Pleasently surprised with 4s on Sprint.

[mjoshi123]

I finally got my iPhone4s 64GB from Sprint and so far paint me happy with the performance of device as well as Sprint network speed. Coming from HTC Touch Pro2 I find internet speed to be much faster on 4S. It may not be same as wi-fi but good enough to download apps from App store over 3G as well as pull down tons of emails from my 6 different email account, tweet & FB at same time without any major problem. I'm in upstate NY and so far so good. I even downloaded Speedtest.net app to see what it looks like and first test just now gave me speed of 0.68Mbps down and 0.54Mbps up. Good enough to do most of what I intend to do.

 

[1rottenapple]

that's good to hear. I am looking forward to switching to sprint from At&t. I'm honestly tired of being charge $10 for going over the data by 1mb. Its really rediculous. My dad, who is under my account, for example, checked his data usage on the at&t app a day before the next billing cycle. He had 1700mb. The next day, he gets charged $10 stating he went over which is rediculous since he was in the house on wifi for the weekend.

I'm glad the speed is good. I am setting my expectations for speed lower on sprint but look forward to be able to use my phone without worrying. Again, not looking to stream a ton of content but I want to not be charge $10 every month!

 

[gigapocket1]

Im not trying to nag.. But Those speeds are not so good lol... I just ran a speed test i got 4.54 mpbs down a .97 up on ATT.. and I'm in Lake Wales FL (middle of nowhere).. Not even in a HSPA+ area... Ive gotten as high as 7-8 mpbs down in Orlando... But since you have been on sprint. Your used to those speeds. I'm glad that the speeds did improve over your previous phone.. But i just don't see anyone switching from ATT to sprint that will be happy..

Update
Just did another test.. got 5.03 down and 1.11 up

 

[rocknblogger]

I finally got my iPhone4s 64GB from Sprint and so far paint me happy with the performance of device as well as Sprint network speed. Coming from HTC Touch Pro2 I find internet speed to be much faster on 4S. It may not be same as wi-fi but good enough to download apps from App store over 3G as well as pull down tons of emails from my 6 different email account, tweet & FB at same time without any major problem. I'm in upstate NY and so far so good. I even downloaded Speedtest.net app to see what it looks like and first test just now gave me speed of 0.68Mbps down and 0.54Mbps up. Good enough to do most of what I intend to do.

Nice to see I'm not the only Sprint user around here that's happy and satisfied. Enjoy your new shiny iPhone. I know I am

 

[mjoshi123]

Im not trying to nag.. But Those speeds are not so good lol... I just ran a speed test i got 4.54 mpbs down a .97 up on ATT.. and I'm in Lake Wales FL (middle of nowhere).. Not even in a HSPA+ area... Ive gotten as high as 7-8 mpbs down in Orlando... But since you have been on sprint. Your used to those speeds. I'm glad that the speeds did improve over your previous phone.. But i just don't see anyone switching from ATT to sprint that will be happy..

Update
Just did another test.. got 5.03 down and 1.11 up

Good for you - so what do you do with all that super fast speed ?

 

[davidra]

Good for you - so what do you do with all that super fast speed ?

Pay for additional data, I'm betting.....

 

[ZBoater]

Pay for additional data, I'm betting.....

Bwhahaha. True.

Truth be told .5Mbps is fine for many phone tasks, including email, light browsing, and downloading small apps. If you are going to be downloading large files, you should be doing that over WiFi anyway. Not sure how streaming movies would work, but that's not something I'm particularly keen on doing over a 3G mobile network anyway.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I finally got my iPhone4s 64GB from Sprint and so far paint me happy with the performance... 0.68Mbps down and 0.54Mbps up.

I guess it's just a matter of perspective, if it's working better than your HTC Touch then be thankful I suppose.

I would not be happy with that performance at all. You mention Facebook, I'm sure it's fine for text but pull up a Thanksgiving photo album and swipe through it - you'll be lucky to tell the cranberries from the stuffing (FB app downloads first a low-res "Thumbnail" that is all pixelated at full-screen, then it updates it with a full-res picture. Very noticeable delay on slow networks, e.g. when my AT&T iPhone is on EDGE).

You might get streaming audio OK (e.g. Pandora) but since most of the apps auto regulate bitrate based on connection speed I'm sure you'd get the lowest bitrate (worst sound quality).

Of course connection speed isn't everything, if it were AT&T would be the only logical choice. If you are saving substantial money on Sprint and are satisfied with the speed, then it's a good deal for you. Sprint's single-phone price seems to be a pretty good deal, although if you're on a family plan often AT&T is close to (and sometimes cheaper than) Sprint's prices depending on the features you select.

