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Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / Fido / September 2003No signal any longer... :-(
Hi, I moved to a different area in Markham and my 3390's signal is now zilch indoors. I barely get 1 or 2 bars and that's only for brief moments in the day. Their "solution" was that I should try a newer model phone. Can I go to any store and buy a GSM phone and put my SIM card in it? I don't want to buy a phone from Fido cuz of their prices. Many thanks! Yes you can buy a USED GSM phone cheaper than Fido sells them as NEW, but you'll either have to make sure it is UNLOCKED when you get it, or you'll have to have it unlocked. Unlocking will cost between $25 and $50, plus your time and effort. The 3390 actually has fairly good RF characteristics, so even if you bought a phone with the BEST RF POSSIBLE, it is unlikely that it will get service where your 3390 cannot. If having service at home is deathly important to you (like you don't have a landline phone there) then you will have to consider switching to a different provider, or hope that Microcell Connexions soon puts in the planned site at McCowan & Highway 7 (assuming you live in the dead zone caused by the lack of that site).  SignatureSteve Punter http://www.arcx.com/sites Thank you sincerely for your detailed reply. I am now learning more than ever before about this entire cell phone technology (and realizing how shafted I've been by Fido customer service all these years). Steve I also read your website with great interest and appreciation for your knowledge. I didn't know how clueless I was! On that note, where do I find websites/stores in Canada or the US that sell like-new/used GSM phones for very reasonable prices??? Would it be cheaper to buy US and ship or to just buy local??? For the record I moved to Bur Oak Ave. just northeast of 16th Ave. and Markham Rd. It's a developing area with hundreds of houses going up everywhere. Fido's customer service's best response is that they don't guarantee service indoors, which, while is fair in certain cases (say I have a chronic fear of being bombed and lived in a 6ft thick concrete bunker under my house and want my cellphone to work still), I imagine that not being able to receive a signal from the upstairs level of a house that is well within their coverage area would be an exception rather than the norm, as their customer service agents seem to imply by hiding behind their disclaimers about "indoor" reception. I am very suspicious that whatever tower is servicing my area is barely cutting it. I stand in the front doorway and I get a signal. I shut the door and it's gone. > Yes you can buy a USED GSM phone cheaper than Fido sells them as NEW, but > you'll either have to make sure it is UNLOCKED when you get it, or you'll [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Connexions soon puts in the planned site at McCowan & Highway 7 (assuming > you live in the dead zone caused by the lack of that site). >I am very suspicious that whatever tower is servicing my area is >barely cutting it. I stand in the front doorway and I get a signal. >I shut the door and it's gone. Try the following experiment. With the door open stand just inside the threshold. Check for signal level. Now check the signal level by the window(s) located on the same wall as the door. Hey Ototin, I tried your suggestion and here's what happens: I stand in the threshold of the open doorway and face southwest and the signal bars shoot up. I move laterally to the adjacent inside windows, still pointing southwest and I promptly lose one or two bars (it kinda hovers back and forth). I'd say the signal gets cut in half or by a third at best. I've tried that while keeping the phone on and also from a power on but the signal strength never reaches full while inside the windows. This isn't bulletproof glass, just standard double paned insulated. In fact, if I then put my hand over the 3390's built in antenna, the signal disappears completely. That to me is NOT a good indication of a reliable signal/service and Fido is going to have to answer for that. I'm paying for the bloody thing. After now hearing that there is a "missing link" at McCowan/Hwy 7, I am more inclined to believe that whatever cell tower is actually servicing my area is way too far out to accommodate the area adequately. > >I am very suspicious that whatever tower is servicing my area is > >barely cutting it. I stand in the front doorway and I get a signal. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > level. Now check the signal level by the window(s) located on the same > wall as the door. (oblivious <jwestmaas@hotmail.com> uttered:) > I stand in the threshold of the open doorway and face southwest and > the signal bars shoot up. I move laterally to the adjacent inside [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > also from a power on but the signal strength never reaches full while > inside the windows. Does the signal reach full when you're standing outside or in the doorway? I'm no expert, but if you're getting a full signal outside, and almost nothing inside, it sounds like you live in a wrought-iron house. > This isn't bulletproof glass, just standard double paned insulated. > In fact, if I then put my hand over the 3390's built in antenna, the > signal disappears completely. That to me is NOT a good indication > of a reliable signal/service and Fido is going to have to answer for > that. Again, I'm no expert, but AFAIK putting your hand over an internal antenna will really mash the signal, even when you're in an area where it's strong. > After now hearing that there is a "missing link" at McCowan/Hwy 7, I > am more inclined to believe that whatever cell tower is actually > servicing my area is way too far out to accommodate the area > adequately. If you haven't already, have a look at Steve's excellent site and see for yourself how close Microcell's towers are: http://www.arcx.com/sites/Microcell-East.htm Rick Signaturekey CF8F8A75 / print C5C1 F87D 5056 D2C0 D5CE D58F 970F 04D1 CF8F 8A75 To speak much is one thing; to speak well, another. :Sophocles >On that note, where do I find websites/stores in Canada >or the US that sell like-new/used GSM phones for very >reasonable prices??? Would it be cheaper to buy US and >ship or to just buy local??? That's not really my area of expertise. Hopefully others will see your message and provide you with some worthwhile answers. Sorry. >Fido's customer service's best response is that they don't guarantee >service indoors, which, while is fair in certain cases (say I have a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >than the norm, as their customer service agents seem to imply by >hiding behind their disclaimers about "indoor" reception. Stock customer service answers aside, the bottom line is that NO cellular provider can guarantee signals will be strong enough in 100% of the places to provide usable service inside a structure (even the second floor of a wood-framed house). Site proximity is ALWAYS your friend, and in the case of 16th & Markham Road the closest sites are Rogers/Telus PCS/Telus Mike. >I am very suspicious that whatever tower is servicing my area is >barely cutting it. I stand in the front doorway and I get a signal. >I shut the door and it's gone. If the signal is weak, what you just described is very likely, especially if you have a front door containing a metal core, or metal skin (and many do). The Fido site serving your area is likely the one on Markham Road down by Highway 7, or possibly the one at Major MacKenzie & Kennedy. SignatureSteve Punter http://www.arcx.com/sites > Fido's customer service's best response is that they don't guarantee > service indoors, which, while is fair in certain cases Actually, it is fair in all cases. The mobile telcos have little tructs that can roam a region's street to monitor signal strength, but they don't crash into home to verify signal strength inside a home. If you look at the USA Verizon commercials, the "can you hear me now?" guy is always outdoors :-) Also, because homes vary in the way they are built, Fido might have service inside home #1 but not inside the home #2 that is next door. Having said this, I would think that Microcell has enough experience by now to be able to know that if you do not have a certain signal strength outdoors, then you won't have service indoors. Having said this, I think it is lame for sa telco to just say "we don't garantee service indoors". If you want a mobile phone to be reliable, you need to have the expectation that your phone will work indoors and outdoors. The one technology when it really only works outdoors is satelite phones since you need line of sight to a satellite. But for mobile phones, it is just a question of having the cells close enough so that the whole area has a signal that is strong enough to penetrate into homes. Just how did FIDO's customer "shaft" you all these years?? > Thank you sincerely for your detailed reply. I am now learning more > than ever before about this entire cell phone technology (and [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > Connexions soon puts in the planned site at McCowan & Highway 7 (assuming > > you live in the dead zone caused by the lack of that site). hi, you might want to try HOFO... it's at www.howardforums.com... there is a forum there that is dedicated in BST of GSM phones... hth > Thank you sincerely for your detailed reply. I am now learning more > than ever before about this entire cell phone technology (and [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > Connexions soon puts in the planned site at McCowan & Highway 7 (assuming > > you live in the dead zone caused by the lack of that site). |
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