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what is sooo good about sprint anyway?

It's so funny when I hear people complain so much about Sprint. I've been with them for a little over 2 years now. Like I said in my previous post this past summer was really bad but has gotten much better.

Before I was on Sprint I was a long time At&t/Cingular/At&t Customer. I remember just before I jumped to Sprint, At&t was rolling out their 4G/LTE network and all their customers were complaining how bad it was. Now it's pretty good, depending where you live of course.

So like At&t, Sprint is now going through this painful rollout and people are posting how crappy Sprint is. Being someone who peruses the tech blogs I consider myself pretty informed so I definitely wouldn't of re-upped with them if I didn't think the future looked bright for them.
 
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i was driving around downtown area Dallas (one of the first to get LTE).. around the North Park mall.

no 4G LTE.. in the car or in the mall. this is a pretty high traffic area.
you would think sprint would want that part covered...


Well you can always call Sprint CS and ask what the deal is. There are some areas here in Chicago that show LTE in some areas and there's no LTE.

Could be that they're currently working on upgrading the towers and just haven't switched them on yet.
 
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I beg to differ with some of the posters here.

My experience in the past six months of being a Sprint Customer (I've been a Sprint Customer since 1999) has been the worst ever.

Not only has the network completely degraded to the point of being almost unusable in my area, the customer service that I've received has been very far short of adequate. I know that we all see things differently and we all have different experiences. All I can do is tell you about mine.

Before I was only complaining about the terrible network issues at work in Berkeley where calls drop and data is sometimes inaccessible. Now I have the same terrible issues at home in Oakland. This weekend was particularly horrid. I barely had data access. When I had it, data cut in and out. And I roamed for voice at times, making some calls drop.

And I called Sprint about all of these issues in the past only to have the customer service reps keep me on the phone for over 45 minutes with each call trying to discount my issues and then straight up lying to me. And sometimes they were just completely uninformed. Sometimes they were rude. I called Sprint at least 6 or 7 times in October to complain about the issues at work and each time they tried to close the ticket if I didn't call them back within 48 hours to talk about the problem. Each time I called back in that window, they claimed there was no issue. I finally proved the issue to them by using the debug feature on my phone and reading them the numbers. And they finally acknowledged that the network in the neighborhood where I work is degrading fast. And they said nothing will be done about it for at least three months for voice and over 6 months for data. Is that really acceptable?

Now I just called about my network issues at home. I did get a friendly customer service agent who eventually referred me to his supervisor. I just found out that when I'm roaming for voice because Sprint's network is overloaded, my mobile to mobile calls are counted as minutes toward my 450 anytime minutes. So, because Sprint can't or won't maintain their network in Oakland and Berkeley (and I used to have great service in both places) I may have to pay for overages from roaming. I spend most of my time in my home neighborhood and my work neighborhood and I should never be roaming in either place.

The supervisor told me to monitor my minutes and when I notice that I'm approaching my limit, he told me to call them to get bonus minutes. Really? It's up to me to monitor and to complain? There is nothing that can be done until Sprint finishes Network Vision in my area? They can't remove the way that the system charges my mobile to mobile to anytime minutes when roaming just during this time of crappy service? Really?

At least both people were friendly and knowledgeable this time. The supervisor didn't lie to me this time. He affirmed that it will be some months, perhaps a year, until the network is sorted out in Berkeley and Oakland as Network Vision rolls out here. He explained that Sprint has added so many customers in my area that their network is completely overwhelmed and doesn't have enough capacity. He did tell me that I do have a way out of my contract without having to pay the early termination fee because Sprint is finally acknowledging that their network has degraded to the point of almost being unusable in a major market in the major metropolitan area of Oakland/Berkeley/San Francisco.

Oh, and I have a friend in Sacramento who is experiencing the same degradation in network. He used to have great network connections too like I did here in the Bay Area.

I wonder how many Sprint customers Sprint will lose until they get their network fixed?
 
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@simcha I feel your pain. I am experiencing the exact same thing here in northwest Phoenix.

It's getting worse, not better. Last year I got fairly steady (although slow) 3G/Data at least. The 3G is getting slower & sometimes I can't even make calls/texts in largely populated areas.

A poster here suggested calling Sprint and explaining our situation, then asking to be let out of your contract. It might save you some money on your ETF. That is what I am in the process of doing now. It sounds like you may have tried this?

BTW, a year? I won't pay $168 a month for my Family Plan for another year with the quality of service I am getting. I don't think we should be expected to, frankly.

My Family (4-lines) and my In-Laws (4-lines) are both planning to leave Sprint. I'd imagine Sprint is bleeding customers over this.

I sincerely wish you the best finding something that works for you =)

~ ArmyX
 
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@ArmageddonX

Yeah, I really feel your pain too. I wish you the best in finding what works for you too and that the transition is easy for you. Wow, what a mess! I remember reading many of your posts on Sprint and Sprint phone sections of this site and I have learned a lot from you.

I really hate seriously contemplating leaving Sprint. I have been with Sprint for so long and I had hope that things were getting better. I know that there are very high and lofty promises for a better tomorrow but I really have to look at today. I can't put up with not being able to count on making phone calls in a major metropolitan area. And I haven't had a phone call drop for years until about 6-8 months ago when the wheels really started to come off of the network here.

In my opinion SoftBank couldn't take over fast enough. I might stick around a little bit to see if SoftBank can stop this ship from sinking. My hope is that they completely restructure Sprint and clean house. I hope that they can pump in the capital it's going to take for Sprint to build a real network that actually meets the needs of its current and future customers. Obviously the current leadership at Sprint hasn't been able to deliver and the company is saddled with too much debt to be able to really make it through Network Vision, IMHO.

