Develop Bugs

please help Lte

i drove around every corner on my town rockford illinois and lte is strong everywhere accept when i get close to home but as soon as i cross a street it goes to 3g. Is there a app or way to connect to certain towers because i don't this will get fixed by sprint it seems to be this phone format have a lte only option just cdma/lte. i could literally go one block and have full bars lte but soon as i head home it goes from 4g full bars to 3g. a app or something i could flash to just have lte would be great. Because 3g is not usable in rockford just to slow.
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bonebeatz1234 said:
i drove around every corner on my town rockford illinois and lte is strong everywhere accept when i get close to home but as soon as i cross a street it goes to 3g. Is there a app or way to connect to certain towers because i don't this will get fixed by sprint it seems to be this phone format have a lte only option just cdma/lte. i could literally go one block and have full bars lte but soon as i head home it goes from 4g full bars to 3g. a app or something i could flash to just have lte would be great. Because 3g is not usable in rockford just to slow.
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Not to be facetious, but once you get to your house, don't you have wifi? Seems like it would be a non-issue to me. :/

bonebeatz1234 said:
i drove around every corner on my town rockford illinois and lte is strong everywhere accept when i get close to home but as soon as i cross a street it goes to 3g. Is there a app or way to connect to certain towers because i don't this will get fixed by sprint it seems to be this phone format have a lte only option just cdma/lte. i could literally go one block and have full bars lte but soon as i head home it goes from 4g full bars to 3g. a app or something i could flash to just have lte would be great. Because 3g is not usable in rockford just to slow.
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I don't know of any option to make it lte only. Also just cause u have full signal doesn't mean you're not on the edges of it. That's your phones signal not lte signal. Same thing happens to me in Baltimore with LTE. I'll have full signal and lose lte connection.
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bonebeatz1234 said:
i drove around every corner on my town rockford illinois and lte is strong everywhere accept when i get close to home but as soon as i cross a street it goes to 3g. Is there a app or way to connect to certain towers because i don't this will get fixed by sprint it seems to be this phone format have a lte only option just cdma/lte. i could literally go one block and have full bars lte but soon as i head home it goes from 4g full bars to 3g. a app or something i could flash to just have lte would be great. Because 3g is not usable in rockford just to slow.
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First, understand that LTE service has not been officially launched in Rockford. It is still under development. Full network buildout will probably continue even after the local market is officially launched.
Second, your "bars" display on the GS3 does not reflect the strength of your LTE signal, only the 1x signal used for voice, text, etc.
Third, if you want to understand the Sprint LTE rollout, go to S4GRU.com and read everything.

i asked because on tmobile when i had them you could just turn phone on to hspa only i thought there would be the same for sprint. ALL THE towers in rockford are complete is what sprint told me i should be receiving lte. east side ,westside, south side had lte even the north just the small neighbor hood that i just moved to today doesn't my old house i had lte which is three blocks away.
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The only way to force your Sprint GS3 to LTE only is in the hidden debug menus, for which I think you need your MSL. But when you to that, you are turning off all the other radio functions, so you have no voice or text connectivity.
If you had Sprint LTE service a few blocks away and lost it, and it does not come back by toggling the radio (airplane mode, reboot, etc.) then it may be that you were just on the edge of service in the prior location. What kind of data speeds did you get with LTE there?
It could be that inside your new home the signal is just too weak. If that is the only problem location, the best bet is to us WiFi there.

jswearingen said:
Not to be facetious, but once you get to your house, don't you have wifi? Seems like it would be a non-issue to me. :/
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i just moved no wifi cable not on til next week .
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You could try the app "network" to force lte

with your msl can't you adjust the s/n rx and tx settings ? i did this with my evo 4g and worked like a charm since i had 4g outside my house but not inside.

bonebeatz1234 said:
i just moved no wifi cable not on til next week .
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Ah. Makes sense

3G vs LTE -- how many bars?

