If you have used 3G on your EVO lately, chances are you've noticed the network is getting slow very quickly. Blame has been cast on the iPhone's recent adoption into the Sprint network as the slowdowns coincided, but the issues are actually a bit more complicated than that.
While Sprint had plans in place to adapt the network to the growing 3G demands, the providers of the cell equipment that pave our network were short on equipment. Evidently it was not a case of being able to throw money at the problem to solve it. Delays happened in expanding the infrastructure, and only enough equipment was being shipped to maintain the increasingly overburdened network.
The 3G data floodgates were thrown wide open last year with high-powered data-hungry smartphones walking out of Sprint stores nationwide (*cough* HTC EVO 4G *cough*), each one pulling more and more data over the 3G network. Upgrades were not happening to the infrastructure and every one of the 3G phones taxed the system more.
By earlier this year, some towers were seeing upwards of 200% more traffic than they were rated for. Some, in the same areas, were seeing no issues, as they were only for 4G. Some were back-end problems with dealing with not enough internet bandwidth, and not over-the-air issues.
The iPhone launch took a large percentage of former AT&T sufferers and threw them onto our network causing what was a large problem to become a huge problem.
And there you have it, the Sprint slowdown problem in a nutshell. They have a plan to repair and improve over the next two years, but how many people will jump ship if they don't get their 3G speeds at least to acceptable levels since 4G is pretty much a non-service for most of the country?
What are your thoughts on the slowdown?
Thanks to non-EVO owning Kim Justice for originally pointing this out to me.
this is getting out of hand…. why stay and pay for services that are not being supplied efficiently
the question becomes, who is providing them better and is less evil?
point taken however the thought comes to mind will sprint soon be known as google wireless
My wife’s iPhone 4 not 4s consistently destroys me in speedtest (evo 3d) unless I’m in a 4g area and honestly 4g eats the battery so fast you can only use it sparingly.
iPhone download around 1.5 – 3 megs down
evo 3d download around .2-.7 megs down (at best and sometime below .1)
I will be paying the etf and selling the eve 3d, for the nexus or the skyrocket. I just have narrowed down whether it will be att or verizon.
I miss the early days of the evo 4g when the network was usable.
Sprint’s new iPhone flood is not the problem. Sprint’s 3G speeds have been decreasing for many months prior to the “i”nfusion (I know because I’ve switched ROMS, kernels, radios, etc thinking that my phone was the problem). For example, Radio Shack and other resellers were offering FREE Evos to new subsribers for about a week! I know four people that renewed their Sprint contracts for a new (FREE) Evo. Kind of kick in b…s for some of us early adopters but that’s the price of staying on the edge. If anything, I’d be a little peaved if I were a new iPhone owner and got thrown into this dismal network. I’ve read the complaints and I don’t think that Sprint thought this through.
LOL, usable? You’re exaggerating. You must be too young to remember “usable” 56k modems. Sprint’s network has slowed down and I’m sure they know but it’s still wonderfully usable.
It’s different everywhere you go. At my house it’s wonderful, at my office which used to be fine it’s a laggy POS sometimes unable to even load a webpage.
When I was in Seattle, it was useless.
The plan is two years? That makes business sense. That’s about how long a contract is and they have a flurry of new subscribers that can’t (or won’t) get out of their expensive contracts in that time. By the time some of us are up, Sprint’s network should be faster thus keeping most subscribers.
The issues I’ve had with these speeds or lack of date back to well over a year. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking when I locked in to another 2 year contract with my 3d as a 2nd line. I’m about to be done with this mess.
In a perfect world, Sprint should have started investing AND building their infrastructure during the time they were going back and forth with Apple.
2 years?! Oh hell no. I’m not waiting 2 years. I cannot wait to either buy out my ETF or simply “eat” the ETF and go to another provider — post paid or prepaid.
I’ll let time be my decision maker.
