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Will Sprint's Speeds Improve With The iPhone 5?

iExpensive

iExpensive

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 18, 2010
261
10
Las Vegas
So we all know that the iPhone 4S was a big flop for both the company and their network. I'm interested in hearing the feedback on why people have pre-ordered from Sprint. Will Sprint hit a homerun with the 5 or will they company make the way of the Titanic? Do you expect speeds to improve or is the cheaper plan just that more appealing?
 
it has improved little a bit for the last 2 months.. i have IOS6 on my 4s and I'm able to facetime over 3g i wouldn't even attempted this a few months back..
 
It'll improve in areas that get LTE but other than that it will be what you have now.
 
iExpensive said:
So we all know that the iPhone 4S was a big flop for both the company and their network.
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Sprint probably paid too much to get it and thought it might rescue them from bleeding customers but it is their best seller and the phone itself works just fine so how was the iPhone 4S a flop for the company and the network?

iExpensive said:
Do you expect speeds to improve or is the cheaper plan just that more appealing?
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They say that iPhone users tend to use more internet than any other phone so the more iPhone sales they make the more network congestion. And since Sprint is putting all its effort into rolling out LTE then I wouldnt count on Sprint making the 3G network a priority.

Also, I see youre in Vegas which was their first WiMax city. From what Ive read (unconfirmed) Sprint is working backwards in their LTE rollout. Phase 1 was a few test cities while the 100 city Phase 2 are major cities and places that don't have their old 4G network yet so Vegas isnt on either list. That means it might be a full year until you get LTE. But there also is talk that Vegas might get prioritized because of CES so they may throw in a few quick towers because it would be ridiculous to have such a major event where they showcase their products and not even have an LTE presence, but we'll see.

iExpensive said:
or is the cheaper plan just that more appealing?
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To be honest, Im always surprised at how little people care about saving money. I know smartphones are premium products and not all smartphone customers are at the financial level where $100+ phone bills are a reasonable expense, yet Sprint isn't even being considered. I actually love Sprint because over the last decade+ theyve been extremely flexible with loyalty benefits and have amazing prices. Plus, unlimited data will be nice when LTE ever rolls out.
 
People do care about cost. However it's frustrating when the premium product that you're paying for doesn't perform as well as it should because of an inferior network. When getting a 4S last year I never even considered Sprint because I already knew how bad their speeds were. I was willing to pay $20 more per month to AT&T for better speeds and coverage.
 
Mr Hill said:
People do care about cost. However it's frustrating when the premium product that you're paying for doesn't perform as well as it should because of an inferior network. When getting a 4S last year I never even considered Sprint because I already knew how bad their speeds were. I was willing to pay $20 more per month to AT&T for better speeds and coverage.
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This.

I bought a Sprint 4S and was getting .05mb down. I dropped them and switched to VZW.
 
PhoenixMac said:
This.

I bought a Sprint 4S and was getting .05mb down. I dropped them and switched to VZW.
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That is what I am thinking about doing this year. The 4S typically gets me 0.01 - 0.1 Mbps and it is pretty much unusable.

I'm in the Orlando FL market and will be waiting until the end of the year to see if they deploy NV and my 3G speeds increase. If not, I'm just going to pay the ETF and hope my 4S covers the cost.
 
I felt the same way you guys felt not too long ago..i sold my 64gb 4s just to get a 4g phone...but i will say that 3g is getting better, and I'm getting almost consistent 4g in Houston. If you are in a market that is getting network vision soon, id just say be patient.
Not too long ago on LTE, i watched 9GB worth of HBO content in one day. Imagine the costs to do that on ATT or VZW...
 
I currently have Verizon and may be the only person thats willing to try Sprint. I get 7mb/s on LTE on Verizon, sometimes as high as 14mb. But my Android phone no longer works. I think Verizon changed the protocol and doesn't care about updating phones that aren't currently for sale.
I get 2.5mb/sec on 3G on Verizon. In the past I've had Sprint here in NC and had good speed, so I'm expecting similar speed from Sprint. If Sprint gets <2mb/sec I'll return the phone and cancel service. Otherwise I'm pissed at Verizon charging so much more for the share your wallet plans while giving less. Unlimited on Sprint sounds good if they have decent data speeds.

