Friend not getting acceptable coverage

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
GSM coverage. Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

"The Ghost of General Lee" <ghost@general.lee> wrote in message
news:lsssc0h13et6fohgg3cj345ia0kp90quio@4ax.com...
> I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
> X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
> GSM coverage. Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
> upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
> might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
> year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
> out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.

She could try a Nokia 6340i, IF it is offered in her area and on her calling
plan. Even if she has to switch calling plans, it might help. The Nokia
6340 has analog capability, which means it might offer better reception at
home. -Dave

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

"The Ghost of General Lee" <ghost@general.lee> wrote in message
news:lsssc0h13et6fohgg3cj345ia0kp90quio@4ax.com...
| I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
| X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
| GSM coverage. Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
| upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
| might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
| year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
| out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.

Cingular in Upstate, SC is 1900MHz GSM only. It is basically the old
Bellsouth Mobility network. The x427 from what I have heard is one of the
better phones for RF. I would assume it is beeter than the s307, because my
wife's is marginal at best. I don't know what area she is moving to in the
upstate, but Cingular has better service than most in the upstate as a
whole.
|

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

In article <lsssc0h13et6fohgg3cj345ia0kp90quio@4ax.com>,
The Ghost of General Lee <ghost@general.lee> wrote:

> I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
> X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
> GSM coverage.

Sounds like a perfectly valid reason to be let out of one's contract
with no ETF.




> Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
> upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
> might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
> year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
> out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 09:41:12 -0400, "Jason Cothran"
<reply@board.nomail> wrote:

>
>"The Ghost of General Lee" <ghost@general.lee> wrote in message
>news:lsssc0h13et6fohgg3cj345ia0kp90quio@4ax.com...
>| I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
>| X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
>| GSM coverage. Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
>| upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
>| might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
>| year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
>| out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.
>
>Cingular in Upstate, SC is 1900MHz GSM only. It is basically the old
>Bellsouth Mobility network. The x427 from what I have heard is one of the
>better phones for RF. I would assume it is beeter than the s307, because my
>wife's is marginal at best. I don't know what area she is moving to in the
>upstate, but Cingular has better service than most in the upstate as a
>whole.

She is moving to Pelzer, two blocks from the Saluda river, between SC
8 & SC 20. She gets decent coverage everywhere else, it's just this
one hole.

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 13:30:43 GMT, "Robert M." <rmarkoff@faq.cIty>
wrote:

>In article <lsssc0h13et6fohgg3cj345ia0kp90quio@4ax.com>,
> The Ghost of General Lee <ghost@general.lee> wrote:
>
>> I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
>> X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
>> GSM coverage.
>
>Sounds like a perfectly valid reason to be let out of one's contract
>with no ETF.

Cingular says, "You should have thought about that before you decided
to move."

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

In article <ndduc0tnqs5jv570dliafd040t5tqnc2br@4ax.com>,
The Ghost of General Lee <ghost@general.lee> wrote:

> On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 13:30:43 GMT, "Robert M." <rmarkoff@faq.cIty>
> wrote:
>
> >In article <lsssc0h13et6fohgg3cj345ia0kp90quio@4ax.com>,
> > The Ghost of General Lee <ghost@general.lee> wrote:
> >
> >> I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
> >> X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
> >> GSM coverage.
> >
> >Sounds like a perfectly valid reason to be let out of one's contract
> >with no ETF.
>
> Cingular says, "You should have thought about that before you decided
> to move."

A letter to one's State's Attorney general will make them say something
more consumer friendly.

