Tech Info needed about GSM External Antenna

I have been an AT&T wireless customer for approximately eight years. I use a Nokia 6340i phone that is in excellent condition for reasons that I will explain here. I live in a fringe area, 15 miles or so from the tower but have had a good cellular signal for these many years using an external antenna that connects only to the older Nokia phones.

I returned home from vacation at the end of August and discovered that I was receiving no signal when my phone was connected to the external antenna. However, I had a week connection (2 bars) when outside and test mode indicates a signal of between -85 dBm and -96 dBm when not connected to an external antenna. My home has steel siding. Thinking that the antenna was at fault, I ordered a new GSM-850 Yagi antenna.

I installed the new antenna but got no signal from the tower at Marshall, Mo. in the 850 MHz band. I rotated the new antenna a full 360 in small increments and picked up a strong signal (7 bars) off of a tower owned be an AT&T partner that is located in an adjacent county. I have also tried a 1900 MHz antenna but my phone still won't work on that frequency band alone.

In the past, I was able to have voice service on GSM-850 but it is obvious that something has changed with the implementation of 3G in this area.

Questions: AT&T tells me that my phone needs to send and receive on both the 850 and 1900 bands simultaneously? If so, the logical solution would be a dual band antenna. Is AT&T just blowing smoke or is there some validity in what they told me?

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Maybe you need a GSM850/1900Dual Band CellPhone Amplifier solve you cellphone Signal Problem. only Yagi antenna just a
Passive device only receive the good signal in outside ,the reveived signal still weak if outside signal very weak.

Thanks for your reply. My antenna, a Wilson 301111, is outdoors on a mast and has worked very well without a booster for almost 8 years. I see no reason to spend several hundred dollars on a booster that may not work. Did I mention that my house has steel siding? If not for that, I would not be having this issue. The question is, do I need a dual band antenna for my Nokia 6340i to work for voice only on a 3G network.

The following is the text of my conversation with a representative of AT&T:

Sam: My antenna (Wilson Yagi Cellular Antenna 301111) is not picking up a signal from your tower at Marshall, Mo. in the 850 MHz band. I rotated the antenna a full 360 in small increments and picked up a strong signal (7 bars) off of a tower owned be Chariton Valley Wireless Svc that is located in an adjacent county. I have also tried a 1900 MHz antenna but my phone still won't work on that frequency band alone.
In the past, I was able to have voice service on GSM-850 but it is obvious that something has changed with the implementation of 3G in this area. Is there anything that you can do to lock my phone to the GSM-850
band or must my phone now send and receive on both the 850 and 1900 bands?

Welcome to AT&T Chat. My name is 'Jewell ' and I’ll be happy to assist you today.
Thank You for contacting ATT Technical Support Chat. Please allow me 3-4 minutes to read the notes on account
Sam: OK! thank you Jewell.
Sam: I would ad that signal strength is not an issue here. Test mode indicates a signal of between -85 dBm and -96 dBm when my phone is not connected to an external antenna.
Jewell: I do apologize, but with the device you are using there is no way to turn off the 3 G
Jewell: Newer phones today, have the option of turning it off- however the Nokia does not,
Sam: OK, that takes me back to "must my phone now send and receive on both the 850 and 1900 bands?"
Jewell: Yes, whichever is available at the time of sending - you would be connected to.
Sam: Can you be more specific?
Jewell: It would depend on the tower that is picking up the signal; - It could be a 2 G or a 3 G
Sam: Can you tell me what the exact band the tower at Marshall, Mo. is using? If not, how can I get that information?
Jewell: Please let me check with some people, as I do not have that information,
Jewell: What is the exact zip code?
Sam: 65340
Jewell: Thank You .
Jewell: I do apologize, but the towers are all partnered in your area ,therefore I cannot see the information that you are asking for. I am sorry about that.
Jewell : Is there anything else I can assist you with today?
Sam: No, thank you.

From what I understand you'll never use both 850 and 1900 at the same time. The phone will pick a band that has the strongest signal and use it. Theoretically while you're in your home, the phone should use the same signal all the time since you're not moving and the signal is constant. It's hard to say what they could've changed on the tower. My suggestion would be to get a newer phone that still has an antenna jack and see if the results are different.

Also, reading up on how GSM works may help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gsm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_frequency_bands

tavenger5,
I would love to have a newer phone even if I don't need data. I wouldn't mind another 2 year contract and I'm not paranoid about GPRS. I just haven't found an AT&T compatible phone with an antenna jack. Any suggestions? I do have a small holding in Nokia and prefer that brand but at this point, any brand would do.


Also, reading up on how GSM works may help: GSM - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia GSM frequency bands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/QUOTE]

The squeaky wheel gets the grease or if you ***** loud enough and long enough, AT&T will stop trying to sell you another two year contract and do something to fix the problem. After months of , I just said the magic word, "Verizon" and two hours later, my phone started working like it always has.
Thanks all!