.05mb/s is not anywhere near decent. I used to get more than that on EDGE or 1xRTT. It doesn't seem possible to be that slow.
 
iExpensive said:
So we all know that the iPhone 4S was a big flop for both the company and their network. I'm interested in hearing the feedback on why people have pre-ordered from Sprint. Will Sprint hit a homerun with the 5 or will they company make the way of the Titanic? Do you expect speeds to improve or is the cheaper plan just that more appealing?
Click to expand...

Network speed shouldn't change based on the phone, but by vary by region. If you are in an area where Network Vision has been deployed speeds are solid for CDMA. My speeds in the DC Metro area have improved dramatically since May and I believe the LTE rollout starts in early Oct.
 
dmelgar said:
I currently have Verizon and may be the only person thats willing to try Sprint. I get 7mb/s on LTE on Verizon, sometimes as high as 14mb. But my Android phone no longer works. I think Verizon changed the protocol and doesn't care about updating phones that aren't currently for sale.
I get 2.5mb/sec on 3G on Verizon. In the past I've had Sprint here in NC and had good speed, so I'm expecting similar speed from Sprint. If Sprint gets <2mb/sec I'll return the phone and cancel service. Otherwise I'm pissed at Verizon charging so much more for the share your wallet plans while giving less. Unlimited on Sprint sounds good if they have decent data speeds.

.05mb/s is not anywhere near decent. I used to get more than that on EDGE or 1xRTT. It doesn't seem possible to be that slow.
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Haha, yeah. On Sprint, I get excited when I see anything above 0.7Mbps. I can at least watch youtube and stream Pandora.

Kind of why I want to switch to Verizon for better 3G and a new phone for LTE.

Just hate to give up the unlimited and have to pay an ETF :(
 
I currently have sprint and am in an area where the lte rollout has not been announced - although it is coming to smaller cities in my state soon. I have a decent phone connection and get emails and texts in a timely fashion. Is the only deal with verizon data (I will not deal with att) being faster when using the phone not on wifi and to surf the internet or use streaming services like pandora? I seem to do okay with pandora on my old htc evo once it gets connected (getting connected can take a bit). I mean on wifi and for calls should the iphone 5 be just as fast as with verizon or att?
 
sddabrow said:
That is what I am thinking about doing this year. The 4S typically gets me 0.01 - 0.1 Mbps and it is pretty much unusable.

I'm in the Orlando FL market and will be waiting until the end of the year to see if they deploy NV and my 3G speeds increase. If not, I'm just going to pay the ETF and hope my 4S covers the cost.
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im going to verzion from sprint as well... i think.....

i like the cheaper rates and unlimited data but with the iphone 5 , LTE is needed IMO !

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dmelgar said:
I currently have Verizon and may be the only person thats willing to try Sprint. I get 7mb/s on LTE on Verizon, sometimes as high as 14mb. But my Android phone no longer works. I think Verizon changed the protocol and doesn't care about updating phones that aren't currently for sale.
I get 2.5mb/sec on 3G on Verizon. In the past I've had Sprint here in NC and had good speed, so I'm expecting similar speed from Sprint. If Sprint gets <2mb/sec I'll return the phone and cancel service. Otherwise I'm pissed at Verizon charging so much more for the share your wallet plans while giving less. Unlimited on Sprint sounds good if they have decent data speeds.

.05mb/s is not anywhere near decent. I used to get more than that on EDGE or 1xRTT. It doesn't seem possible to be that slow.
Click to expand...

just ran mine on sprint and got 0.6 HA :mad:
 
paulie6978 said:
im going to verzion from sprint as well... i think.....

i like the cheaper rates and unlimited data but with the iphone 5 , LTE is needed IMO !
Click to expand...

Are you on an iPhone4S now from Sprint?

I may also try the whole Jailbreak add Verizon PRL to force roam. I have been reading your speeds increase dramatically and if Sprint "catches" you, they simply kick you off their network. This would be great and save me an ETF and I would just port to Verizon :)
 
I've gotten the runaround from Sprint about the Network Vision rollout since March. They were saying it would be completed for my area (I'm inside the DC metro area) by late June. No change as of today, just terrible 3G data speeds. They pushed that date back to December apparently, according to my most recent call to them.