I haven't completely made up my mind on what to do. I did get an LTE signal in downtown Oakland within the past few weeks. Even if the speeds weren't very impressive it's a small step in the right direction. If they can get this thing turned around in the next few months around here, I might be able to make it through. But I have to say that there are times when the network here is so bad people haven't been able to reach me and I've lost messages.

Good luck!

~Simcha
 
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Wow, thank you for the compliment, sincerely.

I hate contemplating leaving Sprint as well. I have been with Sprint over 9 years now & the customer service is amazing. It's a great company when it comes to that. However, I'd have to be daft to continue paying for anything when I am not getting what I am paying for.

I'd just be happy with good, reliable 3G speeds at this point =) Sounds like we're in the same boat as far as service goes. My Wife calls me all the time (forgetting to call the land-line we had to purchase b/c of Sprint) and I miss her calls b/c my phone never rings. =(

Sprint will live on! They have plenty of customers with great service. People like us (in very poor areas) are getting the worst of it, but we're the exception to the rule. (usually)

I am considering T-Mobile & Verizon. I know Verizon is great where I live because my friends comes over and gets full signal, 4G LTE, & 3G at my home (when in the same spot I can barely pick up 3G & can't make reliable calls). But T-Mobile is cheaper, has the Nexus 4, & there is no contract options.

Good luck to you as well =)

~ ArmyX
 
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i was driving around downtown area Dallas (one of the first to get LTE).. around the North Park mall.

no 4G LTE.. in the car or in the mall. this is a pretty high traffic area.
you would think sprint would want that part covered...


oddly enough I was just in that area last week and had coverage on the east side of 75 at park lane. actually doing store visits I had coverage everywhere we went...mesquite, garland, park lane and mckinney.

all I can say is just be reminded that DFW is not complete.

it gets better every day. I can now stream slingbox my entire commute to/from work. I can't do that on my ATT orig note even.

LTE signal is strong enough here at the house now that it carries through the entire house...just a few months ago it was only in the driveway.
 
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Nuff said
 

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Yeah, if I had that kind of connection and speed, I'd have no reason to complain. I hope they can get that going here in the Bay Area. I'm very jealous. Those are speeds that only Verizon has here in the Bay Area.

Well I have a Gnex running cm10 4.1.2 and I'm on the crowded west side part of city and I pulled a 32mb right after i bought it :D
 
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And I saw on s4gru.com that the bay area is getting lit up with lte here and there. LA also

LA's been active for quite some time now. The Bay Area, however, is in the process of getting lit up though. NYC is in testing phases in some parts. If you're in the Bronx, you've got a buttload of LTE coverage. They are actively testing in a small section of Midtown, Upper West Side, and Brooklyn.

Yeah, if I had that kind of connection and speed, I'd have no reason to complain. I hope they can get that going here in the Bay Area. I'm very jealous. Those are speeds that only Verizon has here in the Bay Area.

Keep your eyes peeled at www.sensorly.com

S4GRU works with them to update their maps regularly. I check it at least twice a week to see any coverage updates for my area.
 
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Keep your eyes peeled at www.sensorly.com

S4GRU works with them to update their maps regularly. I check it at least twice a week to see any coverage updates for my area.

thanks.. i like that site.. very informative and simple to use.

question:
Looking in Dallas/Ft Worth Texas
at Sprint LTE 4G.. Verizon LTE.. ATT LTE
comparing..

comparing them...
in real world... my sprint vs my friends verizon and att... gets shamed all the time all over the metroplex.

but according to that site.. sprint should be better... more coverage..
 
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Hey that website is great! Is there a similar website that would show me T-Mobile 4G (HSPA+) coverage?

Thank you sir.

~ ArmyX

Sensorly typically covers all US networks on all types from what I have seen (3G, LTE, WiMAX, etc.). It's possible there hasn't been much support of adding HSPA+ to the list.

thanks.. i like that site.. very informative and simple to use.

question:
Looking in Dallas/Ft Worth Texas
at Sprint LTE 4G.. Verizon LTE.. ATT LTE
comparing..

comparing them...
in real world... my sprint vs my friends verizon and att... gets shamed all the time all over the metroplex.

but according to that site.. sprint should be better... more coverage..

Keep in mind that those towers for Sprint may not be fully active as of yet. It only shows where signal has been reported and confirmed. It's very possible that the area could still be in testing.
 
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That's because maybe the coverage is there but sprint is still rolling out lte there which means dropoffs and ect. And I'm in Chicago sprint lte is killing att and vzw at only 75% complete I think the tx states is about 50%

Chicago is still sitting around the 55-60% margin. No market will be complete until the end of 2013, at least according to files I've seen in an undisclosed area. If it is that good now - imagine what it will be like once they approach the end.
 
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This confirms what I already knew. Right where I live in a complete Sprint dead-zone. All around me there is coverage, but where my Apartment is located... nothing. Looks like Verizon & T-Mobile both have 3G where I live. Verizon has LTE here but I cannot confirm HSPA+ for T-Mobile at my location. Interesting website regardless! Thank you so much, once again.

~ ArmyX
 
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Chicago is still sitting around the 55-60% margin. No market will be complete until the end of 2013, at least according to files I've seen in an undisclosed area. If it is that good now - imagine what it will be like once they approach the end.

No bro actually we are about 75% complete. We are the most completed market check s4gru.com if u don't believe me. I'm a member on there also.
 
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