[Q] Does Verizon cap Sprint users bandwidth when roaming? - Motorola Photon 4G

I can always tell when I'm roaming onto Verizon's network because my data speeds slow to a crawl. When using Speed Test I always score below 20KBps when roaming onto Verizon's network. Does anyone else get **** speeds when roaming?

I always get better speeds when roaming.
Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

It is because of your PRL. You need a business PRL like 11115 to get 3g roaming. There is a thread about how to flash a different PRL. It is a little bit complicated at first, but not really bad IF you follow the directions. Sprint is so bad here, roaming is the only way I get decent speed. BE CAREFUL THOUGH! If you data roam too much, sprint will sh**can you.
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sndtubes said:
It is because of your PRL. You need a business PRL like 11115 to get 3g roaming. There is a thread about how to flash a different PRL. It is a little bit complicated at first, but not really bad IF you follow the directions. Sprint is so bad here, roaming is the only way I get decent speed. BE CAREFUL THOUGH! If you data roam too much, sprint will sh**can you.
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^ exactly what was stated here, most locations allow only 1x data roaming UNLESS you flash a "business" prl that will allow 3g roaming.

I've found that when I hit roaming the data slows to a crawl, but never thought about the prl issue.
I'd hate to use too much data and have Sprint disconnect me.
Do they give people warnings about it?

Related

Roam Question

Is there any way to roam at 3g Speeds on a competitors airwaves? for instance, I have zero coverage at work....but my buddy has perfect verizon. I can roam with really ****ty reception. Is there anything I can do to "force roam" at 3g speeds?
hotspace said:
Is there any way to roam at 3g Speeds on a competitors airwaves? for instance, I have zero coverage at work....but my buddy has perfect verizon. I can roam with really ****ty reception. Is there anything I can do to "force roam" at 3g speeds?
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Click to collapse
I wouldn't exactly know how to this but I just wanted to let you know be careful with roaming on verizons network. Obviously in sprints eyes that's grounds for dismissal without an eta. It's only so much roaming you can do before you get the boot so be careful.
My "DU4L C0R3 SH00T3R" shot you down in 3D! -Security Off-
Search for Roam Control in the market
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
Your not roaming at true 3g btw. Roaming sticks it in 1xrtt. I tried changing my epst settings to HDR and CDMA HDR only, which it stills says 1xrtt 99.99% of the time
Sent from my EVO3D(overclocked) via XDA App
Look up change prl in of EVO board ..... It will give u instructions to install a Verizon or any other prl and will let u roam on 3g ...
Sent from my OPTIMUS 2X using XDA Premium App stupid build prop edit.....just to play order and chaos
southern87 said:
Your not roaming at true 3g btw. Roaming sticks it in 1xrtt. I tried changing my epst settings to HDR and CDMA HDR only, which it stills says 1xrtt 99.99% of the time
Sent from my EVO3D(overclocked) via XDA App
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Not always true. If you live in a former Alltel area, you can roam on Verizon 3G. I get about 700 kbps-1.2 mbps when roaming on Verizon where I live.
This is because Verizon is required to uphold the Sprint/Alltel roaming agreement terms until the agreement ends, and part of the agreement is EVDO roaming in Alltel coverage areas.
I also think that when roaming on US Cellular its EVDO but I'm not sure and I don't know from experience as Verizon (formerly Alltel) is Sprint primary roaming partner where I live.
Kingmac38 said:
Look up change prl in of EVO board ..... It will give u instructions to install a Verizon or any other prl and will let u roam on 3g ...
Sent from my OPTIMUS 2X using XDA Premium App stupid build prop edit.....just to play order and chaos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I did. Prl 00001. Though its not as fast as sprints 3g for me where I'm at. It does work though.
Sent From My EVO3D
Your using Verizon for voice too but if you do it too long they will kick you to the curb ..... After a couple months you may get a letter that they are dropping u as a customer .... Hint if you want to get out with no etf ...
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Went to Yellowstone this week and couldn't figure out why my rooted 3vo would say 1x while my lady's stock 3vo would say 3g. Seems like this cleared up some confusion. Tnx
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All it says are you are on a custom ROM that is modified to show 1x and all stock roms will just show 3g , but will still be on 1x . I hate the way they do it I like to know what system I am on .
Sent from my Optimus 2X using xda premium
I use roam control and it barely makes a difference. It roams on US Cellular, I barely have any signal and the data is s-l-o-w.
Roam control does not do the same thing as what he is doing .... When using Verizon prl the network sees your phone as a alltell phone and allows you full access to their network ... Full speed roaming
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Updating PRL

