No VM coverage in Sprint native coverage area?

[dcheesi]

[Sorry if this is old news, I tried a search but couldn't find anything directly addressing this]

I went on a camping trip last weekend, in an area that used to have no Sprint service. This year, everyone with Sprint phones had solid native service (not roaming), yet my VM phone (Optimus Slider) had no service at all.

I'm aware that VM doesn't support roaming, but this is the first time that I've encountered a lack of service in a Sprint coverage area. I'm wondering if this a policy change, or some technical issue with the new towers in that area, or ???

[vmobi]

[Sorry if this is old news, I tried a search but couldn't find anything directly addressing this]

I went on a camping trip last weekend, in an area that used to have no Sprint service. This year, everyone with Sprint phones had solid native service (not roaming), yet my VM phone (Optimus Slider) had no service at all.

I'm aware that VM doesn't support roaming, but this is the first time that I've encountered a lack of service in a Sprint coverage area. I'm wondering if this a policy change, or some technical issue with the new towers in that area, or ???

Since it is a New Coverage Area Addition by Sprint, you will need to update your devices PRL.

PRL files can also be used to identify home networks along with roaming partners, thus making the PRL an actual list that determines the total coverage of the subscriber, both home and roaming coverage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preferred_Roaming_List

In case your device is not capable of a PRL Update (older Virgin mobile devices did not have the ability to update the PRL) you should contact Virgin Mobile and have them send you a replacement device. Be sure to indicate to the CSR the you need to speak with tech support. Request that the Tech Support person verify that they provide you with a replacement device with the latest PRL software update. They can verify that through the software version of the device. Most of the more current VM smartphones have the ability to receive software updates, your device might have that ability too.

[dcheesi]

Thanks! Not sure it's worth all of that in this case (I only go there once a year), but at least I know what's going on in case it comes up again.

[quagmire]

Do you mind telling us the approximate location of this camping trip?

It's possible that you were in an area served by a member of the Sprint Rural Alliance. These are non-Sprint providers who contract with Sprint to provide service that appears to be native coverage to Sprint users. They're still independent companies, but more than roaming partners. One example is nTelos, in WV and parts of VA.

In such areas, Sprint users think they're getting native coverage, but VM customers, who will not be served by SRA partners, will have no coverage at all.

[dcheesi]

Ah, okay, that's more likely actually. It was in WV, south of Elkins.

[billm261]

Since it is a New Coverage Area Addition by Sprint, you will need to update your devices PRL.

A PRL will do nothing for an actual Sprint owned tower, it's for towers Sprint does not own but allows its devices to have access to whether roaming or partner. The PRL would tell a Sprint phone to choose US Cellular over Verizon (for example) if there was no native coverage but service from the other two.

A tower built and operated by Sprint when it goes "on air" would require no update to the prl since it is already broadcasting the proper network identifiers. A new tower put up by US Cellular (for example) would require it.

I'm pretty sure Sprint prepaid devices are limited to company owned towers and not partner sites.

[vmobi]

A PRL will do nothing for an actual Sprint owned tower, it's for towers Sprint does not own but allows its devices to have access to whether roaming or partner. The PRL would tell a Sprint phone to choose US Cellular over Verizon (for example) if there was no native coverage but service from the other two.

A tower built and operated by Sprint when it goes "on air" would require no update to the prl since it is already broadcasting the proper network identifiers. A new tower put up by US Cellular (for example) would require it.

I'm pretty sure Sprint prepaid devices are limited to company owned towers and not partner sites.

Thanks for clarifying that.
Are you suggesting that the site in question is a Sprint partner site like it was indicated in the other post by quagmire?
If so then the OP was misinformed @ the area being a part of the Sprint Home network and I was given inaccurate information Regarding the PRL update benefits for VM devices.

[quagmire]

A PRL will do nothing for an actual Sprint owned tower, it's for towers Sprint does not own but allows its devices to have access to whether roaming or partner. The PRL would tell a Sprint phone to choose US Cellular over Verizon (for example) if there was no native coverage but service from the other two.

A tower built and operated by Sprint when it goes "on air" would require no update to the prl since it is already broadcasting the proper network identifiers. A new tower put up by US Cellular (for example) would require it.

I'm pretty sure Sprint prepaid devices are limited to company owned towers and not partner sites.

Actually, vmobi's understanding is pretty much correct. I just didn't believe Sprint had actually added a new native SID. Now that we know the OP was in WV, I'm 99.44% sure that he was not in a newly created SID.

I've posted several times before how PRLs work, most recently here:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthre...7#post14482877

The two most relevant points of that post:

1. PRLs are not a list of towers. They are a list of SIDs - geographic regions. As long as your phone knows about a given SID, it will automatically find new towers within that SID. AFAIK, Sprint has not added a new SID for years. Earlier in this thread, @abefroman gave reference to a PRL interpretation page, at:http://www.batonrougebroadband.info/ Have a look and see how there are no lists of towers, only SIDs, carriers, priorities, and frequencies.
2. Roaming, in the context of a PRL, means leaving your home SID, not roaming to another carrier. Therefore, VM phones need a PRL to know what to do when you leave your home area.

In retrospect, I should have added this as the second sentence in #2: "Only your home SID is programmed into your phone".
Interestingly, since Sprint no longer has regional plans, they've been setting everyone's home SID to 4139, Kansas City. So,even in their "home" areas, most Sprint customers are "roaming." I don't know if that's true for VM phones, too.

If you read the most recent PRL interpretations (the URL I gave is still valid), you'll see that in nTelos areas, the Roaming Priority is "More" (meaning it's not Sprint), but the Roaming Indicator is set to "Native". Thus, the OP's Sprint friends would not realize they were "roaming", since the Roaming Indicator is set, by PRL instructions, to "Native". VM phones will only roam onto systems with Priority=Same and Roaming Indicator=Native.

[billm261]

If so then the OP was misinformed @ the area being a part of the Sprint Home network and I was given inaccurate information Regarding the PRL update benefits for VM devices.

I don't know if the OP was misinformed but it's apparent Sprint affords network access differently to postpaid even if by hiding on a partner network and giving the appearance of being on Sprints network.

AT&T seems to do the same thing.

I wonder if loading a Sprint PRL would enable it. They are a member of the Rural Carrier Alliance,