I purchased the Note 2 in hopes of having a little better reception at my desk here at work. If I walk to a window, I get full bars, but my desk is in the middle of the floor, so I get one bar or none. Sadly, the Note 2 didn't change that (I didn't think it would, just hoped it had a better antenna). I'm probably going to return it this afternoon, and switch to Verizon next month when it arrives there. My coworker's S3 on Verizon has full bars, and he sits 3 feet away from me, but he also has 4G on his (can't figure out how to turn it off to test his 3G only).
I like Sprint, and if I knew LTE would change these reception woes, I'd just tough it out until it hits Memphis. Has anyone had a problem getting 3G, but then saw their reception increase with LTE? The older 4G would not reach my desk with my 3D, so I'm skeptical, but never hurts to ask.

don't change carriers just because your desk is in a bad spot. I can guarantee you there are places in your building, or even other buildings where the roles will be reversed.you will be the one with signal and him with nothing
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reinaldistic said:
don't change carriers just because your desk is in a bad spot. I can guarantee you there are places in your building, or even other buildings where the roles will be reversed.you will be the one with signal and him with nothing
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Unfortunately, this is where I spend 8 hours a day, and there's no chance of me moving to a different part of the floor. When I'm at home, I use Wifi, so it's not an issue, but here at work, my phone is basically useless because of Sprint's weak signal. I can move to Verizon with no penalties, and with my corporate discount the rate is the same (unlimited data goes away, but I've never gone over 2GB a month), it's just a bunch of trouble I'd rather not go through if Sprint's LTE is strong.

Reception In Fringe Areas

Does anybody else have horrible reception problems in week signal areas?
I know how that sounds... but, what I mean is in the city, with the corporate PRL (56xxx) and the LJ7 radio, I get better signals then I ever have with my Moment or S2, roaming or native.
However, when I go out of town into a Cellcom area, I drop to no signal unless I am practically on top of a tower.
My Sprint tablet and S2 get decent roaming signals ( 2-3 bars) while my S3 gets no service, despite multiple combinations of radios and PRL's.
Any ideas? Bad antenna connection? Bad phone?
Thanks!
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I've noticed the signal roams and just flat out drops in certsin areas. Maybe it's just the antenna? I'm in So Cal.
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xTMFxOffshore said:
I've noticed the signal roams and just flat out drops in certsin areas. Maybe it's just the antenna? I'm in So Cal.
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I'm in Wisconsin.
I have also noticed that my phone roams more often than any other Sprint device that I have.
The S2 and S3 should be identical as far which cellular frequencies they listen to... so there shouldn't be any reason that the S2 gets service in 90 percent of the places the S3 doesn't even get roaming service.
I wonder how likely it is that the antenna write somehow got disconnected when I dropped the phone at some point in the past?
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I live in an area that is rated as "Good / Best" for Voice, with solid 3G coverage (per their site map & past phone experience) but do not have LTE available here yet.
I've had the GS3 for < a day and was able to test side by side just moments apart from deactivating my old HTC phone.
I immediately went from a 3 year old phone getting -80dBm to -92dBm on the GS3. I have used the 3G on my HTC phone day in and out here for the entire 3 years of the phone, when suddenly, the GS3 was timing out while trying to download Google Chrome from the Play Store. Web page loads are bursty... hot/cold/hot/cold and SpeedTest.Net App seems to confirm the story...
I could not complete SpeedTest.Net due to "communication issues" nor download anything until I forced the phone to CDMA only. Unfortunately, even though I can now USE the phone, the speeds are still kinda rough:
Pings are ranging 800ms - 1300ms consistently ( I was used to 200ms or less )
Downloads are 30-80kbps, I was used to 350-500k.
Brief Real-world testing of moving through web pages, loading videos and browsing the playstore also lean towards the numbers I'm seeing.
Not sure about what to do. Maybe the HTC EVO 4G LTE would have better signal. It's hard to determine without personally testing, there's a LOT of complaints both ways, on both forums. I'll continue to evaluate and give it a chance to improve. Maybe it was a bad night last night.

The word thing is that I get better speeds and reception on Sprint's network in Milwaukee than I do with my S2.
As soon as I leave the city, or even leave Sprint's network, the S3 becomes prone to LOS while the S2 chugs along happily.
And, as I said before, this is with the same PRL.
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I've been noticing a lot more random LOS, and other signal issues in areas I've had signal before, and good signal at that on both my Photon and iphone. Is there a better PRL or Profile to use that will improve this or is it just something on Samsung's end that is gonna be what it is?

LTE? Does The Icon Change?

Silly question, but I'm curious. In my area, according to what I have seen on T-Mobile's website, there is some LTE coverage in the greater downtown area. Although I have "4G" just about everywhere, I have also been through the downtown areas and never seen an LTE icon or anything like that on my phone. Speed test results have also not shown anything significant either. Can someone with known LTE chime in?

