Some HTC Hero units shipping sans EV-DO Rev. A on Sprint? (update: nope!)
By Darren Murph 
posted Oct 12th 2009 9:09AM
posted Oct 12th 2009 9:09AM
[Via Examiner, thanks Tracknod]
Update: We just heard directly from HTC about this snafu, and as it turns out, the message that Sprint Hero users are seeing is merely a mislabeling. If you're within an EV-DO Rev. A area, you'll get Rev. A speeds -- despite that fact that your phone says it's only on Rev. 0. We're also told that a future maintenance release will address the message. Check the full quote after the break.
It turns out that while the phone reads that it is operating at EV-DO Rev. 0, there is a message error in the UI that states this, even if the device is working on a Rev. A network. So, the good news is that this does not at all impact the operation of the phone – if you are in a EV-DO Rev. A coverage area, you will get Rev. A speeds. However, any future maintenance releases will address the message that users see on their phones.
Sprint, when will you cary the LEO /HD2 / Whitestone /Touch 3?
can i haz relevance?
boe, when will you learn to spell?
asoccer345 - I defy you to find any postings about the HD2 that don't have a ton of people complaining that it doesn't come with android on it. Is it so odd that in an article about a Sprint android that someone mentions WM?
boe: and why does that make it alright?
My problem is sprint is blocking "Mobile Network Sharing" I get error 65 and 67 registration failure! :(
I have the Hero here in Chicago where there is most certainly Rev. A, but I am stuck on Rev. 0.
Apparently, there are rumors swirling that 1.5 was not intended to be run on CDMA and it may be the root of the problem. Additionally, 1.6 may be released soon for the Hero:
http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=195876
I work at Sprint- it's just a text error. The actual phone is in RevA but reporting Rev0.
Maybe you're right. I just used www.mobilespeedtest.com and I'm right in the 1.5Mbps range.
i love sprint's evdo coverages in PA! havent listened to the radio ever since i got Pandora on the phone. best investment evaaar!
Pandora is the best!!!
OR it says Rev. 0 by mistake when its on Rev A. People with HTC Heros including myself have done speedtests and we're getting Rev. A speeds even though it says Rev. 0. Sprint community forum reps are also thinking it might just be a reporting issue rather than anything else. Makes most sense to me. BTW, I love my Hero.
My Tilt on AT&T often said I was on Edge when I was on 3G. Hard resets and reg hacks never worked. In the end it was a reporting issue which was fixed by a firmware update. Might be an HTC thing.
in OR here, picked my Hero up on Saturday, getting Rev. A speeds.
I'm getting 1.5Mbps on that mobile speed test... So as long as I'm getting the results. I dont care what its running off of.
@Jim:
Or you haven't made band selection only select 3G data so its not jumping around Edge and 3G like on hot coals. . .
Yep mine is running at Rev 0 atm. But still the phone is quite good and the Rev 0 issue will get fixed soon. Just like any early adopters we are paying the price.
After a full weekend of use (i got it on Friday at BB) I still believe its the best phone I had.
I concur. its pure phone sexy!!!!
Mine says Rev. 0 but seems to be running at Rev. A speeds as well. Overall my coverage has been excellent here in Chicago.
Any Raleigh users buy this phone yet? How is the reception?
People, people. Android 1.5 (Cupcake) (the current build Hero has) is not supporting CDMA frequencies because T-Mobile was the only Android carrier for a while. With the release of the Hero on Sprint, 1.6 (Donut) is the update that offers different types of towers for more Android networks. Since Sprint itself has a problem with OTA, you might have to hack your Hero with the 1.6 update but even then, you'll go to Stock android until Sprint/HTC can figure this out.
Sprint has a problem with OTA? Please explain as my Pre disagrees with you.
this comment is retarted, There is no such thing as an android network, and the os has nothing to do with the frequency, Jack off.
I wish you knew what you were talking about.
I concur.
Mine also lists the network type as Rev 0. Hasn't made a whole lot of difference for my current usage, and I haven't really noticed; it may well just be the above mentioned reporting issue. Picked her up on Friday, among the nicest experiences I've had to date with a smartphone and I do not regret the purchase at all.
Nothing to worry about. Sprint will fix it. This is their stellar phone, thus they are going to make heroic attempts to vanquish any obstacle.
"Rev A, Rev A, Rev A, Rev AAAAAAA HO!"
Sprint techs are on the move
Rev 0 is still loose
But feel the magic
hear the roar
Rev A is now on your phone
ahhhh, comment editors. nice engadget. at least you updated the pic too. wonder how long it'll be before you remove this comment too?
I picked up my Hero on Friday from Best Buy. It's also showing EVDO Rev 0 but so far the speed seems decent.
Do all areas have Rev. A available, or just certain markets?
I believe Sprint's entire 3G market is updated to rev a
Who with the what now?
Mine says Rev. 0
I just ran the Xtremelabs Speedtest app, got download speeds of ~500 Kbs, upload ~150 Kbs.
