Coverage when bars are present but display doesn't say "Cingular"??

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Mike G. - 27 Jun 2005 01:31 GMT

I got my daughter the GoPhone package last week with the LG 1300.
There is pretty good coverage around our city; the signal strength
indicator usually shows three or four bars with a "G" next to it and
the word "Cingular" appears in the display. However, at our house,
we get about two bars but without the word "Cingular." She can't use
the phone at our house; when trying to place a call, the phone says
"emergency use only." I guess we are locked on to some other
company's signal. But I assumed we would still be able to use the
phone, maybe at a higher charge per minute or something. Is this
normal, to get an "emergency use only" message even though we are
showing a signal in the area? Can others (say, the monthly plans
rather than the GoPhone) use the phone in this condidion? I called
customer service and the rep said that if I was showing a signal, the
phone should work. She was of no use other than that.

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Tropical Haven - 29 Jun 2005 01:36 GMT

> I got my daughter the GoPhone package last week with the LG 1300.
> There is pretty good coverage around our city; the signal strength
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> customer service and the rep said that if I was showing a signal, the
> phone should work. She was of no use other than that.

What city are you located in?

I have an old AT&T GSM plan. I use several handsets, including a
Blackberry, a Motorola, a Noka, and an LG. With my Blackberry, Motorola,
or Nokia, I see some kind of "Emergency Use Only" type of message with no
signal indication. However, with my LG L1150, when I see the "SOS Only",
the phone also gives the signal strength, even though the phone cannot be
used for personal phone calls, only predetermined emergency numbers (in
North America, namely, 9-1-1.)

My plan has no roaming or long distance anywhere in the U.S. or Canada.
So far, I have only seen the emergency type messages when I try to lock
on to T-Mobile (Florida) or when T-Mobile is the only signal available.

TH

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Steve Crow - 01 Jul 2005 05:10 GMT

You are likely roaming on another carrier's GSM network, probably T-Mobile. Since the majority of GSM prepaid services cannot roam, you are getting the "Emergency Only" condition when your phone hits the other network.

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