Cell service

Idunno

Member
So far we have used Verizon and AT&T. Neither carrier provides reliable service to our home. Getting real tired of having to go outside to make or receive a call. We were wondering if anyone in the Chancellors Run/Buck Hewett area has T Mobile, and what kind of service you receive at your home. According to the T Mobile store we should get 3 bars. We asked the employees at the T Mobile store to show us their personal phone to see what kind of service they got, but no one there at the time had a phone.....:eyebrow:

TIA
 

Bird Dog

Bird Dog
PREMO Member
Verizon has a repeater that you hook up to the internet that solves the problem for me in 1D
 

Idunno

Member
We went around with Verizon for years. They said we should have 5 bars at our home. We would actually have to be at a specific spot outside for a signal and that would be 1 bar that was not reliable. They said it was our phones.....upgrade the phones to the "best" with no improvement, but got stuck with the contract for the full 2 years. According to them we should have perfect service so we would not (at that time) qualify for the no cost repeater. We would have to pay $500 (at the time) to get one, and even that was not guaranteed to work if there was no signal available to repeat or boost. They pretty much told us that it must be something we were doing because their system said we were in the perfect area for coverage.

HOA will not allow an antenna. Tried the VOIP (internet connection) and was not impressed. With all the new houses in the area the Metrocast bandwidth has gotten really bad certain times of the day. Movie streaming is occasionally frustrating.

Went to AT&T and got marginally better signal. At least we can get and make calls most of the time except for in the living room and kitchen. Still better service outside. Our 2 years is up from the last phone upgrade....

We can see a new cell tower from our home, but can not find out what carrier it is using it. Thought maybe it would be a T Mobile since they both (store and tower) appeared about the same time. Hoping we can some day sit in the lazy boy, watch a movie and make a phone call at the same time.
 

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
So far we have used Verizon and AT&T. Neither carrier provides reliable service to our home. Getting real tired of having to go outside to make or receive a call. We were wondering if anyone in the Chancellors Run/Buck Hewett area has T Mobile, and what kind of service you receive at your home. According to the T Mobile store we should get 3 bars. We asked the employees at the T Mobile store to show us their personal phone to see what kind of service they got, but no one there at the time had a phone.....:eyebrow:

TIA

T-Mobile around here uses AT&T towers to get service in many places.
 

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
I've had Verizon for about twenty years - and I've lived at my present home in St. Mary's for 13. I have ALWAYS had to at least step outside to get a reliable, consistent connection for my phone. I CAN get it inside - but I can lose it easily. Almost every guest at my home has had to do the same. So when people TELL me Verizon is about the best you can get down here, I just don't bother with anyone else. Service that is acceptable is better than service that flat out sucks.
 

getbent

Thats how them b*tch's R
We went around with Verizon for years. They said we should have 5 bars at our home. We would actually have to be at a specific spot outside for a signal and that would be 1 bar that was not reliable. They said it was our phones.....upgrade the phones to the "best" with no improvement, but got stuck with the contract for the full 2 years. According to them we should have perfect service so we would not (at that time) qualify for the no cost repeater. We would have to pay $500 (at the time) to get one, and even that was not guaranteed to work if there was no signal available to repeat or boost. They pretty much told us that it must be something we were doing because their system said we were in the perfect area for coverage.

HOA will not allow an antenna. Tried the VOIP (internet connection) and was not impressed. With all the new houses in the area the Metrocast bandwidth has gotten really bad certain times of the day. Movie streaming is occasionally frustrating.

Went to AT&T and got marginally better signal. At least we can get and make calls most of the time except for in the living room and kitchen. Still better service outside. Our 2 years is up from the last phone upgrade....

We can see a new cell tower from our home, but can not find out what carrier it is using it. Thought maybe it would be a T Mobile since they both (store and tower) appeared about the same time. Hoping we can some day sit in the lazy boy, watch a movie and make a phone call at the same time.

How do you qualify?
 

Idunno

Member
Not sure they do it any more. Our Verizon period was when the repeater or booster was just coming out. At that time if you were in an area where the signal was really weak, and there were multiple complaints in the area about the lack of service, dropped calls etc. you could qualify for the "free" repeater but be charged an access fee....pretty much paying for another line on your account.....so basically paying for the repeater. I think it was $35 or $45 a month extra, and the box belonged to Verizon.
 

getbent

Thats how them b*tch's R
Not sure they do it any more. Our Verizon period was when the repeater or booster was just coming out. At that time if you were in an area where the signal was really weak, and there were multiple complaints in the area about the lack of service, dropped calls etc. you could qualify for the "free" repeater but be charged an access fee....pretty much paying for another line on your account.....so basically paying for the repeater. I think it was $35 or $45 a month extra, and the box belonged to Verizon.

Ahh, so basically renting the box. If that's still the case then it would probably be cheaper to just buy the box outright. Unless you have to pay the fee also.
 

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
PREMO Member
If you are looking for a good repeater/amplifier try Wilson Amplifiers. I have zero outside bars, with their amplifier kit I get totally reliable service when I should technically have none. I opted for AT&T's wireless home phone system for more of a home phone setup and it is still going strong 5 years later.

The amplifier does require an outside antenna but the newer versions have a panel antenna that can be mounted "discreetly" under an eve and your HOA might never notice. :wink: :wink:
 
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