 

[GadgetGeek407]

This is an interesting thread. Truth be told I have been a sprint user for 12 years and going to AT&T simply cause of coverage, data speeds, and inability for sprint to do simultaneous voice and data as well as merging calls.

Sprint is not that much cheaper and if you look at the numbers most users don't use more than 2gb of data and in that respect they both now offer the same any mobile any time and a sprint add a line after the first two lines costs effectively $30 a month! For the subpar service and speed they should offer way lower prices in order to compete!

I love sprint and hate leaving them but this is coming from a long time consumer who will essentially pay more to have better working service on at&t and I figure there is no point in saving a little or a lot of money with sprint if the service doesn't even work, so in that respect it was refreshing to read from the Lake Whales guy post about his AT&T speeds in orlando, I cant wait!!!

 

[scaredpoet]

Sprint could be a good carrier, but they have proved time and time again that their management doesn't have the competence to do it. They started out as a great wireless carrier, once of the first truly nationwide networks. Then, they went in a different direction and started actively attracting bottom-feeders (people with atrociously poor credit, offering them no-deposit, spending-limit based post-paid accounts) and then regretted it severely. Then they tried to upscale themselves by buying Nextel, and were basically jipped into buying a horribly out-of-date iDEN network that they didn't know how to upgrade, integrate or maintain.

And all through this, their customer service has been lousy, and the only times their network is performing well, it can be pointed to the fact that they have so few users on it compared to other networks.

I am glad that the OP is having a good experience, and I do truly hope that continues for him. But as someone who was a customer with them in 1998, and stuck it out for 8 years before giving up and going to AT&T (and being happy every since), I can tell you that sadly, it probably won't stay good for long.

 

[Small White Car]

Good for you - so what do you do with all that super fast speed ?

Web browsing is such a big part of the iPhone. Only having to wait 3 seconds between pages instead of 8 or 9 is a HUGE thing for me. Personally, I hate using the web on my phone when it's on EDGE speeds, and that's pretty much what you're talking about having.

Also, being able to watch Netflix at good quality is great if you have unlimited data. Sprint likes to brag that you have unlimited data, but it sounds like you'll never actually need it if photos or videos are not things you're interested in.

 

[ahfu25]

I say to each his own. If he's happy with his sprint 4S speeds then that's all that matters. I just got my 4S with AT&T but I also have a galaxy s2 from sprint. 4S is faster with data. But I love the Gps on the galaxy. I'm a fan of technology!!

 

[Jordan921]

Im not trying to nag.. But Those speeds are not so good lol... I just ran a speed test i got 4.54 mpbs down a .97 up on ATT.. and I'm in Lake Wales FL (middle of nowhere).. Not even in a HSPA+ area... Ive gotten as high as 7-8 mpbs down in Orlando... But since you have been on sprint. Your used to those speeds. I'm glad that the speeds did improve over your previous phone.. But i just don't see anyone switching from ATT to sprint that will be happy..

Update
Just did another test.. got 5.03 down and 1.11 up

Those speeds might not be good. But for him it is and it's fast enough for him to complete his tasks.

 

[bjb.butler]

I guess it's just a matter of perspective, if it's working better than your HTC Touch then be thankful I suppose.

I would not be happy with that performance at all. You mention Facebook, I'm sure it's fine for text but pull up a Thanksgiving photo album and swipe through it - you'll be lucky to tell the cranberries from the stuffing (FB app downloads first a low-res "Thumbnail" that is all pixelated at full-screen, then it updates it with a full-res picture. Very noticeable delay on slow networks, e.g. when my AT&T iPhone is on EDGE).

You might get streaming audio OK (e.g. Pandora) but since most of the apps auto regulate bitrate based on connection speed I'm sure you'd get the lowest bitrate (worst sound quality).

Of course connection speed isn't everything, if it were AT&T would be the only logical choice. If you are saving substantial money on Sprint and are satisfied with the speed, then it's a good deal for you. Sprint's single-phone price seems to be a pretty good deal, although if you're on a family plan often AT&T is close to (and sometimes cheaper than) Sprint's prices depending on the features you select.

I agree with you on some points, disagree on others.

I have Sprint. Just ran speedtest: .85mbps Down, .62mbps Up.

If I were just looking at those numbers alone, I would be pretty disappointed. But in reality, I have ZERO issues. Swiping through albums on Facebook, each and every photo loads almost instantaneously (definitely less than a second).
I've done back-to-back comparisons of your YouTube quality theory, and videos sound and look exactly the same on 3G as when I'm on Wifi.
I listen to pandora through an iHome (sometimes wifi/ sometimes 3G) and haven't noticed any distinction in sound quality. And there certainly has never been any lag/buffering times.

