Sprint is no more

Today, I got a notice to log into T-Mobile, as my account had been moved.  Now, I'm as vulnerable as all of those long-term T-Mobile customers who have been through six hacks in the last few years.

Supposedly, nothing else has changed.  

My plan has been changed, however.  My 60 GB of Mobile Hotspot data has been whittled to 5 GB and anything over that will proceed at "max 3G speeds".  High speed data for the phone is at 100 GB, which is not exactly Unlimited but better than the 22-25 GB that is typical.

Update 2023.01.20: T-Mobile announced another hack that happened in November.  My data may or may not have been there at that time.  My data is there now though.  I'm not feeling secure, and I'm wondering why morons are in charge of T-Mobile's data.  Oops, make that two--one in November and one in January.

Update 2024.03.23: Somewhere in the past year, they put the Mobile Hotspot back to 60 GB of data and the last time I used it, it didn't seem to be at 3G speeds.

2022 iPhone SE for US$1.25 per month and T-Mobile 5G

 The T-Mobile/Sprint merger has been a bit of a pain, and it's not finished.

In 2021, they seemed to be taking LTE towers from Sprint and turning them into T-Mobile 5G towers.  My service slowed dramatically.  It went from being the fastest in this town to being average.

That all improved in May 2022 when I was able to trade my 2020 iPhone SE for a 2022 iPhone SE for just US$1.25 per month.  Two things changed: the system on a chip jumped two generations and the LTE modem was replaced with one that included 5G (but no mmWave) capabilities.

I used the 2.5 GHz band with WiMAX back around 2012.  Now, it's much more useful supporting 5G communications.  A lot of the work Sprint did has been helping T-Mobile with 5G service.  It seems that there isn't a downside to the T-Mobile network now.  It isn't as good in rural locations as it should be, but it's much better than T-Mobile could ever claim.  During the Voicestream days, they barely had a network that wasn't tied to the freeways.

I'm glad that my information has still been limited to Sprint servers.  T-Mobile has had multiple data breaches and their security just isn't what it should be.  Maybe, they're using an old version of Windows Server from the 1990s.

The 2022 iPhone SE has been good.  It's roughly the same exterior that arrived with the iPhone 7.  I was using a case from the iPhone 7 on the 2020 model.

It's powerful but at this point, is there a need for more?  Android top-of-the-line phones aren't as powerful.  I also have a OnePlus 8T, which was a flagship phone from a couple of years ago.  The Snapdragon 865 with 12 GB of RAM is generally very powerful but it becomes very hot at times.  Both phones have communication moments when the connection seems to lag.  They're still faster on T-Mobile/Mint Mobile 5G than on Xfinity WiFi.

I've been mentioning to a few people about the 3G network shutdowns.  Are you getting another phone, so you'll still have service?  The sooner that old equipment is out of the way, the better for everyone.

The gentleman who owns the house was having trouble with his iPhone 6S and switched to an iPhone 12.  He's having trouble with the gestures, but he's doing better than I might.  I notice occasionally that I cause something to happen on the OnePlus phone because there is apparently a gesture for it and I don't know the modern Android way to get things done.  Then again, each vendor was quite unique in their interpretations.

Update 2024.03.23: It's been almost two years since I got the phone.  The battery capacity is at 88% and I charge every day.  I generally don't go into the power saver zone, but it has happened.

I don't usually keep a phone more than two years now, especially since AppleCare+ was a two year warranty.  I've been paying for it monthly since the previous phone.

The real trouble is that Apple is under pressure to get rid of the last vestige of a phone prior to iPhone X.  I like my Home Button.  They could add an underscreen fingerprint reader, but apparently, they don't want to do that, and I don't want to have or use FaceID.  Now, it is rumored that the follow-up phone will be launched in 2025.

Update 2024.10.08: My battery capacity is 84% now.  The follow-on iPhone SE is about six months away.  It's supposedly totally different and I'm not sure I want it because of Face ID and the inane gestures to get almost anything to happen.

Of course, I can just enter my code to unlock the phone and use secure functions but will that be enough.  I looked at buying an iPhone 15 now that the iPhone 16 is available.  Is $33+ too much each month for 24 months?  I think so.  Will they screw up the new iPhone SE?  It feels as though they're rushing everything that they produce.  I'm still waiting for iOS 17 to be fixed, but they're pushing the new one.

Update 2024.12.17: Battery capacity is just 82% now.  It's being depleted more quickly, along with being charged more quickly.  Those are not good signs.  The replacement will supposedly be like an iPhone 14, but with an A17 SoC, which is a bit of a step back on the processing compared to the 2022 getting the same SoC from the iPhone 13.

They're talking about an OLED display, but at a low refresh rate.  Tried that with the Pixel 6a and it is rubbish.  The OnePlus 8T had a good display since the original retail was a few hundred dollars more than the Pixel 6a.  Then again, the SoC was much better than the Pixel 6a, and it looked as though someone had actually planned the operating system and tested it.

Apple is planning to use their own 5G modem, so who knows how that will go.  They may or may not have their WiFi and Bluetooth chips ready by then.  If the phone starts at more than US$499 for the 64 GB version, I'm not sure it will sell well.  I'll need the 256 GB version and that's been US$150 extra.  If T-Mobile has another deal for $3.75 per month or cheaper, I suppose I will go ahead with it.

If it turns out to be worse than the current iPhone SE, I don't think I'll be keeping it very long.

Update 2025.03.10: Battery capacity is at 79% and there is a warning.

Friday night, I thought about  the iPhone SE replacement, the iPhone 16e.  I bought an iPhone 15 that should be here in about 12 hours.

The 16e might be a great phone.  The deal on T-Mobile for the 16e was cut down about US$7.00 per month to around $18 and change.  Considering that I as paying US$1.25 per month for the 2022 iPhone SE, I figured I should make another choice.  The iPhone 15 was about $1.50 more each month than the iPhone 16e for the same 24 month period, which ended up at $20.00 per month after trade-in.

Tried and true sits well with me.   I really don't want a bad experience.  Why would anyone?

It's been 2+ years with Sprint/T-Mobile and the 2020 iPhone SE

 In 2020, I had completed 20 years with Sprint.  Part of that year, Sprint was part of T-Mobile.

I traded my iPhone 8 for an iPhone SE (2020), which was much the same, but more powerful.  I still have that phone today, and anticipate exchanging it for the 2022 model with 5G capabilities.

T-Mobile took away the best of Sprint's performance to add 5G capabilities.  My 100 Mbps download speed became 45 Mbps or some such.  It has been sufficient.

I recently got a OnePlus 8T and tried Mint Mobile, which is an MVNO using T-Mobile's network.  It works quite well, and at US$20/month for 10 GB, it's a decent deal, especially with 5G included.

I bought the OnePlus 8T to replace a Lenovo tablet with performance equal to my 2012/2013 Google Nexus 7 tablet.  The Snapdragon 865 is much faster than the S4 Pro I had in 2013 and therefore, much faster than that Lenovo tablet with poor 8-core MediaTek processor.  The graphics processor in the Google Nexus 7 tablet from 2013 is the same one that the 2019 Lenovo tablet was using.

In any case, 5G looks good.  I've only tested a couple of times and got one sufficient result and one good result.  If I was paying US$70 per month, I wouldn't bother, but at US$20 per month, it's a good deal.

Update 2022.05.22:

I got the 2022 iPhone SE 5G and it's good, especially for $1.25 per month.  The extra battery life and more powerful processor are somewhat noticeable, while most everything is the same.  The 5G performance is sufficiently good, as it is with the OnePlus 8T.

2020 iPhone SE on Sprint is here for zero monthly

As I'm in the USA and T-Mobile and Sprint have merged, I got their earliest combined offer--an iPhone SE for zero each month.

This comes as a result of monthly credits, and some accounting magic.  I paid the additional $150 one time for the 256 GB model, so I can have the same capacity as my iPhone 8.  They also waived the activation/upgrade fee, which is okay but I'm not taking it to a store, unless there is some problem.  Since I didn't pay the $27.01 for the iPhone 8 for two months, I'm okay with the extra $150.

Thankfully, my iPhone 7 case will fit just fine, although it has been through four years and two phones.

This was a surprising deal, but the phone is a few hundred less than the next phone and I don't want something huge or something that uses Face ID.  Surprisingly, I'm getting exactly what I want for a price that I really like.  Something must be very wrong.

