I got my Evo on Friday, and I'm getting pretty much 0-2 bars no matter where I am in the city. In my office, I get no 4G service. This is odd, because it shows San Antonio to be pretty well covered AND I have a Clear USB modem that I use in my office with my laptop that gets excellent signal. What gives?
I got my Evo on Friday, and I'm getting pretty much 0-2 bars no matter where I am in the city. In my office, I get no 4G service. This is odd, because it shows San Antonio to be pretty well covered AND I have a Clear USB modem that I use in my office with my laptop that gets excellent signal. What gives?
I read that somewhere that since 4G uses higher frequency, it's signal has hard time penetrating buildings.
A few things to remember.
1. This is a phone. You pc usb does not have to jump through hoops, like you phone does.
2. The antennae is on the top left side of the phone.
3. The current wimax network is just a back bone for what is to come.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to RiverOfIce For This Useful Post:
I have a Clear modem in my living room and it gets much better signal than my phone does. I would imagine that the modem has an easier job of it considering it can be larger, use more power, etc. Anyway, I just use WiFi when I am inside and consider Wimax more of an extension of WiFi for when I am out and about. This works well since Wimax is not as good at getting into buildings as some of the cellular frequencies. I have my Wifi and Wimax widgets on the main home screen so I can turn either one on if needed. Still, unless I am streaming or something, I don't really need it so I tend to leave both off anyway.
I live in SA and have been very unimpressed with 4g to the point where I really dont bother turning it on....I live off Bandera/Mainland which is close to a tower. Sunday, my speeds were everywhere. I did a speed test which got me 4mbps down, but a couple hours later, it took 10 minutes to download an app.......
I went out during the day to the ingram area and I couldnt get youtube videos to even load up....over by the 281/nakoma area, things ran smoother....
I live in SA and have been very unimpressed with 4g to the point where I really dont bother turning it on....I live off Bandera/Mainland which is close to a tower. Sunday, my speeds were everywhere. I did a speed test which got me 4mbps down, but a couple hours later, it took 10 minutes to download an app.......
I went out during the day to the ingram area and I couldnt get youtube videos to even load up....over by the 281/nakoma area, things ran smoother....
I work by the att center and live by sea world. at work, it's basically NO signal. Driving home, 0-1 bars, at home, 1-2 bars. Speed tests are all over the place. Very unimpressed with 4G reception at this point.
I live in Columbia MD and work in Woodlawn MD, both of which show up in both the Sprint and Clear coverage maps as dark blue and best.
I have stood outside at home and gotten no 4G, and at work and gotten 1 bar (listed as poor, per the phone). I realize that topography may play a role at home due to hills and up and down rolling terrain, but work is flat out flat and I'd expect better than 1 bar outdoors.
I also got 1 bar of 4G on the 5th floor of a building while standing at the window.
So yes, some concern that the phone isn't handling 4G well could be terrain related, I'm concerned that in what should be a sea of 4G at work, outdoor reception is crud.
You guys understand that it is still being built out. Right? Even in "blue" areas there needs to be a lot of work done. But thank you for buying the first round of phones and then complaining about how everything does not work. Here is a little tip next time. If you do not want bugs, glitches, and problems. What 6-12 months after release. By then all the bugs are worked out.
As I say in that thread, I still love the phone and it makes for a great 3G phone, just wish that the 4G was better in the "4G cities" like Seattle. After all, CLEAR is BASED here, you'd think it would be more extensive in their home town.
I got my Evo on Friday, and I'm getting pretty much 0-2 bars no matter where I am in the city. In my office, I get no 4G service. This is odd, because it shows San Antonio to be pretty well covered AND I have a Clear USB modem that I use in my office with my laptop that gets excellent signal. What gives?
I have the same exact issue. Charlotte, plenty of 4g and I have clear high speed internet; but spotty/sporadic 4g.
You guys understand that it is still being built out. Right? Even in "blue" areas there needs to be a lot of work done. But thank you for buying the first round of phones and then complaining about how everything does not work. Here is a little tip next time. If you do not want bugs, glitches, and problems. What 6-12 months after release. By then all the bugs are worked out.
You make a valid point but Clear and Sprint are both willing to take from me a considerable number of dollars in exchange for a service that they list on their maps as being available and available in a "strong" manner.
If they listed areas as "weak", if they said that the coverage areas are light shades of pale green indicating "spotty coverage" instead of saying that the product is mature, robust and widely available, I'd be inclined to say your point has merit.
But they don't. They are making the public believe that their product, in areas that are "blue" and "Best" will work as advertised. And as a customer, I'm saying that it is not working as advertised.
Is it Sprint? Clear? HTC? Don't know. But in this threeway partnership, money exchanged hands and it's reasonable given the advertising, to call them when the ere is a deficiency so that it can be addressed.
Maybe it's HTC's issue, maybe it's Sprint/Clear's issue, and they can change their maps to be more realistic of it's their issue.
I can't tell where the problem is, but it's their job to live up to their promises or adjust their promotional materials to line up with reality. I've no problem if the coverage is spotty, just tell me the truth. But if I do live in a 5 bar 4G area and I get nothing; then maybe I have a phone problem. How am I to tell unless I say something?
