Post by: krissel on December 07, 2007, 05:49:18 AM
I'm curious how many of you have experienced the following, and if so, how often and what carrier?
Several times when I call my Mom's cell phone (from my cell) it rings maybe 4 times and then sends me off to her voice mail. This is while I know her phone is on and she is expecting my call. It can happen at any time even at 1 AM when I know there aren't too many people on the lines which might make it impossible to connect. I will try again in a couple minutes and it may happen again. Maybe even a third time but if I persist it will eventually connect. Usually I give up and call the house phone only to find my Mom was just sitting there waiting for the call and the phone didn't even ring. Weather is not a consideration nor is movement.
Have you encountered this? Often?
I'm trying to figure out if this is a carrier problem or something that is common to all.
We're on Verizon Wireless.
Thanks.
Post by: dolphin on December 07, 2007, 07:05:45 AM
It has happened to me when I call my brother. I am on Verizon and he is on AT&T. When I do get him on the phone...he says the same thing..."It didn't ring". Very curious!
Post by: Gregg on December 07, 2007, 07:44:45 AM
We figured it was a signal strength problem. The signal was low in the basement. It varied upstairs, but at least got to a strong signal and stayed there awhile.
Post by: chriskleeman on December 07, 2007, 08:17:13 AM
Some very strange things like that do happen, but very occasionally... I have US Cellular, and I generally don't have too many problems connecting with Verizon customers, nothing like that on a regular basis... and other cell phone carriers seem to connect up ok.
What does happen with annoying frequency, about once a month, a voice-mail will get lost in the system and not show up sometimes for almost a week.
And, last week, my daughter did say she tried to call me 3 times, and it never showed up as a missed call on my phone.
An imperfect technology, for sure!
Chris K
Post by: Paddy on December 07, 2007, 09:15:54 AM
Glad to know that it's not just Rogers peculiarities. I don't recall it happening much with Verizon when I was living in MA, but it did occasionally.
Post by: Bruce_F on December 07, 2007, 09:42:26 AM
QUOTE
I'm curious how many of you have experienced the following, and if so, how often and what carrier?
I've been with Verizon for a few years. A year ago, September, my girlfriend and I got identical new LG phones and started on a family plan.
What you're describing happens to me frequently, but not so much with my girlfriend. I have complained to Verizon numerous times. They have checked both phones and found "nothing wrong". Both phones have had the firmware upgrades to no avail.
I've been at my wit's end over this. Verizon has been unresponsive for the most part. They told me I could replace my phone with a "rebuilt" one but I haven't done that... yet.
My contract with Verizon ends in September next year. That's when I plan to end my ties with them. Most likely, I'll give AT&T a shot. Hmm... iPhone...
Post by: Bruce_F on December 07, 2007, 09:49:18 AM
Post by: kimmer on December 07, 2007, 11:23:19 AM
This all started about 3 months ago when we upgraded our phone, so I have always attributed it to that, but I don't know for sure.
I do know that during the recent storm -- cell phones didn't work. Not even those that were charged.
Post by: Xairbusdriver on December 07, 2007, 12:21:20 PM
But there are usually at least two towers involved in any connection. And there could be a signal strength/quality problem in either one. That tower's connection to the wired system could be swamped by other users or maintenance.Then there are the problems with reception inside buildings, especially those with more metal construction or near wiring. Not to mention (although I'm about to) the azimuth alignment of the phones antennae with any disruptive/reflective objects as well as the tower antennae.
It all boils down to a very low powered radio signal and those kinds of signals are far less stable than other kinds of physical connections, even if that might be a string between two cans!
Most cell phone transmitters have an automatic, self-starting generator built in. But those require fuel and and don't always start when needed.
WARNING: Further afield opinions follow.
Most of us seem willing to ignore these 'events' until they reach our own level of frustration. So far, those levels seem to be lower than the suppliers desire to improve service. But that may just be my cynical opinion. I wondered last week, when one hand at the cable company said my modem was bad while the other said the hub was being repaired so a new modem wouldn't make any difference, what would have happened to their highly advertised 'phone' service during the outage. Just seems follish to allow any one company/technology have too much control in our lives. Now, that, of course, doesn't apply to government...!
Post by: krissel on December 07, 2007, 11:04:09 PM
I guess we aren't alone in this. We've been thinking that maybe Verizon is doing it on purpose to force us to call a land line which might incur a charge, though after 9 PM it's free anyway. Mom also thought there was something wrong with her phone. At least we know it isn't just us.
Post by: sandbox on December 08, 2007, 05:11:27 AM
QUOTE(kimmer @ Dec 7 2007, 12:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Pretty much ditto what everyone has said. Calls don't come through - even when we are up the road almost on top of the cell phone tower (so it's not signal strength), and the missed call alert doesn't show up for 30 min, or longer ... and voice mail messages have been taking up to 3 hours to show up.
