[EVO 4G General] 1Brite1:
June 30, 2011 Update:

First, thank you to all of you who posted and had positive things to say or add to the situation. I am not going to go into all of the post and try to refute and explain myself as what I posted is totally accurate and true from MY experience and from my HOURS of time spent on the phone and the endless emails and down time with my phone and the hours driving back and forth to the Corporate Sprint store due to either lack of service or because my phone completely stopped working. That, in and of itself, is another long drama that I have had to deal with. Good news for me, staying true to yourself and NOT lying, does sometimes pay off in the long run.

Anyway, from what I have found out from a Radio Shack manager, the excessive usage was coming from multiple sources. I did post and ask about this, but I didn't ever see a reply. Just heads up in case you are in a similar situation as I was, you might want to double check your settings on your wireless settings if you are using either the Sprint Mobile Hotspot Paid version or if you are using the free tethering App.

Basically, as stated, I did have one month of almost 45GB. Most, are around 22 according to the new graph on Sprint's online webpage. I do have three computers that are/were linked to my EVO using the Hotspot. The problem is that I had turned the setting from either OFF/Disable After 10 Minutes/Always On to "Always On". According to the R/S manager that is where the problem started. I had turned it to "Always On", because my Dad sometimes gets up early and likes to use the computer so I just figured I would leave it on so it is ready at any time. Because the computers, though not really being used physically, are constantly pinging for information. Checking for auto updates. Checking for new email. If a page was left open that has news on it, that is being constantly updated.

Now, this past month, due to Sprint's problem with their towers/service, I was in a constant state of roaming. Where I live, there is NO Sprint/Verizon/AT&T/T-Mobile official towers. Surrounding my area are all the old Alltel towers, which Verizon bought. So, when it did roam, it was using Verizon and costing Sprint an arm and a leg, through no fault of my own.

How this got resolved, like I said after MANY HOURS!! on the phone-my house phone as my EVO completely died. (Short story-In April the USB port stopped charging my EVO. My local store gave me a replacement but flagged it the same day as being water damaged/damaged beyond repair! I didn't find this out until I had performed the new 2.3.3 update and my EVO started shutting down and wouldn't turn back on for a day or so. My local store, advertises as being an authorized repair center, didn't have a Slate machine, so I had to drive 1 hour one way to a Sprint Corporate store. At the time, I didn't know it had been flagged improperly. They looked it over. Didn't find any water damage or any scratches. The tech DID know it had been rooted. He said he was new and didn't care about the software part, only the hardware.

Again, as soon as I got home, the phone stopped working again. Again, this is becoming WAY too long. I could write a book about ALL that happened. It has been a literal NIGHTMARE. Now, the Corporate store was saying that it was NOW water damaged. (It must have happened between the time they improperly flagged it as being water damaged to now-the day I walked into the store now). I have never had water touch or even come close to my phone so I knew that the refurbished phone that they had given me that was replaced for the bad USB was probably water damaged and they gave it to me. Of course all was denied by both my local store and the Corporate store. (I was told they couldn't possibly make TWO mistakes-one flagging the phone wrong the first time, then overriding it because they said it wasn't water damaged, then now suddenly it became water damaged).

Because I do keep such good records and because it was noted on my account all of the notes and all of the problems(A Sprint Phone Supervisor had taken off the bad IMEI damage report on my EVO. After sticking to my grounds about what had been happening and the excessive data/roaming issue, I ended up getting a brand NEW EVO from Assurion(Sprint paid my $100.00 deductible because the Corporate store wouldn't. They are very nice if you need a new phone or service, and are usually pretty good when you have problems. But these people, knowing most people do lie to them or whatever, acted the way some have on here. If it hadn't have been for all of my emails/recorded phone calls etc to Sprint Customer Phone Care, I would be SOL. I did also pick up a new EVO 3D at a Radio Shack.

Now, as far as the tracking/usage information. Yes, they can track you. Yes, they have the capabilities to see what sites you are visiting/what you are downloading etc. This was confirmed to me when I called the number that I had listed for me to call. Yes, they will send you the data statistics. However, as one user pointed out, it is MUCH easier for them to just cancel one user's account than to actually fix the problem of roaming issues. Unless, as one user pointed out, if you can use a secure private VPN that scrambles your personal IP address or uses servers that go through other servers type of thing. They can tell if you are rooted and if you are using the UNPAID version of the Sprint Mobile Hotspot. Are they watching everyone? No. It would simply take too much man hours to do so. HOWEVER, in my case, because last month the EVO was not working properly due to whatever the problem with the phone was, it made it roam excessively. When this gets triggered, your account WILL go to a SPECIAL DATA analyzing department. They will NOT tell you how much is TOO much and they DO NOT send out a warning letter.

According to the Radio Shack manager, and I can hear some of you doubters now, but although the EVO was always listed as being UNLIMITED 3G/4G, it is really only for NOW for the 4G. If you are using data usage over 5GB a month on Sprint's 3G network, your account will be flagged and it then because throttled. Those who have experienced this will agree. It may not happen if you live where there are an abundance of towers for you to bounce off from. Where I live, there is ONE and it is shared by Verizon on a private property owned tower/land. That is why it became such an issue as in MY town and even surrounding towns, all towers are/were Alltel towers, now owned by Verizon.