The Following User Says Thank You to jmcging For This Useful Post:
As I mentioned in a couple of threads, KC is only about 50 tp 60% built out, per who I gather to be a higher up at Sprint. I walked into a RS Friday at 7am near the Sprint HQ here in KC and as the compers were rather slow he came up to me and asked if I had seen the Evo etc... I mentioned I was interested in the Hotspot feature and he explained that unril mid July I wouldn't see great coverage in KC. He mentioned several of the new ,arkets were turned on for the Evo launch but still 30 to 45 days until I would see consistent coverage and a fast connect.
I drove around a bit this weekend and in area's of even 1 or 2 bars was seeing 3 to 3.5mb down, 1mb up. If this is 50% up here in KC I can't wait to see it at full power and coverage.
You guys understand that it is still being built out. Right? Even in "blue" areas there needs to be a lot of work done. But thank you for buying the first round of phones and then complaining about how everything does not work. Here is a little tip next time. If you do not want bugs, glitches, and problems. What 6-12 months after release. By then all the bugs are worked out.
*sigh*
Let me state AGAIN.
I've had a Clear wimax modem for months now. This is not brand new in San Antonio. I get great reception with it all over town, just not on the phone.
A few things to remember.
1. This is a phone. You pc usb does not have to jump through hoops, like you phone does.
2. The antennae is on the top left side of the phone.
3. The current wimax network is just a back bone for what is to come.
Still will be same high frequency band, so same building / structure penetration issues. That is the tradeoff- 4G will be faster and LTE will have better signal penetration in structures- similar (but not quite) to 3G.
Next year, the "my phone is better than yours" debates will be taken over by, "4G is better than LTE" and vice versa
Still will be same high frequency band, so same building / structure penetration issues. That is the tradeoff- 4G will be faster and LTE will have better signal penetration in structures- similar (but not quite) to 3G.
Currently lte has issues with moving at 25kmph, you get only a 1mbps speed.
The building issues are not as great as some people make out. Line of sight is always better.
For the record, Woodlawn MD is a suburb of Baltimore, Sprints initial 4G market and my work location has been a dark blue area for well over a year. Maybe reality is different but one would think the map of the first Sprint 4G rollout would accurately reflect coverage. That's why the outdoor 1 bar result just seems wrong.
Agree maps are best case effort, and I'm not talking inside a house, I'm talking outdoors.
I even agreed that due to terrain, my outdoor walk about with zero 4G in a dark blue area like my home wouldn't seem improbable.
However, if Sprint is pushing 5 bars worth of 4G here at my office, my phone is only seeing 1 bar's worth. Outside, in a nice flat parking lot. The map is solid dark blue for a wide area; I'm smack in the middle. So I'd like to know which one has the problem, the phone or the wimax provider.
And FYI, there is no EVO firmware upgrade at the moment (2.1-update1) and the software is latest OTA 1.32.651.6.
Device(s): - T-Mobile Defy on AT&T 850/3G, or on T-Mo
- AT&T Galaxy Note on AT&T
- T-Mobile Gal Tab 7.0 Plus on
Carrier: Not Provided
Thanks: 4
Thanked 213 Times in 193 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmcging
For the record, Woodlawn MD is a suburb of Baltimore, Sprints initial 4G market and my work location has been a dark blue area for well over a year. Maybe reality is different but one would think the map of the first Sprint 4G rollout would accurately reflect coverage. That's why the outdoor 1 bar result just seems wrong...
Its all those trees around SSA hemming up the signal.
Same thing here in Bellevue, WA. Sprint shows complete coverage for the area but 4G service on the EVO is really spotty. My notifications bar will show the "4G is Available!" message and then not register with the network. When I can get a 4G lock, it's 1 bar or 0 bars. Going inside a building completely kills it. Downtown Bellevue, (108th & 4th) I've got nothing...
lame sprint. your maps lie.
even stranger is that I can get a 1 bar signal outside of downtown Denver even though they haven't rolled out there yet.
It may or may not be the map. It could be a soft ware issue. It could also be a firmware issue. It could be a lot of things.
Edit-----
Just hooked it up to a wimax test machine, something is really wrong. The radio for wimax and wifi are really really really low. Will look futher into this issue, but it looks like the software is under powering the radio.
Last edited by RiverOfIce; June 7th, 2010 at 02:20 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to RiverOfIce For This Useful Post:
It may or may not be the map. It could be a soft ware issue. It could also be a firmware issue. It could be a lot of things.
Edit-----
Just hooked it up to a wimax test machine, something is really wrong. The radio for wimax and wifi are really really really low. Will look futher into this issue, but it looks like the software is under powering the radio.
makes sense, in my house the wifi signal is pretty low for being close to the router.
It may or may not be the map. It could be a soft ware issue. It could also be a firmware issue. It could be a lot of things.
Edit-----
Just hooked it up to a wimax test machine, something is really wrong. The radio for wimax and wifi are really really really low. Will look futher into this issue, but it looks like the software is under powering the radio.
