Disappointed in Sprints speeds in your area?

[dan330]

^^^ +1

 

[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.

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.

 

[Speed Daemon]

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.

 

[SEMIJim]

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

 

[simcha]

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.

 

[NYCHitman1]

The future looks promising folks. You just have to be patient. These things don't happen overnight.

 

[Granite1]

@Simcha:

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.

 

[dan330]

that would be awesome... i would be happy with a constant 1mbs

 

[NYCHitman1]

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.

 

[andyacecandy]

I'm right in the middle of downtown/uptown Dallas and never pickup 4G LTE...

bullshi*

 

[nemesys06]

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.

 

[andyacecandy]

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

 

[tenceriker]

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

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.

 

[NYCHitman1]

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).

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.

+1000000000

 

[SurrealOne]

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.

 

[NYCHitman1]

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.

 

[nemesys06]

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

 

[BenChase7]

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!

 

[NYCHitman1]

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?

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.

 

[catpowrd]

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.

 

[Citizen Coyote]

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.

 

[la sal]

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.

What phone is she picking up?

 

[ScandaLeX]

@Simcha:

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.

 

[Alsaces Daddy]

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.

 

[ScandaLeX]

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.