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

"The Ghost of General Lee" <ghost@general.lee> wrote in message
news:4aduc0pomkg22q6cmlbg7h5ga54equ0uhn@4ax.com...
| On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 09:41:12 -0400, "Jason Cothran"
| <reply@board.nomail> wrote:
|
| >
| >"The Ghost of General Lee" <ghost@general.lee> wrote in message
| >news:lsssc0h13et6fohgg3cj345ia0kp90quio@4ax.com...
| >| I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
| >| X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
| >| GSM coverage. Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
| >| upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
| >| might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
| >| year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
| >| out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.
| >
| >Cingular in Upstate, SC is 1900MHz GSM only. It is basically the old
| >Bellsouth Mobility network. The x427 from what I have heard is one of the
| >better phones for RF. I would assume it is beeter than the s307, because
my
| >wife's is marginal at best. I don't know what area she is moving to in
the
| >upstate, but Cingular has better service than most in the upstate as a
| >whole.
|
| She is moving to Pelzer, two blocks from the Saluda river, between SC
| 8 & SC 20. She gets decent coverage everywhere else, it's just this
| one hole.
|
Ahh yes, the Pelzer and Belton areas are relatively weak :-( .

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 09:08:23 -0400, "Jason Cothran"
<reply@board.nomail> wrote:

> Ahh yes, the Pelzer and Belton areas are relatively weak :-( .

But why does she get better reception down near Pelzer Rescue Squad,
in Piedmont, or in Williamston? She's on Smythe Street, almost on top
of one of the hills. It's high enough to look out over the houses
between her and the river and see the trees on the Greenville County
side. What irks her (and me) so much is first they blamed it on the
phones. She has two of them. Then after the replacements wouldn't
work down there, they told her two cells sites near the river were out
of service. She went about looking for and closing on a home.

Now that she's moved in, they tell her they have weak coverage there.
If they had told her that to begin with, she probably would have
looked in other places for a house. There was on the other end of the
street which got good reception. But she was assured it was simply a
matter of temporary equipment problems, and proceeded to look for a
house under the impression the problems would soon be fixed.

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

In article <mq11d091jj13gbo1sh44c4cgl27siq390k@4ax.com>,
The Ghost of General Lee <ghost@general.lee> wrote:

> On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 09:08:23 -0400, "Jason Cothran"
> <reply@board.nomail> wrote:
>
> > Ahh yes, the Pelzer and Belton areas are relatively weak :-( .
>
> But why does she get better reception down near Pelzer Rescue Squad,
> in Piedmont, or in Williamston? She's on Smythe Street, almost on top
> of one of the hills. It's high enough to look out over the houses
> between her and the river and see the trees on the Greenville County
> side. What irks her (and me) so much is first they blamed it on the
> phones. She has two of them. Then after the replacements wouldn't
> work down there, they told her two cells sites near the river were out
> of service. She went about looking for and closing on a home.
>
> Now that she's moved in, they tell her they have weak coverage there.
> If they had told her that to begin with, she probably would have
> looked in other places for a house. There was on the other end of the
> street which got good reception. But she was assured it was simply a
> matter of temporary equipment problems, and proceeded to look for a
> house under the impression the problems would soon be fixed.

Never believe anything a CSR tells you.

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

"The Ghost of General Lee" <ghost@general.lee> wrote in message
news:mq11d091jj13gbo1sh44c4cgl27siq390k@4ax.com...
| On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 09:08:23 -0400, "Jason Cothran"
| <reply@board.nomail> wrote:
|
| > Ahh yes, the Pelzer and Belton areas are relatively weak :-( .
|
| But why does she get better reception down near Pelzer Rescue Squad,
| in Piedmont, or in Williamston? She's on Smythe Street, almost on top
| of one of the hills. It's high enough to look out over the houses
| between her and the river and see the trees on the Greenville County
| side. What irks her (and me) so much is first they blamed it on the
| phones. She has two of them. Then after the replacements wouldn't
| work down there, they told her two cells sites near the river were out
| of service. She went about looking for and closing on a home.
|
| Now that she's moved in, they tell her they have weak coverage there.
| If they had told her that to begin with, she probably would have
| looked in other places for a house. There was on the other end of the
| street which got good reception. But she was assured it was simply a
| matter of temporary equipment problems, and proceeded to look for a
| house under the impression the problems would soon be fixed.
|

