Best Call/Text Reception?

[KarmanMonkey]

I work in a building with horrific reception; often I'll get all my texts at the end of the day when I leave the building. I was having a hard time finding anything recent on the connectivity of current models. Since I don't spend much time at my desk, it would be nice if my wife who's at home with our 3 month old had a reliable way to reach me during the day. Bonus points if you know of any actual testing that's been done (i.e. if I have something more reliable to go on than anecdotal personal experience)

 

[Titillating]

Well, this is slightly anecdotal seeing as I don't have references handy, but your reception is tied more to your service provider than to your phone. Basically, each service provider's network operates at different band frequencies which they don't share because money is more important. This is the most important factor because high frequency bands have trouble penetrating building walls.

For instance, I use T-Mobile, whose 4G service runs at, I believe, the 2100 MHZ band or somewhere around there. I get utterly terrible reception indoors, but am fine outside. My friend in a similar styled office building has Verizon, who uses the 700 MHZ band. His reception is crystal clear, because the lower frequency waves are able to penetrate the walls.

This is information you'll find readily, and in much greater depth, through just about any search engine. Indoors cell reception is one of the biggest complaints against T-Mobile and any other provider who runs their network through one of the higher frequencies. For indoors cell service, at least in the U.S., you'll want to go with Verizon or AT&T as they operate on the lower frequencies for the most part.