Want to switch to Sprint & need advice

[lifereinspired]

Hello,

We are long time Verizon customers but have had enough of their capricious attitude, the insane recent price hikes and limited data plans. (although we currently have unlimited data). However, my husband's phone was stolen about a month ago and while we're using an old phone for the moment, we need to upgrade it for him. I like Sprint's current business model of unlimited everything (& we plan to sign up for everything data plus from the employees referral to save a bit and get more minutes). We also like the fact that Sprint is a green company and supports more things that we believe in. Yeah, I know that we're giving up the network for a bit until Sprint's Network Vision is completed but I think we can live with that.

Here's my dilemma. There are no Sprint owned stores in our area, just third party stores and only a couple of those so I can't buy through them &get everything data plus... Which is fine because they don't know much at all. I went there to try to see both the Evo 4G LTE side by side with the Samsung Galaxy S3...both working. Unfortunately, they didn't have a working model of the S3 but they opened up a package so I could at least hold them next to each other.

My concern most of all is with the radio quality and reception. I have some serious medical issues so being able to call for help is a frequent need. I took my current phone (HTC Rezound), my husband's Motorola DROID X, and the Evo LTE, and did side by side comparisons of the radios. My Rezound came in top at -80 give or take a few both directions, the DX, at -86 also give/take & the Evo LTE at -97 to -103. I then tried to load a webpage on my Rezound and the Evo. I picked yahoo because it has mixed media &was a first thing that popped into my head. My Rezound loaded the desktop version in less than 20 seconds... The Evo was still attempting to load the mobile version after several minutes.

So, do I believe the story that the mall kiosk has terrible Sprint reception? Was the demo Evo LTE one of the bad first batch? I know that there will be a step back in service speed but this was unbearable. I'm hoping that this isn't the normal for Sprint service... I mean it can't be, right? Right no one would use them.

What I'm unable to find out is what the Samsung Galaxy S3 radio is like compared to the Evo LTE in similar circumstances. I can't afford to get one of the phones, not have it work, pay the restocking fee and a second activation fee. With two lines that's over $200 just to switch away from a defective phone. Is there any leeway given for phones that won't hold a signal... Like allowing us to switch to another phone if the first is defective? I know that the base chipset is the same between the two phones but from what I've read the radios themselves can be different based on the manufacturer. So, I don't know what either the HTC Evo LTE or galaxy S3 would be like on any specific phone and it sounds like there are differences in the batches. What do I do or what would you do? I know we're taking a risk switching to carriers but we want to live authentically and put money into companies that are supporting the things we believe in and shaping their company based upon similar values. We will be having to do a transfer of our Vzw account (assumption of liability) once we're settled into Sprint but not until we're positive it works for us. Then we'll give up our Vzw contract so we don't owe an ETF. It also gives my DH the phone upgrade he needs since his was stolen during one of my medical emergencies. Vzw refused to help us at all through the whole process.

But I digress.

What do you think phone wise? Bad reception? Bad Evo LTE? Would you take a chance on the S3 with Samsung's past radio issues... Do you think that they've improved them? Would you take a chance on getting a bad Evo LTE since HTC /Sprint have admitted to a problem there? Since I can't compare them side by side working or compare radio strengths I really need advice!

Thanks so much in advance!
All the best,
Rae

 

[541rrhse]

As far as network performance, just as with any carrier, that will primarily vary per locale. However, Sprint has been and continue to upgrade site locations prior to their major tear down(NV). There are a couple of links to check the progress specific to your location(s).

https://network.sprint.com/

Network Vision/LTE Deployment Running List - Sprint 4G Rollout Updates


I've been with Sprint for 3 yrs now and am still happy with price and service. I've experienced recent increases in 3G speed. Prior I had the original EVO with "4G" WiMAX but now use WiFi much more often until LTE arrives.

That's unfortunate there isn't any Corporate Stores around, but I'd order everything online via the "Everything Plus Referral Plan" you referenced anyway.

