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Cell Phone Reception Question — Brooklynian

Cell Phone Reception Question

flash
flash
edited November -1 in Crown Heights/Prospect Lefferts Gardens
Thanks to everyone who help us out with info about Prospect & Franklin. Looks like we're going to be moving there in a few months if all goes well with getting a mortgage. And now a cell phone question.

We have T-Mobile for service which works perfectly in Manhattan. When we were looking at the apartment Monday night, it didn't work well at all either in the apartment or in the neighborhood when we walked around. My wife had no data service on her Sidekick and call quality for both of us was terrible. T-Mobile is claiming they're having a problem in that area that will be fixed any day. Does anyone know if this is true? If not, do AT&T or Verizon work well in the area? Our contract is up anyway so now would be the time to switch.

Comments

  • theburgerking
    theburgerking
    Verizon and At&t work fine.
  • laudanum
    laudanum
    I have T-mobile and live a few blocks from there and never have had a problem.

    They had an outage in service when I lived in Williamsburg a few years back and they fixed it in several weeks time.
  • kenieva
    kenieva
    i live a couple of blocks away and have T-Mobile, never had a problem.

    welcome to the neighborhood [almost]
  • whatchuwant
    whatchuwant
    I have a Sidekick, live in CH and I regularly have connection (get cut off) and reception (can't even get a signal) problems. Often times its because I'm walking around the house- the further from the street I go (deeper into the depths of my apt) the connection goes bad. Or if I'm in my bedroom, I walk across the room and I can't IM to save my life. I have to turn off and on again. Sucks and I hate it.

    I had Sprint (who I LOVED) but because I was so hot for the Sidekick I dumped them when my contract ran out. :(
  • jasonliu
    jasonliu
    @whatchuwant:

    doesn't sound like a problem with your network (ie sprint probably sucks in your apt too). most likely your apt building is shielding the signal. older building with lots of metal in the walls tend to have this problem.

    back to the OP, have at&t and mostly have no problems, though the land line has come in handy on one or two occasions.
  • whatchuwant
    whatchuwant
    jasonliu wrote: @whatchuwant:

    doesn't sound like a problem with your network (ie sprint probably sucks in your apt too). most likely your apt building is shielding the signal. older building with lots of metal in the walls tend to have this problem.

    back to the OP, have at&t and mostly have no problems, though the land line has come in handy on one or two occasions.
    Actually, Jason, I had no problems in the apt with Sprint, (one of the reasons I liked them, they worked everywhere).

    I do agree with you that its probably my building, and I also think that its the phone and not the service that gives me such a hard time. Often when I turn off and on the signal's there, the damn phone just couldn't find it.

    I think what makes me mad is the technology that each company chooses to go with. I've had many T-Mobile people IN THE STORE say to me, "no, don't get that one!" on just about every phone Ive asked about. Their own people don't even like the technology they sell. What does that say?

    "Get more" my ass.
  • rtraindweller
    rtraindweller
    i think the "no don't get that one" thing might be more so that certain phones have stronger antennas than others. i used to have the sidekick 2 and then the 3. the 2 was light years more reliable as a phone and internet device. the three was constantly losing service or calls were getting cut or just sounding like poostuff. i ditched it a year ago for a blackberry and haven't had a significant service problem since except for downstairs at the knitting factory.
  • lucille
    lucille
    I went through several cell phone providers before I found one that worked reliably every place I go in the city as well as in the places to which I frequently travel. That would be Sprint. However, I find myself routinely paying nearly double the plan I've signed up for--and I've been through them all-- due to various charges. At one point I had to fight with them to stop putting New Jersey(where I bought the phone) and New York taxes on my single bill simultaneously. I switched from AT &T to a cheaper Sprint plan, but with the add-ons that come with Sprint, it's all about the same. The significant difference is that my Sprint phone actually works everywhere I go.
    Hope losing Nextel doesn't send you running for the cover of Manhattan!
  • parkplace
    parkplace
    Cingular - now AT&T - works well.

    Plus, its the only unionized cell phone company! Remember how the phone company used to be a place where people could get a decent job with benefits - enough to raise a family and not live in debt? Now almost all of those jobs are non-union - low-wage, no benefits, no job security....very sad.
  • jaha127
    jaha127
    [quote="Lucille"] At one point I had to fight with them to stop putting New Jersey(where I bought the phone) and New York taxes on my single bill simultaneously. quote]

    I've had the same problem with Sprint charging me Westchester taxes and Brooklyn taxes...

    how did you FINALLY get them to stop charging you both?
  • daver
    daver
    I have Verizon with a strong signal and zero problems with no land line. Having said that, I don't wander around on my phone, so I guess I can't speak to signal strength anywhere other than my apartment, where it rocks.

