• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Root [Virgin Mobile] Cdma + lte

jmatherly411, thank you very much for contributing this great info. This is the way we need to start thinking.

I completely agree with you on Sensorly. I don't put much weight on signal strength but it does help me figure out what might be available at an actual spot location.

I've used Signal Check Pro for a long time. I consider it to be one of my most important apps for several reasons. I often want to suggest using it's advanced menus to get info from the phone but it's right to the edge of my real expertise and I worry about giving bad advice or causing a problem.

Hope you'll keep posting info like this. It'll take us to another level as some of the upcoming upgrades will be hard for a lot of us to understand.
 
jmatherly411 said:
Eric, Sprint has native coverage in this part of West Virginia all of Sprint's sites in this area near Wheeling, WV and surrounding areas are in Sprint's Pittsburgh market. All of Sprint's sites around I-70 and surrounding such as Wheeling and Valley Grove areas are ongoing Network Vision upgrades. This is why the 3G EVDO is cutting in and out...

Sensorly is a great app but I have gripes about using it due to that not all devices are equipped with the same quality radio for output. You might get a stronger or weaker signal than someone else that has mapped an area on Sensorly. i.e the HTC EVO LTE has a sub-par radio compared to the Galaxy S3 LTE radio...

I encourage you to visit the Play Store and search for "SignalCheck Lite" try this app out which shows your true 1x RTT, 3G EVDO, and LTE connnections in realtime, if you are happy with it buy the "Pro" version of the app which will also tell you Sprint's basestation sites that you are connecting too. It also helps to find those new 1x 800MHz sites when they come online which will help out very much in your location.
Click to expand...

How long do you think it will take to upgrade to 4G? This 3g that cuts out is really really bad
 
EricH4753 said:
How long do you think it will take to upgrade to 4G? This 3g that cuts out is really really bad
Click to expand...

This will depend on how quick the backhaul vendor can get fiber to the sites. Sometimes it takes a few days, weeks, or even months, once the new high-speed backhaul is installed at the site its just a matter of a technician making a visit to the site and turning on LTE.

What will help out and be very welcomed in your area is 800MHz for voice and LTE connections. Once 800 is turned on you will see a substantial improvement in 1x voice coverage which the S3 is able to pick up. Unfortunately Sprint is only utilizing 800 for voice and LTE and the Galaxy S3 is unable to utilize 800 LTE.
 
papa b said:
jmatherly411, thank you very much for contributing this great info. This is the way we need to start thinking.

I completely agree with you on Sensorly. I don't put much weight on signal strength but it does help me figure out what might be available at an actual spot location.

I've used Signal Check Pro for a long time. I consider it to be one of my most important apps for several reasons. I often want to suggest using it's advanced menus to get info from the phone but it's right to the edge of my real expertise and I worry about giving bad advice or causing a problem.

Hope you'll keep posting info like this. It'll take us to another level as some of the upcoming upgrades will be hard for a lot of us to understand.
Click to expand...


Sensorly is a great app to get a "rough idea" of what is available in a particular area, but it can disappoint users due to the fact that not every device is equal in terms of radio performance whether its for 3G EVDO or LTE. So some users getting their hopes up of a strong LTE signal only to be disappointed by the fact that their signal is weak because they have a sub-par radio in their device.

Congrats on using SignalCheck Pro its one of the most useful apps out especially for Sprint users or any of Sprint's MVNOs to track Network Vision upgrades that could be ongoing in an area. Its very useful to track those Band 25 1900 LTE connections or Band 26 (800) and Band 41 (2600) LTE connections. Plus it gives you a rough idea of what to expect out of 1900 PCS LTE by going by your current 1x RTT 1900 connection.
 
EricH4753 said:
so I won't be able to have 4g then on my s3?
Click to expand...

Yes you will pick up 1900 PCS LTE which is being deployed on 99% of Sprint's CDMA cell sites. The Galaxy S3 is only a uni-band LTE device meaning it will only pick up Sprint's 1900 LTE. But your S3 will pick up 1x 800 SMR for voice only. Sprint is also deploying LTE in the 800 SMR Band 26 and Clear's old 2600MHz Band 41 which was initially for 4G WiMax but is now being re-purposed for LTE capacity. As follows...

Band 25 1900MHz PCS - This will provide general coverage and capacity for LTE. This should cover Sprint's general 3G footprint with LTE.

Band 26 800MHz SMR - This will provide better in-building penetration for dense urban and cover rural areas. This signal is more robust and will travel further than 1900 and 2600MHz spectrum.

Band 41 2600MHz - Clear's old spectrum that will provide large amounts of capacity for dense urban high trafficked sites. Will also be able to achieve 50Mbps or better speeds over LTE. Only drawback is poor building penetration and short range. This band will be deployed on current Clear 2600 sites and reconfigure for LTE.
 
ok so I will get 4g then that my s3 can connect too? Sweet now I play the waiting game..
 
