Help Force Roaming on 4G Evo

[Lyvewire]

Hello all,

I'm coming from a sluggish Touch Pro 2. I was used to using a program to force roaming and I know most of Sprints phones sold nowadays no longer offer this option. I dont know much about the hacks or apps for the Android platform yet but was wondering if anyone knew of a roaming app to "force roaming".

I live in a area where I get 1-2 bars and miss calls all the time. Barely ever home (work) so its not a deal breaker but it would help if I could. I'm aware of Sprints rules on roaming, (cant be too excessive).

FYI
I also tried ##3282# and entered the EVDO option screen. It gives you the options for automatic, HDR Digital, CMDA. Does anyone know the difference or the closest this would be to roaming??

Thanks in advance!!

BTW this phone is the king of all phones..(to me anyways)

 

[reallynotnick]

I'm interested in this too as at home I have like 1 bar and I think it is draining my battery pretty bad, says the phone was out of service for 50% of the time! My Verizon buddy get's good service at my house. At home I can use WiFi so I won't really miss 3G.

 

[Lyvewire]

You and me both. I made a few calls withing the last 1 hr or so and I my phone went from fully charged to half charged. I've heard the lower your bars the harder your phone is working to get a signal.

I REALLY need 1 of these developers to make this app. It was the reason I took a Hero back>No roaming..Keep you posted and vice versa if you find anything

 

[reallynotnick]

This is actually really embarrassing on my part but I have a cell booster I originally bought when I was on Unicel. I kind of bought it thinking it wouldn't work on the other cell networks so when I got my new phone I unplugged it. Turns out it actually does work with Sprint so now I have 4 bars in my room where I used to get one, and my buddy on Verizon was always using my cell booster hence his good signal, lol. Still would be interested to know if there was a way to force roaming. Though it is worth noting you don't get your any mobile any time when you roam.

If you are interested here is the booster I own, it's about $200 on Amazon. Kind of a pain to setup as you really have to wire it into the house but has easily paid for itself as I was able to drop the landline and didn't have to switch to expensive Verizon.
Wi-Ex :: YX500-PCS

 

[Lyvewire]

Hey,

I just checked that out YX500. Impressive. I think I may look into getting one myself. I have a useless Sprint Airwave that I dont use only because I'd have to get internet service via comcase which I dont need since the net is free where I live. $200 is expensive but worth it when it comes to keeping a steady signal. I was wondering if you live in a buidling does it matter where you place the atenna or can I just hang it out a window or whatever? *Hits the Thanks button*

Thanks for the info

 

[reallynotnick]

The best place to put the antenna is where you get good cell reception, while it does boost signal putting the antenna in a strong signal area make a huge improvement. I have mine installed in the attic and the base unit is in my lower level where I get poor reception. My suggestion is to think of possible places to put the antenna and check to see how strong of a signal your phone gets. Also the antenna should be 15ft+ away from the base unit. They also suggest keeping the antenna away from metal.

The site contains loads of information on all of this, so be sure to check it out before you commit to getting one.
Overview: http://www.wi-ex.com/files/YX500.510_Setup_Overview.pdf
User Guide: http://www.wi-ex.com/files/YX500.510_user_guide.RevE.pdf

 

[jeffsaha]

hey yall, this is my first post, but I just recently did a hack for the EVO to do this. So far it has been working quite nicely. I will really know in a few hours when I go to a buddy's place that has zero sprint reception. I will link the XDA site below

*techknowfile's* - Hack the HTC EVO - 3G w/o Sprint EVDO coverage! - xda-developers

 

[Deleted User]

hey yall, this is my first post, but I just recently did a hack for the EVO to do this. So far it has been working quite nicely. I will really know in a few hours when I go to a buddy's place that has zero sprint reception. I will link the XDA site below

*techknowfile's* - Hack the HTC EVO - 3G w/o Sprint EVDO coverage! - xda-developers

Been following your thread over there, and I can confirm this works great. Err, if that is in fact your thread.

 

[jeffsaha]

haha it def is not mine. i came across it looking for rooting threads to see if it was worth doing now or waiting till sense 2.2. i wish i had the skills to do these things on my own

 

[silliybilly]

I REALLY need 1 of these developers to make this app. It was the reason I took a Hero back>No roaming..Keep you posted and vice versa if you find anything

I wish there was an app like this too! I get good Sprint coverage at home but there are a few places I visit were Sprint is very weak. It would be great if we could just start an app that would force the phone over to a roaming partner. I'm not brave enough to try hacking prl's like the above link takes us to!

 

[Kiesow]

Been following your thread over there, and I can confirm this works great. Err, if that is in fact your thread.

I am definitely going to need this when my Evo arrives. I have had my HTC Touch on "force roaming" for well over a year now because my Sprint coverage is 1X and the data speeds are abysmal. Did you have trouble getting your MSL?

Also, I'm assuming you used the new "easy" method?

Thanks!

 

[Lyvewire]

I literally just came from a Sprint Store, (was having my contacts transferred), and there was a guy in there inquiring about forcing the phone to roam? Same issue. Go figure. I guess theres a lot more of us then I thought.

I also just took a look at that hack. Good stuff. Def. worth looking into. Could be a long night for a noobie like myself...I have that YX 500 idea as a back up if something doesnt give within a month. I'd def. be willing to pay a developer for a simple application that does this..