It appears you have read up on both the Samsung and the HTC. I guess what you may be able to do would be to find as many resellers or retailers and try out their display or even employee's phones for additional network experience at different locations.


Per FCC filings of both devices:


Samsung G3

Maximum RF ERP: 17.78 dBm (CDMA1X 850), 20.77 dBm (EV-DO 850), 24.05 dBm (CDMA1X 1900), 23.85 dBm (EV-DO 1900), 17.21 dBm (CDMA1X 800), 17.56 dBm (EV-DO 800), 22.01 dBm (LTE 1900)


HTC EVO 4G LTE

Maximum RF ERP: 20.43 dBm (CDMA1X 850), 18.74 dBm (EV-DO 850), 22.98 dBm (CDMA1X 1900), 18.44 dBm (EV-DO 1900), 20.01 dBm (CDMA1X 800), 18.75 dBm (EV-DO 800), 19.85 dBm (LTE 1900)

(UPDATED) Samsung Galaxy S3 passes FCC muster, launch imminent? - Sprint 4G Rollout Updates

HTC EVO 4G LTE tech details revealed in FCC OET filing - Sprint 4G Rollout Updates

 

[jean15paul]

Sprints network is pretty slow, but it also varies a lot by area. Where I am it's good enough to stream music and low-def video, so it's fast enough for me. It's also very reliable in my area (I always have a signal) unless I'm in a big office building. (Sprint's raido frequencies don't penetrate building as well as other carriers.)

The best advice I can give you is talk to people in your area about the coverage and network speed.

Also per Sprint's contract they are required to make sure you have a signal at your home. If you can't get a signal at your home and you call to complain they will usually send you a free Airwave which you connect to you broadband internet and it created a Sprint signal. That can make the service at your home more reliable. Just make sure they give you the Airwave for free and don't let them charge you a monthly fee.

 

[eshropshire]

I agree with the comments about asking your friends and coworkers. Before we switched to Sprint 9 years ago we talked to a lot of people. We were getting a lot of dropped calls on Verizon. Sprint has a pretty good reputation in our local area so we switched. Worked great until we moved 3 years later across country and found Sprint was not great in our new area - lots of dropped calls and could not really make any calls from our house - sometimes if you went outside. Finally after a year of promises for improvement we switched.

Personally if you have a situation where your life depends on being able to make a call you need to make sure you have great coverage with what ever provider you choose. Personally my phone is too important part of my job to not have great coverage and service. I am willing to pay a little more to make sure I have the service I need, where and when I need it.

 

[lifereinspired]

I'll let you know. Mostly I want to know that Sprint will stand behind either phone if the radios aren't up to par without the restocking fees and a second activation fee... I can't afford $210 of activation, restocking and another reactivation fee for phones that are defective. I'm not talking about just changing my mind and wanting a different phone but needing to trust that one way or another I'll get two phones with no radio issues.

It's not as simple as just staying with VZW, my husband's phone was stolen during one of my medical emergencies... He's currently using an old phone but it's not working very well. So, we either pony up for a new phone (even if it's via Craigslist) or we get a new provider (who hopefully gives a care bc Vzw certainly didn't!), both get new phones and sell our current ones to cover most of the upfront cost of the new phones. We could wait until Network Vision is completed or moreso but will they still be able to offer unlimited data plan at that point. Since we feel that we want to switch, now feels like a good time to do so. Does that make sense?

No we're not out of contract with Verizon but have people lined up to do an AOL (assumption of liability or contract takeover) so we'd be out of it with no fees. However, we won't complete the AOL until we're sure that Sprint will work for us now.

Does anyone know if the everything data plus (we'd be looking at the 1600min family plan) has free activation? I'd have to order online and it would be via employee referral? Also, do you get any numbers you can pick that are unlimited to those numbers? Verizon had friends and family where you got to pick a handful of numbers that you call the most that don't count against our minutes. My only concern is my in laws as they have a VERY limited cell plan and use their land line almost exclusively. If we could add that one number that would help a ton. I'd read somewhere online that Sprint had something similar but now, of course, can't find it again.

