Stupid dumb smartphones.
September 22, 2007 11:57 AM Subscribe
My home is a cave in which my Sidekick 2 gets extremely spotty reception. What is the best path to fixing this?
My apartment is on the first floor of a big ol' brick warehouse/ex-factory sort of building. Between the thick walls, the giant i-beams, and being under ground, the reception I get with my sidekick 2 ranges from marginal to non-existent. My reception in the rest of the world isn't necessarily all that great, hence the provider nickname t(ragic) mobile. Additionally, I have a feeling that this particular sidekick is probably at the end of its life cycle, so I'm ready to get something new pretty soon.
My question: Is there any way I can figure out what is causing the reception issues? Is it my provider? Is it my phone's natively crap reception? Is it a combination of the two? I just don't want to end up with a new phone and/or new provider and the same problem.
Obvious solution: get someone who has the same provider as me but a different phone and see how they do. great idea, but somehow I don't know anybody with t-mobile these days. I've checked friends' phones with Verizon and Sprint, and they do alright in Home Sweet Cave...but none of my bromies have a gadgety smartish phone, which is definitely what I tend to.
Of course, most/all of the new smartphones have wifi or 3D or whatever which would theoretically make this a non-problem? Or am I misunderstanding the technology involved?
My apartment is on the first floor of a big ol' brick warehouse/ex-factory sort of building. Between the thick walls, the giant i-beams, and being under ground, the reception I get with my sidekick 2 ranges from marginal to non-existent. My reception in the rest of the world isn't necessarily all that great, hence the provider nickname t(ragic) mobile. Additionally, I have a feeling that this particular sidekick is probably at the end of its life cycle, so I'm ready to get something new pretty soon.
My question: Is there any way I can figure out what is causing the reception issues? Is it my provider? Is it my phone's natively crap reception? Is it a combination of the two? I just don't want to end up with a new phone and/or new provider and the same problem.
Obvious solution: get someone who has the same provider as me but a different phone and see how they do. great idea, but somehow I don't know anybody with t-mobile these days. I've checked friends' phones with Verizon and Sprint, and they do alright in Home Sweet Cave...but none of my bromies have a gadgety smartish phone, which is definitely what I tend to.
Of course, most/all of the new smartphones have wifi or 3D or whatever which would theoretically make this a non-problem? Or am I misunderstanding the technology involved?
While there are differences in the reception of different phones, if your friends are doing fine on Verizon and Sprint, then Verizon or Sprint smartphones will also be fine. So it's *probably* your provider. The short answer is "Switch providers, and get a smartphone from one of them."
posted by Tomorrowful at 1:35 PM on September 22, 2007
posted by Tomorrowful at 1:35 PM on September 22, 2007
I had T-mobile for one day due to the fact that it worked fine in my front yard but not in my house. I took it back and complained and so they pulled out this detailed map of service areas/pole locations. Apparently, the road I live on is a dividing line between different booster signals and there was a small triangle, 25-40ft, that was not touched by either tower. My house pretty much made up that little spot on the map.
They apologetically refunded me and suggested Verizon. I have had no problems since.
posted by M Edward at 1:47 PM on September 22, 2007
They apologetically refunded me and suggested Verizon. I have had no problems since.
posted by M Edward at 1:47 PM on September 22, 2007
Best answer: Brockton, and others in the same situation, there are two things you can do to improve things:
1: Call customer service every week, and just tell them that your phone has crap signal in the primary place you'd like to use it. Give the address if they ask for it. Ask your friends to do the same. If the bad spot is in a public place, post flyers with the customer service numbers of the major carriers, encouraging passers-by to do the same. This will light a fire under the RF performance group, which is tasked with resolving such complaints.
2: Go to city council or planning department meetings and stand up for tower construction. There's usually a small contingent of tinfoil-hat and overprotective mommies at these things, who're convinced that every new cell site mutates their precious little snowflakes. (When in fact, having a nearby tower allows everyone to get by with *lower* power levels.) A few reasonable citizens voicing their support for better coverage goes a long way.
However, modernpoverty: Mobile phones were designed for use in cars, and the fact that they work indoors too is sort of a bonus. When verifying the coverage of a newly installed or retuned site, the drive-team does just that -- they drive around, measuring signal levels on the roads. They don't walk around the park or into your building, despite what the advertising department may think. In the last decade, as usage patterns have shifted from the mobile professional to the average Joe, site acquisition has tried to keep up but it's hard to get enough towers in enough locations to provide enough signal for phones to work reliably in every building you'd like them to.
Basements are absolutely icing on the cake, and in a concrete-and-steel commercial building, I'm surprised that you get any service down there. The lack of it should be considered the default state of affairs. Look into a bidirectional amplifier for the appropriate band (I think T-mo is all 1900 now) and get someone knowledgeable in the ways of RF to install it for you. (Local ham radio club meetings may be a place to start.)
posted by Myself at 2:48 AM on September 23, 2007
1: Call customer service every week, and just tell them that your phone has crap signal in the primary place you'd like to use it. Give the address if they ask for it. Ask your friends to do the same. If the bad spot is in a public place, post flyers with the customer service numbers of the major carriers, encouraging passers-by to do the same. This will light a fire under the RF performance group, which is tasked with resolving such complaints.
2: Go to city council or planning department meetings and stand up for tower construction. There's usually a small contingent of tinfoil-hat and overprotective mommies at these things, who're convinced that every new cell site mutates their precious little snowflakes. (When in fact, having a nearby tower allows everyone to get by with *lower* power levels.) A few reasonable citizens voicing their support for better coverage goes a long way.
However, modernpoverty: Mobile phones were designed for use in cars, and the fact that they work indoors too is sort of a bonus. When verifying the coverage of a newly installed or retuned site, the drive-team does just that -- they drive around, measuring signal levels on the roads. They don't walk around the park or into your building, despite what the advertising department may think. In the last decade, as usage patterns have shifted from the mobile professional to the average Joe, site acquisition has tried to keep up but it's hard to get enough towers in enough locations to provide enough signal for phones to work reliably in every building you'd like them to.
Basements are absolutely icing on the cake, and in a concrete-and-steel commercial building, I'm surprised that you get any service down there. The lack of it should be considered the default state of affairs. Look into a bidirectional amplifier for the appropriate band (I think T-mo is all 1900 now) and get someone knowledgeable in the ways of RF to install it for you. (Local ham radio club meetings may be a place to start.)
posted by Myself at 2:48 AM on September 23, 2007
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Getting a new phone (with the same provider) did not solve my problem.
You can buy (expensive) equipment that will boost your signal, but I've never tried this route.
posted by Brocktoon at 12:44 PM on September 22, 2007