Wireless Notes -- Sprint Dropped Call List for Voice and Data Coverage/Service Issues Sprint Dropped Call List Banner, coverigng places and location where Sprint Wireless drops experiences service problems and issues, both Sprint Wireless Voice and Data services

An Updated List of Sprint Drops and Areas, Locations and Roads where Sprint's Wireless Services have Poor Coverage and/or Experience Service Difficulties.

Last Update: 01/28/2016

This list is intended to provide a consolidated reference to a series of posts, messages, and other observations as to dropped calls, poor handoffs and cellular service and feature issues using Sprint's Cellular (voice) service in the US. This list may also be used to predict drops for Sprint's Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO's) such as Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile/USA, who are effectively "resellers" which re-brand and sometimes customize their service offerings but fundamentally are using Sprint's network.

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General:

After utilizing Sprint's CDMA wireless/cellular service (as compared to the now-defunct Nextel/iDEN Network", which was taken over - and subsequently ruined - by Sprint) for a number of years, and based upon reports made by other people with whom we work, we've observed a series of repeated call drops and other associated coverage issues with Sprint's Wireless/Cellular Voice and Data Service(s), which are detailed below in a state-by-state listing of Sprint's dropped calls and (technical) service difficulties (their customer service issues are a whole other matter!).

While this list of cellular drops on Sprint's remaining CDMA network (now that they ceased Nextel service) is not as extensive as some of our other "dropped call" lists which pertain to major US carriers, the relative brevity is not due to Sprint having superior coverage -- far from it! In fact, Sprint's drops and service difficulties are in our collective experiences place Sprint on the lower end (in terms of reliabiltity and good coverage) of the larger domestic US carriers, and thus the more limited scope of the entries below is reflective more of our desire to avoid using Sprint (precisely due to all the problems experienced with them and thus having fewer opportunities to experience their poor coverage) rather than any endorsement of the robustness of their lackluster coverage.

Indeed, in many cases outside of urban areas, Sprint roams on Verizon Wireless (a fellow CDMA carrier) as Sprint offers scant to no coverage in many of these areas. Thus, many of the exurban/rural drops noted on the Verizon Wireless dropped call list would also be experienced by Sprint customers, which would then be compounded with Sprint's own drops as detailed below.

NOTE: Sprint functions as the uderlying carrier for a number of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO's), such as Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. In most if not all cases, this list should serve equally well for Boost/Virgin/other MVNO's as it does as a compilation of Sprint performance issues, however, in most cases, MVNO's are not permitted to roam onto Verizon, hence a given Boost/Virgin/MVNO customer's coverage and service experience(s) may be worse than than of a post-paid (direct) Sprint customer due to the lack or roaming and thus the sole reliance on Sprint's less-than-satisfactory network.

Many of the drops could be loosely termed "handoff drops", ie, as a vehicle moves along a given road, Sprint's service repeatedly drops in the same general area during different trips, or when leaving an area of Sprint coverage service is unable to successfully transition to an alternate carrier who does have coverage in the given area (generally, but not limited to, Verizon Wireless).

The list below thus details areas where we have had repeated drops over a period of time. We encourage others who have noticed similar drops and/or problems with their service to contact us so that their issues can be accordingly reported on this list.

Criteria:

The criteria for a drop being "worthy" :) of getting posted are:

  • Drop occurs at least 3 times traveling in the same direction (i.e., Eastbound on a given road)
  • Drops occur over a period of more than a month, e.g., if a drop is experienced on 05/01/2005 it still needs to drop on 06/01/2005 for it to be posted.
  • Drops are moving drops in areas of strong coverage, i.e., these aren't "I can't get coverage when I sit in my living room corner" situations, but areas where there is otherwise good coverage and the phone just for no apparent reason drops. (This doesn't just pertain to motorists and roads; we also list Sprint Wireless call drops on Amtrak and commuter rail services, parks, and other areas without vehicular traffic, etc.)
  • Drops are in areas of otherwise good coverage, e.g., the drops listed are not in areas where Sprint has/have no coverage. Thus, there are no posts saying "My Sprint cell phone dropped on I-89 crossing the NH/VT line" since Sprint doesn't cover there, yet.
Ordering Note: Lists are alphabetically organized, first by state and then by counties within states. In some cases, large Metropolitan areas which span a multiple set of counties, states or boundaries are listed as separate entities (such as New York City).

