How do you know this?
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S4Gru.com
People have already seen many crews beggining work all around us. A few weeks ago my service was horrible, and a tower was down (my guess is due to matinence). But like I said, I am pretty sure OC is due to release prior to us in Riverside, but check that site for when it is expected to drop...I will see if I can find the link to the specific completion rate for you and post it here when I find it.
The Administrator on S4Gru.com seems to believe LTE will launch in the OC in Q1 of 2013....that is if you do not live in Brea, Yorba Linda, or Placentia.
That's great news! Thanks for the look up. Maybe I should make the jump. I just ordered a bunch of new cases for my E4GT too. Haha.
I'm in the same position. I use 4G tether on my E4GT *all the time*. Wimax speeds for me are 6-8Mb during the day, 8-10Mb during the night. I just bought a new Anker battery for the E4GT and i love the screen brightness, etc., but especially the speeds with my tablet. What makes it worse is that i have the Note 10.1 with quad core 1.4 with 2GB and i know how good this tablet is, i only expect wonderous things from the Note 2 consdering it's a higher spec'd processor with near same specs.
At this point, i think it's safe to assume not to go with GS3 - even with the Best buy deals coming up. I *would* suggest waiting 2-3 weeks though....if you are thinking of upgrading. It looks to be a great phone with great battery and great screen and great camera. I'm not sure there isn't something great about this phone, honestly, but that's still to be said about radio reception because i had to recently get rid of my GS3 because it was a worse radio than my E4GT - off topic, i know, so back on topic - wait 2-3 weeks if you must get this (and if you love samsung, you MUSTget this) i would keep the E4GT around though - for those times you want to SWAP back to use your tether through sprint.com/activate website. Enjoy...
I moved from the E4GT to the GN2 and I live in an area that has wimax and lte
The sprint LTE speeds for me are:
About the same download as WIMAX for me 6-10 mb/s
faster upload speeds, Wimax is capped at around 1 mb/s my LTE has gotten anywhere from 2-4 mb/s
(No these are not anywhere near the crazy att and verizon lte speeds but still very usable)
Ping times are faster for me on LTE than they were on wimax
ability to hold the connection seems better for me on lte. It used to drop for me with wimax causing downloads to error, streaming music to stop etc.
As long as i stay in coverage area my connection seems pretty stable on lte.
As far as everything else there is pretty much nothing not to love. I look around my apartment and wonder why I have so many charging cables laying around now since now i just plug it in every day or two or three.
Phone wise, I also made the switch from the ET4G and its like night and day. Longer battery and better all around phone (I also have a Note tablet...)
Since your using it as your internet makes it a tougher decision.
I gave up having Wimax in the hope to have LTE in the near future.
For now I use my 40mbs WiFi and I have about 1.75mbs 3G at my home address.
Meh, think I'm going to keep my phone with wimax. I tried living with internet at 3G and just couldn't do it. I didn't go for more then 10 mins before getting frustrated and turning on Wimax. :/
One reason to get the note
.:Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Note II:.
I'm sure you know that tethering is not yet working on GN2. I have seen one report of bluetooth based tethering working but a no go for me. If your area isn't getting lte for while there's no upside to the GN2. It's a great phone mind you but no tethering for the time being.

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