Sprint’s Executive infrastructure is the issue, including their lack of planning, and playing the blame game.
Anyone who still believes that Sprint will get LTE, and any future new and improved programs up and running, may want to rethink Sprint’s ability to do so.
Just look at 4G and 3G to see the future of what will never be.
Ain’t never gonna happen, as there will be many more excuses to come.
Sprint is a Dead Man Walking, for lack of a better phrase.
Btw, customers may want to rethink their plans of purchasing future LTE devices, as it will most likely be an issue of the devices being equipped to utilize the New networks, which will Never be, ala the Wimax Network and the Evo 4G.
Glad that I canceled my contract and went somewhere with decent speeds finally after suffering for almost a year and holding out hope for 4G. T-Mobile might not have real 4G but getting consistent 10-21 Mbps downloads is just fine with me. Plus my monthly bill is even lower. You should see how many EVO 4G listings there are on craigslist and ebay. Prices are dropping fast if you plan on selling, I wouldn’t wait much longer.
no I”m not exaggerating. I gave concrete example of the speed difference between att and sprint.
The definition of usable has changed, I too had the 56k but what you are not considering now is the fact that the web is coded now for higher speed connections. Try watching sling box or netflix on a .2 connection vs a 1.5 meg down connection. It is unusable at .2 (as is most anything on the web that has images or video)
If that is usable to you fine, keep paying 70 / month for it. I’ll take my $70 elsewhere.
I bought my evo 4G on release day and I was getting a very reliable 3.5 megs down. Over the past year not month but year I watched my speeds decrease to the point that I am lucky to get
. 75 down. This happened way before the iPhone. Now wimax is nixed and yearly upgrades are gone, not looking good here.
Sprint is going the way of Netflix…
I find it absolutely amazing that, after watching AT&T struggle for years and years with this exact issue, Sprint took zero steps to get ahead of their own growing issue.
This is the problem with the cell industry as a whole, no real competition means no real motivation to innovate or provide excellent service. They can all say “Hey, we may not be good, but you won’t get anything better with the other guy”.
Yea I remember hitting the internet with an IBM 286 and a telephone line …some real digital love lol
If u lissten to Sprint they will sell you air plane tickets and bridges to no were … I have been offered a bridge and air plane ticket for real …lol
People are flashing evos on metro pcs in Atlanta ,also flashing boost moble 45.00 unlimited everthing both net works In. Atlanta ga
This is why I opted to drop $500 for a Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch to replace my Gingerbread-crippled OG EVO rather than try and fight for an upgrade deal: Because I don’t want to be locked into another 2 years if Sprint is going to be spending billions on buying iPhones instead of laying in the capacity to make the smart part of “smartphone” work. It sucks to have this blazing fast phone and have to sit and wait for data to crawl into it.
Does anyone know where we can see what towers are getting upgraded when? Just kind of curious to keep tabs on network vision upgrades.
My speed tests were at .3 way before the iPhone came out. Wimax in Richmond is like 1 with a rare max of 3.
I’m giving Sprint till June of year to make improvements. If my 3g hasn’t improved by then I will most likely be switching to tmobile if att merger doesn’t go through. If it does then I’ll be switching to verizon. I, know I’ll be paying more but at least in my small town there is lte and good 3g data speeds. I’ve been with Sprint for 10+ years and this is the final straw. I really hope they fix this issue. I want to stay with Sprint especially now that they have even more awesome phones.
I got my Tickets, 4G, and Great 3G, and You lol!
Oh, and Sprint NEVER gives me Misinformation.
Sprint is a Big Joke, but they are still the cheapest for now. But then again, they can’t compare to other Carriers when it comes to their S A Data turtle speeds.
You get what you pay for, as they say.
Sprint is as Inept as they come. But as long as Hesse and the rest of the Corporates have enough money for Diesel to fill up their Yacht tanks, that’s all I care about.
Just make sure you have enough Lube LMAO!
