Sprint Aware of Sprint iPhone 4S Data Issues, Admits Lack of Short-Term Fix

Sprint has confirmed that it is aware of the data issues present in the iPhone 4S since the launch of the phone last month. Not long after the phone’s launch, reports surfaced that the data transfer speeds on the phone were abnormally lower compared to other smartphones in the carrier’s lineup.

While the carrier apologizes for the issues and has asked for assistance with pinpointing the exact causes, it has admitted that it does not have a short-term fix for the speed issues since it is having trouble replicating the exact problems experienced. Sprint has also confirmed that it is working with Apple to pinpoint the issues, but has admitted that the people affected represent  less than 1 percent of the total customer base with iPhones, compounding the problem even further.

While the iPhone 4S is considered a boon for Sprint considering the cachet that the phone brings to each carrier that lands the phone, the heavier than normal subsidies and costs for the next five years put Sprint in a make or break position in terms of making enough on subscribers to cover both the cost of the subsidies and the phone’s per unit cost. Problems such as the ones the Sprint iPhone 4S is experiencing are expected to be fixed with the next update to iOS in 5.0.1, but it is not known when the update will roll out to customers.