Sprint internet in Sacramento area...how is it??

[IrishPirate]

Thinking about switching to Sprint when my "less bars in more places" ATT contract is up. Mostly because my wife and I will be upgrading to smart phones and Sprint has the cheapest contract prices each month.

BUT....I want to make sure the network is going to work for us. I know calls and texts will go through, but how's download speeds?? I'm thinking mostly for google maps, GPS, pandora, calguns, and similar web pages. Not for big stuff like streaming videos and what not (which would likely happen in a wifi zone anyways).

what do you greater Sac area guys and gals with Sprint smart phones think about the network??? and which phone are you using???

thanks all

[Twinspool]

For $45/mo you get the Sprint PCS network with unlimited calls, data and texts with a Samsung smart phone through Straight Talk. No 4G, just 3G but like you said, that's what WiFi is for.

I've worked for Verizon and Sprint in past career iterations and while Verizon's is the biggest high quality network, Sprint's was more advanced at the time. AT&T operates the nations largest communications museum.

Customer service sucks with all. Prices are way too high with all of them, go to a 2nd tier network and save!

[ahren111]

BUT....I want to make sure the network is going to work for us. I know calls and texts will go through

Im not sure about that. I have an ATT iPhone & a sprint/nextel work phone. The sprint phone service sucks. Its always dropping calls & I never have good coverage. I don't know how their internet service is but ATT kicks a*s on internet. ATTs phone coverage isn't that great but they have good internet. IMO Verizon is a good compromise great phone coverage & pretty good internet. I'll be switching when my ATT contract is up.

[IrishPirate]

interesting....I just found out my friend is on Sprint and loves it..says she has no problems at all. I wonder if it's a phone thing or a network thing????

[the86d]

Not Sac area, but:
I tried Sprint when Verizon went all communist (2GB caps), and I couldn't get Sprint's Cell service for anything, especially at work. No voice calls at work (the majority of my use, as I FW my calls to my cell), and tried T-Mobile. They had WiFi Calling, so anywhere I had a WiFi connection, even if Cell Service was /dev/null, I could get txts, phone calls, and the like.

I had issues with Sprint's data on the Epic 4g I was trying, it kept loosing data connections even with full bars. Data Speeds were erratic (mostly good), and problematic for apparently no reason at all. They said they were working on upgrading a lot of 4g related stuff, so this MAY have been the problem...?

I NEED data wherever I go, and dropped RDP sessions, and file transfers failing to/from my home were an issue for me, but I only had issues via Sprint. (No data issues with VZW, nor T-Mobile.)

Hope that helps. Some people have few issues, but I had a ton...

[JDay]

Thinking about switching to Sprint when my "less bars in more places" ATT contract is up. Mostly because my wife and I will be upgrading to smart phones and Sprint has the cheapest contract prices each month.

I've been using MetroPCS. $55/month for unlimited LTE (with handset insurance) cannot be beat. And it is quite reliable. The LG Esteem is the best phone they have right now and can be had for about $270 from Wirefly, I love it. They also have a few new LTE Android handsets coming out in the next few months.

http://www.wirefly.com/product/metropcs/lg/esteem-black

interesting....I just found out my friend is on Sprint and loves it..says she has no problems at all. I wonder if it's a phone thing or a network thing????

Sprint tends to work better when you're outside. I had all kinds of problems indoors with them.

I had issues with Sprint's data on the Epic 4g I was trying, it kept loosing data connections even with full bars. Data Speeds were erratic (mostly good), and problematic for apparently no reason at all. They said they were working on upgrading a lot of 4g related stuff, so this MAY have been the problem...?

That's because Sprint's "4G" is really WiMAX provided by Clear, and their WiMAX network has always been terrible.

[IrishPirate]

UPDATE: switched to sprint and haven't had any problems! iPhone 4s works great everywhere I've been. Gonna travel down to Fresno and put it to the test in other parts of the state this weekend, but so far I'm happy with the switch