Same here but I paid less privately, for the same reason not to lock into Sprint.
Sprint Is a Dead Man Walking……
New Customers have no idea what they’re getting into my signing with Sprint. Most of us that have been with Sprint for a long while, and keep up with the BS, know that Sprint will Never have their new and improved network up and running, Never. They don’t even have their Old network up and running, and they have not taken the proper steps to ensure we ever do.
Hoping that Sprint will have fast 3G, LTE and whatever other crap they’re throwing up against the wall, is like hoping the guy that has owed you $100 for the past couple of years, will pay you because he told you he would for the past 2 years.
I get what you mean, to each his own. I don’t watch movies on my EVO because the screen’s too small to enjoy and I have a nice TV at home. As crappy as Sprint’s 3G stream is, it’s enough to keep me happy (social networking, SMS and reading books)
If Sprint can’t even build on it;s 3G network for two years, how is it going to be able to build an LTE network?
The only reason I have stuck with sprint this long is because of the price (my wife gets a 25% discount) and that may not even be reason enough to stay any more. In Louisville we don’t get 4G ( I believe AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, have something better than 3G) and the quality of 3G is awful. I work downtown and can never get a good signal when I go into a restaurant for lunch. At my desk I get one bar while my AT&T blackberry has full signal strength. So my phone is useless at work, the place where I’m at the most during the weekdays. At home I just get on wireless so it doesn’t matter. It has come to the point where I’m willing to pay more for less, but at least the less has better quality. I can’t wait around for them to get their act together.
Overselling bandwidth. Perhaps Sprint should next run an airline.
My speeds are bad in the Toledo,Oh area with EVO. .28 down and .63 mbps up. But , If I switch the PRL to a Verizon, I can pull at least 1.45 and .91 up..I can’t roam forever. I have called in several times stating the problem and know one cares. Even took a video of me under a tower with speedtest to show Dan the Man !! Plus we have 3 towers for 4G that’s all , and I Can’t rock it at all.
Wow, I never knew it was this bad, I have a stock EVO 4G and I can’t complain. I have excellent 4G reception in my office in Bethesda and even better at home in DC. I do not have internet at home and use my EVO exclusively to tether my laptop. I watch movies (Netflix,Veetle,Hulu…), surf the web and download large files no problems. I also get service in most Metro stations all on the “Now Network”. I really can’t complain, Sprint has been well worth it for me.
So… let me get this straight.
A supplier is selling something to consumers and after having taken the money fromt he said consumers and supplies became limited, the CONSUMERS are being blamed?
Ooooookayy.
Lol….. is that what the Inspector says at the end of blade runner ….haha ha
Aaaaahhhh come on biker they said the would do it …haha ha
that’s HILARIOUS!! and like a previous post said, for them to have witnessed AT&T do, and go thru this same crap…then duplicate their mistakes, is patheticon sprints part!!
consider yourself one of the lucky few. I’m a truck driver, and must admit that when I’m in or near Bethesda, Baltimore, the DC area, and very few other spots…my phone is awesome!! the problem is having had a taste of that sweetness only makes me more upset at sprints service!! I’m only in those areas a small percentage of the time. and as great as speeds are there…there equally as bad in most of the other places I am, including my home area which is Chicagoland
I can’t say I’ve had any major issues, but I also won’t say I’ll be renewing my contract. I like unlimited data and the price I’m paying for it but, whereas it used to be a great value, I’m increasingly getting what I’m paying for: less of everything. Nexus Prime on Verizon is looking really good.
decent 3g speeds for me
awesome 4g speeds for me.
austin texas!
When 3G speed is pathetic, I’ve noticed my 4G speeds are just as bad, about 0.5Mbps or even worse. This has been happening in the last couple of months for me, before the iphone came to Sprint. What’s the point of having an EVO when you can’t use it for data.
Too funny!
Sprint, The Spin Network!!