It's here!  UPS actually left it without a signature--probably something Covid-19 related.  I waited as long as possible before walking to the bus stop and when I was there, I saw the UPS truck leave my street.  I didn't expect the phone to be there.  It's slightly scary that it was.  Someone could have taken it.

Sprint had good instructions on how to activate the phone.  That's just odd that any U.S. carrier has good instructions.  They usually mis-type technical terms.  In any case, I went to their website, signed into their system.  It brought up the old and new phones and I clicked to transfer the activation.  It complained that I hadn't turned off "Find My...", so I went into the phone and took care of that.  Once that was finished, the new phone was activated.

Apparently, the iPhone SE was not on iOS 13.5, so my current backup did not work with a previous operating system.  I updated the operating system slowly.  I figured a fast, new phone wouldn't take quite so long with 13.5.  I was mistaken.

Once that was handled, it allowed me to restore my latest backup onto the phone and began to download every app and install them--in order of most used.  Since I have way too many--222--and 256 GB, it took too long, even with a fast internet connection through Comcast/xFinity.

Restoring movies didn't take too long.  With 256 GB, I can fit my 11 or so digital downloads from when I had the iPhone 5c and could only load one at a time.

The phone doesn't seem all that fast, probably because the iPhone 8 was very fast already.  The display looks better--sharper, with deeper blacks.  There may also be a psychological effect from this "white" version having a black fascia, unlike the iPhone 8.

The logo has slipped further down, so my iPhone 7 case, no longer shows the logo.  There is no "iPhone" on the back, to go along with the logo change.

Since this phone supports many more LTE bands, I'm hoping to see if performance is enhanced because of T-Mobile LTE.  I'm sure T-Mobile users' LTE is enhanced, as Sprint has the best LTE in town.

Considering that this isn't costing me any monthly money, I'm extra pleased to have it--just for the new battery.  I just need to make sure I get the phone back to Sprint as soon as possible, so that there won't be any charges.

Sprint kept bugging me to take their newest protection plan and it does more than just protect, but the price was a bit much.  I went to the Apple Support app and bought AppleCare + for $3.99/month, which is cheaper than what I was paying for the iPhone 8 support at $7.99/month.

Sprint has improved dramatically

Every year around Christmas here, I complain that the shopping area has horrible service with Sprint.  As of the Christmas season 2018, I can complain about it no longer.  We didn't get 100 Mbps service but the service was never unusable as it had been in the past few years since I arrived in 2014.

Further, I had jury duty in Stockton, which has generally had the worst of everything and I had a solid 4 bars downtown, especially on the 7th and 12th floors of the court house, but even on the ground it was exemplary.

I haven't had a lot of praise for Sprint, except for EVDO/3G in 2005 when the others were far behind them, and several years later when WiMAX was delivering data well before LTE was available in even a few places.

I'm pleased to say that the company has done better lately and I'm not sure why but I hope they continue to improve.  I'm almost okay with the T-Mobile merger, as long as we don't end up on GSM.  I hate having a voice conversation with anyone on T-Mobile because of the way it distorts and echoes.

VoLTE (Voice over LTE) should have been implemented already, so that we could rid ourselves of GSM and CDMA.  I expected it would be in place in 2015, even if it wasn't widespread, but it doesn't seem to have gone very far at all.

Update 2019.02.24: Sprint is now advertising that LTE Advanced is in use.  They also have "Calling Plus" for Android-based phones, which appears to be VoLTE, as they mention that you can use the internet while on a call, etc.

Apparently, 5G service will be launched in a few cities in May.  It seems that they've not bothered with Philadelphia or Miami, which is a big change from earlier times.

Don't you love how AT&T/SBC is finally going to LTE Advanced and is calling it 5Ge, as if it's something better than everyone else.  It's similar to when they enhanced their 3G service and called it 4G, even though it wasn't much different from T-Mobile.   By the original definition LTE Advanced is 4G, and we're not quite there yet, as far as a nationwide implementation goes.  I still see 1xRTT on occasion.

Update 2020.02.17: Apparently, 2020 is the year that 5G will penetrate our lives.  According to news, Verizon couldn't cover the Super Bowl stadium with 5G service, so I'm not sure how great it's going to be.  I'm still waiting for 4G/LTE Plus to be everywhere--and for 2G to go away.

Update 2020.04.24: The Sprint/T-Mobile merger happened and the two companies are cooperating on LTE, but will remain two operations otherwise.  I'm glad that they're not getting rid of CDMA.  I wonder if MetroPCS is still using CDMA, as they were prior to their acquisition by T-Mobile.  They were known as the worst carrier, but I'm not certain that they were the worst.

In any case, it should be interesting to see how everyone's service goes.  Hopefully, it's better and Verizon and AT&T sweat some.

Verizon Wireless' LTE Advanced technology

A few months ago, I saw a press release from Verizon Wireless saying that they supported LTE Advanced (true 4G) in two cities near me, giving much, much, much faster speeds.  You know how they were ridiculing Sprint for being good around Kansas City, and all that?  Then, they started using technology that was even better than what they had to trounce Sprint.

I've been using a Verizon Wireless hotspot for over two years, after the previous hot spot couldn't connect to Sprint for more than 6 hours--something Sprint couldn't explain--but my phone on Sprint was working perfectly.  Back around May, I got the latest, greatest hotspot from Verizon that would support LTE Advanced, XLTE, and allow international roaming.

I was in Modesto, CA today, waiting for someone, and I decided to download something to my phone because iTunes app updates are limited to 100MB over the air.  Beyer Park has a tower and Sprint's service is the best there, of all Modesto.  I hoped that it would work out that way with Verizon--only much bigger.  I regularly get 40-50 Mbps with Sprint there.  I'm sure I read that Verizon Wireless was suggesting hundreds of Megabits per second.

I was so disappointed.  I do better at home without LTE Advanced.  I tested it with three apps and my download of 1.2 GB took a very long time, unfortunately.

I'm guessing that it's similar to when Verizon Wireless was first implementing LTE.  A friend lived in a small town that they claimed had LTE.  She tried to show me something.  After a few minutes of churning and getting nowhere, it dropped to 3G and instantly the results were shown.

Does that make it a lie or an exaggeration?  In advertising, I believe it's known as fraud, but it looks like an overstatement to claim a city name without covering the whole city.

Update 2019.03.05: Sprint apparently has LTE Advanced in most locations now, as well as having 3 band LTE in some locations.  It really is amazing to see 100 Mbps on a phone.  5G may be coming, but we still don't have Voice over LTE available, so that they can ditch GSM and CDMA services.

Time for a Phone Upgrade? (Oops! Did it!)

I dislike when people use "upgrade" when they mean switch.  However, it's become part of common use English, unfortunately.

It's been almost two years since I switched phones.  I was unhappy with Sprint but the Verizon salesperson tried to sell me a more expensive plan, I guess to help his quota.  This upset me and, having done my research, I explained the plan he should have been suggesting, and it was like someone was talking to him in the ear piece--everything he said from that point was robotic.

The iPhone 5c was a good phone and I miss it, but the two band LTE wasn't enough with Sprint and since Sprint offers three band LTE many places I go, the extra bandwidth is useful, especially when their service is bad.  It still doesn't help with those areas where Sprint still hasn't added LTE and, in California, those places are many.  They decided to spend the money to help the area around their Overland Park, Kansas headquarters where almost no one pays.

In any case, seeing 68 Mbps not far from home is great.  Verizon has LTE Advanced service around here, but not here.  I've seen around 40 Mbps at home and it might be even better not far from here.  I wonder if I could see over 100 Mbps with a newer phone in one of those LTE Advanced service areas.  My problem at home is that I'm on the edge of a roaming area for Sprint--about 6 blocks from the center of town.  They have refused to add a tower near the shopping area that would help.  They occasionally turn up the power on the tower near the skate park but they don't have enough capacity to make it work well.

The iPhone 7 Plus is actually faster than some of the latest 12 inch MacBook models using Core M processors.

 Since the iPhone 7 pre-orders will be available in a few hours, I'm wondering if I should consider it.  I looked at the Sprint website a bit earlier and it said that I was eligible for an upgrade.  However, they didn't mention iPhone 7 at all.

