Friend not getting acceptable coverage

I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
GSM coverage. Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.

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"The Ghost of General Lee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
> X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
> GSM coverage. Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
> upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
> might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
> year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
> out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.

She could try a Nokia 6340i, IF it is offered in her area and on her calling
plan. Even if she has to switch calling plans, it might help. The Nokia
6340 has analog capability, which means it might offer better reception at
home. -Dave

In article <[email protected]>,
The Ghost of General Lee <[email protected]> wrote:

> I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
> X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
> GSM coverage.

Sounds like a perfectly valid reason to be let out of one's contract
with no ETF.




> Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
> upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
> might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
> year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
> out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.

"The Ghost of General Lee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
| X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
| GSM coverage. Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
| upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
| might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
| year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
| out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.

Cingular in Upstate, SC is 1900MHz GSM only. It is basically the old
Bellsouth Mobility network. The x427 from what I have heard is one of the
better phones for RF. I would assume it is beeter than the s307, because my
wife's is marginal at best. I don't know what area she is moving to in the
upstate, but Cingular has better service than most in the upstate as a
whole.
|

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 09:41:12 -0400, "Jason Cothran"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"The Ghost of General Lee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>| I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
>| X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
>| GSM coverage. Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
>| upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
>| might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
>| year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
>| out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.
>
>Cingular in Upstate, SC is 1900MHz GSM only. It is basically the old
>Bellsouth Mobility network. The x427 from what I have heard is one of the
>better phones for RF. I would assume it is beeter than the s307, because my
>wife's is marginal at best. I don't know what area she is moving to in the
>upstate, but Cingular has better service than most in the upstate as a
>whole.

She is moving to Pelzer, two blocks from the Saluda river, between SC
8 & SC 20. She gets decent coverage everywhere else, it's just this
one hole.

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 09:41:12 -0400, "Jason Cothran"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"The Ghost of General Lee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>| I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
>| X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
>| GSM coverage. Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
>| upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
>| might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
>| year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
>| out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.
>
>Cingular in Upstate, SC is 1900MHz GSM only. It is basically the old
>Bellsouth Mobility network. The x427 from what I have heard is one of the
>better phones for RF. I would assume it is beeter than the s307, because my
>wife's is marginal at best. I don't know what area she is moving to in the
>upstate, but Cingular has better service than most in the upstate as a
>whole.

She is moving to Pelzer, two blocks from the Saluda river, between SC
8 & SC 20. She gets decent coverage everywhere else, it's just this
one hole.

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 13:30:43 GMT, "Robert M." <[email protected]>
wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> The Ghost of General Lee <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
>> X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
>> GSM coverage.
>
>Sounds like a perfectly valid reason to be let out of one's contract
>with no ETF.

Cingular says, "You should have thought about that before you decided
to move."

In article <[email protected]>,
The Ghost of General Lee <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 13:30:43 GMT, "Robert M." <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >In article <[email protected]>,
> > The Ghost of General Lee <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
> >> X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
> >> GSM coverage.
> >
> >Sounds like a perfectly valid reason to be let out of one's contract
> >with no ETF.
>
> Cingular says, "You should have thought about that before you decided
> to move."

A letter to one's State's Attorney general will make them say something
more consumer friendly.

"The Ghost of General Lee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 09:41:12 -0400, "Jason Cothran"
| <[email protected]> wrote:
|
| >
| >"The Ghost of General Lee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
| >news:[email protected]...
| >| I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
| >| X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
| >| GSM coverage. Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
| >| upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
| >| might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
| >| year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
| >| out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.
| >
| >Cingular in Upstate, SC is 1900MHz GSM only. It is basically the old
| >Bellsouth Mobility network. The x427 from what I have heard is one of the
| >better phones for RF. I would assume it is beeter than the s307, because
my
| >wife's is marginal at best. I don't know what area she is moving to in
the
| >upstate, but Cingular has better service than most in the upstate as a
| >whole.
|
| She is moving to Pelzer, two blocks from the Saluda river, between SC
| 8 & SC 20. She gets decent coverage everywhere else, it's just this
| one hole.
|
Ahh yes, the Pelzer and Belton areas are relatively weak :-( .

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 09:08:23 -0400, "Jason Cothran"
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Ahh yes, the Pelzer and Belton areas are relatively weak :-( .

But why does she get better reception down near Pelzer Rescue Squad,
in Piedmont, or in Williamston? She's on Smythe Street, almost on top
of one of the hills. It's high enough to look out over the houses
between her and the river and see the trees on the Greenville County
side. What irks her (and me) so much is first they blamed it on the
phones. She has two of them. Then after the replacements wouldn't
work down there, they told her two cells sites near the river were out
of service. She went about looking for and closing on a home.