But like you said, speed isn't everything. On Sprint, I get truly unlimited data, which means once they jailbreak comes out I can start tethering again for free, which is important to me. I thought about switching to AT&T, but paying $20~$30 more a month for a plan with 2GB data limit and no tethering isn't a good choice for me. Correctly if I'm wrong, but doesn't AT&T send cease and dissist(spelling) letters when you tether?

 

[mjoshi123]

I guess it's just a matter of perspective, if it's working better than your HTC Touch then be thankful I suppose.

Of course connection speed isn't everything, if it were AT&T would be the only logical choice. If you are saving substantial money on Sprint and are satisfied with the speed, then it's a good deal for you. Sprint's single-phone price seems to be a pretty good deal, although if you're on a family plan often AT&T is close to (and sometimes cheaper than) Sprint's prices depending on the features you select.

What will be price for AT&T on Family plan with 4 lines of smartphones with unlimited text and any mobile anytime ? At present I'm paying $189 for 4 lines with 1600 minutes + free nights and weekends starting at 7:00PM. If it is in same price range on AT&T than it might be valid choice as 3 of my lines are already out of contract.

 

[wordoflife]

I agree with what other people are saying in this thread - that Sprint is expensive for the "subpar" service they offer. It would be more expensive for me to go to Sprint than it would be to stick with my current AT&T family plan. Why would I pay more money for slower speeds, fewer features, and less coverage?

Anyways, glad it's working great for you, OP.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

But like you said, speed isn't everything. On Sprint, I get truly unlimited data, which means once they jailbreak comes out I can start tethering again for free, which is important to me. I thought about switching to AT&T, but paying $20~$30 more a month for a plan with 2GB data limit and no tethering isn't a good choice for me. Correctly if I'm wrong, but doesn't AT&T send cease and dissist(spelling) letters when you tether?

AT&T does not allow tethering without paying for it, and they will cut you off if they detect it. I guess Sprint doesn't?

Sprint, it appears, charges $79.99 for 450 minutes and unlimited data (including the $10 smartphone premium). If you want tethering without jailbreak, that's an extra $29.99, and tethering is capped at 5GB - total $109.98.

AT&T would be $39.99 for 450 minutes, $25.00 for 2GB data, and $20.00 for tethering plus another 2GB data (4GB total phone/tethering combined) - total $84.99. This is "Basically" what I have (I actually have a 550 minute family plan but if I were on individual plan this is what I'd have).

So if you want tethering (without jailbreak), Sprint costs an extra $25 - and gives you 5GB tethered + unlimited on phone vs. AT&T's 4GB shared. If you jailbreak you can tether on the Sprint plan for $79.99 with unlimited data, or you can do AT&T 4GB shared for $84.99. You could even go up to 6GB on AT&T and still be cheaper ($10/GB overage).

Speed is a good 4x faster on AT&T. You're getting 0.68Mbps, which beats the 0.581Mbps average from this article - which showed AT&T average at about 3.2Mbps.

Most of my tethering is email, facebook, maybe occasional YouTube on my laptop or iPad. Even with tethering 2-3 times a month I never come close to my 4GB cap, so personally I'm quite happy with the AT&T service - faster and cheaper than Sprint. Even if I were willing to jailbreak, I wouldn't give up the speed in order to save $5/month.

If your usage pattern puts you reliably above 6GB/month (or 4GB/mo and you're willing to jailbreak), then Sprint could be a better deal.

 

[sk1wbw]

Please don't start bragging about download speeds, good grief. I can this turning into a fanboy argument like iOS vs Android.

I'm more than happy with Sprint. I can actually get a bloody signal inside my house now. That's all I wanted.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

What will be price for AT&T on Family plan with 4 lines of smartphones with unlimited text and any mobile anytime ? At present I'm paying $189 for 4 lines with 1600 minutes + free nights and weekends starting at 7:00PM. If it is in same price range on AT&T than it might be valid choice as 3 of my lines are already out of contract.

AT&T has a 1,400 minute package that is $89.99 for the first two lines, plus $9.99 for each additional. Free texting and free calls to any domestic mobile is $30 for the family. Total cost $139.97 - WITHOUT data.

Data will be added per phone. 200MB = $15, 2GB = $25, 4GB with Tethering = $45. This is one area where AT&T is sometimes cheaper because if there are a mix of smart and dumb phones you don't pay data on the dumb phones. Since you have all 4 smartphones you'll need data on every line, assuming two at 2GB and two at 200MB you're looking at a grand total of $219.97.

You also can switch data plans mid-month if you need to; if you get a text message that one of the lines is nearing its 200MB limit you can log in and change that line to 2GB, retroactive to the beginning of the billing cycle, just for the $10 difference.