I'm dropping Sprint to get the iPhone 5 on Verizon. I have Verizon service for my new iPad, and the LTE speeds are RIDICULOUS, like, better than my home cable internet connection. I can't wait to have that speed everywhere, with my phone. Plus I save money having my phone and tablet on a data share plan (vs the Sprint plan and separate Verizon plan I have now). I may be one of the few people that these new data share plans actually help rather than hurt.

I'll miss the concept of unlimited data, but, what was the point of it? The speeds and coverage were so terrible, it didn't really matter. Sure Sprint will rollout LTE to my area somewhere in 2013, but I don't want to keep giving them money every month for terrible service, while hoping it eventually gets better.

Oh and paying the ETF sucks too, but selling the 4S covers most of that thankfully.
 
appswipe said:
To be honest, Im always surprised at how little people care about saving money.
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That a subjective subject. Everybody shops around for the best deal. But not everybody is a coupon hoarder either.

I pay $270/month for a VZW plan and am happy with the price and the service. The guy next to me at the bar (literally) was stunned that I pay that for a cell phone plan.

Meh. Some people can afford not to care. Others cannot. Their circumstances are different. Don't assume we're all on a level playing field.
 
For me, the cost to move to verizon and add my verizon ipad on would make the costs about comparable. It is the mental bit about giving up unlimited (albeit not very much used) data. I am considering moving because of how terrible the 4gwimax was - I am uncertain if sprint will do any better with lte when it rolls out.
 
ryanrhod said:
I've gotten the runaround from Sprint about the Network Vision rollout since March. They were saying it would be completed for my area (I'm inside the DC metro area) by late June. No change as of today, just terrible 3G data speeds. They pushed that date back to December apparently, according to my most recent call to them.

I'm dropping Sprint to get the iPhone 5 on Verizon. I have Verizon service for my new iPad, and the LTE speeds are RIDICULOUS, like, better than my home cable internet connection. I can't wait to have that speed everywhere, with my phone. Plus I save money having my phone and tablet on a data share plan (vs the Sprint plan and separate Verizon plan I have now). I may be one of the few people that these new data share plans actually help rather than hurt.

I'll miss the concept of unlimited data, but, what was the point of it? The speeds and coverage were so terrible, it didn't really matter. Sure Sprint will rollout LTE to my area somewhere in 2013, but I don't want to keep giving them money every month for terrible service, while hoping it eventually gets better.

Oh and paying the ETF sucks too, but selling the 4S covers most of that thankfully.
Click to expand...

These telecom reps. don't know details about deployments and network upgrades. 2 things... check https://network.sprint.com/search/20006/ for the data and capacity upgrades (DC has been pretty active) and also check out http://s4gru.com/index.php?/forum/9-network-network-visionlte-deployment/ for insider details on LTE / Network Vision deployment.

RE: Verizon - they are the best in the DC Metro area.
 
Farrellcollie said:
For me, the cost to move to verizon and add my verizon ipad on would make the costs about comparable. It is the mental bit about giving up unlimited (albeit not very much used) data. I am considering moving because of how terrible the 4gwimax was - I am uncertain if sprint will do any better with lte when it rolls out.
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I was feeling the same way. For me, I want to go with what is good NOW, and has a proven track record. If Sprint actually does get its act together, you could always switch back in the future (assuming they don't eventually kill unlimited data too).
 
sddabrow said:
Are you on an iPhone4S now from Sprint?

I may also try the whole Jailbreak add Verizon PRL to force roam. I have been reading your speeds increase dramatically and if Sprint "catches" you, they simply kick you off their network. This would be great and save me an ETF and I would just port to Verizon :)
Click to expand...

Yes on a 4s

I've never heard that before.... Very interesting....

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ryanrhod said:
I was feeling the same way. For me, I want to go with what is good NOW, and has a proven track record. If Sprint actually does get its act together, you could always switch back in the future (assuming they don't eventually kill unlimited data too).
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My thoughts exactly !
 
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