Please feel free to submit your drop/reset experiences with Sprint which meet the above guidelines so that we can provide a more comprehensive list. Contact information for this list is provided at the end of this page.

Additionally, if you feel that an item is incorrect, please let us know the specifics of your experiences in the given area so we can test it and modify the list accordingly.

Thanks!

Disclaimer/Note: The authors have nothing to do with Sprint other than using a few of their phones and/or data products as paying subscribers. While we will try to keep these lists current, you should test them out for yourself and not use this as a dispositive and authoritative source of information as to Sprint's cellular service (or lack thereof). In other words, these are just our and/or other's observations -- we try to be accurate, but we make no representations other than what we have observed (and if others notice we are wrong about a given drop, please mail us so we can test the drop and modify the list accordingly.)

Sprint Cellular Dropped Call List by State

Connecticut

  • Fairfield County, Danbury: Sprint calls drop on US-7 south of I-84, where the "super-7" configuration transitions to the "widened" US-7 allignment north of Ridgefield. (US-7 was supposed to be a full freeway from Norwalk well past New Milford, and all the land has been acquired for the the highway, but typical of ConnDOT and CT (and much like US-6) nothing has been built for 50 years, and a slow, narrow US-7 has to be continuously widened as a sub-optimal solution which has and continues to ruin the character of the local towns along US-7 rather than building the freeway away from the towns and moving through traffic more efficiently and with much less local disruption.) Drop last observed: 07/16/2015
  • Fairfield County, Wilton: Sprint Cellular calls drop at the JCT of US-7 and CT-33 in Wilton. Traveling southbound, calls begin to deteriorate south of New Canaan, and by the time the CT-33/US-7 split is reached, calls drop completely. Northbound, calls drop more suddenly, and with little notice will drop passing through the CT-33/US-7 merge as CT-33 approaches from the right. Drop last observed: 7/16/2015
  • Hartford County, Farmington: Sprint wireless calls drop along CT-4/Farmington Ave just east of "The Exchange" shopping/business area. Drop last observed: 03/01/2015.
  • Hartford County, Southington: Sprint calls drop on I-84 Westbound, between the JCT with CT-72/Bristol-New Britain Expressway and CT-10/Queen Street. Drops occur approximately 50% of the time in the Westbound direction only; we have not experienced any drops heading east. Thus, a Sprint call initiated in Hartford will drop before the Southington interchange (eg, westbound), but a call initiated in Cheshire (at I-691 for example) heading eastward towards Hartford will hold for the entirety of the drive. Drop last observed: 12/24/2014
  • Litchfield County, Gaylordsville (to NY): Sprint calls placed along US-7 will drop on CT/NY-55 at the border between NY and CT. Calls placed on either side of the NY/CT border will drop just west of the CT border (westbound), where Sprint has no service until past the JCT with NY-22. Most recent drop occurred on 12/10/2015.
  • Middlesex County, Durham: Sprint calls drop along CT-79 about halfway between the CT-80 rotary and CT-148. Heading northwards past the JCT with CT-148, there is no Sprint service at all until the JCT with CT-17, where there is spotty coverage and a number of drops until Middletown. Drop last observed: 03/01/2015.