This all started about 3 months ago when we upgraded our phone, so I have always attributed it to that, but I don't know for sure.
I do know that during the recent storm -- cell phones didn't work. Not even those that were charged.
This all started about 3 months ago when we upgraded our phone, so I have always attributed it to that, but I don't know for sure.
I do know that during the recent storm -- cell phones didn't work. Not even those that were charged.
Really? were the towers hit?
I have had service right through the storms, lost Landlines, (phone, power, and cable). My satellite stopped working when the storm was in the south but the antenna inside the dish let me access local channels.
How long did you loose cell service? Do you think it was because everyone was trying to talk at once?
Post by: danf63 on December 08, 2007, 07:02:17 AM
Sometimes I'll get a voicemail message and I see that the call came in just a few seconds before (I guess, the amount of time to land on voicemail and leave a message). I called T-Mobile and they acted as if it were something brand new to them. That was about 3 months ago. I actually like T-Mobile, but I thought if I ever wanted out of my contract, I would use that as an excuse.
Dan
Post by: jcarter on December 08, 2007, 11:24:12 AM
So we don't use the cell all that much from home. And it will revert to "emergency calls only", which with ATT is a symptom of low signal strength. You have to power the phone on and off several times in good signal area to get it back to normal.
(Have land line and Skype.)
During the recent storm, we lost power for a couple of days, and this time the land line was out as well as the cell service. Heard that there wasn't enough battery backup and the generators didn't have enuf fuel for several days. The Verizon phone service guy was cruising around in his big truck with a generator aboard, charging up the batteries in all the local sub-stations. He said that the battery backup was pretty short lived.
Cable was out for 2 days.
Our systems probably should prepare for a longer period of fuel, battery power and whatever they need.
Jane
Post by: kimmer on December 08, 2007, 12:03:29 PM
QUOTE(sandbox @ Dec 8 2007, 03:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Really? were the towers hit?
Sorry, should have been clearer. Yes the storm damaged some towers and knocked out service.
Verizon was faster than our power company though, and had everything repaired within 24 hours.
QUOTE(Xairbusdriver @ Dec 7 2007, 10:21 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Sitting on a cell phone tower is highly discouraged in this part of the country, may be different in other parts.
Gee, there goes my favorite past time if I come visit you and your lovely wife. What kind of a state do you live in that won't let me climb the towers? Post by: gunug on December 08, 2007, 01:23:48 PM
The noises: I'm positive that I'm not the only one that gets these but there are these vaguely electronic sounding noises I've gotten on the television when one of our cellphones is about to ring. We don't have cable so this is just something with the sound portion of the broadcast television bands. The sound will take place and then 10 seconds later the phone will generally ring. Both phones get a good strong signal (3-4 bars) in the house. I've also picked up this precursor sound on the wired phone in the house upon occasion. Sometimes I get the sounds and the phone never rings (like above) but I only have one instance where I know someone had placed a call and the phone didn't ring.
Post by: jcarter on December 08, 2007, 02:33:53 PM
Jane
I forgot to add this picture, its in Anguilla, and you can see St. Martin in the distance. They were building new cell towers on Anguilla, and we found the signal strength there awesome, could call USA so easy. We met the people who owned this property and they said to come up and watch the construction and hang out with them for the afternoon, we did.
It was quite interesting to see how they put these things together and how much anchoring they have to have! The wind there is strong sometimes, I climbed up a little way. Thats my husband looking towards St. Martin(where we never bothered to go).
Speaking of signal strength, this man who owned that house had the most impressive Ham Radio set up that I have ever ever seen in my entire life. He invited my husband to see it all, as his dad was into that years ago, and used to take his equipment on the research ship they were on.
This guy talked all over the world all the time from this island, he said that it was the best location he had found, so he built his house there, he lives in Texas too. (Half the fun of a trip is the people you meet.)
Jane
Post by: RHPConsult on December 08, 2007, 07:23:01 PM
I've never used any "service" but AT&T (PacBell/Cingular). My attitude (first developed with a Motorola in the early 90s?) was that it was amazing simply to have "some" fairly regular service without wires, at a fidelity that hardly seemed to be a radio.
So maybe my expectation(s) remain a bit low.
I've been more concerned in recent months by the sometimes long delay in "left" messages showing-up in both my VoIP (Comcast) phone or my ATT cell than perhaps any other "quality" issue. It's episodic. And vexing, when it does occur.
I had an engagement with client in the 90s which was building towers across the US and in Asia, as fast as they could following their customers' purchase at auction of portions of the spectrum. I doubt that everything was "ready" for quality service at the beginning. But, they were more than ready to start collecting revenue from their HUGE investment.
Cell technology is clearly a work in progress. I can hardly compare that first Motorola with my iPhone. At the same time, my OnStar phone seems far, far superior to "land-based" cells, or whatever. I've read that it's several times more powerful. for reasons that I've not taken the time to discover.