Now that she's moved in, they tell her they have weak coverage there.
If they had told her that to begin with, she probably would have
looked in other places for a house. There was on the other end of the
street which got good reception. But she was assured it was simply a
matter of temporary equipment problems, and proceeded to look for a
house under the impression the problems would soon be fixed.

In article <[email protected]>,
The Ghost of General Lee <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 09:08:23 -0400, "Jason Cothran"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Ahh yes, the Pelzer and Belton areas are relatively weak :-( .
>
> But why does she get better reception down near Pelzer Rescue Squad,
> in Piedmont, or in Williamston? She's on Smythe Street, almost on top
> of one of the hills. It's high enough to look out over the houses
> between her and the river and see the trees on the Greenville County
> side. What irks her (and me) so much is first they blamed it on the
> phones. She has two of them. Then after the replacements wouldn't
> work down there, they told her two cells sites near the river were out
> of service. She went about looking for and closing on a home.
>
> Now that she's moved in, they tell her they have weak coverage there.
> If they had told her that to begin with, she probably would have
> looked in other places for a house. There was on the other end of the
> street which got good reception. But she was assured it was simply a
> matter of temporary equipment problems, and proceeded to look for a
> house under the impression the problems would soon be fixed.

Never believe anything a CSR tells you.

"The Ghost of General Lee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
| On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 09:08:23 -0400, "Jason Cothran"
| <[email protected]> wrote:
|
| > Ahh yes, the Pelzer and Belton areas are relatively weak :-( .
|
| But why does she get better reception down near Pelzer Rescue Squad,
| in Piedmont, or in Williamston? She's on Smythe Street, almost on top
| of one of the hills. It's high enough to look out over the houses
| between her and the river and see the trees on the Greenville County
| side. What irks her (and me) so much is first they blamed it on the
| phones. She has two of them. Then after the replacements wouldn't
| work down there, they told her two cells sites near the river were out
| of service. She went about looking for and closing on a home.
|
| Now that she's moved in, they tell her they have weak coverage there.
| If they had told her that to begin with, she probably would have
| looked in other places for a house. There was on the other end of the
| street which got good reception. But she was assured it was simply a
| matter of temporary equipment problems, and proceeded to look for a
| house under the impression the problems would soon be fixed.
|

I'm not real sure what the reason for the signal problems in her particular
area are, but I do know that the x427 has a good reputation for it's RF, so
it is likely just a weak area. More than likely the different "excuses" she
got from CS were because they typically just don't know, or refuse to admit
that the area is just weak. It was likely level 1 reps she was speaking
with, and they just spout out whatever will terminate the call quicker. I
don't mean this as anything personal, but I for one wouldn't base the
purchase of a home on the quality of cellular service with one particular
carrier there, and certainly not on the word of a customer service rep. I
have no idea if tghey record conversations, but I would guess if they did,
they wouldn't give you access to them anyway. Butif by chance you could get
access, the assurance that there were towers down might actually be a way to
get out of contract without paying the ETF. It mightbe worth a shot to see.

Good Luck!

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 06:38:43 -0400, "Dave C." <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"The Ghost of General Lee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
>> X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
>> GSM coverage. Does Cingular operate anything other than GSM in
>> upstate South Carolina? Is there a different phone she can get that
>> might get her better service at her new home? She just signed a 1
>> year contract, and while the phone will still be useful when she's
>> out, not having its use at home would be a PITA.
>
>She could try a Nokia 6340i, IF it is offered in her area and on her calling
>plan. Even if she has to switch calling plans, it might help. The Nokia
>6340 has analog capability, which means it might offer better reception at
>home. -Dave
>
Too bad Cingular doesnt use analog systems, though

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 13:30:43 GMT, "Robert M." <[email protected]>
wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> The Ghost of General Lee <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I have a friend who is moving and is having trouble with her Samsung
>> X427. Cingular has told her the area she's moving to has "very weak"
>> GSM coverage.
>
>Sounds like a perfectly valid reason to be let out of one's contract
>with no ETF.
>
Agreed. Particulary if said phone was bought mostly for 911 emergency
calls as alot of elderly folks are doing these days.

No signal, no EMS911

No ETF <bg>

"Røbert M." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, "Dave C." <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> > To expect a realtor to know what cell phone
> > service works best at your house (or even your neighborhood) is
ridiculous.
>
> Sorry you've dealt with Realtors that want to be Taxi drivers and clerks.
> It's entirely reasonable to ask them about cellular coverage.

How about soil content? A complete list of local wild life? Emissions
numbers for all of the cars in the neighborhood? None of these are any more
ridiculous than asking about cellular coverage. What do you expect them to
base their knowledge on- owning a phone from each carrier?