Coverage Maps Updated

[Airb330]

I don't understand how I can view the upgrade map and it shows voice and data has been upgraded lately all around us and the people I have spoke with that have Sprint say it is horrible, dropped calls, unable to make calls and slow if any data. I have not had one person say get Sprint, but I'll keep asking around, does worry me though. I don't want to switch, lock into 2 years and regret it.

Because people have been brainwashed into thinking only Verizon works well, period.

I've been in situations where Sprint or AT&T were working great and Verizon had 0 coverage. I would still hear, "but Verizon is the best!" as they hold onto a paperweight. Perception is reality in 2012 unfortunately.

[chris4434]

I went by a new Sprint store in Marietta, GA today and did several speed tests on a GS3. I was getting between 18 - 25 Mbps down, around 10 up and this was in an area with a low to moderate signal. I think what people don't seem to think about with Sprint's new LTE network is that it's UNLIMITED for new and existing customers. I would be much happier having truly unlimited LTE at 10-20 Mbps (or even a little slower) vs 2GB of LTE that averages 20-30 Mbps. If you live in and work in an area with good Sprint service and don't have UL data right now it's a no brainer. (not to mention most likely significantly cheaper than what you're currently paying)

[Steveanderson13]

I've been using rootmetric app on my phone. It is based on users giving samples. Sprint does look bad.

[Mustang Mark]

I would be much happier having truly unlimited LTE at 10-20 Mbps (or even a little slower) vs 2GB of LTE that averages 20-30 Mbps.

I would be totally overjoyed with 5Mbps compared to the pathetically slow .05 Mbps I sometimes get with Sprint.

[-banned-]

I need some help here ...

Today while traveling thru 5 different cities that according to their Coverage maps there is no coverage ... And while traveling thru I had zero coverage BUT... Someway somehow my maps app was working.... Thru all 5 towns the blue dot was moving and following me thru each and every turn meanwhile the phone was showing searching the entire time ...!!! So please help me understand why maps was working when I had no cellular coverage and no wifi....

[brad15]

I need some help here ...

Today while traveling thru 5 different cities that according to their Coverage maps there is no coverage ... And while traveling thru I had zero coverage BUT... Someway somehow my maps app was working.... Thru all 5 towns the blue dot was moving and following me thru each and every turn meanwhile the phone was showing searching the entire time ...!!! So please help me understand why maps was working when I had no cellular coverage and no wifi....

because GPS is based off satellites and i'm sure the phone had some sort of maps cached from when you originally planed the trip. I do that out in rural AZ all the time.

[CA]

Was there a large blue circle with a small blue triangle inside of it, or just a blue triangle?

[-banned-]

because GPS is based off satellites and i'm sure the phone had some sort of maps cached from when you originally planed the trip. I do that out in rural AZ all the time.

it was not stored at all… i only entered in the directions once we got to the city, so prior to that, the phone/maps app never had any idea what cities i was going to enter in.
Once i got to that city, i entered in the 2 cities, it pulled up the blue line from point a to point b and then i just followed the blue circle… the entire way even tho the phone was showing SEARCHING the entire time … which questioned me...

[-banned-]

Was there a large blue circle with a small blue triangle inside of it, or just a blue triangle?

just the blue circle, and as we drove, the blue circle followed us the entire 38 mile ride thru all 6 turns… But i can tell you that we had NO street names, just a checker board background with a blue line and a blue circle and the blue circle just riding alone the blue line as long as we kept on path…
So my question is, what data was this phone using to get to this "satellite" to guide us thru these streets when i had NO CELLULAR service…

[CA]

I think we need to know what phone and an answer to my question earlier. Some devices have standalone chips, and sometimes GPS is aided by the WiFi signal that you see when checking for WIFI.

Remember, the Google debacle, they still haven't turned over the data they gathered, instead they pay billions to governments?