I usually stay away from the latest Apple hardware but the iPhone 6 has been good.  I considering the iPhone SE but I remember how I struggled with seeing small details on the display.  The iPhone 6s would be fine, I'm sure, but don't I want the extra power and extra battery life?

I believe that the iPhone 6s is unnecessary and the iPhone SE is too small for my eyes and the iPhone 6s Plus is too big for my pocket.  (If you're wondering, Android 6.x didn't work well on my 2013 Google Nexus 7 tablet, so I doubt I want it on my phone, even though the LG V20 looks desirable.)

Who knows?  If I wait, I'll lose the chance to get an iPhone 7 pre-order.  If Sprint's web site never shows it, I'm thinking that the Apple web site will show Sprint as an option.

Sprint really wants my iPhone-related money.  They changed their Sprint Zone app on iOS, at least, to display whether a person is ready for an iPhone upgrade.

While the desktop web site timed out a bit, the mobile app + mobile web site seemed to be working quite well.  I'm still trying to figure out about my leased phone, since it says that there needs to be a trade-in.  I'm two months from the end of the lease, and after two years, I really don't want to keep the phone, even though it works just fine.  Verizon quoted me something around US$35.00, which is much less than I could get elsewhere, if I put work into it.

I'm still thinking about it.  Pre-orders have been live for more than 1 day.  Supplies are becoming somewhat scarce.  Apple have changed the selections--AT&T and T-Mobile versions cannot be used on Verizon or Sprint because they supposedly don't include CDMA functionality.  You can go the other way with an unlocked phone on Verizon or Sprint.

Update 2016.10.10: Okay, so I looked at the diminishing battery life on my two year old iPhone 6, plus the fact that I'm having occasional trouble charging it and decided that paying around US$1.50 per month for an 18 month lease isn't a bad thing in order to replace the phone.

The 32GB model was a bit short on capacity and the 64GB model now has 128GB, so that's what I ordered.  According to Sprint's information, they had the Gold models ready for immediate shipment.  Compared to two years ago, that's quite the reverse.  The silver was the only easily available model.

I tried one at a Target store the other evening and it was quite powerful on a game I already use and one I have considered buying--namely, Asphalt 8 and Warhammer 40,000 something.  The phone was impressive.

Less impressive was the new, immobile Home button.  Unlike the trackpads on the latest MacBook Pro series, it doesn't feel as though it is moving at all.  I realize that the depth isn't available but then, the haptic feedback is supposed to provide this feeling of depth.

I also ordered a couple of different color cases from Ballistic.  The price for each was only US$19.99, which was incredibly inexpensive, considering I paid US$34.99 for my last Ballistic case.  While I won't see much of the gold, one of the cases is completely black, while the other is gray and white.  Sure, I could get something really colorful but the 6+ feet of drop protection is more important to me.

FreedomPop for home

I've been using a phone or a mobile hotspot for my computer's internet connection from late 2006.  It started with a Samsung A900--Lex Luthor's phone in Smallville.  It was a lousy phone but the 3G connection was reliable, and the speed was better than my 3 Mbps DSL connection.

Lately, I've been using a Novatel Wireless MiFi device with Verizon.  Service was really good at my last location, but just acceptable here.  I gave up on Sprint around March of this year when the Sierra Wireless (now Netgear) device wouldn't connect for 6 hours.

Earlier this month, I was coming close to my full monthly allotment of 10 GB on the 10th day into my billing period.  Uggggh.  I'm currently about 4 GB ($40) over it.  I haven't noticed anyone else using it, but DirecTV seemed to be using a lot, even though I wasn't streaming anything.  I've been working on creating videos lately, but there wasn't that much I was uploading.  In any case, paying loads for extra use, and not knowing how it was happening was difficult.

I looked for FreedomPop after seeing an article about it.  Freedom Hub Burst is a home product similar to a mobile hotspot but without the mobile part.  It needs an AC electrical outlet.  They've been using ClearWire/Clear connections for quite a while.  The only problem with this is that I have some spotty service with Sprint at home.  Both ends of my apartment have LTE but my living room and part of my bedroom are a transition zone between 3G and LTE, so I end up with 1xRTT on my phone too often.

At $21.99 for 10 GB per month, it seemed reasonable, compared to $10 per 1 GB for an overage on Verizon.  Normally, FreedomPop hasn't been charging for the service, but this home service is a bit different, and I'm okay with it.  Like buying a phone with prepaid service, I needed to buy a device.  They supposedly included an extra USB-attached mobile modem but it wasn't included in the box.

Setup

Receiving the package on Christmas Eve seemed gift-y.  Opening the package and not finding useful instructions didn't.  Actually, there was a little pamphlet that fell between the cracks, and I found it afterwards.  It would have helped a lot but I already had a connection, read the instructions, and managed to find the page to get everything set.  Looking at the pamphlet, it neglects to tell you the default password for the connection to the device itself, so how do you connect without a current connection?

Connecting

It has been simple enough to get online, once I set everything.  Speed is reasonable, though not extremely fast, nearly 5 Mbps.  Perhaps, the LTE will improve as Sprint/Clear finish their deployment in this area.  Response time seems minimal and it feels like a good connection.  Unlike my phone, I can leave the device near a window on the edge of the apartment where the connection is better.

Having an extra 10 GB for about the same as 2 GB overage isn't bad.  I can connect the TV and Blu-Ray player to it and they can update firmware to their CPU's content, even when I'm not home.  I'm thinking that I shouldn't connect my DirecTV receiver, as it will take advantage of the connection in big ways.  Now, my mobile hotspot can once again be mobile, and I can even update those extra iPhone apps without having to look for a WiFi connection elsewhere.

Update 2015.01.13: Saturday, I received a WiMAX/3G modem, like the one Sprint discontinued quite a while ago.  I couldn't download the connection manager software from FreedomPop, so I downloaded it from Sprint.

It connected but then told me that there was no free 4G service available and that 3G service wasn't free.  I only have one question--why send me this unusable piece of technology, to clear the warehouse?

Update 2015.03.27: The other day, the company offered me an upgrade for the useless WiMAX modem.  For $29.99, I could get a Franklin brand LTE modem.  It sounded great, but then, they wanted me to take a premium 2 GB data package for $21.99 per month.  It's not horrible, when you consider AT&T and Verizon and I could cancel later.

However, they're counting on someone missing that, and I missed the data rollover option that they slipped into the WiMAX modem package, and they've been charging me $3.99 + tax until I checked practically every option on the web site.

Sprint "Cut Your Bill in Half" deal only on plan, not your device. Is that a surprise?

It's apparently not quite the deal you'd expect, and of course, it depends on Verizon Wireless and (the new) AT&T's bad plans.

Re/Code

CrackBerry

Consumerist

 DSL Reports

I'm not sure that there is a real story or not.  I don't expect miracles anyway.  The big two have been working a little bit more to be balance plans with service.  However, if you get great coverage where you are--watch out for fake coverage maps from any of the big 4--Sprint should be a good deal.  Now that Nextel is all but dead and the 800 MHz frequency band is available, there is a huge chance that Sprint could be dominant in certain markets.  There are Spark areas like Milpitas, CA where Sprint is using 800 MHz, 1900 MHz, and 2500 MHz combined.

Verizon has dual frequency bands with their XLTE but who knows what device you need to make it work right now.  I've searched multiple times to see if my current mobile hotspot will take advantage of it but they're not telling apparently.  I'd prefer enhanced throughput.

Update 2014.12.30: I've been a Sprint customer since September 2000.  I've seen great service and weird, poor service.  Lately, it's very good everywhere but home.  While I'm feeling just more than neutral about Sprint, Verizon (my mobile hotspot) doesn't really make me feel better, and the stories about AT&T and T-Mobile keep me away.  YMMV--Your mileage may vary.  Do your research.

Update 2015.11.19: The deal is back, mostly.  There are more conditions, but I suppose it's a good deal, if you happen to have great coverage where you live.

Speaking of which, Sprint also made a big announcement about 77 locations for their LTE Plus service, which seems to be what they were calling Spark last year.  (They were also mentioning LTE Advanced but I'm not sure if they meant that LTE was more advanced than their 3G service or they've actually put the newer technology into place.)  If everything is working well, you can get tremendous speed.  In fact, they had the service in town for a while.  I was seeing 38 Mbps, up from 1-2 Mbps and then, a month later, it was gone and the old service had been restored.  (I believe that they took the equipment back to their city of Overland Park, Kansas to help themselves.)