I just downloaded the latest PRL and i am unsure how to install it. I am running Joker's cm9 beta. Anyone know how to install? Or if anyone happened to have a flashable zip that would be nice too
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Bump
Sent from my MB855 using XDA
Flash a blur rom, update prl, flash cm9. Its there only way I know.
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Will the prl stick if i nandroid back to cm9? Or am i going to have to do a clean install?
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i am curious on this as well. also what prl did you find? was it business or consumer?
It is version 51084 and i assume it is consumer. I dont know if it is the latest but i have not updated mine since i installed CM7 back in November so anything helps.
Sent from my MB855 using XDA
Would prl 11115 work on our phone? Both the HTC evo and Samsung e4gt use prl 11115 as their business/corporate code. Those being 2 completely different brands of phone make the photon any different? Photon prls would be slightly different because we got to have one that supports cdma and gsm towers, it being a world phone. But if we negated the GSM portion by forcing the 11115 code which is strictly cdma would that have any long term effects for wanting to switch back to the prl code to support GSM roaming towers as well. All these codes are a way for our phones to communicate with specific cell towers. In theory wouldn't 11115 work? I don't need to roam on GSM anyone in America wouldn't because it's still locked here.
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Like dial *#*#4636*#*# change to "cdma only" not "cdma auto prl" then reboot and change the prl to 11115.
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Oh and use roam control from the market to force roam
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I have and am running 01115 for my prl and have seen no downside, just amazing 3g roam speeds. And yeah this is also a prl from evo. I flashed it with QPST and it will stick throughout rom flashes, if I want to go back I flash to stock ROM and update prl and am back to latest ota prl
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What's the difference in 01115 and 11115? And besides 3G speeds. How is the signal. Do these codes improve signal quality?
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tsdeaton said:
What's the difference in 01115 and 11115? And besides 3G speeds. How is the signal. Do these codes improve signal quality?
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In *theory* the only difference in the PRLs would be what towers it will see and connect to considering its just a list of which towers the phone connects to, both Sprint and Verizon. And I can't say for sure which is newer.. i *THINK* 11115 is, but can't say for sure. Ive got 01115 and its great for me and 3g roaming
I dont need roam control. CM9 has forced roaming built in. Could someone tell me the benefits of corporate vs consumer?
Sent from my MB855 using XDA
PRL's are a list of "partnered" towers your phone can connect to within the network. The "authorized" towers list changes from time to time thus the PRL updates. Business PRL's (11115 and the like) are a subset of PRL's that regulate certain connectivity features (like data roaming) and voice service (generally better coverage).
Granted roaming is covered by Sprint service but there is some "fine print" attached to that. For example, you flash the lastest, greatest connects to the universe hacked PRL. You have voice and data everywhere you go and are so very happy til you get a notice that your roaming more than 50% of the time. It is suggested that you consider maybe switching carriers or an excessive roaming fee will be charged. But wait, your super PRL allows for voice/data everywhere, how can this be? It's the super PRL you flashed, it doesn't match the real PRL list held by the servers. So even though you could connect to every tower in the 'verse, you were technically roaming more than 50% of the time.
A real world example. Had a customer come in very upset that they were warned about excessive roaming (60% of all use was outside Sprint's network). This was verified by checking what towers the phone was connected to vs the tower database. Upon further query it turned out the customer had flashed an unofficial PRL. This resulted in the phone connecting ANY tower solely based on signal strength. The closest/strongest tower to the customers home was a local carrier that had no partnership with Sprint so the entire time they were home they were roaming. The same applies to flashing a current valid "Business PRL" to a phone that is not authorized for that type of PRL.
In short, feel free to flash whatever PRL you want but be aware that there may be unwanted results.
If interested, I will release a custom ROM just for updates like these. It will have everything stripped out that is not needed to run updates so it will be very small and fast to flash.
I work at Radio Shack so i am very familiar with the fine print. For some reason i am the one stuck dealing with those customers. I have the "not roam control" app installed so i can see what tower i am on at any given time. If i flash a corporate prl does that mean my phone will force itself onto whatever tower is closest whether its sprint, verizon, cspire, etc?
Sent from my MB855 using XDA
Can someone upload the 11115 prl and how to flash it.
ski21 said:
Can someone upload the 11115 prl and how to flash it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Search for qpst photon on xda and you'll find tutorial on how to flash the prl. As for the prl you can find on Google pretty easy, if not I can upload when get on comp later
Sent from my MB855 using XDA
I found prl 11119, is that better then the 11115 or is 11115 newer. I guess I can flash them both and try them to see which is better right

