Author Topic: cell phone reception?  (Read 2470 times)

scrubbyfish

  • Guest
cell phone reception?
« on: August 19, 2016, 01:02:04 PM »
In short: What determines a cell phone's reception?

I live rurally. My cabin has never had lines for phone or cable, so I can't just connect a phone. I rely on cell.

Mine (5ish year old Samsung Galaxy Ace on Koodo/Telus) is crap, working only in very limited spots in my house, and even then sometimes poorly. I must not move it or me, or charge it while talking, etc.

I'm seeing other people in the area having success with their cell phones, but after asking around, have not been able to determine the common denominators in the working cells.

Is it newness of the phone? i.e., Do newer cell phones have more powerful receptors?

Is it the type/model of phone?

Is it the network? (Telus vs Rogers.)

ketchup

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4323
  • Age: 33
Re: cell phone reception?
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2016, 01:19:38 PM »
"It depends."

Look up what bands/frequencies your carrier uses, and ensure that your phone can hit all of them. 

Those often change with time or technologies (when LTE was deployed for example).

It looks like Telus uses 850mhz and 1900mhz for 3G, and bands 2, 4, 12/17/29, and 7 for LTE. 

From my best guess at the model of your phone, it can see 850mhz and 1900mhz for 3G but none of the LTE bands.  Your reception should benefit from a newer phone that does support all of them.  It's likely that Telus has decreased how much spectrum is dedicated to 3G in favor of LTE (or even abandoned it altogether in some places), so there's less to go around for older devices like yours.

Before you do all that though, it's probably worth checking coverage at your place with someone on the same network but with a newer phone to see if it's worth all the hassle.

MoonLiteNite

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 411
Re: cell phone reception?
« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2016, 07:47:17 PM »
Is it newness of the phone? i.e., Do newer cell phones have more powerful receptors?

Is it the type/model of phone?

Is it the network? (Telus vs Rogers.)

- Can cause it. Different phones have different antennas.

- Can cause it. Different phones have different antennas.

- Yes. Different carriers can use different towers, and not everyone shares their towers. So like in USA, tmobile folks can't use sprint towers.


The best you can do is find someone with a phone and carrier who has no issues in your house and go with that.
Or if you carrier offers UMA, wifi calling, or voip service, to use them. I have shotty service so i use tmobile, which has UMA for free.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2016, 07:48:56 PM by MoonLiteNite »

scrubbyfish

  • Guest
Re: cell phone reception?
« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2016, 10:14:46 AM »
It looks like Telus uses 850mhz and 1900mhz for 3G, and bands 2, 4, 12/17/29, and 7 for LTE. 

From my best guess at the model of your phone, it can see 850mhz and 1900mhz for 3G but none of the LTE bands.

This was fascinating!! I had no idea...

Thank you both very much. I didn't want to buy a phone on a random guess that maybe in this case newer=better, so this concrete info is very helpful. When I first moved here, I asked my phone company what I could do to improve reception. It said to use 3G and also to ask my phone to use other networks, but it doesn't find them so that didn't work at all.

I have a query in now to my phone company around these pieces you two have shared with me. Thanks!

1967mama

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2164
  • Age: 57
  • Location: Canada
Re: cell phone reception?
« Reply #4 on: August 20, 2016, 10:18:16 AM »
Once we lived in a rural area and my house was literally the last house reached by the Fido network on my country road. Fido actually did something on the tower to help improve my reception at our house! Impressive service!

scrubbyfish

  • Guest
Re: cell phone reception?
« Reply #5 on: August 20, 2016, 10:22:18 AM »
WOW!! That IS awesome!

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!