02CWRX said:
Silly question, but I'm curious. In my area, according to what I have seen on T-Mobile's website, there is some LTE coverage in the greater downtown area. Although I have "4G" just about everywhere, I have also been through the downtown areas and never seen an LTE icon or anything like that on my phone. Speed test results have also not shown anything significant either. Can someone with known LTE chime in?
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Yep, here's a screenshot:
http://i.imgur.com/OubhiYj.jpg

It will say LTE along with the 4G icon
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ryceone said:
Yep, here's a screenshot:
http://i.imgur.com/OubhiYj.jpg
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Perfect! I hit the thanks button for you.

Wow 33mb download
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awesomedeals88 said:
Wow 33mb download
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Yeah crazy right?

A similar question (I have neither an S4 nor T-Mobile service at this time, but will in the near future).
When you switch from HSPA+ "4G" to LTE 4G... is there an interruption in service for a few seconds as you change networks? I have a Nexus S 4G on Sprint right now, and where I live if I drive 10 miles I will go back and forth between 3G and 4G several times. And every time 4G becomes either available or unavailable, I will have a several second interruption in service while it switches networks. It's so annoying that I sometimes completely disable 4G because I'd rather have slow steady 3G than all these switches back and forth with gaps. Does that make sense?

The111 said:
A similar question (I have neither an S4 nor T-Mobile service at this time, but will in the near future).
When you switch from HSPA+ "4G" to LTE 4G... is there an interruption in service for a few seconds as you change networks? I have a Nexus S 4G on Sprint right now, and where I live if I drive 10 miles I will go back and forth between 3G and 4G several times. And every time 4G becomes either available or unavailable, I will have a several second interruption in service while it switches networks. It's so annoying that I sometimes completely disable 4G because I'd rather have slow steady 3G than all these switches back and forth with gaps. Does that make sense?
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Its quite normal it just means your radio is switching signals and theres a small down time for a second while it searches for the change in frequency.
Your probably seeing the O with a line thru it for a split second then signal bars arise
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lojak29 said:
Its quite normal it just means your radio is switching signals and theres a small down time for a second while it searches for the change in frequency.
Your probably seeing the O with a line thru it for a split second then signal bars arise
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Yes, I do understand the reason behind it and that it's normal for my phone.
But I have never used an HSPA+ or LTE network or phone and I'm asking if the same thing happens with the S4 when switching between HSPA+ and LTE. I assume it does, but would appreciate confirmation from someone with the phone, on Tmobile, with both networks available in their area. Thanks.

signal fluctautes

Hi guys,
Lately I have been noticing that my S4 hasn't been holding a signal as well as before. Seems to be this way since LTE rollout in my neighborhood. I get about 1 bar of LTE indoors. It seems as though the phone is more sensitive and tends to drop to E or 0 bars of 4G when it is in my pocket. Once I take it out of my pocket, it flips back to LTE in about 5 seconds.
Is this normal?

I noticed the same thing when LTE came to my neighborhood, south of Houston last week. When it is on 4G, I get full bars most of the time. As soon as the little LTE showed, I barely got 2 bars. Most of the time it's one or no bar. I manually switched my network back to GSM/WCDMA (auto connect). Now that I know Houston's LTE signal has gone widespread, I'll check it when I'm out and about to see if the signal is like that everywhere. But, for now, I'd rather make sure my calls will come in. I use WIFI at home, anyway. Maybe an updated radio will come with system upgrades.

My LTE connection up here in kingwood has been crap for the last week or so too. Kinda annoying, when I got the phone I was pulling 3 bars in my apt now it drops to E.

I have notice the same thing im in fort worth and since LTE I missed lost of calls because my phone is ether on my pocket or in side mg house I het great speeds outside though like right next to a tower lol
---------- Post added at 01:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:39 AM ----------
Meant to say I live right next to a tower lol

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same here, lte i barely get 2 bars. been like that since i got lte about a month ago. i assume its just because they are working on the towers and will take a bit to get the full benefits. Though even though i only get about 2 bars, i still get crazy speeds.

I have yet to see full bars on LTE. Everywhere I go I see two bars.
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You guys do understand that the bars are relatively arbitrary and don't really tell you much, right? If you want to know what your signal really is you need to look in settings, about phone, phone status and see what the dB reading on the phone is.
Anything above -80 is really strong
Anything between -90 and -81 is all right
Anything between -99 and 91 is a little weak but probably okay.
Anything below -100 is where you start to get into the possible dropped call territory.
Anything below -110 and you are probably not going to get a signal for more than a few seconds at a time.
There are other ways to check this as well with apps that will show signal status in widgets or on the status bar. And with many custom ROMs you can switch the signal bars to a dB reading.
Sent from your phone. You should be careful where you leave that thing.