Evo LTE PRL (24003)

For kicks, I used the stock PRL for the EVO LTE (24003) on to my Photon. Wow my data flies with it hovering around 1600kbps - 2300kbps down and 500kbps up. I attached the PRL file below with some screen shots. the first on is my status screen showing the PRL version. The second is my Sprint 3g speed. The last is my roaming. Feel free to try it at your own discretion and I'm not responsible if anything good or bad happens to your device.
Here are instructions to manually update your PRL. You'll need to be on a blur based rom and have your phone's MSL.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1211157
Update. A friend let me update their E4GT with this PRL and their phone could not connect to a Wimax tower. My guess that this PRL is CDMA and LTE only with not Wimax tower info. We were able to fix this by flashing another PRL.
nice,ill try as soon as I can
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I wonder, how in heck does this increase the speed on this phone. I thought we didn't have a LTE chipset in our phone
Doesn't it have 800mhz capability?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
demonotaku said:
I wonder, how in heck does this increase the speed on this phone. I thought we didn't have a LTE chipset in our phone
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Click to collapse
Most likely since lte is not on yet lte devices are getying priority.
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just one question.. assuming it won't work how do you go back to the old prl?
thanks
Reload the way you loaded the lte prl
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criptix said:
Reload the way you loaded the lte prl
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Click to collapse
one more question..how do I back up the prl or will a manual prl update overwrite it?
A manual update should take it to the current Sprint PRL for your area.
Just flashed it and well my speeds are the same...
at least I tried lol
Update. A friend let me update their E4GT with this PRL and their phone could not connect to a Wimax tower. My guess that this PRL is CDMA and LTE only with not Wimax tower info. We were able to fix this by flashing another PRL.
demonotaku said:
I wonder, how in heck does this increase the speed on this phone. I thought we didn't have a LTE chipset in our phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're still on 3G when using this PRL. What is adds it the tower info for the limited test towers for Network Vision and Sprint LTE.
donsh00tmesanta said:
Doesn't it have 800mhz capability?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA
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Click to collapse
I'm trying to find that out. I can't find a changelog.
kbrn said:
just one question.. assuming it won't work how do you go back to the old prl?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you still have service just do as Kevets suggested. (menu>settings>about phone>system update) If not you'll have to flash a previous PRL version that you know was working or RDS to stock.
Here's a thread where you can download most of the Sprint PRLs.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1267893
pjree said:
Update. A friend let me update their E4GT with this PRL and their phone could not connect to a Wimax tower. My guess that this PRL is CDMA and LTE only with not Wimax tower info. We were able to fix this by flashing another PRL.
You're still on 3G when using this PRL. What is adds it the tower info for the limited test towers for Network Vision and Sprint LTE.
I'm trying to find that out. I can't find a changelog.
If you still have service just do as Kevets suggested. (menu>settings>about phone>system update) If not you'll have to flash a previous PRL version that you know was working or RDS to stock.
Here's a thread where you can download most of the Sprint PRLs.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1267893
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing really special about this PRL. It just has the typical 800mhz scans for Chicago. Nothing else real special.
The wimax chipset does not even use a PRL. This PRL is for EV and 1X only.
Sent from my C64 w/Epyx FastLoad cartridge
Its called QoS...I was expected something like this...wimax was never the issue ...it was the overall sprint bandwidth ...so now with lte coming how do hide that lte vs wimax was never the issue...it was the network behind it?...you set a network QoS to give most of the bandwidth to the lte devices and shortchange the non lte...even if you not using lte...the network will put the new stars of sprint lineup to the head of the line to make the look faster....wonder why you see all the reports of ever slower g3 on sprint for the other phones?...you just lower in the qos pecking order..you get what left of the bandwidth...you flying standby..the new first class phone fly first class on the backside of the network even if the local phone link to the network is just 3g
Sent from my MB855 using XDA
noob question
im on a E4GT and with this PRL could i get LTE? no right because of missing hardware?
thanks
jamcar said:
noob question
im on a E4GT and with this PRL could i get LTE? no right because of missing hardware?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This PRL is only used for the CDMA side, not LTE.
Sent from my C64 w/Epyx FastLoad cartridge
jamcar said:
noob question
im on a E4GT and with this PRL could i get LTE? no right because of missing hardware?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No lte is "hardware" (really a layer 1 & 2 radio & data link protocal) it would be like a gsm phone trying to do cdma with a software update...not going to happen if the cdma hardwares not there
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demonotaku said:
I wonder, how in heck does this increase the speed on this phone. I thought we didn't have a LTE chipset in our phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably a placebo effect.

