No 4G in area. Are they expanding their 4G!

[CRISPY2104]

Does VM plan on expanding their 4G coverage? Having no 4G in my area is the HTC EVO V 4G still worth getting? If not I was thinking HTC One V or Triumph? My though is the EVO V is only 25 more then the Triumph, is it still worth the extra 25 with no 4G? I would up grading from the wildfire s. Thank you for your time and input!

 

[doboy]

nope. They are not expanding WiMax (4g). Sprint is moving towards LTE, which Evo is not compatible with.

 

[swerver32]

For $25 more, yes the vevo is definitely a better deal than the triumph, even without 4g, though I think you could get a new triumph cheaper than that. I moved from the wildfire too, to the vevo. I used to think I liked the small form factor of the wildfire, but now after using the vevo for almost 2 weeks, I could never go back.

If you aren't having issues with the wildfire, it may make sense to stay with it since you can't get 4g, and see what's coming around the bend instead. Are you on the $25 plan? If not, one less reason to stick with the wildfire. If you are, one more reason to stick with it. Depends on what you want. Is the wildfire cutting it for you? What do you like about the vevo, that the wildfire doesn't do? Have you gotten sick of no room for apps, or is that not an issue for you? Is your wildfire laggy? Ever try to use netflix?

I got the wildfire for $100 on black friday as a stop gap, couldn't handle the intercept any more, so I didn't feel too bad about dropping another $300 on the vevo. If I was already on the triumph, it would be a tougher call for some, not so much for me since I actually get 4g. The wildfire is nice, but it's still an entry level android. The vevo is near top of the line. The new phones coming out this year aren't THAT much better, and would cost a crap ton more. Incrementally faster, incrementally thinner, that's about it. Just some things to think about.

 

[CRISPY2104]

I'm on the 35 plan. I like the wildfire s, but getting tired of resetting the phone every two months, because my emails and Calender stop sysncing (easyer for work), Other then emails and calender, i use mostly hiking apps. I play O&C on my tablet, would be kind of nice to have it on a phone, but I'm hearing its not on the EVO 4G. Other then those apps I haven't really played with any, no room lol, all though it does keep the kids from playing with my phone lol no games to play.
Sometimes I can send and receive pic text and sometime it fails, not sure why haven't figured that one out yet? I also grab the wildfire s on Black Friday for 100.

 

[swerver32]

Yeah I had that syncing issue too. Haven't had it yet on the vevo, of course it's only been 2 weeks! (knocks on wood)

 

[CRISPY2104]

WoW, I had a chance to really look at VM plans for 4G, I really feel screwed buy the 4g move. Maybe not so much with the phone plan, I was going to set up my daughter a mifi for her nook while away from home. $35 3g is 2gb then you get dubbed down. 4G is unlimited with 10Gb of speed! I returned the mifi for now. Am I reading this correctly, or miss understanding?

 

[agianne]

WoW, I had a chance to really look at VM plans for 4G, I really feel screwed buy the 4g move. Maybe not so much with the phone plan, I was going to set up my daughter a mifi for her nook while away from home. $35 3g is 2gb then you get dubbed down. 4G is unlimited with 10Gb of speed! I returned the mifi for now. Am I reading this correctly, or miss understanding?

To clarify, 10 GB (gigabytes) is the monthly download quantity limit, not the speed, which is measured in Mbps (megabits per second). Speed varies based on a bunch of factors, but 4G is noticeably faster than 3G. Be sure to check coverage for the addresses where you daughter will primarily use the device using the VM USA coverage maps. 4G is only available in 71 cities and some areas/street addresses in each city aren't likely to get a 4G signal indoors.

Officially, according to VM USA's published terms, 3G and 4G both have caps on the quantity of data you can download each month. For a broadband data device like a MiFi, the cap is 10 GB per month, combining both 3G and 4G usage into one total. (The prices and numbers you are quoting above apply to phones.) After 10 GB, you are subject to speeds around 256kbps or less on 3G and who knows on 4G for the rest of the month.

Some people say that there is no way for VM to monitor the quantity of data downloaded over 4G because the network service is provided by another company, Clearwire. If that's true, then in practice, you may get unlimited-quantity, full-speed 4G service regardless of how much you download. (Once you are over the monthly limit, you will still get dinged when you can't get a 4G signal and have to use 3G.) If this is just for use with a nook, then 10 GB is way, way, way more than enough.

Although there may be no way to enforce the 10 GB limit on 4G today, the necessary software/hardware/billing interchange required to track 4G usage could be in the works and the no-limit 4G party could end anytime, assuming that they can't track 4G usage now as some suggest.

 

[thebryceee]

Yup. Got unlimited 4G (for now). I went well over 2.5 gigs and still have full speed for 4G. Even for 3G. Might be a glitch because according to my account in virginmobileusa.com, my data usage area is completely blank, like they're not even tracking my usage.

 

[agianne]

Yup. Got unlimited 4G (for now). I went well over 2.5 gigs and still have full speed for 4G. Even for 3G. Might be a glitch because according to my account in virginmobileusa.com, my data usage area is completely blank, like they're not even tracking my usage.

