Hi there!

I have a paper which was submitted to one of Springer journals 3 months ago and for more than 2 months its status was "under review". I sent an email to the editor to ask him to increase the speed of review process and he answered that the review will be competed unit the end of the coming week.
Now the status of the paper has been changed from "under review" to "reviewers assigned"!! I am confused! Since it was supposed to change to " "Reviews Complete"" but now...Does anyone has similar experience?

Thanks

2 months and you sent an email asking them to 'speed it up'?????

Personally, I would probably have sent an email at three months to politely ask how the reviews were progressing and if I could be of any help by suggesting other reviewers in case they had struggled to identfiy any.

I think you shouldn't really take too much notice of the status, as it can change (as you now know) for random reasons. But 3 months does seem a while, email and ask.

2 months the status of my paper is "under review" but it was submitted more than 3 months ago. However you are right but NOW I am applying to PhD programs and I really need this paper to be reviewed and published as soon as possible. I explained my situation to the editor politely and as a result he answered me kindly:)

I sent an email and explained my situation (applying to PhD programs) and the editor promised to complete the review of my paper unit the end of the coming week. But now the status of my paper has been changed from "under review" to "reviewers assigned"!!!It means that new reviewers are supposed to review my paper!!

What is with all the !!s? You asked if anyone has experience: I do. I suggested that statuses can change randomly, should have added 'don't worry about it'. The editor promised the review by the end of the week..

It is not yet the end of the week, so the status updates might just be internal markers which do not necessarily reflect where you are in the system. Just relax and focus on your PhD applications.

I have stressful days:( I just wish these days are finished quickly!
any way, Thank you:)

Agreed, this can mean under review by an editor after the peer review has been completed.

Now It has been changed from "Reviews assigned" to "Under review"! It means new reviewers started to review the paper! After more than 3 months!!

You should not expect papers to be reviewed quickly- I submitted to one in November and they still have not assigned reviewers yet. Some journals have taken 6 months to respond with a decision in my own experience.

I know and I have some experience of these kind of journals. But in some of journals authors can ask for an expedited review process in their Cover letter and also authors in the middle of review process can ask to speed the review process up!
I have waited for more than 3 months but haven't receive any feedback so I sent an email to the Editor and explained my situation and then he promised me to compete the review unit the end of the coming week. But now.....I was wondering why he promised me and then.. I am not a great researcher or a full Prof.!! I am just a grad student! so there is not any obligation for him to keep me satisfied!