# Sprint cellphone with Lyft



## CCW (Dec 25, 2015)

Hi guys,

I have a question and need help.

Does anyone use a Sprint cellphone to do Lyft or Uber here?

Sprint network can't do talk and data at the same time.

How bad is this?

I am thinking about switching to Sprint network.

I currently have T-Mobile. It is important for me to call/text the PAX before I collect the Lyft no show fee.


----------



## 666cartman666 (Feb 25, 2016)

CCW said:


> Sprint network can't do talk and data at the same time.
> ...
> It is important for me to call/text the PAX before I collect the Lyft no show fee.


You answered your own question. Plus you can't just switch from T-Mobile to Sprint without getting a new phone because T-Mobile is GSM and Sprint is CDMA. I have a Nexus 6P which can do either, though. I had Google Project Fi, which switches between T-Mobile and Sprint, and the Sprint was soooo bad that I dropped Project Fi and just went with T-Mob.


----------



## grayspinner (Sep 8, 2015)

I use Sprint. I've had no problems with calling pax or having then call me. Now if my mother calls me & the conversation goes on for awhile - I do get kicked offline. I have an aversion to talking on the phone so I find that a great excuse.


----------



## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

On the West Coast Sprint and the others that ride on the Sprint network like Virgin Mobile work fine. 

In CA we can certainly use data and talk at the same time on the Sprint network. I do it all the time. I often talk on the phone while using Google Maps. 

Sounds like you have some legacy network issues back East.


----------



## andaas (May 19, 2015)

RockinEZ said:


> On the West Coast Sprint and the others that ride on the Sprint network like Virgin Mobile work fine.
> 
> In CA we can certainly use data and talk at the same time on the Sprint network. I do it all the time. I often talk on the phone while using Google Maps.
> 
> Sounds like you have some legacy network issues back East.


Fairly certain Sprint doesn't support talk+data, even in CA. Remember that Google Maps has the ability to cache a large amount of map data; it is likely operating in offline mode when you are on a call.

Try browsing to a website or something similar while on a call.


----------



## CCW (Dec 25, 2015)

666cartman666,
Thanks for the network comparison.
The thing is that I am currenly use MetroPCS, $30 a month with 1GB of 4GLTE data and also have a RingPlus.net, $0 a month
with 3GB of 4GLTE data. Driving Lyft for 50 hours online usually use about 500~550MB a week.
This is why I am thinking about switching.

grayspinner,
Thank you so much for the real world experience on the Sprint network.
This is the thing that I wanted to know before switching.
Lyft app can run for a few minutes without data and then it kicks you offline.
I just want to be sure that I will be online for more than 50 minutes in any hour.
Most of the pax calls are less than 1 minute, so I think it should be ok to use Sprint.

RockinEZ,
Thanks for the feedback on running Lyft+Google maps at the same time.
Google map somehow doesn't require a data connection all the time.
It downloads the map of where you are then does everything it does for a long period of time before it requests a data connection again.
I also found that TMobile's slow downed speed on 4G LTE network is totally useless.
It doesn't even go fast enough to let Waze or any navi app to download data online to plan the trip.


----------



## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

andaas said:


> Fairly certain Sprint doesn't support talk+data, even in CA. Remember that Google Maps has the ability to cache a large amount of map data; it is likely operating in offline mode when you are on a call.
> 
> Try browsing to a website or something similar while on a call.


Well I know that works fine.
I have called a vender and looked at their website while talking to them on the same phone.

Sprint has a very robust backbone in the West.
Most of our infrastructure is new.

I live in a place where the only internet options are Hughes or 4G.

I use my phone to provide internet service to my laptop. 
I often talk on the phone and surf the web on my laptop.

I don't think it is a problem in SoCal.


----------



## CCW (Dec 25, 2015)

Does Sprint have VoLTE now? or whatever that was called...

If the voice is processed as data and sent via LTE then it's really data, not voice then
it can be call and data at the same time on end user side.


----------



## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

CCW said:


> Does Sprint have VoLTE now? or whatever that was called...


What they sell us is 4g LTE.


----------



## CCW (Dec 25, 2015)

Voice over LTE is using 4G LTE tech. They are not lying.

And based on grayspinner's input, Sprint's network or Sprint's cellphones doesn't or dont all have VoLTE feature. 

These are the back end stuffs, a normal user wouldn't know/see/feel, nor care.


----------



## RockinEZ (Apr 29, 2015)

Remember, I am on Virgin Mobile. 
It uses the Sprint backbone. 

It works great for what I need. 
Daily phone service
Daily internet service (it is the only internet access we have in the mountains up here)
$35/month with no contract. 
$50 LG Volt II phone (with discount code)

Not a bad deal.


----------



## lyft_audi (Mar 3, 2016)

I use Sprint and get calls while driving, no problems.

Samsung Galaxy S6


----------



## andaas (May 19, 2015)

lyft_audi said:


> I use Sprint and get calls while driving, no problems.
> 
> Samsung Galaxy S6


In areas where voice+data are not supported, you would never have a problem receiving a call. The only issue is that your phone won't be able to send/receive data while the call is active.

For example, on iPhone, you can't send/receive iMessage texts while on a voice call (texts will revert to SMS during calls). Here in Dallas, I have a friend with an iPhone 6S, and whenever we're texting I can tell when she gets a phone call because iMessage will spend 5 minutes trying to send a text and finally give up and switch to SMS.

So, for iPhone (or Dallas), there is no VoLTE support, yet.


----------



## Lyft_94110 (Nov 16, 2015)

I'm using Virgin Mobile with an HTC phone and the Lyft app works fine.


----------



## AllenChicago (Nov 19, 2015)

lyft_audi said:


> I use Sprint and get calls while driving, no problems.
> 
> Samsung Galaxy S6


Same here in Chicago. My "ancient" Samsung S4 (Android OS) is Sprint 4G-LTE. When Navigating to a destination, the Lyft app is running in the background and Google Maps Navigation is running on the screen, in the foreground. Calls come through fine, and so do text messages, while Lyft and Google are running. Can get to be quite confusing on those rare occasions when you're Navigating and a call comes through. The call covers up Google Navigation. It's not like the Windows Operating System, where you can have 2 or more apps running and showing on your screen simultaneously. Not on my S4 anyway. Maybe the newer phones are more flexible in this regard.


----------