It was quite a bit better than the 7 Mbps that I normally see on my Verizon mobile hotspot, and Verizon still hasn't announced where they have their enhanced two frequency service--only that it exists.

Sprint has decided to hide coverage deficiencies on the map with 100% LTE, then Spark

I came to this area about five months ago.  I noticed that the majority of this city of 70,000+ people were covered by 3G, while the adjoining city of 22,000+ had strong LTE.  I also noticed that Sprint seemed to be working their way up California SR 99, but skipping this area north of Modesto and resuming near Sacramento.

As time progressed, they added LTE capabilities and they've slowly crept into my apartment, but I'm still at many times seeing 1xRTT as LTE and 3G/EVDO fight over my phone.

I mentioned this to @sprintcare a while back, noting the huge roaming area encompassing the shopping area on the east side of the city.  I was told to look at AIRRAVE as an option.  It isn't a portable option and it doesn't fix the lack of coverage.  It could only cover it up.  Since that conversation, I started another with @sprintcare, as I noticed that the map showed LTE coverage while the behavior of the network had not changed.

They told me that there were no towers in the area.  I told them that the maps didn't show that any longer.  They told me to look again and again.  I finally made screenshots of the map at the cross streets I told them, and the map near my apartment, on the edge of the roaming area.  They never replied.

What roaming area?

What roaming area?

It's apparent that marketing is more important than truth.  I assume my previous conversation about the roaming area caused them to falsify results on the coverage map.  What else (and where else) have they modified the truth?

Update 2015.01.23: Two days ago, there was almost no service and my phone spent almost the whole day on roaming, not only near home, which wouldn't be unusual, but in other areas where LTE is usually strong.  According to an acquaintance on Sprint, service was also bad there, so apparently, it was up and down California SR 99, not just where I live.

What was naturally amusing is that @sprintcare told me that there were no reported problems.  Cable company, much?  I made the comment that since September 2000 when I became a Sprint customer they only admitted to one problem.  Later, they decided that there was an outage.  They didn't mention that it was over multiple cities.

Turbo 1xRTT? Spark? I wish.

3G map shows roaming area

Voice is fair but data is 100%?

I was shocked to find that they updated the map to show Spark, not only over my city, but the highest performance over my apartment.  It was amusing to see 1xRTT while viewing the new coverage map details.  I believe that they might have a plan for Spark here, but I think they're jumping the gun with their marketing efforts.  With the roaming hole, they shouldn't be able to claim coverage anyway but their map legend has no extra provision for Spark or LTE roaming.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have three frequency LTE coverage?  I haven't exactly seen it working yet, although parts of the San Francisco Bay Area are working quite well.  I've seen something upwards of 30 Mbps on occasion.  I'd be really impressed to see upwards of 70 Mbps, especially since Verizon is working on two frequency LTE coverage, on capable devices, which my MiFi 5510L is not.

Update 2015.05.16: Spark is apparently working in parts of this town.  I saw 30+ Mbps a couple of miles west of my apartment.  I'm still struggling to keep a signal at home, and end up with 1xRTT or No Service far too often.  I've been told that I should take my phone to be serviced.  This is like "The problem is in your set." responses from the cable company that won't acknowledge their problems.

I would imagine that my service would be just fine here, if they had the other tower emplacement.

Update 2015.11.13: They apparently removed the new equipment about a month after it was working and restored the old equipment.  I'm guessing that they wanted to show that they had the coverage, but only planned to map it and remove it, probably so that they could help the area around the headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas.

It is a good idea to give their employees good service, especially since they aren't paying full price for services.  That way they can claim that there is no problem with service, because they have no problem with service.  It's a bit like Congress--if the executives had to live with our poor conditions, they'd probably be willing to do more for the everyday people.

Parts of the San Francisco Bay Area are very good, but there is no consistency there.

Got an iPhone 6 last night and stayed with Sprint

As you might have read already, I live in an area where the LTE installations haven't been finished.  While much of the town is on LTE, I live on the edge of LTE and a roaming zone.  In fact, my bedroom seems to be a transition area between 3G/EVDO and LTE, so I end up with 1xRTT too many times for too long.

Verizon First

I went to see Verizon, but after seeing the local reseller's Yelp ratings, I went to a city 15 miles away where there was an official company store.

They currently have a $150 switching rebate, and I had found that the data sharing plan of 12 GB had been upgraded to 15 GB.  This is important as I already have a mobile hotspot with the company.  Service is better than Sprint but not great, as though it's bordering on overloaded.  We apparently don't have enough towers in town.

I waited about 15 minutes until there was an available associate.  We talked, and he explained the rent-to-buy plan.  It sounded fine, and then, he talked about the data plan--6 GB for $120, along with talk and text messaging, which we didn't even discuss.  I told him that I'd really have to think about that, since it would drive my total expense up by $40.

Then, I said "I thought there was a 12GB 15 GB sharing plan" and he seemed to tap his headset, and looked surprised "Oh, why didn't I think of that?" and as if he'd been given information by someone behind the curtain, he remarked "That would be $160."  That pretty much ended the conversation but I asked if he was on commission, and he said yes, and had someone get his card for me.  I figured that he would get a little extra each month by not suggesting the cheaper plan.

Sprint Next but not Nextel

I went to one of the two Sprint kiosks in the mall just after that.  The first was busy, so I went to the other.  I said "Give me a reason to stay with Sprint.  I'm ready to pay my ETF." and we started a discussion.

Within only a couple of minutes, he mentioned an extra discount for long time customers on the lease plan.  This also supposedly doesn't include a contract.  They get to keep the phone at the end of the lease or you can pay an extra $200 to keep it.  I was a bit confused, but it still sounded okay.  Except for prepaid service, is it ever 100% straightforward?  Since I wanted a 64GB iPhone 6, it cost a bit more.

Naturally, with these plans, you leave without paying anything.  They put certain things on your initial bill, like the !@#$ $36.00 activation fee--yes, they need to pay for the rigamarole to handle all the crap of paperwork.

My plan is a bit old, so they had trouble deciding which reason to use to make the lease work.  They need to add "Hella Old Plan" to the list.  Eventually, everything was fine, and they also sold me a Otterbox glass screen protector and a Griffin case.  Amusingly, my old address from 2000-2008 was there, and now, with one of the receipts sent by e-mail, they showed me Indiana taxes, where I haven't lived for months.

What's bad about the lease discount is that I had to stay with my current service plan.  They have a better, cheaper plan now.  Actually, last year when I got the iPhone 5c, they add an Unlimited Everything plan or some such that was the same price but had no limits.  Still, I don't talk on the phone enough to need my current minutes.

Oh, and I didn't have to pay the ETF, so far.  Hopefully, it won't show up, since I was told that it wouldn't happen.

They asked me if I wanted insurance, and I told them AppleCare+ but I'm not sure that it will arrive or not.  They didn't charge me for it, but then, they didn't charge me right away last year.  I didn't want Asurion to handle it, as they want lots of money each month, and they have no problem refusing service.

In any case, the iPhone 6 is much better than the iPhone 5c.  That's a surprise?  I suppose not.  I'm thankful that the iPhone 6 is a bit more efficient than the iPhone 5s.  I was concerned about buying a first-generation 64-bit processor from Apple, so I didn't buy the iPhone 5s.  The phone keeps up with me, except when service is poor.  Given that the iPhone 5c is a two band LTE device and the iPhone 6 is a three band LTE device, I should have great performance in certain areas where the Nextel 800 MHz frequency band has been re-purposed.

Most apps I use seem to have been updated for iPhone 6, as well as iOS 8.x and they seem fine.  However, there seem to be so many bug fixes, with apps being updated every few days.  Asphalt 8 takes advantage of the new abilities and has some extra special effects.  I'm not seeing anything else like that from other apps, but everything else seems smooth.

As it has only been a little over 24 hours, I don't know how the battery life really is.  I was in a habit of charging whenever possible--in the car, in the house, and I have a Sony charging kit with a 10,000 mAh battery.  I'm not comfortable enough to let it go overnight without a charge, though I suspect that it will be fine.