However do you need that many minutes? AT&T has rollover, and you can get a 700 minute plan (which using the above scenario would drop you to $199.97). I am on a 550-minute plan with 3 people, and I average 200 minutes a month unused - about 2,400 rollover minutes accumulated, since you can keep them for a year. I don't need to buy huge minutes to cover "Peak" months (or pay Sprint's $0.40/minute overage fee), because my rollover averages then months out. Sprint's method is like buying a 20-lb turkey for every meal, but only having the whole family there on Thanksgiving - you'd have a LOT of uneaten food most days.

 

[ZBoater]

Please don't start bragging about download speeds, good grief. I can this turning into a fanboy argument like iOS vs Android.

I'm more than happy with Sprint. I can actually get a bloody signal inside my house now. That's all I wanted.

You mean you actually want to talk on the iPhone?

 

[kalex]

I have sprint and it comes out to be significantly cheaper in my case than att or vzw.

Here is why. I get 27% Corp discount from my employer and vzw and att only offer 22% but there is a big difference. Sprint unlike others discounts 27% of the total bill. vzw and att only discount 22% on voice portion of the bill. Text and data are add ons and not covered by discount. Speeds are mostly decent and I do have wifi coverage in all the places i go to so its ok. Voice quality is good in my area and I don't get dropped calls.

 

[Givmeabrek]

I finally got my iPhone4s 64GB from Sprint and so far paint me happy with the performance of device as well as Sprint network speed. Coming from HTC Touch Pro2 I find internet speed to be much faster on 4S. It may not be same as wi-fi but good enough to download apps from App store over 3G as well as pull down tons of emails from my 6 different email account, tweet & FB at same time without any major problem. I'm in upstate NY and so far so good. I even downloaded Speedtest.net app to see what it looks like and first test just now gave me speed of 0.68Mbps down and 0.54Mbps up. Good enough to do most of what I intend to do.

I'm in upstate NY also...... with AT&T.

6 to 8 Mb/s down and about 2 Mb/s up. I'm sticking with 'em.

 

[beret9987]

One of the biggest draws for me when it comes to Sprint is the fact my 4S is unlocked for international usage. I just came back from Canada and it was really nice being able to go into a Telus shop, buy a sim card with 1GB of data and then just hop onto their HSPA+ network no problem.

At the same time, using the HSPA+ network has made me jealous of AT&T users with good data coverage since that stuff is FAST.

Personally though, I don't see myself switching carriers unless AT&T would unlock their iPhones(or I just bite the bullet for an unlocked one)

 

[bjb.butler]

AT&T does not allow tethering without paying for it, and they will cut you off if they detect it. I guess Sprint doesn't?

Sprint, it appears, charges $79.99 for 450 minutes and unlimited data (including the $10 smartphone premium). If you want tethering without jailbreak, that's an extra $29.99, and tethering is capped at 5GB - total $109.98.

AT&T would be $39.99 for 450 minutes, $25.00 for 2GB data, and $20.00 for tethering plus another 2GB data (4GB total phone/tethering combined) - total $84.99. This is "Basically" what I have (I actually have a 550 minute family plan but if I were on individual plan this is what I'd have).

So if you want tethering (without jailbreak), Sprint costs an extra $25 - and gives you 5GB tethered + unlimited on phone vs. AT&T's 4GB shared. If you jailbreak you can tether on the Sprint plan for $79.99 with unlimited data, or you can do AT&T 4GB shared for $84.99. You could even go up to 6GB on AT&T and still be cheaper ($10/GB overage).

Speed is a good 4x faster on AT&T. You're getting 0.68Mbps, which beats the 0.581Mbps average from this article - which showed AT&T average at about 3.2Mbps.

Most of my tethering is email, facebook, maybe occasional YouTube on my laptop or iPad. Even with tethering 2-3 times a month I never come close to my 4GB cap, so personally I'm quite happy with the AT&T service - faster and cheaper than Sprint. Even if I were willing to jailbreak, I wouldn't give up the speed in order to save $5/month.

If your usage pattern puts you reliably above 6GB/month (or 4GB/mo and you're willing to jailbreak), then Sprint could be a better deal.

a) the $79.99 plan w/ 450 minutes includes UNLIMITED mobile-to-mobile minutes. I talk on the phone A LOT (hardly ever call landlines). I would have to get unlimited minutes on AT&T, which is pretty pricey.
b) I've tethered on sprint with my old android phone for almost 18 months without them saying anything.

 

[mjoshi123]

You mean you actually want to talk on the iPhone?

You meant iPhone could actually be used as a phone ? Holy cow when did that happen ? I thought unless you master the art of holding it right - you are out of luck .