[CA]

just the blue circle, and as we drove, the blue circle followed us the entire 38 mile ride thru all 6 turns… But i can tell you that we had NO street names, just a checker board background with a blue line and a blue circle and the blue circle just riding alone the blue line as long as we kept on path…
So my question is, what data was this phone using to get to this "satellite" to guide us thru these streets when i had NO CELLULAR service…

Now we are getting somewhere, that blue circle is now called "The area of ambiguity"! It can be displayed without a as in aGPS. So moving on, as to why you had a map. If you go through that town again, before getting there, deleting map tiles might reveal the correct issue.

[-banned-]

I think we need to know what phone and an answer to my question earlier. Some devices have standalone chips, and sometimes GPS is aided by the WiFi signal that you see when checking for WIFI.

ok so help me understand this… At some point when i did have service/data, i was able to load up the directions from this city to that city, saw the blue line and the blue dot being me as well as all the streets and hwy's…
While on the trip, about 10% into it, i lost cellular service completely at which that point the streets started to go blank due to loss of data.. But the blue line stayed there, and the blue dot stayed there with me ALL the way and thru ALL the turns which means the map was moving with me following me… As we drove thru the 45 miles of NOTHING it stayed with us, as we got to our destination, cellular service was restores and then the streets started to show up again…

With no cellular service and no wifi… are you saying that there is a GPS chip inside this phone that was communicating with the "satellite" to follow us..?? Who payed for this or who is paying for this link of communication cause i had no service nor wifi…

[anex99]

ok so help me understand this… At some point when i did have service/data, i was able to load up the directions from this city to that city, saw the blue line and the blue dot being me as well as all the streets and hwy's…
While on the trip, about 10% into it, i lost cellular service completely at which that point the streets started to go blank due to loss of data.. But the blue line stayed there, and the blue dot stayed there with me ALL the way and thru ALL the turns which means the map was moving with me following me… As we drove thru the 45 miles of NOTHING it stayed with us, as we got to our destination, cellular service was restores and then the streets started to show up again…

With no cellular service and no wifi… are you saying that there is a GPS chip inside this phone that was communicating with the "satellite" to follow us..?? Who payed for this or who is paying for this link of communication cause i had no service nor wifi…

Let me see if I can clarify for you...

Any type of GPS (whether on a phone or a standalone GPS) has 2 main components.

First of all, you need to understand how the GPS work. The actual GPS link between the phone and the satellites orbiting the earth communicates your location by triangulating your position using the latitude and longitude coordinates. So when the blue dot appears, the GPS is saying that the blue dot location is at a specific location using (0 0' 0" N, 0 0' 0" W).

The actual map of roads, streets, etc is the software that translates the actual coordinates into the pictorial map that you and I can recognize. So when the GPS satellite is telling the blue dot the coordinate location, we see that we are actual at 123 main street, etc. Normal GPS standalone (like TomTom and Magellan) units already have the map data built into the device and this is why they do not require any data plan.

There can be instances when you lose data on the phone, the blue dot will still show because the phone still has a GPS connection linked to the satellites, but you have lost data connection on your phone and do not see map pictures anymore. The same can work vice versa.

Google maps, for example, now how off-line mode where you can download map info before hand and even if you dont have a data connection it will still work. TomTom has an iphone app that does the same thing so you r dont need a data connection for it to work.


Hope this helps!

[TC_Mits]

Very lucid and helpful explanation. Thanks.

I'm disappointed, though, I was just starting to think we had caught Uncle Sam's PLAN chip in action.


Perspective instantiates reality.
[From DX by HoFo app.]

[-banned-]

There can be instances when you lose data on the phone, the blue dot will still show because the phone still has a GPS connection linked to the satellites, but you have lost data connection on your phone and do not see map pictures anymore. The same can work vice versa.

ahh so that explained why the blue dot and the blue line was still there cause of the physical link to the satellite but no street names cause i had no data….

Google maps, for example, now how off-line mode where you can download map info before hand and even if you dont have a data connection it will still work. TomTom has an iphone app that does the same thing so you r dont need a data connection for it to work.

i had the TomTom App but i thought it was worthless since Google Maps worked just fine for me… I guess the very RARE trips like this that we do would make that TomTom a bit more handy, although as long as i made sure the blue dot stayed on the blue line i was ok ..

But i appreciate the explanation on that...