HTC Hero on Sprint: Not All Are on the Faster EVDO Rev. A Network
Image courtesy engadget
Updated with a statement from Sprint. I have been impressed with the HTC Hero phone I have been evaluating on the Sprint EVDO Rev. A network, even though I just found out this evaluation phone is not actually on the faster Rev. A network; like other Hero owners are beginning to report, this one is only running EVDO Rev. 0. The Rev. A network is the newest flavor of EVDO on the Sprint and Verizon networks. Rev. 0 is the predecessor to Rev. A and is slower, especially for uploads.
Sprint owners have begun to report that their phones are, in fact, running on the the slower Rev. 0 Sprint network, not the Rev. A as advertised. It is not across the board — many of the owners are reporting their phone is running Rev. A as is should. What has emerged from this confusion is that some of the Hero phones have “with Google” branding on the back, whereas others do not. So far, it appears that no phone lacking the Google branding reports Rev. A support, while those with the branding are hit and miss as to which network is reported.
It’s important to realize that there could be local network issues at play here — EVDO phones automatically drop to Rev. 0 if Rev. A coverage is not there, even if the phone can support Rev. A. Most current EVDO phones can support Rev. A, so I doubt anything sinister is at play. I suspect that early Hero phones have an older firmware version that lacks Rev. A support erroneously, and HTC has updated the firmware to address that. It needs to get the update to everyone if that is the case, as some owners are not getting what they paid for.
I have been pretty happy with the performance of this evaluation Hero, but it would be even better with Rev. A active. This unit shows Rev. 0 like many, and since I have the Pre on the Sprint network I know for a fact I have Rev. A coverage here.
(via engadget)
Sprint has responded to the concerns discussed and has issued the following statement on the Sprint Community Blog:
“We recently discovered that Sprint’s HTC Hero is showing a static message which reads CDMA – EVDO Rev.0 in its status settings whether or not the device is on Rev A speeds. In most cases, the device is performing on Rev A speeds even if the message reads Rev 0. This UI message error is not impacting the performance of the device in any way and will be corrected with the next maintenance release.”
Android is still too slow and the onscreen keyboard close to unusable.
Both not true in my own actual experience.
I agree that Android is pretty responsive on the Hero. The keyboard, on the other hand, can lag a little (especially rotating from portrait to landscape) I found that turning off the haptic feedback helps quite a bit. While the keyboard is not perfect it certainly is adequate. In fact, I prefer it to the Pre’s cramped keyboard…though I still can’t decide if I want to keep my Pre or the Hero I just got !
I agree as well. Hero is acceptable and the keyboard when used in the horizontal position is quite usable even with really fat fingers like mine!
So far so good. Oh for accessories, go to Fat wallet, they are soooo much cheaper than anything else out there.
I played a bit with the Hero running 1.5 today. Too slow in comparison to the iPhone 3GS, but comparable to the Pre. Wonder how it’ll respond with 1.6.
It was slowish the first day, but then I restarted. It’s been rather good since. I’m getting used to the onscreen keyboard (former iPhone user as of Friday). Also helpful is Advanced Task Manager to keep things in check.
Out of curiosity, since you’re a former iPhone user, how close does the Hero keyboard compare to the iPhone keyboard in size, usability, etc? Does the auto-correct (suggestions, whatever it’s called) on the Hero work better than the iPhone in your opinion?
Can’t wait to get my hands on the Hero when it comes to Verizon.
Make sure you calibrate the keyboard. It made all the difference in the world for me.
Rev A
This is more of a setting than a hack and it is based on Windows Mobile not Android, so it may not work. You will also need to make sure that your area is RevA.
Unfortunately I don’t have the Hero so I can’t test it and I don’t remember where I found the hack so I can’t give credit if it does work
On the dial pad, dial ##EVDO# (##3836#)
On the next screen you will see options,
Automatic
Disable Broadband
Force Broadband
Check box for enable Rev A
If your in a RevA area and this is unchecked Your not getting RevA speeds. Check it and it should speed you up a bit.
I think it needs a firmware update to enable the radio, not just a network setting.
There isn’t a problem with these phones. They all have Rev A capability as confirmed by Sprint. I have one of the units that people are claiming don’t have Rev A and it does. The setting they are checking shows the actual data speed at your location. I have tested this throughout my city and it will change as you drive around based on the types of towers that you are connecting to. People are crying WOLF but there is no reason. Noone is getting screwed by Sprint. And please, remove the post about the hack, people will seriously screw up their Android devices if they try this because it is a Windows Mobile hack and shouldn’t be messed with on the Hero.
There is a prob. I am next to someone getting great rev a signal and I’m getting great rev 0 signal. From what I’ve seen its all about sw version. If you have 1.68 then you only have rev 0 and if you have 1.73 then you can get rev a
Actually, they are EVDO RevA – but there’s a display bug. Sprint and HTC just confirmed this. They’ll be fixing it in the next MR.
http://community.sprint.com/baw/community/buzzaboutwireless/phones-and-devices/android_phones/hero/blog/2009/10/12/revo-reva-which-is-it
The article has been updated with Sprint’s statement. I wonder why not all Heroes are showing the bug?
I wouldn’t believe anything a wireless carrier says.
I purchased mine from Best Buy on Friday morning. My phone displays rev0 with PRI 1.68.
If I am on REVA, then i’m tempted to return the thing and go back to my iPhone. My iPhone was faster with a much, much weaker signal.
My manufactured date says 11 09 2009 hmmmmmmmm
can we change htc heros cover ,mine is black but i want to make it white