The display seems so good.  I wish that they'd picked a more standard size, such as 1280x800 but had 1334-by-750-pixel resolution at 326 ppi.  That's big enough to play 720p video, finally.  Seeing "Full sRGB standard" makes me happy.  I can't tell you how many times I've looked at photos I've taken and the color range and dynamic range is lower than expected, leaving my photos not looking their best, requiring imagination.

TouchID seems to work well.  I was carrying on a conversation with the salesperson while trying to set up the phone and I wasn't synchronizing my movements well, but the TouchID setup was very patient.  It works fine and it's good to be able to put my thumb on the Home button to unlock the phone.  I'm not ready to use Apple Pay.  Let someone else live through the problems.

The thing I don't like is the size of the phone.  It's not horribly big, but it is a big difference.  When I'm playing games in a landscape position, it's great.  When I'm trying to use it as an internet device in portrait orientation, it's a little uncomfortable to use with one hand.

What else?  I'm planning to buy another Ballistic case, so I don't have to worry about dropping it.  The current Griffin case was labeled with "3'" but does it actually work after a drop of three feet?  The glass screen protector from Otterbox seems fine, but for such a price, it should be fine.

Oh, the speakers are in the way of my hands.  Yes, I know that doesn't make sense.  Playing games or watching videos in landscape orientation, I can barely hear the sound at all.  If they'd be a little less obsessed with thin and light, they'd likely have made it so headphones aren't necessary.  Maybe, I can charge my Bluetooth-connected Motorola S9 headphones and hopefully, the synchronization of sound is better than way back when with the second generation iPod touch and iOS 5.x.

Update 2014.12.12: I found Best Buy-only Ballistic cases for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.  They were $34.99, $39.99, and $49.99.  I bought one of the $39.99 priced cases that was labeled Tungsten Tough.  You won't find these on the Ballistic web site.  It's a similar situation to the Klipsch speakers that are made for Best Buy.  I suspect that there is a higher profit margin.  The case has what seems to be anodized aluminum in back.  The drop rating was 7+ feet.  The case for $49.99 added water resistance, a screen protector, and an 8+ rating for drops.

I'm not sure if I'll miss the clip (it didn't turn the case into a viewing easel), as it has hung on to my pocket when I didn't quite have the case far enough into the pocket, but the company's protection is great, so a 7+ rating should handle a fall from my pocket easily.

Update 2015.02.10: I have to say that the situation with Sprint in California isn't as good as it should be.  I understand that it is a long state, but seeing "No Service" should never happen, and it happened too often on my trip from Northern California to San Diego.

The compensation is that when LTE was available, it worked very well.  I've found too many transition zones, just like in my apartment, where they still haven't got overlapping towers.

Update 2015.11.06: Sprint provided better technology and therefore, a better connection.  After 1 month, they took it away, and things are back to the way they had been.  Where they have good service, the phone works just fine.  Elsewhere, the service is poor and the phone works poorly.  I was told I needed to have the phone serviced.  I told the @sprintcare team that I didn't know that humor was a new service they offered.

I almost wish that I had not got the new phone so I could switch to T-Mobile, which has improved their service.  Even paying more to Verizon might have been worth it.  I've been with Sprint since 2000 and the last couple of months have made me wish that Sprint would go out of business.  I actually mentioned that to the @sprintsavings people on Twitter.

The phone has been good.  Now, with iOS 9.0.2, it seems even better, if still a bit buggy.

Sprint is still amusing me instead of amazing me

Since I moved to a rural area of California along I-5 and SR 99, I haven't seen more success in a great network experience than I had at the last place.

In fact, Sprint doesn't even have a store here, though they have 3 kiosks in malls (two of them in the same mall) about 15 miles from here.  The Sprint reseller in this town is next to SR 99 and is on the edge of LTE and a large roaming area.  The fact that I'm on another edge of those area is frustrating.  My bedroom has LTE near the street and 3G toward the back of the apartment complex and the phone searches for service in the middle.

Truth be told, Verizon is not really great here, so I'm not getting any real satisfaction on the computer or tablet.  It's just less worse.

Occasionally, I'll send a tweet to @sprintcare.  Recently, I asked @sprintcare why their reseller didn't get good coverage (there is a roaming hole near the shopping area), and I was told that the majority of the 95336 area was in the Fair rating.  It is, but that is Sprint's rating for "Virtually unusable".  Using Yelp to Check-in often results in a time-out after 3-4 minutes.

He completely ignored the large roaming area in town and told me to go check their AIRAVE device.  The last time I looked, it was not a portable device that I could take with me.  It also required a wired internet connection, which they were unwilling to provide the last time they pushed me toward the option.

Tell me why it is my responsibility to fix their network problems by paying more to use a device to work around their shortcomings.  I'd really like to know.

That said, I can see the LTE signal becoming stronger.  In recent days, it's working in the living room.  LTE works fine in the San Francisco Bay Area (around 50-75 miles away) in most places.  I have hope.  They're just not working as quickly as I expected.  It's already September and many places are not working with LTE as they should be.

I need more patience but this is something that is stretched far too thin since say, 2008, when I moved out of a strong area, before the death grip of Nextel took hold.

Update 2014.10.29: They have increased their LTE reach into my apartment, although it too often changes to 3G when I try to use it.  Service is slowly, incrementally improving.  I still receive too many timeouts at stores.  Sometimes, even in stronger areas.  I see too many times when the service switches between LTE and 3G and it's basically unusable unless I force it to ignore LTE.

Update 2014.11.18: The hole in Sprint's coverage is now gone from the map.  They've filled it with non-existent LTE.  My apartment is covered, also, with the strongest LTE possible--none of that Fair business.

Best LTE, yet frequent time-outs

Perfectly covered, yet 1xRTT often

Obviously, all of this time I'm spending on 1xRTT is in my imagination.  The multiple time-outs are also imagined, apparently.  It couldn't be the work of simple easily flowing orange on a map, because no company would ever cheat.

The only thing making sure I don't go to T-Mobile is that their service here isn't very good, either, and they're still working over a rather insecure GSM.  When VoLTE (Voice Over LTE) becomes available, I'd be glad to jump ship, although I don't talk much, but it only takes one call to give away information that someone else can use to empty your accounts and CDMA may not be great, it's secure.

Going to Verizon would be expensive and going to AT&T would be stupid, since it's likely they will still overcharge, plus as many people here complain about them as love them.  Verizon's service for my mobile hotspot is good but not incredible.

Update 2014.12.09: I had a little chat with @sprintcare recently and they said that the roaming area is still visible to them.  When I finally Tweeted the maps I saw (like those above), they didn't reply at all.

I went to talk to someone at a Verizon store and they played a little game on the price of service, at $40 more than I had found on their web site.  I was uncomfortable giving that person a commission for withholding the best deal from me.

I went to the local Sprint reseller and said "Give me a reason to stay with Sprint." and he did but there is a still a lot of hope for the future.  However, I saw something on CNBC's app today where they finished the Stockton area and the service is much better.  That city had horrible service.  10x from 0.30 Mbps is a good improvement for 3G service.

The only real problem with the report is that they jumped over the city where I live, choosing to modify the map.  They may do more--they should do more because the Sprint reseller is also on the edge of the roaming zone.

Now that I have a three band LTE phone, it seems as though the service is somewhat better.  They weren't planning to turn on Spark (three band LTE) over here, but if they have 800 MHz and 1900 MHz, that would be good.  If the 2500 MHz band they got with Clear isn't supported here, that's okay.  If it's only 1900 MHz and 2500 MHz, that would be so-so.

2015.02.14: After a roughly 450 mile trip to San Diego and then, to Disneyland, and back, I think that Sprint still has much more to do across the state.  However, it's good to know that they're taking care of the area around their headquarters continually, since the people working for the company aren't paying as much as the other customers are.  At least, they're not blaming their customers as AT&T always do.

Sprint's LTE up to 443 cities?

I must have missed a press release because my last count was 340 cities.  Maybe, they're counting individual cities in a metropolitan area now but the addition of 41 cities does not come to 443, as far as I can tell.  Maybe, this is why they have so many billing problems?  They can't do math correctly.

In any case, I was reading this article on Android Central.