    :mrgreen:
  • ben
    ben
    I have t-mobile and have had lots of problems. It's not specific to the area but to Brooklyn and Queens as a whole.

    From what I learned after 3 replacement phones and 3 new SIM cards, there is one computer that handles traffic for some customers in Brooklyn and Queens. If your account is assigned to this computer it always uses that same one. Anyway, there are problems with that computer that they have not been able to fully resolve. I've had multiple trouble tickets opened and they can't give an estimated time of resolution for any.

    This impacts data service more than phone but sometimes phone service also goes down. I've gone months with no problems and then had lots of problems for days. This past week up until sometime yesterday was really bad but it seems to be working fine now. It's really an on and off thing.

    So, if you or your wife pulled the lucky straw and got assigned to that computer you will have problems. If not you should be fine. I know tons of other people with t-mobile who have had no problems at all.

    It is possible that the problem that I'm having is not the same as what you experienced but if your contract is up I would go with someone else.
  • alafairnadia
    alafairnadia
    I've got at&t and love it - can use it all over the country and get texts in the mountains of ecuador. what more could I ask for?

    so. to the OP, I'm thinking that if you travel outside of the country a lot, you might want to get at&t if you want cell service. if you don't, probably go with verizon or sprint depending on that bizarro taxation issue.
  • wirenut
    wirenut
    I am nearby and have VERIZON

    I find that it is weak inside my building but OK outside
  • arlette
    arlette
    Tmobile gives all those free minutes because you need to them to redial after a dropped call or to find service. Their service is horrible and only got worse after sept 11 and the loss of towers. They told me they would fix and add towers but I couldnt take it so I had to switch. The areas bordering bedford to washington from atlantic to empire blvd was a dead area for my tmobile service. i switched to verizon and have not had any problems. welcome and good luck.
  • flash
    flash
    Ben wrote: I have t-mobile and have had lots of problems. It's not specific to the area but to Brooklyn and Queens as a whole.

    From what I learned after 3 replacement phones and 3 new SIM cards, there is one computer that handles traffic for some customers in Brooklyn and Queens. If your account is assigned to this computer it always uses that same one. Anyway, there are problems with that computer that they have not been able to fully resolve. I've had multiple trouble tickets opened and they can't give an estimated time of resolution for any.

    This impacts data service more than phone but sometimes phone service also goes down. I've gone months with no problems and then had lots of problems for days. This past week up until sometime yesterday was really bad but it seems to be working fine now. It's really an on and off thing.

    So, if you or your wife pulled the lucky straw and got assigned to that computer you will have problems. If not you should be fine. I know tons of other people with t-mobile who have had no problems at all.

    It is possible that the problem that I'm having is not the same as what you experienced but if your contract is up I would go with someone else.
    I was afraid of something like that. I was in Williamsburg last night and again had no data service at all. Call quality was OK, though. The CS rep at T-mobile I spoke to gave me the impression that this is an ongoing problem. The crappy thing about this is we have to go on a more expensive plan with another provider. We have 1000 shared minutes now and with AT&T or Verizon you only get 700 for the same price. We never go over 1000 but we usually go over 700. Oh well - at least now I have an excuse to get an iPhone.
  • dropslash
    dropslash
    I used to have Verizon, i now use Helio. Both services have been iffy in 555 (545) Prospect Place. One minute you'll have full reception, the next you lose your call.

    I've always attributed it to the fact that this building use to be a hospital. If i walk 5 feet out of my front door my reception is crystal clear with no issues.
  • flash
    flash
    The building we're looking at is across the street and reception w/T-mobile was actually better in the apartment than it was on the street but it was still pretty bad. I called T_mobile and they said they started having a problem in that area on March 24th (the day we were there) and didn't know when it would be fixed. I was in Williamsburg a few days later and while the phone service was fine, I couldn't get a data connection at all. We'll see what happens when we get closer to the move in a couple of months but I'm hearing now that T-mobile is fine in Manhattan but pretty spotty in both Brooklyn and Queens.
  • lucille
    lucille
    Back to Jaha127's inquiry.
    I got them to stop by yelling at them. It didn't start out that way, but basically, I kept asking to speak to a supervisor until I got one. Oddly, I recognized the voice of the person I got when I called customer service. She had rail-roaded me one other time and disconnected me during a subsequent phone call. Mind you, these were weeks apart. Pays to have a distinctive voice, I guess, at least on my end. As soon as I realized it was her I said, "Hey, I've dealt with you before. I really need to speak to a supervisor." She answered with a, "but he will tell you the same thing I'm telling you" thing and then left the air (without even the annoying music to let me know she was still somehow there!) for several minutes. When she returned to the line she told me the NJ taxes would be removed. And they have been. I forgot about the part where she tried to convince me that a 917 area code was exclusive to NJ. I told her that that was ridiculous, but okay, then why am I paying NY taxes too?
    In short, be persistent!
  • inpixels
    inpixels

    How is T-Mobile reception (and data) holding up

    in

    -Crown Heights

    -Prospect Heights

    -Brooklyn Heights

    -Boerum Hill

    -Downtown Brooklyn

    anyone???