    • Maryland

  • Baltimore County, Mt. Hebron/Ellicott City: Sprint calls drop at the transition from US-29N to I-70E, along the "high speed" dual-laned ramp. Last observed: 10/14/2015
  • Baltimore County, White Marsh: Sprint calls (voice and data) drop at Mile Marker 69 on I-95, two miles north of the JCT with MD-43/White Marsh Road. Last observed: 12/23/2014
  • Baltimore County, Woodlawn: Sprint drops occur on I-70 just west of the JCT with the Baltimore Beltway/I-695. Calls initiated at or before I-70's JCT with US-29 will drop between the Patapsco River bridge crossing and the ramps to the Beltway. (Nextel used to exhibit the same drop pattern on the iDEN network as well, in the same area.) Last observed: 12/23/2014
  • Cecil County, Childs: Sprint calls drops along I-95 near the overpass for MD-545, at Mile Marker 103.5, in both the northbound and southbound directions. Last observed: 01/14/2016
  • Cecil County, Conowingo Dam: Sprint calls initiated south of the Conowingo Dam (a free crossing on the Susquehana; I-95 and US-40 are outrageously tolled North/Eastbound to pay for some idiotic MDOT projects, one of which, the ICC, would have been free and placed along a more useful routing (and aligned better with the eventual crossing to VA) if some nut lady on the Montgomery County Council hadn't passed some laws in the late 1980's (?) restricting how land already planned for the ICC and the Rockville Facility could be used...so typically when it comes to highway construction these days, it was built 30 years later, and 30 times the cost, is ridiculously tolled so no one uses it except when traffic is bad, and it has bankrupted the MDOT budget to the extent that other toll facilities, including the two south of Conwingo at Havre de Grace, are now ridiculously tolled... Anyhow...-> )... Sprint calls initiated south of the Conowingo Dam will drop on the downhil northbound approach on US-1 as it curves slightly northwestward to accommodate the orientation of the dam. A known problem with Sprint for years, and a heavily traveled road for smart drivers who don't want to prop up MDOT's bankruptcy (in ever sense of the word!), so one would expect Sprint to have had it fixed years ago, but well, it IS Sprint, so it's doubtful that anyone's suprised that it hasn't been remedied. Last observed 01/29/2015.
  • Cecil County, Port Deposit: Sprint wireless calls drop along I-95 at the Havre DeGrace bridge, generally along the main span of the bridge over the Susquehanna River. Most recently observed on 04/12/2016.
  • Frederick County, Frederick: Sprint drops occur while driving west on I-70 after passing the westbound Frederick rest area, reaching the top of the hill where the rest area is located and then proceeding downward (westward) for approximately one mile. Coverage is generally good before and after this drop, however it appears that handoffs do not take place between the Frederick area and the I-81/Harrisburg corridor service area which appears to cover the western side of the hill. Most recently observed on 07/23/2012.
  • Washington County, Sideling Hill: Sprint calls drop heading west on I-68 past the Sideling Hill "cut" and rest-area and has no coverage for about 30 miles until approaching Cumberland at the Dan's Mountain State Park exit. Post-pay sprint customers may be able to roam on US Cellular's 1794 CDMA system (the same one which Verizon customers roam on), but we have no evidence that this is the case. Pre-pay, "no-contract", and resale/MVNO customers, such as Boost and Virgin mobile, have no coverage at all along this stretch of I-68 (and generally can't roam on any of the carriers which Sprint post-pay customers may be able to roam on. Last observed; 01/29/2015.