Thanks for that info.
When I was on the LTE, my db was 104-106. On regular 4G, it's on 87. That's why I've opted to stay on 4G for the time being.

I also get 1 bar of LTE when I'm indoors and then couple bars when I'm outside if I'm still in LTE area. Since Tampa isn't covered in LTE yet and some of my apps don't work at all with 1 bar of LTE, I just switched back to HSPA+ and changed the APN that better fits with HSPA+ speeds.
The HSPA+ speeds I get are just as fast as when I was with Verizon's LTE.

I called customer service and the lady told me to enable roaming. Maybe I will get better reception?
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Soldier 2.0 said:
I called customer service and the lady told me to enable roaming. Maybe I will get better reception?
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It might if there is a much stronger tower from another carrier near you. However if you utilize roaming it could cost you an arm and a leg.
Sent from your phone. You should be careful where you leave that thing.

Skipjacks said:
It might if there is a much stronger tower from another carrier near you. However if you utilize roaming it could cost you an arm and a leg.
Sent from your phone. You should be careful where you leave that thing.
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The lady said national roaming is included.
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Soldier 2.0 said:
The lady said national roaming is included.
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Now that you mention it I think you are right about voice calling. Maybe it was the data use when roaming that had the potential to be expensive. You might want to check on that just to be sure. Nothing like a $400 unexpected cell phone bill to ruin your day.
Either way you will only see an impact on signal if say an AT&T tower is the only one available as the t mobile tower should get priority even with a weaker signal. At least that's how I think it works....I reserve the right to enjoy reading a post by someone who understands tower priority more than me giving a detailed explanation of how that all works.
Sent from your phone. You should be careful where you leave that thing.

Only in certain areas do I get full bars on lte, usually its 2 or 3, but rarely does it go 4g.
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Skipjacks said:
Now that you mention it I think you are right about voice calling. Maybe it was the data use when roaming that had the potential to be expensive. You might want to check on that just to be sure. Nothing like a $400 unexpected cell phone bill to ruin your day.
Either way you will only see an impact on signal if say an AT&T tower is the only one available as the t mobile tower should get priority even with a weaker signal. At least that's how I think it works....I reserve the right to enjoy reading a post by someone who understands tower priority more than me giving a detailed explanation of how that all works.
Sent from your phone. You should be careful where you leave that thing.
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Will I be charged for domestic data roaming?
No, T-Mobile does not charge for domestic data roaming. However, once your domestic data roaming allotment has been reached your data services will be unavailable until you return to a T-Mobile coverage area, your bill cycle starts over or you increase your data plan. If you have a Wi-Fi capable device, you may use Wi-Fi to access unlimited data.
How will domestic data roaming appear on my bill?
It will not appear on your bill as there are no additional charges associated with domestic data roaming.
How will I know that I am near my domestic data roaming allotment?
You will receive a free usage alert via text message to notify you once you use 80% of your monthly domestic data roaming allotment. You will receive another free usage alert via text message to notify you when you reach 100% of your domestic data roaming allotment. These text messages will contain a link that will allow you to view your real-time usage. You can also view your domestic data usage by using the MyAccount feature on your device once you have exceeded 80% of the monthly allotment (whether you are roaming or not).
Link https://t-mobile.jive-mobile.com/#j...d_Will_I_be_charged_for_domestic_data_roaming
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refarm
I had the same thing happen at my house in south Denver. It took three different phone calls but I finally talked to a guy in tech support who said that many people have had the same thing happen after the change to LTE in one's area. There seems to be no real solution to it. At my house the signal dropped so low that we couldn't make calls anymore and they sent me a signal booster. With the signal booster in my upstairs window we can use our phones with voice and data without problems.
I've also noticed that you have to be pretty close to a tower to get the benefits of LTE. I've been playing around speed testing with different distances and it drops off pretty quick - between 1/4-1/2 mile is about as far as you can get at least in my neighborhood.

LTE signal fluctuation is an issue right now but I will say that I'm happy that we can still fall back to hsoa+ because if we were to go from LTE to 3g (like sprint does ) I would have been one angry person.
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Ive noticed the signal become a problem too after i got lte. i dont know why.

TheAtheistOtaku said:
same here, lte i barely get 2 bars. been like that since i got lte about a month ago. i assume its just because they are working on the towers and will take a bit to get the full benefits. Though even though i only get about 2 bars, i still get crazy speeds.
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figured out why my signal fluctuates. My idiot self forgot i had my aluminum backing on it since i got it. took it off and put the stock one, instantly got full bars.