Calls going to voicemail without my phone ringing

[erub]

I leave my phone on 24/7, and it seems more and more of my calls have been going straight to voicemail without my phone ringing. I'll get the voicemail notification a minute later, but this is annoying because I know some of my friends don't leave messages (cause sometimes I'll get a missed call, with no voicemail). At first, this was mainly happening to me on Friday afternoons, when I guessed that the network was being taxed pretty heavily. But this also happend to me twice last night, Saturday at 10:30, and at 1 am. I wonder if that was because I was in a weaker service area (inside buildings) or because the network was busy? I'm with Cingular in Dallas; both times I was deep in metropolitan Dallas, well within the service area. This is my first disappointement with their service so far.

A while back I asked Dukedog why Cingular didn't offer more minutes on their home plans - for instance, Verizon now offers 900 anytime + unlimited n+w in Dallas, for $45/month, where I only get 400 anytime for $40/month with Cingular. His answer was that Cingular has a lot of customers, and if they increased the amount of minutes, the service would not be as good. Now I'm starting to wonder if it is already too many customers.

Turn you phone off for 30 seconds about 2-3 times per day. This will fix the problem.

S. Cole

Whenever you turn the phone on it updates what's called a registration. when this is not updated the towers have trouble contacting the phone.

S. Cole

[Jack]

erub

that is a big difference in minutes between Verizon and cingular are you contemplating switching

Jack

[aiwapro]

Is this only a Cingular problem, because I leave my phone on just about 24/7, and I don't have this problem, and I have never had this problem.

[aiwapro]

Voicestream Wireless gives you this unbeatable plan:
Get More 3000
It is way more than local coverage, and way more anytime minutes than any other company can provide you.

No it's with AT&T too. Great. I may take the Cingular back.

[ONjOlt]

ok well I know VoiceStream does have this problem, most all repeaters do/towers, what happends is that at high volume times, each phone has an expire time if there is no activity from it in a serten amount of time, the network will try once, but if the network goes to the last known place and your phone has not done a cycle to tell the repeter you are still there and on the system, then the network will not find the phone. this is something to do with Access Overload Class, simply because the cpasity for each tower is a certen number, so it will expire and not tell the network... if you simply drive to the next tower in your range, your phone should reregister, or spend the 10secs in your life to powercyle, some nokias will recycle them selves, however the ones on the VStream network do not.

[larry]

Sprint has this happen every once in a while. I'm sure every carrier is affected by this problem at some point. Turning your phone off and on a few times a day helps prevent it.

[JayJay]

You can also reset this by dialing in the code to cancel call forwarding (for Sprint *720)...i know this works great with my Sprint phone whenever it happens...which isn't much. ..as far as voicestream..there plans are ok, but what i don't like about them is that there are NO NIGHT minutes...only peak and weekend minutes....

[aiwapro]

Yeah Jay Jay, that's what draws alot of people away from them, but they are however testing out UNLIMITED nights in Chicago and Milwaukee for $5.00. This is where Verizon has copied the same thing. They have started advertising this where I live. They couldn't think of it themselves, so they got it from Voicestream, but it doesn't matter because more people have been anticipating Voicestream's free nights. There's not much of a big deal with Verizon, because there isn't much difference in the 3000 night & weekend minutes that Verizon offers, and the UNLIMITED weekends that they will offer.

[bobolito]

I can place my 8260 next to a computer speaker and about every 5 minutes I can hear it re-registering letting the tower know that I am still here. I have never turned off my phone in months and if I had the no-ringing problem is because the phone may be renewing the registration at that particular moment, or it may be changing registration to another tower, or I may be in a weak signal area, or I might have just finished talking with someone else. In any case, the phone takes one or two seconds before becoming available again and if a call comes in during that brief time window, ringing fails and the call goes to voicemail.
I always recommend everyone to call at least two times before leaving voicemail, as the call may get through on the second try.

[aiwapro]

Well I have never had this problem. When ever someone calls me, it rings and I either pick up, or I clear it.

When I put my phone next to my computer speakers, it makes a noise all of the time, but I have to put it within like two (2) inches of the speakers. Also when I put my phone next to a cable box, it makes a noise too.

[bobolito]

aiwapro, one never realizes when a phone goes straight to voicemail if the person that just called you doesn't leave a message. You can never be sure of it. And yes, TDMA transmitters interfere with many electronics, including FM radios, Tape players, computer monitors, tv's etc.

[ComicalMoodyDan]

I've noticed when I put my handsfree device on and lay the phone underneath my monitor it causes my computer monitor to just act all crazy. It distorts the screen and causes it to shake. For some reason this doesn't happen if I lay the phone underneath the monitor without the hands free headset on but if its on I can't lay it there it totally messes up my computer screen.

[bobolito]

Something about the headset that directs the signal towards the monitor. BTW some monitors are shielded against RF and won't get interference from a cellphone.

the problem of registrations is not necessary related to wireless company. if one person is experiencing this problem while another is not has more to do with the calling habits of the persons using the phone.

A person who uses the phone constantly will probably notice this problem less than a person who only uses the phone to only make a few calls per day.

S. Cole

[setheriah]

I have had the same trouble with VZW from time to time... but I have seen posts where it happens with all the carrier.... Especially when i roam on the AC plan... It is probably a good idea to flick your phone off and on... to let the phone rerigister in the area you are in...

Seth

[erub]

Jack and aiwapro:
I'm not currently contemplating switching..it would cost me $150 to get out of my Cingular contract, and I'd need a new phone and a new phone number. Verizon & Voicestream do offer a lot more minutes, although for the money, Verizon wants an additional $5/month and Voicestream wants an additional $10/month. Right now, my grandmother pays all of the cellular bills in my family, and she always complains (well not really, its more of a joke) that my bill is higher than everyone elses [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] (Don't worry, she can afford it.)

Also, neither of those services are very popular around here (I've only met a couple people with each, whereas lots of people use AT&T, Cingular and Sprint) so I'd have no way of knowing how good the service is...the couple people I've met with Voicestream weren't that happy with the service, although to be fair I'd have to get a loaner phone. I'm not sure how good Verizon's coverage is in DFW, although they love to point out in their ads to 'Take the best network challenge.'

[aiwapro]

Well I went with my grandmother today to DFW (Detroit Metro Airport) to pick up my cousin, and my phone worked just fine there. I had no problems. I received all of my calls I believe, and I all received all of my text messages too. That's my experience in DFW recently.

[Matt]

aiwapro - erub is in Dallas. DFW means Dallas/Ft. Worth

[bobolito]

aiwapro, DFW is in Dallas/Ft. Worth in Texas. Detroit Metro (which is DTW) is Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit, MI.

Kinda missed by about 1000 miles...

[aiwapro]

Oh yeah, I was thinking about DTW, my fault. I don't know about the Voicestream coverage in Fort Worth. My aunt lives in Flower Mound, TX, very close to Dallas, and she works at Dallas Luv Field and she complains about her AT&T service alot. When she came to Ohio to visit my family and I, she kept missing calls for some reason.