I ran the same test here in Atlanta. Mine says Rev 0 as well but i'm getting about 560 kbs easy. i think it's a reporting issue.
That's about what I'm getting as well. But isn't That a little slow? Rev a should be 700-1400k down. I do believe this is a display issue. When I have good signal, I get over 1Mb down. The thing is that my signal is bad most of the time. If I'm outside holding a damn coat hanger over my head it's all good. I live in a metro area. I don't get it.
I got mine thru BestBuy, and it says Rev.0. But if they fix it within a month I'll be fine with that, this is a quality phone with a fun OS. It's almost too configurable, almost.
@darkstar,
Are you in eastern or western PA?
How weak. Doesn't allow u to use gps while on a call
unlike the iPhone can handle that flawlessly.
Congratulations... To bad this thing can run multiple apps at once. Let's see your iPhone do that.
That is an issue with CDMA networks in general. No data and voice at the same time. I'm not sure if you're not getting GPS, or just not able to download the maps in the GPS app. GPS and voice works simultaneously on my Hero in the UK. Sorry =/
My iphone can run Pandora and browse the web, all while I'm on hold w/ Comcast while waiting for a CSR to fix my bill.
Nice try tho....
Right, you can listen to music and surf the net (the extent of the iPhone's "multitasking) while chatting on the phone (something that's GSM, not iPhone specific) while a CSR rep fixes your terribad AT&T bill (if you're in the States).
Zing! You sure got us Android users there!
@logic
well lets just hope you don't get a text during all of this... then that would screw up everything.
From what has been deducted so far, this is definitely a software issue. Phones built after 9/28 are all showing a PRL & PRI of 60652 and 1.70_003 while phones before this date are showing 60654 and 1.68_003 respectively. I am in a fully REV A area and have never been dropped down to Rev 0 since it's inception 4 years ago on any of my phones or my card. If your getting speeds of ~500 Kbs, upload ~150 Kbs.. That is Rev O. Side by side, with other phones and a card, my speeds were ~450 Kbs, upload ~110 Kbs on the Hero while I am getting ~1251 Kbs, upload ~400 Kbs with a Pre and my wireless card sitting next to each other.
I love this phone, I just hope sprint sorts it out before I have to return it for a newer version.
Forgot to mention.. you can check your build date by going to the phone keypad and typing ##786#. Then just scroll down to find your phones build date.
Good information here.
I have a build date of 9/16, PRL 60652 and PRI 1.68_003. From Best Buy.
@Jon: There is an update you can do to PRL in menu/settings/about phone/System Updates/Update PRL. This will bring you to 1.68_003. Both Heros I purchased ran an update within 5 minutes of turning them on; Some peoples didn't.
Oh, and my phone is showing Rev 0. I'm getting 975 kbps down and 270 kbps up according to testmyiphone.com
@tracknod I have 1.68_003, and the phone did run a PRL update. Just manually ran one and still have 60652 and 1.68_003.
I live in BFE Ohio, and when I force the phone to connect as "EVDO-Only", I get 1.3Mbps downloads via Xtreme Labs Speedtest.
When the phone is in "Hybrid", I am forced to be on 1xRTT at like 94Kbps.
I would imagine HTC will have an update out (1.6?) within the next 30 days or Sprint may see a lot of unhappy customers returning their phones and/or cancelling their contracts.
Until then, there's always wifi or forced menu changes for me.
the phone is well built , but still its not an iPhone or a Pre
You're right, it's better.
Put that SAMSUNG 800 MHz processor or Snapdragon in the HERO , and here is my 299 dollars.
My Hero is pretty damn snappy.
I picked one up in the Raleigh area. Easily the best phone I've ever used and I've had no problems with data coverage. Mine has "with Google" on the back and says Rev. 0 no matter what I do.
I'm considering moving from AT&T (who has really dragged their feet on anything but iPhone) and decided to try the Hero before porting my number. I've kept both phones with me for the past three days. Voice is not quite as strong (especially in buildings or around town) as AT&T has been in this area. Data coverage has been better than AT&T in most places. Historically, I've never been impressed with Sprint's network but I'm hoping that time helped them evolve.
Overall, I'm still on the fence about switching back to CDMA.
Tell me how those 85000 apps working for u?
Let me guess you'll carry htc in 1 pocket n you'll have to go out n buy iPod touch in other pocket. Dee Dee deee
Truth be told, the Touch simply doesn't have enough capacity for me which is why I'm still an iPod Classic user. My wife carries a Touch and we use Apple computers. However, as much as I love Apple, the interface on this phone simply blows the doors off the iPhone. And while I would certainly expect that Apple will respond in the next few months to a year, Google has really leap-frogged ahead of Apple when it comes to the current generation of phones.
Hate to break it to u htc. But u got some real stiff competition.
Jd powers just voted iPhone best overall smartphone period fir 2 nd year. Highest customer satisfaction of any smartphone ever. At only $49.