Sprint has announced Spark is up and running in 24 cities, including a fresh six:

Austin, Texas
Baltimore

Chicago
Dallas
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Fort Worth, Texas
Houston
Jacksonville, Fla.
Kansas City, Kan./Mo.
Los Angeles
Miami
New York
Newark, N.J.
Oakland, Calif.
Orlando, Fla.
Philadelphia
Provo, Utah;
Salt Lake City
San Antonio
Tacoma, Wash.
Tampa, Fla.
Trenton, N.J.
Waukegan, Ill.
West Palm Beach, Fla.

Spark is their 3 band/frequency LTE.  I looked at the choices and wondered why some were chosen.  The Texas and Florida locations make sense, as to thumb their nose at the New AT&T/SBC/BellSouth.  My iPhone 5c is only a 2 band device, so I'll never know the joy of incredible speed.  Oh, no.  Equally, my Verizon mobile hotspot is a 2 band device, but then, they only have two frequencies, unlike poor, beleaguered Sprint, which is finally reaping a little benefit for all those catastrophic losses taking on Nextel.

I found the full list of active LTE markets here.

I was amused to find the town where I live to be on the active list.  I'm not sure the Sprint store sees an active LTE signal, and it's close to the main road.  I lose the signal when I've driven about 500 feet from the main road, though in the harder hit areas of town, LTE works more reliably.  It would be difficult to explain to a customer why they can't get a signal next to their store, though.  This particular tower services the shopping centers and is overloaded much of the time.  However, with their upgrades, there should not be a problem, and Verizon's LTE reaches my house just fine for my mobile hotspot.  (I couldn't connect with my Sprint hotspot and switched the hotspot to Verizon while keeping my phone with Sprint, so I'd have at least one working all the time.)


I'm sure, about the time I'm moving in June, they'll have LTE working just fine somewhere around here.  Then, I'll go through the frustration in the next area.  I noticed that Modesto, CA is active and they seem to be working their way north along state road 99, so hopefully, more from that area will be active this summer.

Update 2014.05.01: A while ago, I was seeing 1xRTT service, which tells me that they're trying to finish the final tower here, but they're likely running into problems keeping service going while converting it.  You'd think that it wouldn't be so primitive--and that they'd be working in the middle of the night when most people are asleep or at work.

Update 2014.05.02: I got a message a bit ago that the enhanced network is working.   I guess it is enhanced in that it's not so slow, but LTE is not available in most places.  Getting the data is the most important thing, unless it's so slow that it can't be measured in whole numbers.

Later in the day, I was traveling down Ohio SR 503 from SR 122 to SR 73, noticing that the cows were well-equipped with LTE, better than those living in anything big enough to be considered a city in Ohio.  Are the technicians just not able to focus their efforts on the heavily-used towers first?

Do carriers boost the mobile hotspot data usage numbers?

Back in mid-2012, when I was looking for a mobile hotspot, I noticed that at almost unusable speeds, I was tearing through the Verizon Hotspot's 10 GB data limit.  It didn't make any sense.  Except for the trip from the Verizon store, I didn't have access to LTE.  At home, I was barely able to get e-mail.  Yet, most of the allotment was being used very quickly.

Saturday, I bought one of their newest hotspots and I'm already more than 33% through my monthly allotment of 5 GB.  The firmware update was surely included in the usage, since obviously, that wouldn't go to the company.  (Why put out a device that is updated when you can charge for the update indirectly?)  I had 12 GB with Sprint, and even when I had 5 GB, it didn't go this quickly, though they seem to count all of their overhead as part of my usage.

3 full days

Since there aren't a lot of alternatives here, I will be using the mobile hotspot, either the hardware device from Verizon, or the software functionality on the iPhone 5c from Sprint.  I'm guessing that I'll be close on data at the end of the billing period.

The salesperson told me that Verizon charges $10 per 1 gigabyte over the limit, which doesn't seem horrible.  I expected something more like $1 per extra megabyte.

To be clear, I had already stopped the automatic update of tablet applications.  People often seem upset than Apple take so long to authorize an update to an application, but the other side is annoying.  I see developers on Android updating their applications daily.  I don't develop mobile software, but unless there is an emergency, why not get several updates into the app every week?

Of course, Google applications on (Mac) OS X can't be stopped.  These days, I rarely find that Chrome hasn't been updated ahead of a notice on a news site, unless of course, I don't have a connection while I'm out.  Picasa is the Google exception, and the company has major problems there.  The Update menu item doesn't work.  It never finds an update, even when there is one.  When there is an update, I receive a pop-up dialog box asking me to run the installation.  I do that, and when I go to one of normal user accounts (as opposed to Administrator), it asks that I download and install it there, also.  Obviously, it's the same software across user accounts, download it once.

1 full week

Update 2014.03.09: I'm about 40% through my monthly allotment in about 1 week.  That's scary.  I hope it isn't repeated the next month.

2 weeks

Update 2014.03.16: I'm about 80% through my monthly allotment, with half a month to go.  I can only wonder as to what is using all the data, since I'm not watching videos.  It looks as though Verizon doesn't count the same way as Sprint did.  I would rarely go beyond 6 GB in a month.  I'm going to end up using my Sprint phone as a hotspot, which could last me the rest of the month, but who knows?

Funny that ABC News was running a story about prepaid phone calls and how AT&T and T-Mobile charge you for the operational length of the call, rather than the talk time of the call.  They said that Verizon only charged for the talk time.  I hope that they're not making up for it here.

Update 2014.03.17: I've apparently used 0.765GB in almost exactly 48 hours.  This will be the second time I've tried to update this blog entry with the addition of the graphic.   Well, the graphic was still being held by Google, even though Blogger did not update this blog entry--small favors.  In any case, I can only imagine that Google Maps is responsible for using so much data.  I watch videos on my Unlimited Data phone, not through the hotspot.

Update 2014.03.19: I turned off the Mifi hotspot just after I read the total usage.  When I went to the local affiliate to pay my first bill, I asked them about the current number and he had just switched from that page, but he said that it seemed to be what I mentioned.  I was half-hoping that it would have still increased with it completely off, to prove that there was a problem.

Since I've been using the phone on Sprint as a hotspot for two days, usage has been minimal.   I also noticed that MacRumors was mentioning a problem with iOS 7.1 and hotspot functionality, but since I didn't use it prior to 7.1, I am probably not having any issue.

Update 2014.03.21: I've been using my phone as a hotspot and it's been a bit troublesome if I stop the hotspot functionality.

The next morning after turning off the MiFi hotspot

2.5 days after the first Sprint measure

It seems very different in usage but that may be because it's so slow most of the time, and in frustration, I leave the computer or tablet without achieving much, though it might be some other reason.  I still find it humorous that Sprint wants to confuse the issue by measuring in KiloBytes.  Maybe, it confuses them, too.  It's sadly amusing that on their Sprint-labeled Speedtest.net page, they mistakenly identify the results in MegaBytes per second instead of MegaBits per second.  I'm sure Sprint would have more customers if their data services were 8 times as fast.  With the Tri-Fi hotspot, I often had trouble getting e-mail.  Isn't that pathetic?  I always thought that a dedicated device would be so much better than a phone doing double duty but not so with the Sierra Wireless/Netgear devices, especially since they offer cradles to boost the signal gain.

I caved and changed from 5 GB on Verizon to 10 GB per month.  It's an extra $30, which is better than $10 per 1 GB or $50.

It's still easier to remember the phone than the mobile hotspot when I leave town for a quick trip.  It's still important to watch the usage, as I could suddenly exceed 10 GB.  e.g., I have the Asphalt 8 game on the phone and the Nexus 7 tablet.  It's 1.5 GB on one and 1.3 GB on the other.  Since they'll likely charge for their overhead, that 2.8 GB will probably balloon to 3.5 GB easily.  Try finding some free WiFi source to let you update that much easily.  I know of places but I'll have to drive 25-45 miles to go there.

How does adding an extra 5 GB get to 3.871?

Gaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

 I had not used 5 GB and I changed to 10 GB so, they gave me a lot less than 5 GB.  For the sake of clarity, I should have had it start on the next billing period, don't you think?

I think Verizon may have a problem

I tried to call customer service but the sound was so awful, I couldn't really hear the menu options well.  Was that a tactic to get me to change my phone to Verizon?  I don't remember the problem in 2012.  I don't make many phone calls, so who knows?