3g speeds in Houston vs. forced roaming

I think pictures speak better than words. forced roaming on cricket
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
Why the smile? are those good?
»Rezound on Nils' BusinessICS 2.3mg 'roids«
Sad haha, cricket is garbage, doesn't say much about sprint.
Sent from my EVO using XDA
At $55 a month you can't complain Works great for me on 3g and I use WiFi at home.
Sent from my HTC Evo LTE
Primevyl said:
Why the smile? are those good?
»Rezound on Nils' BusinessICS 2.3mg 'roids«
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cricket has surprisingly good 3g speed, especially in comparison to Sprint's 56k dial-up modem speeds. Considering I get full Sprint coverage, the smiley is for the fact I can FORCE ROAMING to get the speeds I deserve to be getting with Sprint.
People really need to read the manual prl thread
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
grad20_09 said:
Cricket has surprisingly good 3g speed, especially in comparison to Sprint's 56k dial-up modem speeds. Considering I get full Sprint coverage, the smiley is for the fact I can FORCE ROAMING to get the speeds I deserve to be getting with Sprint.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then that is a win for you, salut!
»Rezound on Nils' BusinessICS 2.3mg 'roids«
I know on Sprint you have about a 200mb data limit roaming which would make me not want to force it. Is that the same for cricket? I'd hate to be thinking about that all the time.
How do you know you are on cricket roaming and not verizon or another cdma carrier? Also what is the app you are using in your screen shots that shows the connection speeds, etc?
Wow your cricket speeds area really bad. Here is mine with the latest cricket prl and 2 bars and not roaming
Sent from my HTC Evo LTE