Yeah, it's a bummer that the 3G usage tracking is apparently screwed up right now because we don't know if 4G is untracked/unlimited/whatever or if the entire tracking system is just royally goofed up.

(Clarification: From an end-user perspective, it's great that the cap is not being applied!)

 

[CRISPY2104]

Oops I am aware that the 10 GB is usage not speed, don't know why I said that!
I live in NH and there is no 4G. The only people I know who get 4G are Verizon users and only get it in southern New Hampshire pulling from a Mass tower.
I did check the maps, nothing and in fact it states the phone will not work in areas that I full bars, Verizon's map tells me no service at home, that's funny my wife has Verizon works just fine. At least for NH the maps are way off on all cell phone company's. Had to look in to this when wife change jobs it was nice when they paid lol!
And tracking my data, I'm not sure how correct it is, but they are tracking 3G.
I think I'll end up stick with what I have and wait a year and see what VMs doing then.

 

[cb35]

Oops I am aware that the 10 GB is usage not speed, don't know why I said that!
I live in NH and there is no 4G. The only people I know who get 4G are Verizon users and only get it in southern New Hampshire pulling from a Mass tower.
I did check the maps, nothing and in fact it states the phone will not work in areas that I full bars, Verizon's map tells me no service at home, that's funny my wife has Verizon works just fine. At least for NH the maps are way off on all cell phone company's. Had to look in to this when wife change jobs it was nice when they paid lol!
And tracking my data, I'm not sure how correct it is, but they are tracking 3G.
I think I'll end up stick with what I have and wait a year and see what VMs doing then.

clear.com shows coverage in Nashua/Merrimack and a tiny amount in Manchester

 

[agianne]

clear.com shows coverage in Nashua/Merrimack and a tiny amount in Manchester

Do not use the Clear maps, they will mislead you. The maps on clear.com are very optimistic and do not distinguish between indoor and outdoor signal reception.

The VM USA coverage maps are much more realistic and distinguish between indoor and outdoor 4G WiMax coverage. Use them.

VM USA Coverage Maps

 

[Petrah]

Those maps are just as misleading. It say's there's no 3G where I am, but yet I have great 3G here.

I use to not think much of OpenSignalMaps, but have recently changed my stance. Their coverage maps are much, much better than any of the others I've found.

 

[agianne]

Those maps are just as misleading. It say's there's no 3G where I am, but yet I have great 3G here.

I've never heard of anyone being disappointed and threatening to return a phone because they are getting MORE coverage than the maps indicate. Under-promising and over-delivering isn't "misleading", it's good business. When have you ever heard of someone complaining because they got better service than they expected?

I feel bad for any VM USA customer who makes a purchase decision based on the Clear maps, especially if they came here looking for help and got referred to clear.com. How knuckleheaded will they look when they call up VM USA to complain they can't get coverage because the Clear/Open Signal/Whatever maps said they would have service? That's not how it works.

The Clear maps are wildly optimistic and we aren't even Clear customers. The bizarre fascination people in this VM forum have with the Clear maps is wacky! The Clear maps stink! No more using the stupid Clear maps! Hulk smash!

Open Signal Maps are crazy incomplete and they don't distinguish between "no signal available" and "we just don't have any data". They're worth taking a look at only as a supplement to carrier maps. It's not a great idea to use them as a primary information source.

Ultimately, if you use a map from anyone other than the carrier to whom you pay your bills, you've got no right to complain when you don't have the coverage you expected. The more knowledgeable members of the forum would be doing the newbies and "regular" folks a favor by discouraging the use of those dopey Clear coverage maps.

 

[CRISPY2104]

I've never heard of anyone being disappointed and threatening to return a phone because they are getting MORE coverage than the maps indicate. Under-promising and over-delivering isn't "misleading", it's good business. When have you ever heard of someone complaining because they got better service than they expected?

I said I was keeping the wildfire s, I'm happy with the phone service. I was just wondering if the Evo was worth it with no 4G in my area. Its the mifi plans, is why I returned the mifi, with no 4G in my area.

 

[Petrah]

I've never heard of anyone being disappointed and threatening to return a phone because they are getting MORE coverage than the maps indicate.

TLDR

Neither have I. Good thing I didn't scream refund!

 

[agianne]

Neither have I. Good thing I didn't scream refund!

If you called VM customer service to compliment the company in some way, I'm sure they'd manage to flub it up and accidentally disconnect your account or tell you that you're only allowed 2.5 compliments per month under the Terms and Conditions, then throttle down your data. They're nice people, but are often a little challenged on the execution part of the job.

 

[Petrah]

If enough people complained (petitions work, sometimes) about hiring their call center out of the country we might make headway with VM. I'm sure the support people at the call center try, but there's a fine line between barely speaking English and actually talking to support staff right here in the U.S.A.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against non English speaking people... that's not the issue. What I do have an issue with is the communication issue (language barrier) at their call centers. Hell, for all I know the very same call center staff also answers the emails and does the FB and Twitter pages. No wonder they're seldom right with their info.

Meh... sorry for the rant (which wasn't aimed at you by the way) and being off-topic.