Update 2014.04.04: I needed to back date (retroactive) the plan to the first day of the period.  They took my change on the 21st day of the month and used pro rata math to give me 3.871, which knowing my situation, no one knowledgeable and in their right mind would have done because it caused an overage.

Update 2015.01.31: This hit hard today, though I haven't been keeping track of my usage strictly.

Most of the month I've been using a FreedomPop home internet connection over LTE.  If I go over 2 GB on Verizon, it's pretty much the same as 10 GB on FreedomPop.  When I went over by 4 GB, uploading my new video work, I had to do something.

So, I didn't use the Verizon mobile hotspot until the 21st really.  I was updating the computer and phone and it showed 2.2 GB, which is a lot from 10 GB monthly.  Today, I got a message that I was over 75%--or over 7.5 GB.  In the last 3 days, I've been working on a few videos from skateboarding, and a musical performance the other night.  I find it difficult to believe that I used 6 GB, and only have about 1.4 GB remaining.  Thankfully, that was after the latest group of videos were finished and up on YouTube.  I was uploading to YouTube and Vimeo, so that's part of the problem, but Vimeo let me upload the full load of the second video and told me that it wasn't HD because I need to pay extra for more than a certain small amount.

In any case, it's going to be back to zero on the 2nd, but in the meantime, I have to be a bit more frugal.

No more Sierra Wireless/Netgear mobile hotspots

Is this odd that it follows my "No more Panasonic lenses" blog entry?  It's been a week.

I've been fighting with my Sierra Wireless Tri-Fi mobile hotspot for quite a while.  I got it in June 2012, after auditioning similar LTE devices from AT&T/SBC and Verizon Wireless.  (N.B. you can't buy Sierra Wireless-named devices now--Netgear bought the company, so everything is labeled Netgear now.  At the Sprint store there was another Netgear mobile hotspot with a cradle, this one a tri-band (Spark) LTE device.  If it needs a cradle to work correctly, it's a poor design.  Don't buy it!  By the way, I'm not against Netgear networking equipment otherwise.  In fact, I use it.)

At the time when I bought the hotspot in 2012, there wasn't much LTE coverage, and what was there was already overwhelmed.  WiMAX was more likely to be available.

AT&T/SBC enabled HSPA in town, not HSPA+ but merely the so-so topology that was similarly constrained like EVDO Rev. A or B.  Since most people were accustomed to GPRS or EDGE, it was reasonably fast.  Today, it's likely bogged down with all the extra traffic, and there is no LTE.

Verizon offered LTE in town a couple of months after I took their device back to them but at the time I got the device, their 3G data speeds were worse than Sprint (getting e-mail was a problem), and their LTE speeds weren't great in an area that had already matured.

Today, the reality hit the fan.

I couldn't get a connection with the mobile hotspot at all.  The device sat there between 15 and 30 minutes and wouldn't connect.  I went to the store, which is about 2 miles from home.  I tried to check-in with Yelp on the phone and even that didn't work outside or inside the store.  (They're upgrading the towers for LTE, but if the phone doesn't work well, what's the point?  The Sprint store and Verizon affiliate store are very close to the tower but so are the shopping centers.  At Christmas, I could hardly get any service.)

In the store, I waited and waited, as Saturdays are busy.  When someone talked to me, I tried to be calm.  In the end, he told me to call customer service, and demand that my contract be canceled and that the ETF be credited so that I would pay nothing.

I drove near the Verizon Wireless affiliate, near the tower, so I could hope to make a clear call.  I called and navigated the menu system to "end contract" or some such menu item.  Janelle answered within the 30 seconds that they stated and we did a little dance.

In the end, she ended the contract, credited the account, so that I would pay nothing.  I also had her turn on the Personal Hotspot feature on the phone, so I could at least get e-mail.  She was extremely pleasant and took care of me well.  They've increased the prices for the hotspot add-on.  I think the 6 GB hotspot add-on was $49.99, instead of $29.99 for 5 GB previously, and I selected the 2 GB add-on for $19.99.

I walked into the Verizon Wireless reseller after the call.  They had one beat-up mobile hotspot on display.  When I got to talk to someone, I learned that they only had two others in the store.  I chose the Novatel Wireless device.  I'm trying to be a good American, okay?  The other device was the ZTE (890L?) mobile hotspot I tried in 2012, and I would rather have a newer, less intensive chipset for better battery life, especially since the batteries were half the size (1800 mAh vs 3600 mAh) of the Sierra Wireless unit I'd been using.  I read my initial blog entry and I had problems with that ZTE brand device but lots of firmware changes have probably fixed everything.

About $120 got me out the door, will 2 years of walk-in-trade-in insurance on the device.  $60 for insurance seems okay considering that it would have been $8 per month with Asurion, which would be $192 over 2 years.

Sprint LTE in Trotwood, OH

Verizon LTE in Richmond, IN

When I arrived home, I got connected with the computer.  I got 12.79 Mbps down and 4..25 Mbps up.  Unfortunately, it hasn't worked since then.  It went to do an update and it froze at 48%.  I powered off and powered on, and selected the update and it was downloaded completely, and took a very long time to do the actual update.  It still isn't working for me.  I just checked the tablet again.

Thankfully, while I was terminating the Sprint mobile hotspot, I had the representative enable the Personal Hotspot feature and that is working exceptionally well, as I would expect the connection to be.  Unfortunately, their add-on prices were enormous and I only went to 2 GB, Sprint overhead and all.  It's an emergency substitute and of course, when the Verizon mobile hotspot is close on data.  Verizon charges $10 for an extra Gigabyte which seemed very reasonable, as Sprint has been a pain for overages, not that I've had any for a long time, but they really promote you going with a heavy plan.

So, now, back to the Verizon store to see what the !@#$ problem is.

Who knows?  I took my laptop computer, my 2013 Nexus 7 tablet, and the MiFi mobile hotspot.  Everything worked perfectly in the store and here at home now.  I hope there are no further problems.

It's still fine, although it hasn't been quite as fast.  I suspect that as the evening progressed, more people headed to this side of town where more restaurants and shopping exist.  When the winter storm hits, I would imagine speeds will be increased--or not decreased as much as when things are busy.

I also returned to the Sprint store to tell them how much better the iPhone 5c handled hotspot duties than the dedicated hotspot device.  Isn't that sad that the device wasn't better?  They were surprised also.

Update 2014.03.02: The lack of the Tri-Fi hotspot seems to have left the iPhone 5c in a better state of communication.  It seems to be faster and smoother in communication with the towers.  Could the Tri-Fi have been interfering with this (and the previous iPhone 4s) phone over 1.5 years?   That's just scary that one device could be so disruptive, especially since it was meant to be so helpful by granting access to three different topologies/technologies.

3 full days

1 full week

Update 2014.03.04: As I wondered back in 2012, I wonder if Verizon cheats on their usage numbers.  It has been 3 full days, and I've already used over 1 GB (20%) without any video.   I've always felt that Sprint charges me for their overhead, as well as my traffic, but this seems ridiculous.  I didn't check to see how much the firmware update cost me, but I'm sure they didn't do that for free.

I tried to write a review of the Tri-Fi mobile hotspot and I was careful to only use the truth, but Sprint don't approve of service-related talk.  How can you discuss an item's connectivity without touching on how well it connects?

Update 2014.03.29: Thankfully, the Novatel Wireless MiFi-5510L has performed well.  Its touch-capable buttons are not very responsive, but what counts is the connectivity between the computer, tablet, and the internet.  That works.  Even the iPhone 5c as a mobile hotspot is quite good, though it can be stubborn connecting to the computer, another Apple product, at times.

I extended the Verizon plan to 10 GB, and at the switchover on the 21st, instead of saving 10 GB, it gave an odd, seemingly-unrelated number.  I checked earlier and it was just over 9 GB, even though it had several days away.  It is now completely off and disconnected.  Verizon's $10 per 1 GB isn't so much but I'd rather not use it since I also have the phone for overages, and for those trips where I forget the mobile hotspot device.  That gives me the original 12 GB I had on Sprint, but with two devices which hopefully will not be down at the same time.  Since Sprint didn't discount anything, I expect the cost to be about the same.

Sprint is testing the waters with LTE in town, so the phone seems to be much better even on 3G/EVDO.  At some point in the next few days, LTE will supposedly be deployed on Sprint towers.

Sprint, it's been a month (4 actually), where are the enhancements?