Evo LTE PRL Roaming Options

I've used CDMA Workshop to update my PRL using all the different PRLs posted on this site, from 00001 - 56xxx. I seemed to get the best results with 11119 last billing cycle. I roamed over 31GB but no letter from Sprint. So I was going to continue to take advantage of the speeds until they warn me.
However, when I tried yesterday, I get very slow speeds with all the PRLs and my Sprint data usage page always shows Sprint 3g & Sprint 4g numbers increasing, but not Sprint 3g roaming usage. What's weird is the phone NEVER connects to LTE service so how is my 4g usage amount increasing? I know some of the PRLs listed would not show the roaming indicator although I was indeed roaming. But the Sprint usage page only shows Sprint usage increasing.
Anyways, when I flash 11119 or any other PRL from the XDA site, do I also need to set the Roam Only option in Settings -> Mobile Data -> Roaming (MeanBean ROM & I'm not opposed to switching ROMs if that's the issue)? My current Sprint PRL via Update PRL is 24012. Should I just keep the Sprint PRL and set the Roam Only option for Mobile Data? I tried it briefly and it switches my connection to 1x. Will 1x still count as 3G roaming? It's slow as heck so I can't imagine 1x data usage pushing my usage numbers up very high.
Only my 2nd post so forgive me if I posted in the wrong area, asked stupid questions, etc. Blast me and I'll get it all right the next time ... I promise!!
Need to flash an alternate prl and go to roam only mode. Orelse you'll still be on sprint towers.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
joefx13 said:
Need to flash an alternate prl and go to roam only mode. Orelse you'll still be on sprint towers.
Sent from my EVO using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has worked beautifully!! Over 100GB so far and the 3g speed is bearable. Still no letters from Sprint so maybe my account gets a pass.
Thanks for the reply!
listsubscriber said:
This has worked beautifully!! Over 100GB so far and the 3g speed is bearable. Still no letters from Sprint so maybe my account gets a pass.
Thanks for the reply!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about you just pay the ETF and go to a carrier that better suits your needs?
leerage said:
How about you just pay the ETF and go to a carrier that better suits your needs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mayb cause sprint is cheaper? Cept tmo i suppose
Technically Sprint CAN charge .25$ per megabyte over 300mb usage of off-network roaming, by the way That would be quite the bill you'd have there. Sprint is tricky and unpredictable in most cases. I'd be careful. Just my .25$. Lol.
Delakit said:
Technically Sprint CAN charge .25$ per megabyte over 300mb usage of off-network roaming, by the way That would be quite the bill you'd have there. Sprint is tricky and unpredictable in most cases. I'd be careful. Just my .25$. Lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wish they would do this to these people racking up huge roaming bills. They are just ruining the roaming for others.
signal can't be that bad if your hitting 100gb.. it take me 3+ months to hit that with the signal I get.
ekz13 said:
signal can't be that bad if your hitting 100gb.. it take me 3+ months to hit that with the signal I get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He's using Verizon signal (3g), sometimes I get up to 1.5 with their signal too
Sent from my EVO using xda premium
Be careful bro! Just figured you're bill of roaming. It totals to $25,600!!!
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bennyboy78 said:
Be careful bro! Just figured you're bill of roaming. It totals to $25,600!!!
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. It's a risky business. Cheaper to ETF and switch carriers for sure.
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carrilloevo said:
He's using Verizon signal (3g), sometimes I get up to 1.5 with their signal too
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Click to collapse
oh I understand that but 1.5gb isn't that much in the grand scheme, I would think most people here can hit that with or without a vzn prl, but its a far cry from 100gb
bennyboy78 said:
Be careful bro! Just figured you're bill of roaming. It totals to $25,600!!!
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There may be a provision that Sprint *can* charge you extra for roaming, but I've never heard of it actually happening to anyone in practice. It seems to be standard procedure that they just drop you after a certain amount of time of excessive roaming, and they give you advance notice that you're being dropped. I've actually seen a copy of the letter they send. In my personal experience, I've never been charged extra for roaming despite routinely going over their 300mb cap.
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