Just as any company that provides a service, that service isn't for everyone. If the download speeds have been bad and continue to be bad, call customer service at sprint and ask for retentions. Once there you'll be able to negotiate a release from your contract. 95% of folks I've talked to that have gone to this department have been able to leave sprint without paying the early termination fee.
I'm not trying to anger anyone, just trying to provide info for folks that are truly stuck and need a good viable way to correct their situation.
Thanks for the tip, Granite1. Like simcha, I too have been with Sprint for well over a decade, and am tired of the endless promises of better data in the future. I don't hate Sprint, but they simply don't provide a competitive product any more, and their customer service has gotten bad.
Now that I have a fancy new drivetrain tuner / engine monitor that uses Android devices for control and display, I can use my not so old but now obsolete Sprint S2 phone as a dedicated controller for it. It's still a lot of money wasted, but I'll be happy if I don't have to pay the termination fee after Sprint admits that their coverage sucks in the places where I need mobile phone service.
Asked a colleague at work, who just upgraded to a new smartphone, how Sprint data was working for him. Same thing I got in response to the same question I asked of a friend who lives an hour's drive time to the east: "It's very slow." Both areas are near suburbs in a major metropolitan area.
Jim
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OK, here's an update to the ongoing saga of not being able to get reliable data where I work. I contacted Sprint Customer Service two Fridays ago on 09/21/2012. They opened a ticket and it took a lot to get to that point where they finally opened a ticket.
Since then I've had 4-5 very long and frustrating conversations with Customer Service. I keep getting voice mails from Customer Service that say they will cancel my ticket if I don't call them back within 48 hours. It's very frustrating because the problem is still ongoing and they have done absolutely nothing to fix it. In fact they keep saying that technicians have been deployed several times and that the on-site technicians haven't discovered any problems with the tower I'm using here. (which is supposed to be very close according to CS)
The problem is that whenever I'm here at work and talking to Technicians via Customer Service, they are able to verify that there are major problems with that tower and the way it's handling data. Today, I had the most helpful technician by far on the phone. She did more digging around after telling me that they were going to close the ticket because yet another on-site technician found no problems with the tower. She was able to verify that, in fact, the tower is supposed to connect to my phone on the south side but it's actually forcing my phone to connect on the north side. (Gee... problem? No! I've only been telling them that over and over.) And she found out that this tower is scheduled for an update because it can't handle the demand for data for most of the day. Only, there was no date listed on when this "upgrade" was supposed to happen. She claims that they will find out and call me back to tell me when this alleged "upgrade" will happen. Meanwhile I've done a speed test just now and the results are ping: 1014ms, download: 7kbps, and upload: 6kbps. So I have to live with this at work until whenever (if ever) they "upgrade" this tower.
Oh, and another interesting tidbit of information from her is that Network Vision hasn't even been started in my area. Allegedly the San Francisco Bay Area (including Oakland and Berkeley) was supposed to have Network Vision by the end of the year. So, she confirmed that they haven't even started to implement Network Vision in my area at all.
This is a major market with a giant population of very tech-savvy people. If they continue to ignore this area, they will continue to bleed customers like me.
I'm already looking into how I can get out of this contract. I'd rather not but I really can't justify not having access to data at work while paying for allegedly "unlimited data." All of my workmates have either T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. All of them have blazing fast data on 3G, LTE (for AT&T and Verizon), and HSPA+ (on T-Mobile). They put Sprint to shame. And it's been that way for months.
I will never understand how Sprint can expect to attract any customers in this area (who do have quite a bit of money to spend) with data speeds that don't even come close to dial-up circa 1997.
I hate to have to go through the hoops to be free of Sprint and get signed up on one of the other carriers, but Sprint is starting to make it impossible for me to justify the expense of staying with them.
Sometimes you get what you pay for. Cheapest isn't always best.
If you need out of your contract try the advice I posted above. Call and ask for retentions, or just insist that you want to cancel your service. They'll get you over to retentions. If you have tickets in the system, I don't believe they'll give you a hard time over the early termination fee.
I know what you're going through, I've been there. I was a Nextel customer for years, it was really bad back then. Now I'm on Sprint, and I have an airave at the house for connectivity. No signal at home, so the device is free. Maybe try to get an airave for the office. It works off of your internet connection, it gives full service and 3G data.
that would be awesome... i would be happy with a constant 1mbs
I get higher speeds than that from time to time, but that seems to be the constant average speed. I felt that would be more important to users than just posting up a max speed.
