Taneytown MD Signal Fading -- looking for options

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JW - 19 Jun 2008 00:31 GMT

The signal fades after a minute or two while in my house in Taneytown MD.
We moved here from Frederick MD and had no trouble with signals until we
moved here. Outside of the house it seems OK. I've called Sprint a few
times about this and the call always end up with "I will notify engineering
about the problem."
Nothing has improved. The last call today the tech told me to keep the
phone on Roaming Only. Although I haven't tried it yet the option doesn't
seem to be viable -- even on Roaming Only the bars vary from one bar to 4
bars while I sit and watch the phone. Plus I can imagine after a few weeks
of this I would be getting a "Cease and Desist" letter from Sprint.

My contract runs out in July and I need to explore my options. Changing
carriers is the obvious choice, but I've been with Sprint for a lot of
years, and haven't had that much trouble with them, other than the
occasional billing error.
My questions are can I transfer my number and Treo 700p to another carrier
and if so -- how?
Is there a better way to deal with this with Sprint -- maybe getting a tech
to come by the house ;)

They claim there are sufficient towers in the area and they also claim that
when my signal starts to fade it should automatically switch to another
carrier -- I believe they mentioned in this area they have a contract with
Verizon. But that doesn't happen.
Even when I switch the phone from Allow Roaming to Roaming Only the Signal
gets lost for a second or two.

Sorry for the long winded post -- any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks,
JAW

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David G. Imber - 19 Jun 2008 05:33 GMT

>Is there a better way to deal with this with Sprint -- maybe getting a tech
>to come by the house ;)

    I have gotten a technician to come out, but it took four
months of hell during which I constantly and patiently pointed out
that the problem was not my instrument or my geographic location.

    It would be a good idea to check this behavior with another
phone, preferably the same model, in the same situation. You write
"we", but I'm wondering if you're talking about one phone or two
showing the same behavior. There is always the possibility it's the
instrument.

    DGI

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JW - 20 Jun 2008 17:06 GMT

>>Is there a better way to deal with this with Sprint -- maybe getting a
>>tech
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> DGI

Both my wife and I have a Treo700P and we both have the same problems with
the signal fading -- we do not have the problems -- say in Westminster which
is 9 miles SE of here.

Thanks

JW

Reply to this Message

dafydd - 19 Jun 2008 13:56 GMT

> The signal fades after a minute or two while in my house in Taneytown MD.
> We moved here from Frederick MD and had no trouble with signals until we
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
> Thanks,
> JAW

As DGI suggests, it is 'possible' that it is device oriented, however,
as the change happened at the same time as your move, I would be more
likely to believe that it is a problem with either where your home is
located in relation to the nearest towers, or something in the make up
of your home itself that is causing the degradation of the service
versus what the signal is outside the home. The device would switch
to a different carrier's signal if the sprint signal goes completely
away, AND you have the device set on automatic for the roam setting.
If it is on Sprint only, then it will not. You state that the signal
on roam only 'gets lost for a second or two'. Do you mean that it
fluctuates between having signal and no signal, or that it fades for a
second or two and then is strong and remains so? If it is
fluctuating, then most likely, the area you are in simply isn't the
greatest for the CDMA carriers in your area as far as in building
coverage is concerned, assuming that there is no device issue.

In regards to the 'Cease and Desist' comment, while technically they
would have a right under the contract to terminate services if you are
using more than 50% of your minutes in roaming mode, it usually takes
months, and even years of this type of situation for any action to be
taken.

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JW - 20 Jun 2008 17:05 GMT

On Jun 18, 6:31 pm, "JW" <j...@ungodly.net> wrote:

> The signal fades after a minute or two while in my house in Taneytown MD.
> We moved here from Frederick MD and had no trouble with signals until we
[quoted text clipped - 30 lines]
> Thanks,
> JAW

>> End of previous message

Why is my email reader not putting >> in front of your response??

Both my wife and I have a Treo700P and we both have the same problems with
the signal fading -- we do not have the problems -- say in Westminster which
is 9 miles SE of here.

I checked the Sprint coverage area and if I remember correctly it is
classified as "Good", at least it was one level down from the "Best."
Both our phones are set to "Allow Roaming" -- I was told it would switch to
roaming if the signal is lost but it is not doing it.

If I set it to "Roaming only" I lose the signal for a moment or two, i.e. No
Signal. Then after I get a roaming signal and watch the signal bars they
fluctuates from 1 bar to 4 or 5 bars as I sit there and watch. Not rapidly
but the bars do change.

If I were to change to another carrier what are the chances of keeping the
same phone and number?

JW

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Jerome Zelinske - 21 Jun 2008 06:52 GMT

Same number yes, but you would have to get a phone from the new
carrier.

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