I started having a lot of problems with my cell service - No Service, calls don't go through, calls not received. Tracfone has been no help so far, saying I live in poor cell area - but why did phone work previously.
I've been Googling Cell Phone Signal Boosters a bit and have a few reviews printed to read later.
Has anyone here tried one of these? Comments, please? They seem be be quite expensive to gamble on ones help.
TIA
My neighbor has one but he is up north now. His northern carrier has lousy service here and his cell did not work in the house. He has some kind of repeater that has an outside antenna and a unit inside. He seems happy.
I'm not sure who's cell towers they use but they are at the mercy of them for signal
It maybe that the tower is out or they moved an antenna to better serve other areas.
I have a network extender supplied by Verizon (my carrier). Its made by Samsung and has an antenna to pick up my cell phone, a GPS antenna to tell it where it is, and an internet connection so the calls can be relayed to Verizon over the web. It doesn't boost cell signals. It works well. You don't need a fast connection either. However, I don't know if these would work with Tracfone.
Thane
On 20 Jul 2015 17:59:53 GMT, KenK wrote in
Why not just switch to a provider like Verizon or whoever?
It's a real good deal for Verizon (and your neighbors). Verizon makes you pay for the device because of their poor coverage. Verizon gets to use your data connection for free. And your neighbors phones do too...
BTW here's another happy customer:
Ah but....
If you complain enough about the service and how it was better with AT&T and my 3 phones will likely be switched back to AT&T, you'll get the network extender for free. I did this and the device was promptly shipped, installed and works. My cell coverage at home is now 4-5 bars. It doesn't extend far though and my neighbors can't connect, in fact my next door neighbor had to get her another one. As far as using my broadband, this is barely measurable and if you use your own Wifi for downloading pictures or phone software, it doesn't up your roaming data charges.
I'm not defending Verizon. Both V and AT&T have their greed controls turned to 11 on a 10 scale.
Thane
Ed Pawlowski wrote in news:KqCdnfBTiIMh3jDInZ2dnUU7- snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:
Finally got some assistance - maybe - from Tracfone. I'm currently on T- Mobile but have a new SIM card coming to switch me to AT&T towers. Supposedly, there are more of the latter and they are more powerful.
Tracfone says no problems or changes reported.
CRNG wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Tracfone is cheaper. Tracfone worked fine for countless years previously. If I can get this phone working...
Tracfone can use different carriers (it depends on the phone), but most use AT&T. Somewhere, I've seen a website that tells how to tell which carrier your phone uses. You'd need an extender made for use with that carrier.
Good to know. They all seem to deal, don't they. I call Cox (my ISP) once a year and can always get something by threatening to switch. Fortunately I have three ISP choices so the threat is real. This year I got $30/mo off my bill.
I agree it is a good solution for your problem. I was criticizing Verizon, not you.
Problem is you don't know who else (besides your neighbor) might be using your data for their phone calls. How could you tell? And worse, how would you stop them without killing your cell service?
When my ISP goes out I just use my neighbor's unsecured wiFi until it's fixed. He never has a clue. (Course he doesn't have a clue in the first place or he's secure his WiFi.) If he had your device I'd probably be using it too...again him not having a clue.
Agreed. My current (soft) ISP limit is 250GB and I never come close to that anyway.
Full disclosure: I'm a Verizon cell customer too.
I have looked on the Verizon site recently, and it says the extender won't handle a call unless it's made from within 15 feet. It would be hard for someone else to be that close.
[snip]
My unit goes further than that, but not much and it depends on placement of course.
Thane
This guy claims 40 feet:
But my guess would be that the actual range depends on a lot of factors.
The phones. I have two phones that seldom agree on the signal strength at any one location. A phone with a good transceiver might be able to use the extender at a much greater distance.
The extender location. Higher gives a greater range. Close to a wall gives more range outside than if in the center of the house. Antenna position in relation to other conductors. Lots of variables here. I often see at least 10 of my neighbor's WiFi signals and I'm in a standard neighborhood, not an apartment. If I had an extender I imagine their phones would use it instead of the weaker cell tower.
And last if you got your information from the Verizon site that's probably the minimum area for successful use taking in most of the variables I mentioned. The maximum could be much greater.
According to Verizon, it works within 40 feet, but the call must have been made within 15 feet. You can move around more after making the call.
[snip]
Yes, the Samsung site says the same thing:
"Your mobile device must be within 15 feet*
[Notice the asterisk after 15 feet]of the Network Extender to connect to it. Once connected, the mobile device can move up to 40 feet*
[Notice the asterisk after 40 feet]away from the Network Extender and still be able to make a call or use data."
------ And the asterisk says:
" *The coverage area required to establish an initial connection and the broader coverage area of the Network Extender can't be guaranteed and may vary due to environmental factors
[Notice the "may vary due to environmental factors"], such as physical structures and the strength of external tower coverage."
----- So variables can change things, which is pretty much what I said in my last post. I repeat: Verizon/Samsung are likely giving maximum distances for reliable service (as they should) even though the device can work at much greater distances as evidenced by the many complaints at review websites.
I went through that with Tracfone and they switched me from T-Mobile to AT&T and that did the trick. That was with an LG804. More recently, I switched to Tracfone LG34C which works on Verizon. That also works in my house and in the basement.
The problem with T-Mobile is that they don't have the lower frequencies in the
750 mhz range that AT&T and Verizon have. The lower frequencies are much better at penetrating a house (and reaching the basement) compared to the 1800-1900 mhz that T-Mobile uses.Arnie Goetchius wrote in news:mop6ra$k06$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:
So far so good with AT&T. Took about a day for Tracfone's system to accept the new SIM card. Everytime I've tried the phone it's worked. Need to sit down and really exercise it a few times this weekend to be sure.
there are signal extenders for areas larger than a home. i drive thru some of those areas, my cell phone says signal extender or something like that
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