EDIT: Another tidbit.. neither VZW or AT&T users in my area get that kind of speed on 3G.
Last edited by NYCHitman1; October 2nd, 2012 at 01:45 PM.
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I contact Sprint every month about their network. Though it is horribly slow, it has got better last couple weeks. Not where it should be though. I was getting less than 50kbps down, now in at 250-500kbps. Still not where it used to be but it's getting better. I'll give them time to setup their lte here and see if it's worth while. I doubt Sprint will ditch their unlimited data after their lte upgrades are finished either, that is their big selling point.
Got on the reunion tower tonight for dinner (very tall building in downtown Dallas) and finally got 4G LTE speeds for Sprint.
Did a speedtest and got right over 6mbps download speed and 4.6mbps upload... meh not bad I guess, but was expecting better
Sprint's LTE wasn't meant to blow anyone away. The new network is being built for consistency and reliability. Basically, Sprint is making sure that NO ONE suffers what some suffer from currently (once the project is complete, that is).
Quote:
Originally Posted by tenceriker
There is nothing your phone needs more than 6mbps down and 4.6mbps up to do. Hell, not even more than 2.5mbps and 1mbps.
Sprint's LTE wasn't meant to blow anyone away. The new network is being built for consistency and reliability. Basically, Sprint is making sure that NO ONE suffers what some suffer from currently (once the project is complete, that is).
+1000000000
This is the best post I have seen in a long time about Sprint and the Now Network and the new Network Vision.
To many people make way to many post about how slow Sprint is. When and I do say when it is complete it will be solid with good reliability. If you are looking for fast and data caps then change.
This is the best post I have seen in a long time about Sprint and the Now Network and the new Network Vision.
To many people make way to many post about how slow Sprint is. When and I do say when it is complete it will be solid with good reliability. If you are looking for fast and data caps then change.
Honestly, I haven't even seen high LTE speeds on VZW in NYC since their network has gotten some mileage on it. My buddy avg's around 8-10mb/s and 7 up. His numbers were much more bloated when nobody was hogging bandwidth. In any event, it's all hog wash. Nobody needs fast speeds on their phones for basic usage. They just want fast speeds.
I been getting horrible speeds in Michigan. At times it takes a few minutes to check my email. I pay extra for having a smart phone, yet someone with a flip phone probably uses more data than i do. I have contacted Sprint and they took the smart phone charges off plus discounts. makes waiting for the upgrade in the network a little easier
Honestly, I haven't even seen high LTE speeds on VZW in NYC since their network has gotten some mileage on it. My buddy avg's around 8-10mb/s and 7 up. His numbers were much more bloated when nobody was hogging bandwidth. In any event, it's all hog wash. Nobody needs fast speeds on their phones for basic usage. They just want fast speeds.
Good to see you back around. This is so true. My brother just left for a trip to sea for the military.. he has Verizon and left me his "Jetpack" to play with while he is gone... lets just say those Verizon speeds are far from what everyone makes them out to be. On the Verizon JetPack, it is not uncommon for me to get speeds as low as .5mbps here in Phoenix.. that is very similar to what I get on Sprint 3G at times. Don't be fooled by what you hear.. Vzw is not always all its cracked up to be. In fact, in the break room at my work, VZW gets no signal; however, I surf the web just fine!
he has Verizon and left me his "Jetpack" to play with while he is gone... lets just say those Verizon speeds are far from what everyone makes them out to be. On the Verizon JetPack, it is not uncommon for me to get speeds as low as .5mbps here in Phoenix..
Is that similar to a mobile hotspot?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BenChase7
Good to see you back around.
I'm almost always around, but I check back on some of my favorite threads to see if any nonsense rises to the surface. 9 times out of 10, it does or did.
Last edited by NYCHitman1; October 12th, 2012 at 07:49 AM.
The Verizon Jetpack is a mobile hotspot. I just shut off my 6 year old Sprint usb data card for a Jetpack. I tried the Sprint TriFi hotspot but found that it only roams on 1900mhz and not on 850mhz which made it useless for me. I think that was a big mistake on Sprints part as more customers are forced off there network. I thought I would be set for another 5 years with the Sprint TriFi since it ran on WiMax and LTE only to find I lost coverage in a lot of places I work and travel. The Verizon Jetpack has been good with a lot of fast 4G in a lot of Wisconsin, only problem is with there extended coverage areas (roaming) I get a lot of drop outs and bad connections. Even though I have a strong signal it disconnects and reconnects a lot. Still hoping to be able to keep 4 phones on Sprint.
My wife finally had it with Sprint constantly dropping her phone calls in the places she spends the most time and switched to Verizon. Picking up her phone today. Personally I'm staying on Sprint for the near future, mainly because I'm still on contract and no phones on Verizon really excite me. We'll see what the holidays bring.
My wife finally had it with Sprint constantly dropping her phone calls in the places she spends the most time and switched to Verizon. Picking up her phone today. Personally I'm staying on Sprint for the near future, mainly because I'm still on contract and no phones on Verizon really excite me. We'll see what the holidays bring.
If you need out of your contract try the advice I posted above. Call and ask for retentions, or just insist that you want to cancel your service. They'll get you over to retentions. If you have tickets in the system, I don't believe they'll give you a hard time over the early termination fee.
I know what you're going through, I've been there. I was a Nextel customer for years, it was really bad back then. Now I'm on Sprint, and I have an airave at the house for connectivity. No signal at home, so the device is free. Maybe try to get an airave for the office. It works off of your internet connection, it gives full service and 3G data.
I had an Airave but had to send it back. Sure it helped me get a better signal while stopping service to everyone around me who weren't on Sprints network.
Sprint alleges they're not aware of this but enough Google searches gave me more answers than Sprint. As soon as I unplugged it, other phones started actually rec'g calls again instead of going straight to voice mail.
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Im not sure if anyone mentioned this as i only read the first two pages on TT (40 posts) but has anyone updated their prl? That changed my speeds drastically. Just an idea and again sorry for the double post if it is one.
Im not sure if anyone mentioned this as i only read the first two pages on TT (40 posts) but has anyone updated their prl? That changed my speeds drastically. Just an idea and again sorry for the double post if it is one.
I don't recall seeing it mentioned and I read all 40 posts. Now I need a nap.
I like SPRINT,but,this is wrong. They should credit all those who were sold 4G phones w/no 4G service, 1/2 of the $10/mo. charge for data, including past charges.
I think that would be a fair & honorable gesture on SPRINT's behalf & would make an excellent promotional campaign w/the CEO himself announcing the program in some prime-time TV ADS.
I wouldn't know. My 3g is crap, but consistent. Lol. Hey at least it's unlimited. In my particular area Verizon is probably the best service wise. They have lte everywhere. But way too expensive.
Sadly we lost her to the fruit. Her old Samsung Epic kind of soiled her on Android phones, even though the GS3 is miles away from that phone. She tried an iPhone on Sprint first, but it was worse than her Epic in terms of dropped calls and she couldn't even get it to connect to data sometimes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3vodroid
Wait... Sprint has 4g? lol.
I wouldn't know. My 3g is crap, but consistent. Lol. Hey at least it's unlimited. In my particular area Verizon is probably the best service wise. They have lte everywhere. But way too expensive.
Verizon is expensive, but you do get what you pay for. Example: my wife and I were at Austin City Limits yesterday with 60,000+ other people. I barely had a signal and was roaming at times. I only bothered to send out tweets and texts, and didn't even try to do anything else (web, Facebook, etc). At the end of the day I had about 20% battery left. My wife texted, tweeted, surfed, and posted on FB all day long and ended with about 45% battery. Only rarely did her connection stutter from the load. Color me impressed.
I probably could have turned on WiMax to help the almost complete lack of data, but then I doubt my battery would have made it through the day. Can't wait to see what people here get once LTE goes live.
Last edited by Citizen Coyote; October 14th, 2012 at 10:32 AM.
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I ended up making the jump to VZW, I took over someones grandfathered unlimited data account. I have actually gotten speeds of 50mbs down with LTE in my area. But having said that, the most I need is around 1.5 to 2mbs.
And now I see that sprint is "rolling out LTE in my area in the coming months". So I am going to wait and see what happens with that, because if its good I will come back to sprint in a heartbeat.
I don't have LTE yet but WiMAX is next to non-existent outside of major commercial areas. LTE, according to my boss is spotty at best in Houston proper, you'll have full bars one place and several paces in one direction, you have no signal. I'm paying a $10 premium data service for crappy bandwidth and I'm only consuming less than 2 GB a month. I can't even listen to pandora or iHeart radio uninterrupted. It buffers every minute or so in 3G (like I said no 4G where I live and inside the building where I work).