I appreciate all of your help and advice so very much. I hope this explains more why we're considering the switch and why we need good phone reception... At least as good as is currently possible on their network.

BTW, when we informed Vzw about the phone theft we were tracking the phone on Google latitude and the refused to help or advise us as to what to do in any way. Super disappointed with their lack of help. If the customer service had been better, we might have gotten our phone back. I've heard good things about Sprint's customer service.

Any other thoughts or suggestions or advice... Please share! And many thanks to all of you who have shared!

 

[olliegrl]

With the verizon "share everything" plan now cropping up, i can see more people migrating to sprint to get the unlimited everything plan. but is it worth it?

all the threads i've read say horrible things about the reception...and i agree with whoever said that my phone is too important to have spotty reception in this day and age.

 

[tooter123]

I think they charge you 1 time for activation not multiple times.

If that were the case, I don't think anyone would want that service.

My Banned Galaxy Nexus

 

[jean15paul]

With the verizon "share everything" plan now cropping up, i can see more people migrating to sprint to get the unlimited everything plan. but is it worth it?

all the threads i've read say horrible things about the reception...and i agree with whoever said that my phone is too important to have spotty reception in this day and age.

define reception. In my experience Sprint's coverage is very reliable. As long as I'm not in a big office building I always have a signal. But even with a strong signal, the data speeds are very slow. But they are in the middle of a huge network upgrade, so those things will improve.

 

[lifereinspired]

Oh, that's awesome news about the activation fee (single) & it makes sense that people wouldn't be cool with multiple fees. Thanks for letting me know!

 

[Hurleygm]

It all depends on where you are. I am with Sprint and have extremely reliable service for voice and data. Data speeds, however are very slow sometimes.

You have to ask around and find out what other people in your area are experiencing.

As far as being charged for data, how much do you actually use? 2 gigs is quite a bit for one person, unless you're streaming all day.

I personally would stick with Verizon for another six months and buy a phone on Craigslist until Sprint finishes / announces upgrades in your area.

Sent from my EVO using Android Central Forums

 

[truthteller10]

I really recommend that you wait on the network issues to be fixed..Try to hold out until then. Sprints network is absolutley terrible.

 

[pcguys]

I just left sprint for AT&T.

87 Kbps on sprint,
2-5 Meg downloads.

In Philly


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[bearballz72]

I was long time ATT customer (since the late 90's) and jumped to Sprint 2 years ago. The reason I left ATT was the fact I was dropping calls all the time and didn't feel like I was gettimg my money's worth.

Sprint has been pretty reliable since that time, I rarely drop a call and their customer service which I used to hear horror stories about is actually quite good IMO. The data issue is a problem until the whole LTE rollout is complete depending on where you live. For me living in a pretty dense area like Chicago, it's been hit and miss but it was like that with ATT as well. Some areas have pretty good data reception other areas not so much.

As far as EVO 4g LTE is concerned, I really like it a lot. It's fast, the screen is outstanding , build quality is awesome as well. There are small issues that most phone geeks will harp about but overall most people won't notice. The SIII is also a nice phone as well so it really comes down to which phone looks and feels the best, and what kind of features you need to have.

If you can live with the LTE rollout Sprint is a pretty good choice. It's cheaper, you have unlimted data, albeit slow and spotty at times, a nice selection of devices to choose from and pretty good customer service.

 

[Tx Evo 90]

I would speak to other people you may know that have sprint, because those coverage maps lie, they say my whole area is in the BEST coverage area, if I go to the mall a few streets away I go into roaming, but I've also never dropped a call in the 3 yrs I've had Sprint

If you do decide to go Sprint and you have LTE coverage (if not forget it) grab a LTE phone because a regular 3g phone like the iPhone will have you pulling your hair out at times especially if you like to watch any kind of streaming video and even music at times