 

[Lyvewire]

"Good stuff. Def. worth looking into. Could be a long night for a noobie like myself"...

Ok let me retract that statement.

"Disclaimer: This is for "educational" purposes only. QPST is a very powerful program, which will easily brick your phone if used improperly.
If you break your phone, I am not taking responsibility... so be smart."

That disclaimer basically reminded me how much I dont want to destroy a brand new Evo. I'll sit tight and be patient.. I gotta give it to these guys hacking these phones like its nothing. I can almost feel an application coming soon..

 

[Kiesow]

Just a note to any app devs . . . I would GLADLY pay for an app that allows force roaming to be applied on the Evo. Just sayin . . .

 

[jeffsaha]

the post has been updated with a really easy way to do this. it seems like its a lot safer now to do.

 

[xvipx]

Hi everyone. I currently have a Palm Pre but should be switching to the EVO as soon as i can find one in stock which should be soon. The Pre has a lot of patches that allow you to "hack" the phone without even having to root it. The Pre has a patch that forces roaming which is awesome. You just add a program called "preware" and it has all the options for you. I'd love to see it on Android. Does android have patches? I'm new to this market but would consider myself an expert on Palm and the pre really can have a lot added to it. I would have assumed Android could do that since the platform has been out for much longer. Any help on patches would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lyvewire]

Just a note to any app devs . . . I would GLADLY pay for an app that allows force roaming to be applied on the Evo. Just sayin . . .

What he said!*co-signs*

 

[Lyvewire]

the post has been updated with a really easy way to do this. it seems like its a lot safer now to do.

Hey those guys over there may be on to something. I tried the hack and my bars are fluctuating higher then they normally do when I'm at work, (another place where I get bad reception). The problem is I cant tell when/if I'm roaming or not. On my Touch Pro 2 I'd see a triangle and in menu it would actually read "roaming only". The hack doesnt provide the option in settings on this phone so I can only see the bars increasing and decreasing, (to none for a split second), while the 3G symbols is grey as in not active. Does that mean I'm roaming now?

BTW I dialed my own work number wrong by accident and it said "welcome to Verizon wireless your call cannot be completed"?? This is a good sign I assume right since I was on another network??

I called my work # back to see if the call would disconnect once connected (since bars been going from 4-5 bars to none at times) and it did not hang up least..

Posted a few questions over there. Will keep you posted if I learn anything new about this and vice versa.

Good looking out Jeffsaha. Whether it works entirely or not its certainly a start for now. Hadnt been over to that site in a long time, (since the roaming hack I needed for my Touch Pro 2 ironically) *thanks button*

 

[techknowfile]

Been following your thread over there, and I can confirm this works great. Err, if that is in fact your thread.

<< It's my thread ^-0 and there have been many updates to it since it was referenced here. If you don't have Sprint 3G coverage in your area come on over and take a look
[6/16]*techknowfile's* - Hack the HTC EVO - 3G w/o Sprint EVDO coverage! - xda-developers

 

[sic0048]

Just keep in mind that while you are tricking your phone into using 3g data on Verizon, Sprint still knows you are roaming and keeps track of usage. There are conflicting reports as to whether or not cell to cell calls are being reported correctly, or if they are reported as roaming only (not cell to cell) and using your anytime minutes.

At this point, no one has been charged extra for all this roaming, but the Sprint contract clearly states they can cancel the contract if more than 1/2 of your usage is while roaming. Also, if you surpass 300mb data roaming per month, they have the right to turn off your data usage for the remainder of your billing cycle. This is to avoid the steep overage fees that their contract allows them to charge for data roaming.

Again, no one has yet been contacted by Sprint as far as we know, but the "hack" hasn't been around that long. Some users are racking up data roaming in the range of 300mb per day.

Just some warnings before everyone jumps on this ship. There could be consequences.

 

[Lyvewire]

I came across this hack and was wondering if anyone was able to convert this to a application or hack for the Evo. It was confirmed it works on the Monent and Hero but who knows...

Force Roaming? - Page 3 - PPCGeeks

I'd definetely be willing to pay if it does work. I just have no idea how to perform these kinds of hacks on this phone.

Thanks in advance

 

[BMGRAHAM]

My old Katana allowed you to force roaming, so with one phone it's allowed, even encouraged, and now it's suspicious behavior?

 

[sic0048]

I wouldn't say it is suspecious behaviour. Roaming is a regular and natural occurance.

This method tricks your phone into thinking it is still on the Sprint network when in fact you are on the Verizon network. There is nothing wrong with roaming, but people think that just because the phone is tricked, that Sprint the network is also tricked and they can "get away with excess roaming" (especially data roaming) because Sprint doesn't know about it. It has been proven that this is false. If you roam on the Verizon network, Sprint clearly knows about it irregardless of what network your phone says you are on.

If you roam too much, there could be consequences - although when I looked at the other thread a couple weeks ago, no one had reported any unintended consequences.

But if this method becomes "too popular" I can assure you that Sprint will start taking action against those users who are roaming and using roaming data beyond what is normally allowed for. Actions that are fully allowable in the TOC that users agree to.

 

[Lyvewire]

Thousands of applications developed and no one to come up with an application for this yet? *bump*

I know your out there genius..Come on!

 

[Deleted User]

Looks like this app is working for several folks:
Roam Control - Android app on AppBrain

$3.99, but it's probably worth it if you have marginal coverage and need the capability.