Activated my new Evo LTE this morning. It didn't take long to realize that data speeds were nowhere near what I had with my Evo 4G. Connection completely lost in places where my 4G would at least roam; web pages taking forever to load, if ever; apps taking minutes to download.... So I decided to drive around town and do some Speed Test runs, and the results shocked me. I averaged 200kbps down and 40kbps up after about 20 tests, in areas where my Evo 4G will routinely do 1600kbps down and 700kbps up.
When I read about poor data speeds in some of the early reviews, I thought maybe the blogger had gotten a bad unit, or Sprint was just bad in their area. Well, maybe I too got a bad unit, but in light of the difference with my Evo 4G, I KNOW the network isn't an issue in my area. Could I try a replacement? Sure, but based on those reviews, and feedback others are providing in these very forums, I'm thinking the Evo LTE may have flawed antennas. Beautiful device...absolutely beautiful...but a phone without a data connection is worthless.
So...I'm sending mine back for a full refund and return to pre-upgrade status. If you're having reception issues now, I urge you to dig deeper before your return window expires. Don't let the euphoria of a new phone lead you down a path of misery for the next two years as you deny what you know you're seeing.