BTW, anyone remember the "first" Mac? The FIRST one!
Post by: gunug on December 08, 2007, 07:59:02 PM
Post by: jcarter on December 08, 2007, 08:19:58 PM
Interesting to see that the mobile phone situation in Africa, South America, and Mexico is working so well. If I was a company trying to erect wired poles for land lines in countrys like that, I would be pretty stressed out, just looking at the infrastructure. So I can see that the cell towers without wires are the way to go. And the PREpaid phones that these people have, are changing how the phone industry in these countries is evolving.
(And the stocks for these things have already pre-paid my grandkids way thru college.)
Technology is so amazing with what is happening now, we do see a lot of glitches, and I think that has to do with trying to make everything so small and to use less power, and to use smaller batteries. But it is working and I look at what was going on just 10 years ago! Incredible what we have seen happen in just 30 years! I love it.
Jane
Post by: bil207 on December 08, 2007, 09:38:07 PM
QUOTE
BTW, anyone remember the "first" Mac? The FIRST one!
"Lisa" Macintosh XL for a little under ten grand in '83.
I was working for the local county bar association and they sponsored an annual office automation expo in which Apple was an exhibitor.
P.S. I got my first computer an Apple II floor model for a pretty good price at the show in 1980.
Post by: Gregg on December 08, 2007, 11:14:07 PM
QUOTE(gunug @ Dec 8 2007, 07:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Single-sided floppy, 128K RAM, 68000 Processor! My step-dad was asking me the other day if I wanted his!
Where's Parker? He'd take it.
Post by: RHPConsult on December 09, 2007, 03:45:51 AM
Yoo Hoo, Parker.
It was February of '85 that the BIG, white box arrived (my son, then a grad student at the Univ. of Rochester had gotten it for me for only 3 grand, including an Imagewriter - which seemed to weigh-in at aprox 100 lbs).
These days that box holds all our Christmas decorations, I saw it yesterday!
It sat in the corner of my office for about 10 days, until I got the courage to open it up at about 8:00a on a Saturday morning. I do recall this as though it were yesterday.
I didn't move from that chair until 3 o'clock the next morning . . . learning my "new way of life", named Mac and MacWrite!! No TechSupport, no 800 page manual (for Dummies or anyone else) no awareness of hard drives or backing-up, just that astonishingly intuitive, elegant, little program (on a single floppy) that permanently retired my electric typewriter.
Post by: bil207 on December 09, 2007, 07:56:27 AM
Nostalgia buffs can read more on the early Apple's here.
Post by: sandbox on December 09, 2007, 03:34:56 PM
QUOTE
OnStar relies heavily on North American AMPS service for its subscribers because, when the system was developed, AMPS offered the most comprehensive wireless coverage in the US. ADT recently asked the FCC to extend the AMPS deadline due to many of their alarm systems still using analog technology to communicate with the control centers.[7] Cellular companies who own an A or B license (such as Verizon and Alltel) must still provide analog service until February 18, 2008. After that point, however, most cellular companies will be eager to shut down AMPS and use the remaining channels for digital services. OnStar is transitioning to digital service with the help of data transport technology developed by Airbiquity, but warns customers who cannot be upgraded to digital that their service will permanently expire on January 1, 2008.[8]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMPS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMPS
Post by: jcarter on December 09, 2007, 03:54:10 PM
About the old phones,,,,,,,
One of my friends had to get a new cell phone, as ATT would not support his ancient phone, and he was extremely angry as the phone had no bells and whistles which he did not want anyway, it was just an old cell phone which had lots of power.
They told him that it was obsolete and to toss it.
Jane
Post by: sandbox on December 09, 2007, 04:05:33 PM
Post by: RHPConsult on December 09, 2007, 04:55:25 PM
My 90 year old brother-in-law just received from his kids an Old Folks Phone (so designated by his grandsons). It has absolutely NO bells, whistles or kitchen sinks. First cell he's ever had. It features 3 emergency call buttons only, in addition to the key pad. Your friend should ask around. I think it was from Verizon.
As to OnStar, SandBox, I have no doubt my service will continue through 2008 . . . on accountabecause I paid for it!
Negotiating around and through all the new electronics of my new car (first one since 1989) resulted in my locking myself out 3 times in the first ten days. OnStar to the rescue . . . .
Post by: Xairbusdriver on December 10, 2007, 03:21:19 PM
I'm also wondering about satelite TV services. My Parents-in-Law live in a very rural area and cable is simply not an option. While the download is, of course, via the satelite link, they must be connected with a land line for some services. I wonder if that will also require digital 'upgrades', even though there is no need for cellular service.
Might be a good time to simply cancel the thing, they have a difficult time even turning on the required boxes (DVD, TV, satelite box) and they seldom ever watch it.
Post by: Gregg on December 11, 2007, 07:36:36 AM