I'm not real sure what the reason for the signal problems in her particular
area are, but I do know that the x427 has a good reputation for it's RF, so
it is likely just a weak area. More than likely the different "excuses" she
got from CS were because they typically just don't know, or refuse to admit
that the area is just weak. It was likely level 1 reps she was speaking
with, and they just spout out whatever will terminate the call quicker. I
don't mean this as anything personal, but I for one wouldn't base the
purchase of a home on the quality of cellular service with one particular
carrier there, and certainly not on the word of a customer service rep. I
have no idea if tghey record conversations, but I would guess if they did,
they wouldn't give you access to them anyway. Butif by chance you could get
access, the assurance that there were towers down might actually be a way to
get out of contract without paying the ETF. It mightbe worth a shot to see.

Good Luck!

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

"Robert M." <rmarkoff@faq.cIty> wrote in message news:<rmarkoff-E888BA.16204016062004@news01.east.earthlink.net>...

> > Now that she's moved in, they tell her they have weak coverage there.
> > If they had told her that to begin with, she probably would have
> > looked in other places for a house. There was on the other end of the
> > street which got good reception...

> Never believe anything a CSR tells you.

Umm, why in God's Green Earth would anybody let a particular company's
cellular reception dictate what house to buy?

Compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars a house costs, why
let a $150 ETF even be a factor? Cancel the Cingular service, pay the
$150, and buy a phone from a service that works in her house (if
that's important to her- it is, after all, a MOBILE phone- reception
in the house might not be the ultimate factor in considering what
service to use anyway!)

Obviously she liked this house better or she would've bought the "one
on the other end of the street" with good reception. She should just
consider the EFT a "moving expense" of buying the better house and get
on with her life!

Prior to moving from Kansas City to our new house in Denver, I set my
wife up with new cellular service (we were with Cingular but they
didn't service Denver), only to find out AT&T didn't cover our
neighborhood. (As she told me via text message, since they went
through but voice couldn't!) I arrive
in Denver the following day and we shopped for new service, finally
choosing T-Mobile (over Sprint- no other services besides those two
worked in our neighborhood!)

We certainly didn't regret buying this particular house just because
cell reception was less than sporty here!

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

On 18 Jun 2004 23:08:09 -0700, elecconnec@aol.com (Todd Allcock)
wrote:

>> Never believe anything a CSR tells you.
>
>Umm, why in God's Green Earth would anybody let a particular company's
>cellular reception dictate what house to buy?

She didn't let a company's reception dictate what house she bought.
She purchased cellular service, then when she found a home she liked
and discovered the service problem, she was given assurance that two
sites were temporarily down and service would soon be restored in that
area. And it is important to her because where she is moving to is a
long distance call to many of the people she talks with, and she will
be relying on Cingular service for those calls.

>Compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars a house costs, why
>let a $150 ETF even be a factor? Cancel the Cingular service, pay the
>$150, and buy a phone from a service that works in her house (if
>that's important to her- it is, after all, a MOBILE phone- reception
>in the house might not be the ultimate factor in considering what
>service to use anyway!)

See above. And multiple it by two. She has two lines. And her house
didn't cost in the hundreds of thousands. This is a recently widowed
mother, financially drained (but not completely exhausted) by the
burden of her late husband's final 2 years of illness, trying to get
into her first home after 20+ years of renting. Throwing away $300
like that takes on a bit more significance to her right now.

>Obviously she liked this house better or she would've bought the "one
>on the other end of the street" with good reception. She should just
>consider the EFT a "moving expense" of buying the better house and get
>on with her life!

After having the problem blamed on her phones and waiting for their
replacements to arrive, she was told there was a temporary service
outage and the two towers that were alleged to be out of service would
be back in operation soon. Then she was told, after closing on the
house, that there were no towers out of service in that area, and that
she was basically SOL.