It may or may not be the map. It could be a soft ware issue. It could also be a firmware issue. It could be a lot of things.
Edit-----
Just hooked it up to a wimax test machine, something is really wrong. The radio for wimax and wifi are really really really low. Will look futher into this issue, but it looks like the software is under powering the radio.
This could be either a serious miscalculation or done intentionally to preserve battery life until coverage matures. Either way I'm awaiting your findings RiverOfIce before I pull the trigger and buy the evo.
This could be either a serious miscalculation or done intentionally to preserve battery life until coverage matures. Either way I'm awaiting your findings RiverOfIce before I pull the trigger and buy the evo.
I'm awaiting his findings before selling my iphone and keeping the Evo. I've still got 20 something days.
I am in Raleigh. A long time 4G area. Most places I can't get it. But where I do, it is great.
But so what? 3G is great. Most of the time I am on Wifi. I got 4G today while out with the wife and said, great, now what do I do with it. I mean, unless I had a video to DL, what added benefit was the 4G?
Yes, as it is built out, I am sure I will find uses for it. But for now, the phone is SO much better, what do I care about 4G now.
I am in Raleigh. A long time 4G area. Most places I can't get it. But where I do, it is great.
But so what? 3G is great. Most of the time I am on Wifi. I got 4G today while out with the wife and said, great, now what do I do with it. I mean, unless I had a video to DL, what added benefit was the 4G?
Yes, as it is built out, I am sure I will find uses for it. But for now, the phone is SO much better, what do I care about 4G now.
Cool. Pay for something you don't use I guess.
The Following User Says Thank You to mercdizzle For This Useful Post:
I live in the Chicago area and im having the same 4G network problems. The service is very spotty and usually the 3G network is as fast or sometimes even seems faster than 4G. Im a little disappointed in this part of Sprint and EVO. Seems like 4G is more hype than anything else for right now at least.
I live in the Chicago area and im having the same 4G network problems. The service is very spotty and usually the 3G network is as fast or sometimes even seems faster than 4G. Im a little disappointed in this part of Sprint and EVO. Seems like 4G is more hype than anything else for right now at least.
it certainly doesn't warrant an extra 10 bucks a month
Last edited by mercdizzle; June 7th, 2010 at 03:56 PM.
Device(s): Something that I will not claim, so far my best phone is a pink sanyo Katana
Carrier: Not Provided
Thanks: 26
Thanked 29 Times in 22 Posts
It seems like most of the people commenting on the thread are missing the point, he states that he has a 4G clearwire modem, and a HTC EVO. He's having problems with the EVO 4G matching the perfomance of his clearwire 4G modem.
He's the first person I've seen come out and say it like that, but I have noticed in a few reviews the same issue, they'll test the 4G and be unimpressed with the speed but will get better speeds with a modem. They'll usually just chalk it up to the 4G being overhyped and then complain about the fee, but to me I've been getting more and more concerned that the EVO 4G doesn't provide or procure as good of a 4G signal as it should.
it seems like most of the people commenting on the thread are missing the point, he states that he has a 4g clearwire modem, and a htc evo. He's having problems with the evo 4g matching the perfomance of his clearwire 4g modem.
He's the first person i've seen come out and say it like that, but i have noticed in a few reviews the same issue, they'll test the 4g and be unimpressed with the speed but will get better speeds with a modem. They'll usually just chalk it up to the 4g being overhyped and then complain about the fee, but to me i've been getting more and more concerned that the evo 4g doesn't provide or procure as good of a 4g signal as it should.
Might as well jump on here. I live in Baltimore... the city... which was supposed to be the first city to get 4g. I have barley had a bar. I actually noticed when I first got the phone. Now after having had it the whole weekend.... yea the 4g is terrible so far.
Might as well jump on here. I live in Baltimore... the city... which was supposed to be the first city to get 4g. I have barley had a bar. I actually noticed when I first got the phone. Now after having had it the whole weekend.... yea the 4g is terrible so far.
It may also be the handsets antenna. There were many many signal strength issues with the Incredible as well. HTC may have to re think its antenna system. I just read that the new IPhone that 1/4 inch stainless steel band around the phone is actually the antenna system that makes more sense to me to have it exposed like that rather than stuffed inside the handset somewhere.
IPhone that 1/4 inch stainless steel band around the phone is actually the antenna system that makes more sense to me to have it exposed like that rather than stuffed inside the handset somewhere.
I want to soo scream gimmick on that, but have no proof. Bigger antenna requires more power.
The Following User Says Thank You to RiverOfIce For This Useful Post:
I guess the thing is, like other people have said, I don't mind not having 4g honestly. I do mind paying for 4g when I'm in a city that clearly has 4g and not being able to get 4g... at all. That is lame.
When Sprint announced their first ever 4G handset at CTIA in March 2010, they dropped a bombshell on the mobile world. The HTC Evo 4G is a device that introduces a lot of firsts when compared to other North American handsets. This is the first Andr... Read More
TERRIBLE 4G reception.