I guess we’ve been lucky in Redmond,WA. Decent speeds with both 3G and 4G
Agreed. Sprint is great here in St. Louis, too.
Have consistent speeds pre iPhone of less than 0.6mbs down and 0.4mbs since Aug 11. Sprint network control has called my landline at least 10 times for updates. These speeds are from an area bounded by the pacific ocean on west, Northridge on North, Orange on East and San Juan Capistrano on South. Major us highways, los Angeles, suburbs with no hills or big buildings. Their last call said t anything over 0.6mbs down was acceptable for 3g. Of course most of these areas have no 4g. This is on 4different up to date evidence and 15 different Sprint in-store phones with photos sent to network. So forget the iPhone excuse, their network is deficient…..worse than that…
I would have been far happier if instead of the 4G rush, Sprint focused on a complete 3G overhaul first, preferably with an upgrade to Evdo rev. B. My area is under 3G coverage according to their map, but during the 5 minutes I actually get it( between cuts to 1x) my speeds are almost never above 20kB/s. That wouldn’t bother me as much, but like I said, it never lasts long enough to even load a web page. My mom however is on At&t and she gets amazing speeds on her HSDPA+ connection which NEVER drops. While WiMAX blows HSDPA+ out of the water, is useless when I only get it for 20 minutes each day after school( I get it in the parking lot, but 50 feet down the road and it cuts out completely.).
I don’t understand Sprint’s decisions with their network. 3G is rarely decent, 4G is like a four leaf clover, and now they want to build an LTE network. Fantastic, maybe when my WiMAX cuts out I can turn on LTE and restart my downloads. Again. And again. And again…
Verizon is no better, believe me. Tech told me today 300kbps is normal for their 3G service. I have gotten 1100kbps avg on all my smart phones since 2008. motorola q’s, samnsung omnia, droid x, htc incredible, htc incred2 , you name it. Past 6 months has been abysmal, cant even connect to the android market. and 4G is still a joke in the Toledo ohio area.
what company does she work for that gets 25%??!
So, not many good comments about Sprint. I bought my HTC EVO 4G 2 years ago this July. I seem to recall good speeds in the beginning, but like so many of you, that didn’t last.
A few days ago, I renewed my contract and bought the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It too has abysmal data connectivity. The voice signal is almost non-existent in my small town on the South coast of Massachusetts. On top of this the 3G radio is spotty with service going in and out.
Seeing all of these comments is troubling, but they quicken my resolve to return the GNexus while I still have time to do so. That will reset my contract extension and then I can ride out my original 2-year contract in July.
As much as I don’t care for AT&T, they seem to have strong signal in my area. T-Mobile would be next, and Verizon isn’t even a contender. The troubling part of jumping to another carrier would be the higher prices and capped or throttled data, but in retrospect, with Sprint’s network performing so poorly unlimited data is mostly irrelevant.
I too had hope that Sprint would hasten their rollout of Network Vision and move away from being the “NotSoNowNetwork” or the “NeverNetwork”, but it’s very easy to believe in the statements made that they won’t get 4G LTE up and running given the poor state of their existing network.
When I purchased the EVO it was with the promise of 4G WiMax speeds that sadly never arrived. Sure I could go to Boston or Providence and use 4G, but that was it and even then the 4G service would devour my battery in no time at all.
Maybe Apple has been the smart one to delay introduction of 4G in their handsets. They see the problems going on and aren’t ready to add them to the list of issues facing iPhone users.
If you have an EVO 4G, your phone only supports WiMax. When Sprint flips the switch to LTE, you won’t get 4G at all (assuming they shut off WiMax at that point). I’m not even sure any phones are being made with both types of 4G radios. It’s all fairly disappointing to say the least. Good luck.
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Theyre going to continue broadcasting wimax where it is its not flipping a switch theyre just never going to expand wimax, and eventually it will fade away (timeframe ~5 years)