It's been a month since I got this on January 21.  I still have nothing to show for the poorer performance while they've been working on the network, although other areas 15-30 miles away already show that LTE is available.  I was in Connersville, Indiana earlier this week and, LTE was showing up there.  They were practically denied coverage at all previously, even though Sprint sold phones there.  What kind of company does that, and then, has the nerve to charge for roaming?

When I was in Eaton, Ohio earlier, I noticed that their LTE services have degraded dramatically to what should have been good 3G/EVDO speeds.  I was in Indianapolis, Indiana the other day and they've had their LTE upgrades for about 1 year and I was getting many timeouts.

The coverage map has changed, though the LTE indicator did not indicate LTE in some of the places.  In fact, actual coverage seems spotty, even in small towns, as though the equipment they're using isn't as powerful as the 3G/EVDO equipment they were previously using.

Closing from the west a while back

LTE stops close to the state line

The cows and horses really don't seem to have LTE available, as it wasn't indicated on the phone as I drove through that area.  As soon as I crossed the state line, though, the 5 bars turned to 1, then zero.  Obviously, LTE is closing in on the area but it's got some distance to go, and probably, a lot of time until it's really stable.

Of course, part of the problem is that Sprint is claiming that LTE is 10x faster than 3G.  Since their 3G speed is in the basement (0.10 Mbps?) many days, I guess 10x (1.0 Mbps) isn't out of reach.  If it's to be believed, the new AT&T/SBC said during their latest financial call that something like 97% of new phone purchases in the latest quarter were smart phones.  Maybe obviously, that would be a lot of potential data usage.

As I checked the coverage in rural Ohio near me (5 miles east?) in more detail, I discovered that they have Good and Fair ratings to LTE service--these were in the fair rating.  Is pathetic LTE coverage with little hope of better coverage better than no LTE coverage?

The PING response is slow but I can't complain otherwise

Update 2014.02.25: The downtrodden Trotwood, OH area (outside Dayton, OH) had substantial LTE today.  It's too bad nothing else is looking up in the area.

Update 2014.03.01: I was in the Sprint store today, trying to cancel the contract for my problematic Tri-Fi mobile hotspot.  They suggested that I call customer service, as they were not authorized.  When I was talking to the customer service representative about canceling, she said that it usually takes 30 days from the finish of the upgrades for things to show up.  Of course, I mentioned about the text message and how it's been 30 days.  Things may look better soon, but the mobile hotspot couldn't even connect partway through the day.

Verizon's LTE seems to be fine here

The odd thing is that I had the iPhone 5c reconfigured to allow the personal hotspot feature to work, and it was as smooth as silk.  However, I got a cheapo hotspot at the Verizon reseller and my first Speedtest results were 12.7 and 4.25 Mbps, from an LTE network that's been active for most of a year here.  When I went back to tell the people at Sprint about my experience with the iPhone vs. the dedicated hotspot device, they were surprised.  Then, we were talking about the LTE enhancements just across the state line, and I mentioned that the cows were enjoying them, and they had to laugh.  I'm sure they're unhappy with slow and poor developments because they have to face the angry customers.  I'm keeping the phone with Sprint, but for the moment, I think I'll keep the Verizon hotspot.

Downtown Hamilton, OH

West Main St, Hamilton, OH

Update 2014.03.05: I noticed LTE in Hamilton, Ohio, which seemed to have been ignored, even though it was in-between cities that already showed LTE was in the testing phase.  It looks as though it will be a big summer for Sprint.

Update 2014.03.09: More of the Dayton, Ohio area is covered now, and it seems that even more cows and horses in the country have LTE, even if some parts of towns are not yet covered.  I guess they're making better milk because they're happy, well-connected cows.

Update 2014.03.12: I went to Winchester, Indiana and while I was eating enchiladas, I thought that they might have LTE available, since the "data speed upgrades" have been done, but the coverage map shows LTE just outside of town, but not reaching the town itself.  In many parts of my travels of Indiana and Ohio, I still find service practically non-existent or on roaming because Sprint just doesn't have coverage.

I've only ever been two places in the past five years where the phone said "NO SERVICE" and they were both in the tri-state area.  I could almost understand about a state or national forest but near a U.S. highway?  I suppose it's like the cable companies not wanting to pay for wiring to low density areas because it doesn't pay, but I could swear that there were provisions in spectrum agreements that wireless carriers would provide service.   I may be confused but are there loopholes that say if 1 of the big 4 have service in the area that none of the others need bother?

Update 2014.03.25: Two months have passed and still nothing.  Performance is generally acceptable overnight, but just that--acceptable.  The best I see now is about 30% of what it was at its best, which was close to the limits, and it's about half of the typical during that same time frame.  Am I to believe that there are hundreds of people using their data-sucking devices in the middle of the night?

The whole "up to 10 times the speed of 3G" is something that they did with WiMAX.  They're saying that only the Spark areas (three LTE bands, 800 MHz, 1900 MHz, 2500 MHz) will see the maximum speed, which makes sense if they can use all three frequency bands at once.  With the Tri-Fi mobile hotspot, I was only getting WiMAX over the 2500 MHz band and I regularly saw between 5 Mbps and 10 Mbps, depending on the area, and that was inside a building (motel, restaurant, etc.) where the signal had a lower ability to penetrate.

What I'm seeing from Verizon LTE at home (about 2 miles from the same tower Sprint is using) is anywhere from 12 Mbps to 15 Mbps.  This is likely from two bands, including 700 MHz, which has an easier time of getting into a building than 1900 MHz or whatever they're using on the higher end.  Maybe, next month.

Update 2014.03.27: An hour ago, I got a text message from Sprint saying that I should expect more service interruptions and the wait will be over in the next few days.  What that really means, I don't know.  What I hope is that dual-band LTE will be here, active, and as fast as it should be.  Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end of bad service from Sprint.  I was still getting 1xRTT service in some locations in the past two weeks.  They ought to have enough old equipment now that they can push it out to the towers that don't have equipment from, say, 2006 or 2007.

Oh geez.  I went to Eaton, Ohio to get a haircut and eat pizza.  The LTE didn't reach nearly as far and was only really available on the main north-south road through town.  A month ago, it reached well into the countryside.

It's there on Main Street

The speed does look like 10 times 3G

Except that the 3G speed is really good right now

When I returned to Richmond, Indiana, I got a bit of a surprise sitting at the stop light: LTE.  I went to my Speedtest app and before I went far past the next light, about 200 feet from the main road, LTE was gone.  I guess they'll have it at full power in a few days, as they mentioned.  I guess they wanted the store staff to try it.

Update 2014.03.30: I'm seeing LTE show up for an instant several places, including home but as soon as I try to use it, it disappears.  I've checked the updates on the map and where there were none two weeks ago, there are seven eight now.  It's a bit surprising about the distribution of data speed upgrades.  They apparently added a couple of towers out by I-70, but the south of town still has zero towers, and another tower in the poorer section of town received two upgrades.  The tower closest to the Sprint (and Verizon) store and the shopping centers still receives minimal help with 1 data speed upgrade.  Service during the holiday shopping season was unusable.   While they changed the coverage map to show new deployments across the state line, LTE no longer shows up there on my iPhone 5c, at least.  You'd think that it would be better if it's on the coverage map.

Update 2014.03.31: As I was sitting at the stop light where I first discovered LTE in town, I used Speedtest.net to measure it.  The PING was 51ms, downlink was 4.78 Mbps, and the uplink was 0.74 Mbps.  Once again, LTE disappeared about 200 feet from there.  I hope this isn't full strength because it certainly doesn't match anywhere else I've tried and Verizon's signal certainly goes further--i.e., to my house about 2 miles away.  The towers with 2 data speed upgrades each are in the least congested areas, so that might be helpful to people who don't have a device to take advantage of it for a year or two.  I mentioned to the @sprintcare people that I figured LTE would be enabled about the time I was moving away, and that it wouldn't be active where I was moving.  It may be better than that, but if the current situation is all they'll do, it's a sad, sad state of affairs.  I hope they'll yell "April Fools!" and turn up the power on April 2nd.

Update 2014.04.30: Yesterday, this town was moved to the active LTE list, even though not much is covered and the tower near the Sprint store is barely working with LTE.  It is better lately for 3G service but putting it back to not quite the best performance is a bit underwhelming.