Which T-Mo Phone Has Best Sensitivity

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GK - 25 Aug 2007 22:12 GMT

My GF has T-Mobile and needs to be able to use the phone in the basement
of the house. She had a Siemens phone that worked decent there until it
had an unrelated charging problem. Tried to get a replacement for that,
tried a new Nokia 6086, but it only recieves calls less than half the
time and only when in a certain position.

So the question is, does anyone know which phone to try for best
sensitivity?

Other related question, do any of those passive repeater antennas work
or are they just a joke like the antenna stickers?

GK

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Todd Allcock - 25 Aug 2007 22:47 GMT

> My GF has T-Mobile and needs to be able to use the phone in the basement
> of the house. She had a Siemens phone that worked decent there until
> it had an unrelated charging problem. Tried to get a replacement for
> that, tried a new Nokia 6086, but it only recieves calls less than
> half the time and only when in a certain position.

Does yur GF ave a broadband connetion at home? The 6086, if I'm not
mistaken, is one of the new "Hotspot @ Home" handsets that can work
over Wi-Fi as well as cellular.

If you signup for tne H @ H service for an extra $10/month, wi-fi
calls are free, but even without the service you can use wi-fi to
place calls in weak reception areas (but the calls are billed the
same as a cellular call.) Even if she doesn't have wi-fi t home, the
next door neighbor might! ;-)

> So the question is, does anyone know which phone to try for best
> sensitivity?

I like the crummy little Nokia 6030 for reception (I preferred it's
predecessor the 6010 even more, but it's no longer available.)

However, the wi-fi capability of the 6086 will let it work in many
places no other phone would- even in areas with no phone service as
long as there's accessable wi-fi around.

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"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures
or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for
all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with
ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003

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clifto - 26 Aug 2007 06:25 GMT

> If you signup for tne H @ H service for an extra $10/month, wi-fi
> calls are free, but even without the service you can use wi-fi to
> place calls in weak reception areas (but the calls are billed the
> same as a cellular call.)

I can't cite this, but up until just a few minutes ago I had a web page
up on my browser where people who appeared to know what they were talking
about were saying that the billing is funky; if the call is originated
on wi-fi, it's not billed regardless of whether it switches over to the
RF network. (Similarly, if the call starts on RF, you're billed for all
the minutes you switch to Wi-Fi.)

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Tiger Direct forcibly checking receipts?
http://tinyurl.com/2hz3ht

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Todd Allcock - 26 Aug 2007 06:37 GMT

> I can't cite this, but up until just a few minutes ago I had a web page
> up on my browser where people who appeared to know what they were talking
> about were saying that the billing is funky; if the call is originated
> on wi-fi, it's not billed regardless of whether it switches over to the
> RF network. (Similarly, if the call starts on RF, you're billed for all
> the minutes you switch to Wi-Fi.)

Correct- it's a glitch in T-Mo's billing system- calls are billed
based on how they start. (Again, this only applies to people on the
Hotspot @ Home plan w/free wi-fi calls. My point was that you don't
HAVE to be on the plan to use wi-fi for better reception, but without
the plan all wi-fi calls count as cellular minutes.)

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BruceR - 25 Aug 2007 22:58 GMT

I've always found that Motorola, particularly the v3i they currently
offer, to have excellent reception in hard to reach places. Note: On
October 4 T-Mo will launch the Razr V8 which is a VERY nice phone.
As for the passive repeater antennas, assuming you're talking about the
pigtail antennas and not the worthless stickers, they MAY help as I have
used them in the past with some success. Try a better phone first. If
you do try the pigtail antenna you'll need to try it on different sides
of the house to determine where the towers are. Also, consult TMo's
online coverage map to how strong the signal is in the area.

e:

> My GF has T-Mobile and needs to be able to use the phone in the
> basement of the house. She had a Siemens phone that worked decent
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> GK

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Steve Sobol - 26 Aug 2007 00:24 GMT

> I've always found that Motorola, particularly the v3i they currently
> offer, to have excellent reception in hard to reach places.

Our previous Moto phones, v188's both, and my current PEBL aren't all that
wonderful. I got the PEBL for reasons unrelated to reception, and I'd be
happy if the reception was decent, but sometimes it sucks... and now that T-Mo
sells Nokia phones with the feature set I need, I'd probably make my next
phone a Nokia. Nokia GSM phones seem to do better reception-wise than Moto,
while Moto has the edge with reception on CDMA phones.

> October 4 T-Mo will launch the Razr V8 which is a VERY nice phone.

I hope they've fixed the Razr keypad issues by then.

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Steve Sobol, Victorville, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED
"Drench yourself in words unspoken / Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins / The rest is still unwritten"
- Natasha Beddingfield

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BruceR - 26 Aug 2007 01:58 GMT

>> I've always found that Motorola, particularly the v3i they currently
>> offer, to have excellent reception in hard to reach places.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> I hope they've fixed the Razr keypad issues by then.

What are the keypad issues?

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News - 26 Aug 2007 00:38 GMT

> My GF has T-Mobile and needs to be able to use the phone in the basement
> of the house. She had a Siemens phone that worked decent there until it
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> GK

Ericsson T-39m. Best GSM radio ever.

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Evan Platt - 22 Sep 2007 16:23 GMT

>My GF has T-Mobile and needs to be able to use the phone in the basement
>of the house. She had a Siemens phone that worked decent there until it
>had an unrelated charging problem.

So why not look for that model on eBay?

>Other related question, do any of those passive repeater antennas work
>or are they just a joke like the antenna stickers?

The ones you physically install and cost $500 or so? Yes.

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