EricH4753 said:
ok so I will get 4g then that my s3 can connect too? Sweet now I play the waiting game..
Click to expand...

Yep you will get 1900 LTE, customers will have to wait until the high-speed backhaul is installed at the sites, LTE can't be turned on until then.

During the first stages of Network Vision subcontractors were installing the new hardware on Sprint sites that already had the new high-speed backhaul installed months ahead of time. So once the new equipment was installed, tested, and integrated it was just a matter of firing up LTE and moving on to the next site.

Now the problem is the subcontractors have surpassed backhaul vendors and are now installing the new Network Vision hardware on sites that haven't received the new backhaul upgrades. So now Sprint has to wait on vendors such as Verizon, CenturyLink, ATT, Comcast, Charter, etc to get fiber to the sites before they can go back and integrate the site for LTE.
 
So I assume that if one was to get an LTE signal booster for the Virgin Mobile Galaxy S3, they would need to purchase one for the 1900 band?
 
TheBritton said:
So I assume that if one was to get an LTE signal booster for the Virgin Mobile Galaxy S3, they would need to purchase one for the 1900 band?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately their isn't a LTE signal booster for 1900 PCS LTE. Sprint is deploying 1900 LTE in the "G Block" on a 5x5 PCS carrier nationwide, 1900 signal booster will not pick up this block.

1900 LTE will vary depending on where a user lives, such as terrain, topology, obstructions, etc. Some users will have a very positive experience and some users will have a poor experience. Theoretically if you can receive 3G EV-DO and 1x RTT in an area with a signal of -95dBm or better you will pick up LTE when it has launched. Anything above -95dBm RSSI on 3G data or voice will be pushing very close to the edge of 1900 LTE around -105-110dB RSRP which will make for a poor LTE experience.

Sprint will be relying on 800 to fill in the gaps where 1900 is weak. Some markets will see 800 LTE deployed on a 3x3 or 5x5 carrier.
 
Well I have lte, unfortunately it is a very weak signal, it usually kicks to 3g or 1x but it still cuts out data when on 3g I live in 26060
 
EricH4753 said:
Well I have lte, unfortunately it is a very weak signal, it usually kicks to 3g or 1x but it still cuts out data when on 3g I live in 26060
Click to expand...

It is weak because you are receiving the signal from a distant site. Not all the sites in your area have had LTE integrated at Sprint's CDMA sites. The signal will improve as other sites come online. Once all the upgrades are complete in your area and you are still having a poor experience, then it will be safe to say you will need 800. Sprint should have 1900 LTE completed by Q3 2014 with 800 coming online throughout the year as public safety 800 systems are completed with re-banding.

The following screenshot I took is LTE that I am picking up from a site a few miles away from my home. LTE signal will improve as sites around my home come online.

Screenshot_2014-02-25-21-14-46.jpg
 
TheBritton said:
But our VM S3 can only utilize 1900, correct?
Click to expand...

Correct, Virgin Mobile customers currently only utilize Sprint's 1900 LTE PCS network. Virgin Mobile customers will have the same experience as Sprint customers that use the 1900 LTE network.

Virgin Mobile users will also utilize Sprint's 1x 800 for voice coverage once spectrum is cleared off due to public safety re-banding and sites come online.

I expect too see Virgin and Boost Mobile getting a Sprint tri-band device starting in the Q3 2014, such as the LG G2 as a flagship phone for either or both Virgin and Boost. Virgin Mobile already offers a tri-band hotspot for Sprint's 800/1900/2600MHz "Spark" network. Its only a matter of time before the MVNOs get a tri-band phone.
 
Ok well it looks like vm is limiting my 4g they never told me this, nor did they tell me I went over my data cap. I still get 3g that isn't limited, but it cuts out is there a way to just turn off the 4g. So I get 3g. I know CDMA exists, but it is throttled where as the 3g on cdma+lte is not throttled
 
It only throttle every billing cycle and its a 4g lte switch in the Google play store . now if u was to have called earlier you would have found this out now the good thing is that the 4g is very flaky in your area and you can see that if you use the app to monitor. They gave you the link . if you can save some of those screen shots you can show VM how much bs they talk and you will discover why your friends ditched the junk and deal with real carriers
 
Maybe its me, but how can they limit 4g without notifying the customer? And what about the grandfather rule does that not apply?
 
Try now how long have u been with this VM. And they may have told u or they maybe in the process of telling you now
 
Wow interesting a argument is needed with VM sounds like they using you. And you may need to point out that this 4g they are giving you is a problem cause it Dont work nor is it all there cause u pay for a 100% and they giving you -20%:eek:
 
So I should call them up and argue with them? Idk if they can unthrottle someone
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom