New(ish) VM customer introduction and seeking answers...

[dweinmann]

Hello and hi. Long time lurker, first time poster. My fiance and I recently (this past Feb) made the switch from dumb to smartphones. We both got the Evo V for about $150 each. Wow, loved that phone. I had an iphone many a year ago, but didn't like the big ATT bill that went along with it, so I downgraded. After still paying over $100 bones a month for our dumbphones, we switched to VM, my first Android experience. WTF are people thinking using iDevices?!? I'm guessing they haven't experienced Android.

So, I had rooted, S-off'ed and rommed my Evo V. Angrybeans was the best ROM I had found. Unfortunately, as a first time father celebrating my first fathers day, I got a little excited about taking my daughter into the pool and .... you can guess. The Evo V does NOT like water. So I tried to switch my account to my bro's old LG Optimus V and I think I bricked it trying to get it back to stock. I also have his old Moto Triumph, but it won't even charge up. So, after three days without a phone, I bought the S3.

Here are some questions (please remember that I'm newish to the smartphone world, and especially 4g): Does 4g work while indoors? Is there a trick to improving the data connection (i really can't even browse the web while indoors on 3g)? Is this the same s3 phone/service I'd get by walking into a sprint store and getting one on contract (besides the bloatware, of course)? Is it normal that i always have one or two bars in the upper right? Ive noticed that once or twice the bars (and the wifi signal) will be blue, but they are typically grey. Does that mean something?

Thanks everyone for your help. I live in Lawrence, KS, and the VM coverage map shows that I'm in the heart of LTE service and we're on the "LTE markets launched" list. So far, I really like this device and I know it will have great dev support, but if it's not giong to even allow me to browse the web while not on wifi, I might as well take it back and get a phone that's half it's price. Ideas? Advice?

 

[notebooko]

It should work indoors as long as you're not surrounded on all sides by cement. As for 3g speeds, sprint has been known for their slow speeds since the start. And yes it is the same exact phone and you would buy from a sprint store. When you see that it's blue in the top right I believe that it means the phone is contacting google to sync email etc. If email is set on pop it should always blue as is mine.

 

[Austrie]

Yes 4G works indoors, it just depends on signal strength. 4G has a weaker building penetration frequency/signal than 3G, so you mightn't get 4G where you have 3G depending on how far away you are from the tower and depending on what kind of building you are in(or is around you). The s3 for VM is a bit different than the one on sprint when it comes to ROMs, even though they will have the same phone specs. Your phone might be faulty, and you should call VM so they can troubleshoot your phone and so they can replace it with a new s3 if your phone really is faulty.

 

[SuperAfnan]

They will definitely work indoors unless you live in a concrete bunker.

4g might be weaker though than 3g but 3g is slow.

 

[dweinmann]

It should work indoors as long as you're not surrounded on all sides by cement. As for 3g speeds, sprint has been known for their slow speeds since the start.

My 3g speeds at home are pretty slow. I typically can't even load a webpage. Needless to say, I have wifi at home and everything, but it would be nice to know that if the electricity went out, that I could still get online. Is there any plans of Sprint improving 3g? I would assume not in favor of expanding their 4g network. I've contacted VM about not being able to receive 4g at home (even when I'm outside on a clear day) and they keep insisting there are problems with a couple towers and it should be cleared up "within a day or so." I've been hearing this for a week now. I can go a quarter mile down the street and get blazing 4g speeds, but not right outside my home.

When you see that it's blue in the top right I believe that it means the phone is contacting google to sync email etc. If email is set on pop it should always blue as is mine.

How exactly would i go about testing this? How do I make my phone 'contact google?' My nexus7's wifi icon is always blue, but my s3 wifi and signal strength icon have never been anything but grey. Thanks again for everyone's help!