    I'm thinking of switching over for $30 prepaid 4G w/Samsung Galaxy Phone & 100 minutes and use this as a hotspot

    I use Google Voice & Groove IP so not concerned about the minutes.

    I currently use Virgin Mobile MiFi for wireless ... been grandfathered in at $40/month for "unlimited" w/throttle at 5G. I also use AT&T pay as you go for a "reliable" cell phone.

    If I got to T-mobile it will allow me to consolidate (rather then carrying around a Galaxy which I have to pair with a MiFi and a miniature cell phone)

    http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans

    or can someone recommend a different service???

  • eastbloc
    eastbloc

    Is it HSPA+ or LTE? I don't think T-Mobile has LTE yet.

    Also, your MiFi is mostly a battery and a radio. Your Galaxy will last a fraction of the time on battery as a hotspot -- maybe as little as an hour.

  • architecture biscuit
    architecture biscuit

    I use T-Mobile and their $30 prepaid per month plan and have had no problems with reception in Brooklyn. In fact, it's much better than the reception I was getting before with ATT or Virgin.

    I guess the phone you use and the strength of its antennae is a major factor too, but I'm happy with T-Mobile and find it both cheap and reliable.

  • inpixels
    inpixels

    Not sure eastbloc. I'm o.k. with 3G (which I currently have) and usually leave my MiFi plugged in when I can (which oddly is most of the time)

    Thanks for relaying the good experience Architecture---

    My past experience with Verizon was terrible in Prospect Heights (I live near Brooklyn museum....)

    AT&T has great reception for me --- but (and this is a big but) I was with Cingular which was acquire by AT&T so I may be on a different network?

    Since i'm pairing a a mifi card to a samsung 4" tablet there is no slot for a sim card and will have to buy a new phone...

    Perhaps the best way to approach this is to buy the prepaid plan ---initially buying the SIM Card only and try to borrow a friend's phone to see how the data works and then buy a phone if it works well.

    basically i'm concerned that I buy a phone and the service sucks... then i'm out X $s for the phone. The $30 w/out a contract i can live with.

    I suppose I can still get a good price for a android phone from T-mobile after i'm already in the pre-paid plan? If not I let plan expire and then join again? (talking out loud here but suggestions welcome!)

  • eastbloc
    eastbloc

    You could consider getting a Galaxy Nexus directly from Google. It's $349 without a contract, and will work on any GSM network.

    It's a nice phone -- I have one.

    Reception-wise, I have Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T devices, and I would rank them in that order for both speed and reliability. AT&T is the worst in Brooklyn in my experience, although it has improved recently.

  • inpixels
    inpixels

    Thanks Eastblock.

    I think i'll get the Nexus from Google...not because it would be easier for me to transfer over to a different provider if T-mobile doesn't work out... but because it will probably be easier to unload on eBay or Amazon if I decide to sell an unlocked phone and go back to my old "system"

    Still mulling everything over though

  • eastbloc
    eastbloc

    The Nexus also does not have carrier customizations which often make the phone less usable, and lock you in to an upgrade cycle that is often far behind Google's or even nonexistent.

    With a Google-provided phone, there have reliably been at least two major OS upgrades supported for each model, which was not the case for the three other Android devices I've had.

  • inpixels
    inpixels

    Nexus Lacks microSD slot for storage expansion.

    Yikes. Guess i'll keep looking.

  • eastbloc
    eastbloc

    Correct. So does the iPhone. It's not an issue for me.

  • inpixels
    inpixels

    So i'm still trying to figure out my phone setup.

    But now I have free 4G mobile internet from FreedomPop http://www.freedompop.com ...which works absolutely great.

    So I may go with the Nexus @eastbloc recommended

    Nexus https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=galaxy_nexus_hspa

    Nexus looks like the way to go because the Galaxy SII & SIII are out of my budget + unlocked phones appear to have a ghost in the machine sometimes (can't trust that the phone will continue working).

    and use the Maxell Airstash stick http://www.airstash.com/ for additional storage if I feel limited by the storage in the Nexus

    I'll stick my AT&T prepaid card in -- Turn Off data services and pair it with my FreedomPop....

    I can always decide to try out T-mobile later on and cut my ties with FreedomPop & AT&T

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