    • Massachusetts

  • Berkshire County, New Marlboro/Monterey/Great Barrington: Sprint Wireless voice/data cellular drops as part of a large gap in coverage along MA-57 from the eastern New Marlboro town line all the way through southern Monterey (MA-23 goes through Monterey, while MA-57 runs roughly parallel to the south) onwards the western end of MA-57 at the junction with MA-23 a few miles east of the MA-23(END)/US-7 Junction in Great Barrington. Motorists familiar with the area will know that heading westwards, this is approximately the area from where MA-57 is a potholed, horrid road (even after repaving) with a 25 MPH zone, all the way past the JCT with MA-183, and onwards to the end of MA-57 at MA-23. Effectively, there is no coverage for about 15 miles on somewhat heavily traveled state route. (To be fair, no other carrier - neither AT&T Wireless, Verizon, nor T-Mobile - covers the area either.) This extensive lack of coverage along a major route may be problematic for customers of OnStar and other similar built-in auto emergency services as if they were to break down along this strech of road or suffer an emergency they may be surprised to find they have no coverage at all! Of course this is Sprint, so expecting coverage in an area like this is wishful thinking, but as Sprint generally defaults to roaming on Verizon's significantly more extensive network (how convenient for Sprint to have another carrier with which to fill its large gaps in coverage!), and with Verizon itself having no coverage there (see the Verizon Wireless Drop List), Sprint customers are stuck with a useless phone along this stretch of MA-57. Most recently observed: 10/14/2015.

    • New Jersey

  • Mercer County, Princeton: Sprint calls drop on US-1 just north of the intersection with Harrison Rd. (Harrison has a poorly set traffic light which for no reason in the middle of the night turns red, apparently just to slow traffic down on US-1. So much for Princeton's 'environmentalist' goals -- causing cars to stop and then accelerate southwards up US-1 towards Forrestal certainly helps stop unnecessary pollution! ;( ). By way of comparison to other carriers, Verizon no longer has coverage drops there, even though traditionally it had been the demarcation between the NY-Metro system and the Philadelphia system. If Verizon could fix it's more systemic problems there, Sprint should be able to fix theirs as well, especially on the busiest road (US-1) in the area for local traffic. Last observed: 01/20/2015

    • New York

    New York City 5-Borough/Counties:

  • New York County (Mahattan): Sprint voice and data calls drop going from Penn Station going either north (eastward towards Long Island on the LIRR, or on the Northeast Corridor towards CT and Boston on Amtrak), or heading south (westward, towards NJ via NJ Transit or Amtrak to DC and Florida). While there is coverage in Penn Station, calls will drop entering either the East River Tubes or the Hudson River Tubes. While Verizon Wireless does have "through coverage" throughout Penn Station and under both rivers, Sprint will not hand off to Verizon, and calls iniated on Sprint will drop upon entering either set of tunnels to the east or west. Last observed: 12/05/2014.
  • New York County (Manhattan): Sprint calls drop (50%) or become highly distorted and generally inaudible crossing from Manhattan to Queens County on the Queensboro/59th St Bridge. Verizon, the "other" CDMA carrier, last had this problem circa 2003 or so, and yet Sprint's service still suffers from this, which is particularly alarming as tens of thousands of people drive over the Queensboro every day, and yet Sprint has done apparently very little to remedy the issue. Last observed: 03/04/2015.
    • New York State Counties other than New York City:

  • Columbia County, Austerlitz: Sprint calls drop numerous times between the Taconic State Parkway's JCT with NY-203 (which already has spotty coverage) all the way east to the end of NY-203 at JCT NY-22 in Austerlitz. Calls drops repeatedly heading eastward, to the point of making the phone unuseable, and bouncing back and forth between Sprint's spotty (at best) network and Verizon's (significantly better) network makes it difficult to receive incoming calls as well. (If you have a phone which can be set to roam by default [onto Verizon], this is as agood a place as any to set such a setting!) By the time the JCT of NY-203 and NY-22 is reached, there is no coverage at all on Sprint. Last observed: 07/04/2015.
  • Dutchess County, Beekman: No Sprint Wireless service along NY-55 in Beekman, NY, near the JCT with Beekman Rd. / CTY-9. Sprint has generally poor coverage in eastern Dutchess County (other than some acceptable areas of moderate coverage along NY-22), and NY-55 is no exception: There is no coverage from about 2 miles west of the JCT of NY-55(West)/NY-22 all the way west to the Taconic Parkway; post-pay/subscription customers can generally roam on Verizon along NY-55, while pre-pay/"no credit check" customers can not, and will have no coverage and a generally useless phone/plan along eastern sections of NY-55. Last observed: 04/02/2015
  • Dutchess County, Beekman: Sprint drops occur along NY-55 just east of the JCT with Walker Road, and about 1.5 miles west of the JCT with CTY-9/Beekman Road. Last observed: 01/28/2016.
  • Dutchess County, Holmes: Sprint wireless voice and data coverage drops along NY-292 at Waley Lake, near the JCT with South Road. (AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile also have difficulty to greater or lesser extents covering the area; Verizon doesn't drop and generally has superior coverage in the local area and throughout the County.) Last observed: 09/25/2015
  • Dutchess County, LaGrange: Sprint's coverage drops (both voice and data) along the Taconic State Parkway at the intersection with Beekman Rd. Last observed: 12/20/2014
  • Dutchess County, LaGrange: Sprint drops calls along the Taconic State Parkway at the intersection with NY-82 (lower intersection; NY-82 again crosses the Taconic in Columbia County further north). Verizon used to drop here as well, but Verizon fixed its drop here over 5 years ago. Sprint, on the other hand, still continues to drop. Last observed: 12/20/2014
  • Dutchess County, LaGrange: NY-82, approx 3 miles north of the JCT with NY-55; calls drop north of the firehouse located on the east side of NY-82. Last observed: 02/04/2015
  • Dutchess County, Unionvale: Sprint calls drop on CTY-21 along the S-curve near the Unionvale Town Hall as CTY-21 heads southwestward towards NY-55 and Poughkeepsie. There is generally very poor coverage in Dutchess County north of approximately where NY-55 runs, and thus coverage on CTY-21 is spotty at best the further northeast one drives from NY-55. Last observed: 01/07/2015.
  • Nassau County, East Norwhich/Oyster Bay: Sprint Wireless calls drop on NY-25A approx. 1/2 mile west of the JCT with NY-106/Oyster Bay-North Jericho Rd. This is the stretch of NY-25A running between NY-107 (to the west, near CW Post) and NY-106 (which heads up to Oyster Bay) to the east. Verizon, AT&T Wireless, and even T-Mobile have no problem covering the area without drops, yet Sprint has never been able to provide drop-free coverage on this stretch of NY-25A. Last observed: 06/30/2015.
  • Nassau County, Cold Spring Harbor: Sprint calls drops on NY-25A at the JCT with NY-108/Woodbury Rd, near Cold Spring Harbor Labs. Most recently observed on 11/24/2015.
  • Nassau County, Cold Spring Harbor: Sprint wireless calls drop along Woodbury Road at the JCT with NY-108. Calls initiated along NY-25/Jericho Turnpike will drop northbound along Woodbury road by the time NY-108 is reached; calls initiated along NY-25A/Northern Blvd heading south will drop along NY-108 by the time it intersects with NY-108. Most recently observed on 11/24/2015.
  • Nassau County, Laurel Hollow/Cold Spring Harbor: Sprint drops on NY-25A at the intersection with Laurel Hollow Rd. NY-25A is a main E/W road along the North Shore and one of the main access roads to the Cold Spring Harbor Labs and the towns of Laurel Hollow and Cold Spring Harbor, yet Sprint calls drop in a number of locations, including the instant one, on the extent of road between Laurel Hollow and Cold Spring Harbor. Most recently observed on 01/06/2015.
  • Suffolk County, Kings Park: Calls drop on NY-25A at the intersection with Sunken Meadow Road, approximately 1/2 mile west of the JCT with the Sunken Meadow Parkway. NY-25A and the Sunken Meadow Parkway are heavily traveled roads on the North Shore, and drops here should have been detected and corrected long ago, but, typical of Sprint, nothing is done. Most recently observed on 01/06/2015.
  • Suffolk County, Smithtown: Sprint calls drop on near the intersection of Landing Ave at the intersection with Landing Hollow Road, approximately 1/4 of a mile west of the LIRR Port Jefferson Branch tracks. Most recently observed on 01/06/2015.