Htc unless U pricing that at $48 what r the reasons I should pick Htc over iPhone for $49?
Exactly none.
Exactly ONE... AT&T!!!
I agree with tracknod. I love Apple and I love the iPhone. I have 3 Macs, and I'm typing this message on my unibody MacBook Pro.
I recently purchased the Hero, and yes, I still carry around my iPod Touch. I will never purchase the iPhone as long as it's on AT&T. Their service is miserable. Sprint is fantastic. Great customer service, great coverage, and now they have the best plans (and phones) out of all the major carriers.
Ultimately, I love the iPhone, but hate AT&T (and BlackBerry - good riddance 8830!)
I've got a few as well... my Sprint bill w/ the Hero is $50/mo less than the equivalent plan on AT&T for the iPhone (unlimited voice/text/data) = $600/yr less.
Also AT&T = still no 3G in my town, while Sprint 3G is just fine.
Third, $49 iPhone is a refurbished 8gb 3G... thanks but no thanks.
does he realize that even though he can get an Iphoney for 49 its an outdated iphone and with the money we save from being on sprint and not getting raped by AT&T we save money in the long run....tool
Why must you Apple trolls always try to make a non-iphone thread about an iphone. Really! No one here gives a damn about your gay Stevie Jobs icrap! Get over it already. There is a world outside of Apple and that world doesnt revolve around Apple either.
My HTC Hero is showing Rev.0 - and it's getting 121.2 Kbit/s Down and 44.7 Kbit/s up via the Xtremelabs Speedtest app. Ugh.
Ouch. I just ran that app and got 1030 down / 186 up.
I just ran this app, got 840 down 156 up.
At mobilespeedtest.com I got 3433kbps down.
c'mon, sprint, you're not apple
I've only played with this phone fir 40 minutes. I compared it to iPhone 3gs in regards to HTML browser sensors email client music player video player iTunes AppStore. Video games. Camera quality ability to edit n upload videos. 100% neutral review.
This seriously blows on so many levels compared to iPhone at $49..
No iphonekiller here. Agree?
If you want an iPhone get an iPhone, if you want a Hero, get a Hero, AGREE??
Stop bringing the iPhone into the conversation on every thread and acting like you are any less than a Apple troll/fanboy.
If people want an iPhone they'll get it. It's not like everybody doesn't already know it exists. You don't have to spam for them. And the $49 is for a previous gen refurbed phone, it's nowhere near a fair comparison in price. And when you add up the extra service costs it's not going to end up better than the hero.
I'm showing rev. 0 but am testing at 3 - 4.5 Mbits down here south of Houston
Just talked to Sprint. Internal email just posted about the Rev0 issue: All phones are actually RevA; early HTC Hero's that went out posted wrong. I asked her to email me the memo but it's against their policy.
I just did a mobile speedtext: 2.72Mbps. My phone says Rev0. It's a text error, it's actually RevA & Sprint confirmed it.
That's some fast texting.
whew - cuz I just ordered mine and it should arrive today.
I thought the phone was kinda fast for a it to be on Rev O, and the radio is amazing I now get good signals @ some subway stations hear in ny.
Eh thats not a Hero in the picture....
eh, yes it is
Just noticed the US versions and the European versions have different hardware/button layouts. Anyone know why?
European versions are GSM while Us version is CDMA...also sprint decided to change the layout and a few other things as well. Its actually better in my opinion.
US version is CDMA and European version is GSM...sprint also decided to change the layout and a few other things.
mines just perfect :)
Well, that's good to hear, Sweetie.
Now go and enjoy your cookies and milk on The Now Network.
^-^
I wish they increase the battery capacity , 4 hour talk time is low.
htc is releasing an update for it that will give you 20-30% more battery life. i took mine to a sprint store and they updated mine for me. i use to have less then 20% of battery left when i got home from work. now i have over 50% when i get home.
Purchased my Sprint Hero at Bestbuy on the 11th. I have Software version 1.29.651.1 Basband version 1.04.01.09.21. I checked my phone with testmyiphone.com and my results were an impressive 1.35 Mbps (1351Kbps/165 kB/s) transferred 5888KB in 35.7 sec. So I must be getting EVDO revA even though I dont see the revA indicator - so I'm pleased with the speed so far - way to go Sprint!
and why are you a troll, and um around here I never stop seeing HTCs (mostly Diamonds) and when the carrier pretty much every one uses around here (Cellular South) picks up the Hero (already annoced) I'll see allot more
Not to mention it ships with Android 1.5 and there is no plan for 1.6 before 2010.
Welcome to the now network.
Trust me. There is no way you are getting EV-DO Rev. 0 on Sprint. Sprint doesnt even have the Rev. 0 hardware in production anymore, it's strictly Rev. A. Now if you are traveling on to Verizon's network, perhaps...
I think that people with the Clitoris phone should keep their comment's away from thread...
Will the European Hero work on American 3G at all. Thinkin bout importin one....but i really don't want to be limited just to Edge....