The funny thing is after all of this, Verizon is putting up an official new LTE tower about 2500 feet or so from my house on the same side of the road. I still love my EVO and more so the new 3D. And, looking once more at Verizon's cost, Sprint is WAY more cost effective.

The moral of the story. If you are honest and know you are in the right, stand your ground and don't let others who don't even know you try to tell you otherwise. Good always overcomes EVIL and hatred, if you can make it through it to the end. I can't begin to tell you how sad I felt the way the comments on here were. Not that it was a big surprise when I have read other threads-people are people-which are really just dressed animals. Take off the clothes and we are just pretty much barbaric.

PS. If you have your Wireless Hotspot setting to "Always ON", make sure you disable that to either "Disable after 10 minutes" or simply turn off the Hotspot or computers so that they are not always hooked up to the EVO.

If I have helped even one person who might have had this type or similar situation, this long saga, with lots of in-betweens not even listed, I have done my job.

Again, A Big Thank You to all who didn't bash and those who shared similar experiences or at least had some faith from a fellow XDA-Member. I appreciate it. Have a great day!

Good Morning.

I just wanted to post this as other post seem to talk about Sprint canceling service due to excessive roaming data/phone usage on the EVO. I am being canceled even though my phone is not roaming.

Long story short, Sprint said that they are now tracking exactly what sites people are using. They are actually pinpointing what sites you visit(thus the reason why I couldn't access XDA-Developers or Android Central, among other sites. They are taking readings from your phone and if it doesn't match what the official Sprint versions should be, your phone is flagged as being rooted and you are put on a list. This is not good people.

I never received any notice about excessive usage. In fact, I had called them to find out why my data usage was so high as I never(can't, because my 3G service is too slow, anyway), download any movies, rarely watch YouTube because of excessive buffering, can't use QIK, etc, but it would show I was using between 3-45GB a month. That part is what is discerning as I don't download anything that could be anywhere near that amount. And yes, I pay for the $30.00 Mobile Hotspot feature.

This was confirmed when I took my phone in for servicing because of a faulty USB port(wouldn't charge phone). EVO had been rooted many times, but I had put it back to specs by running RUU. The in-store REP said he knew it had been Rooted because their Slate machines show them everything that has been done to the phone. Also, because my towers were having problems, I called because my phone kept Roaming, when it shouldn't be. I was told by every person on the phone and in-store not to worry as you have an EVO with Unlimited Everything, including roaming, which I knew that was not true.

So, after being with Sprint since 1991,(In 1989 United Telecom purchased a controlling interest, and in 1991 completed its acquisition of US Sprint. The same year United Telecom changed its name to Sprint, due in large part to the increased brand recognition as a result of the successful Candice Bergen "Dime Lady" advertisement campaign). I am getting the boot. They also told me they are really cracking down as I was personally about the 30th person calling the special number they gave me to call. I asked why no one ever told me the past few weeks when I literally spent hours on the phone and hours driving to an actual Corporate store to get my phone repaired. I was told they don't have to. Only if you have excessive phone roaming they might give you a courtesy call or letter. However, if they consider you a Power data user, roaming or not, you will not receive any other type of letter than a termination of service plan.

They will, however, waive the ETF. I asked her what would be causing the excessive usage as I have wondered the same. I maybe downloaded a few roms a month. I do have three computers hooked up, but mainly do updates, then shut them down. So, it makes no sense. Just beware, they are now tracking what sites you visit and even block them. I was wondering why I couldn't access XDA or say Android Central etc, and they told me that is why. I live in Michigan and was being pinged from Oklahoma City, I was told. They said every detail of what sites I was visiting, what software version I had on my phone at that time and even when using the Mobile HotSpot, what type of devices were connected.

Since I live 1 1/2 mile from the city where I could get a packaged high speed Internet connection, my only available providers are Sprint or Verizon, no T-Mobile available and AT&T still using 2.5 Edge. I wanted to put as much info here so you would know and not have to ask too many questions if you have any. This is more of an F.Y.I. as Big Brother really is upon us. Packet Sniffers and all. Just be careful if Sprint is your only provider as they are watching, waiting, and canceling upon their discretion. I too, will miss this great forum and all of the devs and users for their help and knowledge and making my EVO fun to use. Take care and have a great day!

PS Please, if you don't have any information regarding the actual issue, please don't take up extra space and pages by adding in your comments about grammar, spelling mistakes, paragraphs needed, or you simply have no relevant information to add, etc. It serves no use on this post or any other. Just move on. I am not looking for sympathy or need chastising. If you read the post, I have done everything that I know to be perfectly legal. I am just letting others know that with this type of selective termination of someone's account, with no advanced warning, you could be next. Since MOST reading this are heavy users or are using the Mobile Hot Spot for free, Sprint knows and is starting to do something about it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Thank you and have a great day. Peace Out!