I'm in North West Phoenix. I am still getting 95kb/s at my home. It's been like this since Feb 2011. No 4G as well, of course. I'm trying to remain positive, but I don't know if can pay monthly for this much longer & I don't think I should be expected to.
The straw that broke the camel's back was this weekend I wasn't even getting a 2G/3G signal at my local Church. I saw it as "a sign"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Granite1
Just as any company that provides a service, that service isn't for everyone. If the download speeds have been bad and continue to be bad, call customer service at sprint and ask for retentions. Once there you'll be able to negotiate a release from your contract. 95% of folks I've talked to that have gone to this department have been able to leave sprint without paying the early termination fee.
Good idea! I have always expected to pay that ETF but if I can get out of it by calling them & explaining the situation, I may just do that. Thanks for the tip Kudos!
~ ArmyX
__________________
Note that thoughts expressed here are merely my personal opinions and will hopefully
share my thoughts on the matter to stimulate a respectful discussion.
"There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance." ~ Hippocrates "If anyone's head is acting an antenna, seek help or wear tin foil." ~ EarlyMon
In Houston proper, I'm actually quite pleased. Haven't really measured bandwidth but it's close enough to my Wi-Fi connection. But near home it's hit or miss, sometimes I get a good signal sometimes I go roaming. At home I use my Wi-Fi connection so I don't really mind it, but I'm annoyed when I'm just somewhere close to home.
In Houston proper, I'm actually quite pleased. Haven't really measured bandwidth but it's close enough to my Wi-Fi connection. But near home it's hit or miss, sometimes I get a good signal sometimes I go roaming. At home I use my Wi-Fi connection so I don't really mind it, but I'm annoyed when I'm just somewhere close to home.
-Sent using the force
That's more or less to be expected. It is still in it's infancy in the markets it was rolled out in. Something like 30-40% completion. It will get better in time.
sometimes my phone finds LTE.. and is locked on it.. but it is on the fringe.. so the speed is extremely slow (around 10 - 200 kbs). it does not switch over to 3G. just stuck on a very very stupid slow LTE.
i wish.. it was smart enough to notice a very bad slow 4G... and drop down to 3G.
but i live in springfield mass and the speed heres is way less then dial up at first was funny but now i want to swith back to verizon **** sprint **** boost **** virgin mobile
OK, I would have to get consistent connection to the network for data and voice before I could be disappointed in the speeds in my area.
As they allegedly "roll out" Network Vision in my area (Oakland/Berkeley/San Francisco) the network continues to degrade. I can't even rely on having a steady voice connection in very densely populated areas on the coastal plain where there are no hills. That is absolutely pathetic.
Sprint finally acknowledged that this is happening when I called about it a few days ago. So at least they are no longer lying to customers about it. And I was told that it may take up to a year before it really gets better.
I wonder how many customers Sprint will lose during their network "upgrade" in the Bay Area?
Does anyone here have the airwave? If you don't you should call sprint and ask about it.
I had an Air-Rave and it was GREAT for calling. However, I am a heavy text'er (3,000/mo easily) and it would constantly mess up my text messages. Sometimes people would get them the next day or hours after I sent them. Sometimes I would not get texts people sent me & vice-versa.
Long story short, Sprint sent me a letter one day asking for it back. So I sent it back. Strange I needed to use one in the first place & also that it used my bandwidth... but it was very good for calling.
TLDR; AirRave great for calling, bad for texting, in my personal experience with it.
sometimes my phone finds LTE.. and is locked on it.. but it is on the fringe.. so the speed is extremely slow (around 10 - 200 kbs). it does not switch over to 3G. just stuck on a very very stupid slow LTE.
i wish.. it was smart enough to notice a very bad slow 4G... and drop down to 3G.
I wish Samsung phones had EPST like HTC's devices. I'd mod the heck out of the intervals for scanning for LTE, WiFi, etc..
Quote:
Originally Posted by alsaces daddy
Does anyone here have the airwave? If you don't you should call sprint and ask about it.
I do have an airave at home and I love it. No issues with it whatsoever. Sorry Army!
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Pre, may sindi ka? 
It's been like this since Feb 2011. No 4G as well, of course. I'm trying to remain positive, but I don't know if can pay monthly for this much longer & I don't think I should be expected to.
Kudos!
same here
