Texas: Cingular/rural overage

[jwdenney]

I live in Northeast Texas (about 100 miles east of Dallas) and currently have an old (over 2 years) LG Cingular (GSM) phone. (Cingular reps have told me my phone is terrible, though I thought surely if it was that bad they wouldn't even sell it.) Coverage is spotty. When it's good, it's good, when it's bad, it's really bad.

Is there a better phone I can upgrade to in order to increase coverage when I'm "out in the sticks." I'll be traveling through a lot of rural areas and will need decent coverage.

I don't necessarily want to switch carriers (I like my plan - rollover, no roaming, $39.99/mo) and I don't need a fancy phone. BUT, I would be willing to switch to a new carrier or pay more money for a better phone with Cingular if I'm going to see results.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Etorres777]

Hi! Welcome to WA. In my opinion, the best phones for reception are Nokias. You might want to give a Nokia a shot, or if that doesn't work, I'm sure someone on these boards will advise you on another carrier if you choose that route. I can't because I live on the total opposite side of Texas. Good luck!

[blsemp]

Check out the Sony Ericsson phones also. Great reception and great battery life.

[army1]

Originally Posted by Etorres777 Hi! Welcome to WA. In my opinion, the best phones for reception are Nokias. You might want to give a Nokia a shot, or if that doesn't work, I'm sure someone on these boards will advise you on another carrier if you choose that route. I can't because I live on the total opposite side of Texas. Good luck!

i agree 100% i have gotton a good signal, when other brands close to me
had no or at the most 1 bar, go nokia, the batty life is also much much better also

[UFO]

Originally Posted by Etorres777 Hi! Welcome to WA. In my opinion, the best phones for reception are Nokias. You might want to give a Nokia a shot, or if that doesn't work, I'm sure someone on these boards will advise you on another carrier if you choose that route. I can't because I live on the total opposite side of Texas. Good luck!

Etorres made some good points. There's essentially nothing to lose by trying a different phone like a Nokia. If it doesn't work, you can then consider returning it and trying other provider options but there's nothing to lose by first trying a different phone if that's the route you want to take.

[Fire14]

I agree with everyone above, all of them are better then the older LG's that they sold.
Another one to try is a Motorola, but I would try the Nokia or SE 1st since their Motorola selection is limited.
If you don't want to sign a new contract, you could buy 1 on Ebay and switch you SIM card, just make sure it's an unlocked or Cingular branded phone.

[camper]

I had a LG for a short while, but after dropping a couple calls I went back to my Nokia.

[bank]

i have verizon right now and i am thinking about switching to cingular or
sprint...i live in austin (near austin) and i go back and forth to georgia (augusta) and i was just woundering which service carrier would be better~~!

so can anyone give me an idea??~~

[army1]

Originally Posted by bank i have verizon right now and i am thinking about switching to cingular or sprint...i live in austin (near austin) and i go back and forth to georgia (augusta) and i was just woundering which service carrier would be better~~! so can anyone give me an idea??~~

in my opion, if you switch to cingular your looking for trouble

[CaptainLoose]

Agree w/ Army1. I use Verizon in Austin and Chicago. Used to live in Atlanta...tried Cingular once but found quality and coverage not as good as Verizon. I like Sprint for phones and interesting products but still think Verizon is more solid for coverage and quality.

[bank]

ok thanks...

that helps me out a lot...

[COtech]

Originally Posted by jwdenney I live in Northeast Texas (about 100 miles east of Dallas) and currently have an old (over 2 years) LG Cingular (GSM) phone. (Cingular reps have told me my phone is terrible, though I thought surely if it was that bad they wouldn't even sell it.) Coverage is spotty. When it's good, it's good, when it's bad, it's really bad. Is there a better phone I can upgrade to in order to increase coverage when I'm "out in the sticks." I'll be traveling through a lot of rural areas and will need decent coverage. I don't necessarily want to switch carriers (I like my plan - rollover, no roaming, $39.99/mo) and I don't need a fancy phone. BUT, I would be willing to switch to a new carrier or pay more money for a better phone with Cingular if I'm going to see results. Any ideas? Thanks in advance for the help!

The quickest way to improve your coverage is to add an external magnet mount antenna. I am not familiar with the LG, but examine the case near and below the antenna for a rubber plug you can dig out with a thumbnail. That's where the coaxial cable connector would go. I just run the cable out the right rear window (furthest from you, the driver) to the antenna at the center of the roof.

All of my phones have this (I selected for it), although I haven't been able to find cables for the Motorola Select 2000e or the NEC 525. Make sure your next phone does.

Since you like your plan, stay with Cingular (by ATT). Just help out your equipment!

COtech

[hinano_paradise]

Originally Posted by bank ok thanks... that helps me out a lot...

I would caution you against switching to Verizon. They got pretty good coverage when I lived in Southern California, but I just moved out to San Antonio in August 2006 to go to school and it has been a NIGHTMARE. Perhaps it is just the particular parts of the city that I frequent, but Verizon has trouble getting reception indoors. I've been up to Austin a few times and I had better luck there although I wasn't too impressed. I know that a lot of people have either Sprint or AT&T/Cingular.