I'm looking into switching to Sprint and have used their street-level coverage maps to check the coverage at places I often go. At my parent's house, the coverage of the PCS network is listed is 'fair' (can make calls outside, but not in buildings or cars). I've read on the forums here that a tri-mode phone might help off the beaten path. How do I tell if Sprint has analog coverage there and hence maybe a tri-mode phone might be the way to go (sorry if this is a stupid question, I have no idea what I'm doing! :O ) I was thinking about getting a razr, but I'd reconsider if another phone (A640 by Samsung?) might get me better reception there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
First off the Sprint coverage map tool is not always accurate. I've seen a few areas that show as only 'fair' on the map but I actually get full signal and it works fine indoors. Also I've seen the opposite where it was showing as "great" but when I tested it I was getting only a low or moderate signal. So the bottom line is you have to test it out for yourself to see for sure. With that said, Sprint does have analog off network coverage in every market. But since analog is being phased out they have re-tuned their PRL's to favor a digital cellular roaming signal.
Ok, I'll take the coverage map with a grain of salt. Unfortunately, I won't be able to test it out until I go home for the holidays, as I live in Connecticut and my parents have just moved within Wisconsin. I've sent them on a mission to ask around about cell coverage in their new town, since I can't check it myself. Thanks for clairfying the analog coverage for me. This is probably an elementary question, but how does one make sure they have the most recent PRL on Sprint? (I only know how to update the list on my current carrier). Thanks for your help!
Get a Sprint phone that can force Roaming. This way, if the Sprint signal is weak where you are at, you can force the phone over to roaming, and possibly get a much better signal. Updating PRL with Sprint is a little harder than with Verizon. You have to call CS and tell a rep that you want you account flagged for a PRL update. One they do this, you have to call CS back, and your phone will automatically get the update.
Thanks, Ok, I'll make sure to call CS then. I'm currently trying to search the forums for this...How do you know if a phone can force roaming? :O And how does one make their phone do that?
You can also have the PRL updated at a Sprint service store. But that can sometimes take an hour depending on how busy they are. All current phones are capable of forcing roaming. On most of the older phones you could only force analog (which sucks and drains battery fast). But everything they offer right now has the new 'roaming' setting.