But today, we discovered it was a moot point. It was just a matter of
not knowing which CSR to believe. Her signal was at peak levels all
day today anywhere on the property she went with either phone. There
really must have been two cell sites out that came back on line in the
past 48 hours.

Cingular just needs to do a better job of getting outage reports back
down to their tier 1 techs so they can give their customers a straight
answer when they call.

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 22:07:27 -0400, "Jason Cothran"
<reply@board.nomail> wrote:

>I
>don't mean this as anything personal, but I for one wouldn't base the
>purchase of a home on the quality of cellular service with one particular
>carrier there, and certainly not on the word of a customer service rep.

No offense taken, but if a tier 2 tech tells you they have two towers
out, calls out the ID numbers of the sites that are down, and tells
you the problem is being worked on, isn't a customer allowed to give
that at least some credibility? But, it appears the tier 2 tech was
right and the tier 1 tech was wrong. Her signal was at peak all day.
They obviously fixed the problem.

As for me, I simply cannot make the same statement you did. I've been
quite happy with my current provider (VZW). I anticipate moving in
3-4 years, and signal strength on their network will be a major factor
in where I look for a new home.

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

>
> As for me, I simply cannot make the same statement you did. I've been
> quite happy with my current provider (VZW). I anticipate moving in
> 3-4 years, and signal strength on their network will be a major factor
> in where I look for a new home.
>

You've GOT to be kidding. Whether Verizon (or anybody else) has a good
signal is not even on my list, when I'm house shopping. Coincidentally, I
am house shopping. After I move into the house, then I'll look into the
local cell phone services and which one (if any) will work for me where I'm
living. -Dave

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

On Sun, 20 Jun 2004 07:35:40 -0400, "Dave C." <mdupre@sff.net> wrote:

>You've GOT to be kidding. Whether Verizon (or anybody else) has a good
>signal is not even on my list, when I'm house shopping.

Well, we each have our own priorities, don't we?

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

In article <2jlb4aF1203btU1@uni-berlin.de>, "Dave C." <mdupre@sff.net>
wrote:

> You've GOT to be kidding. Whether Verizon (or anybody else) has a good
> signal is not even on my list, when I'm house shopping. Coincidentally, I
> am house shopping. After I move into the house, then I'll look into the
> local cell phone services and which one (if any) will work for me where I'm
> living. -Dave

Still an acceptable question to ask your Realtor, and one they
***should** be able to answer if they're any good.

 

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On Sun, 20 Jun 2004 14:57:26 -0400, "Dave C." <mdupre@sff.net> wrote:

>To expect a realtor to know what cell phone
>service works best at your house (or even your neighborhood) is ridiculous.

I'd have to agree with you on this one. The selling agent wasn't even
sure who *his* provider was.

 

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In article <2jm50kF12f50gU1@uni-berlin.de>, "Dave C." <mdupre@sff.net>
wrote:

> To expect a realtor to know what cell phone
> service works best at your house (or even your neighborhood) is ridiculous.

Sorry you've dealt with Realtors that want to be Taxi drivers and clerks.
It's entirely reasonable to ask them about cellular coverage.

 

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"Røbert M." <rmarkoff@faq.cIty> wrote in message
news:rmarkoff-F7CFC9.18391820062004@news02.east.earthlink.net...
> In article <2jm50kF12f50gU1@uni-berlin.de>, "Dave C." <mdupre@sff.net>
> wrote:
>
> > To expect a realtor to know what cell phone
> > service works best at your house (or even your neighborhood) is
ridiculous.
>
> Sorry you've dealt with Realtors that want to be Taxi drivers and clerks.
> It's entirely reasonable to ask them about cellular coverage.

How about soil content? A complete list of local wild life? Emissions
numbers for all of the cars in the neighborhood? None of these are any more
ridiculous than asking about cellular coverage. What do you expect them to
base their knowledge on- owning a phone from each carrier?