    • Pennsylvania

  • Chester County, Oxford: Calls drop on US-1 (the 1960's upgraded freeway segment from the Maryland line through Chester County) at Mile Marker 10.5, near the State Police station which also appears to be right next to a cell tower as well. Last observed: 08/16/2015
  • Lehigh County, Hellerton: Sprint calls drop on I-78 at Mile Marker 68, approximately 3 miles heading west after the JCT with PA-33 and approximately 1.5 miles before the JCT with PA-412. Last observed: 01/29/2015.
  • Pike County, Bushkill (Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area): Sprint Wireless calls drop along US-209/Federal Road from the junction with Broadhead Rd to the north all the way to where US-209 crosses Suzie Creek and US-209's name changes to Milford Road, where coverage resumes, for a distance of about 5 miles. Sprint (as well as T-Mobile, AT&T, and AT&T Wireless) has very poor to non-existent coverage along this stretch of US-209, and thus motorists as well as campers and hikers in the Water Gap area may not be able to summon help or contact authorities should an emergency arise. Besides tourists visiting the Water Gap/Dingman's Ferry area, US-209 serves as a major thoroughfare between the I-84/Port Jervis Area and the I-80 corridor, which heavy daytime automobile use (trucks are generally prohibited), and has never been properly covered since the inception of cellular service in the area in the early 1990's. Drop last occurred: 10/20/2015
  • Pike County, Matamoras: Sprint calls drop along I-84 west of Matamoras, as I-84 leaves the Matamoras/Port Jervis area and ascends a hill as it heads west to Scranton. Calls initiated in Port Jervis will drop generally around Mile Marker 47. Last observed: 09/01/2015.
  • Wayne County, Hamlin/Lake Wallenpaupack: Sprint calls drop at Mile Marker 16.4 along I-84. Last observed: 09/01/2015.
  • Westmorland County, Ligonier: Sprint cellular service has poor to no coverage on PA-31, between JCT PA-381 heading eastward to Laurel Summit (on PA-31). At Laurel Summit heading east (down the hill) coverage is generally better, but both voice and data calls will generally drop heading westward from the summit going to and past the JCT with PA-381. Note that when Nextel was still aro8und, calls held in this area (barely), perhaps due to the better propogation of the Nextel frequencies in the area. Of course now that Nextel is gone and the Sprint "side" has them it appears no good use is made of them and, typically of Sprint, it is just worse, and none of the benefits of all the Nextel frequencies which Sprint customers were supposedly going to benefit from ever materialized, at least not here. Typical...Last observed: 05/05/2015
  • York County, Shrewsbury (PA/MD line): Sprint calls drop on I-83 in the vicinity of the MD/PA state line. Last observed: 01/29/2015.
    • Vermont
  • Windham County, Brattleboro: Sprint calls (voice and data) drop on I-91 near the Vermont Welcome Center at Mile Marker 5.2, just south of the Welcome Center's exit ramp. First noted on 07/25/2012, most recently observed on 08/25/2015.
  • Windham County, Guilford: Sprint cellular calls drop on I-91 at the VT/Mass border; northbound, calls attennuate in Greenfield, Mass and drop by the time the Mass parking areas (NB/SB) are reached right before the VT line; southbound, calls drop south of Brattleboro (there isn't much coverage in Brattleboro to start with!), and drop by the time the (northbound) rest area is reached on the opposite side of the road. Both Verizon and AT&T Wireless appear to have remedied these drops many years ago, but, typically of Sprint, they don't seem to bother/care to fix these issues, even on the main Interstate into Vermont from the south. Most recently observed: 08/25/2015.

    • Corrected Problems

    There are no corrected items to report at this time.

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    Last modified/©: 01/28/2016