GAIT phone problems, T62U and 6340i, in Michigan

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

I'm hoping some more experienced & knowledgable people can help, or at least
shed some light on the problem.

First things first, I have a National GAIT plan, based in Metro Detroit. I
spend a lot of time in rural Eastern Upper Michigan (40 miles southeast of
Sault Ste. Marie), and analog is the only signal available there. There is
typically 3 or 4 out of 5 bars analog signal strength on the T62U where I
stay, coming from a new Cellular One (US Cellular?) tower.

I first bought a factory refurbished SE T62U on Ebay, worked great in metro
Detroit area & just north in the Flint area (GSM signal), but north of there
(TDMA and/or analog signal, no GSM in spite of what the Cingular map shows),
just get a lot of fast busy signals, all the way north to where I stay. I
could not even dial 611 to get the local carriers customer service on the
T62U. I double checked my ESN (for TDMA/analog calls) with Cingular, they
had the correct ESN. (note: all of this area is shown to be included on the
National GAIT Map)

I borrowed a loaner Nokia 6340i from the Cingular store where I activated my
service, at their suggestion. Phone works great in all areas where there is
signal, GSM/TDMA/Analog. However, when I am in Sault Ste. Marie, MI, I pull
in a GSM signal from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and get nailed with roaming
charges. The 6340i does not have the ability to block out GSM like the T62U
can.

So, I purchase another factory refurbished T62U on Ebay, installed my SIM
card, called in the new ESN to Cingular customer service, and the phone
worked great on the local analog signal for a day. Next day, back to the
same old story, fast busy signals when I try to call out, and when someone
tries to call me, about 95% of the time it goes straight to my voice mail
(it has rang in and worked a couple of times). And I always have strong
signal.

Again, I call customer service, they check with their roaming department,
and come back with this answer: Cingular does not have a roaming agreement
with the local US Cellular/Cellular One analog tower, that the tower they
are detecting my T62U on is far away, owned by RBC (?) Communications (not
sure if I recalled that name correctly), that there is GSM service testing
going on in this area (very sparsely populated, doesn't make sense that GSM
would even be considered to be installed in this area!), and that there is
nothing they can do, that I will not be able use either the T62U or the
6340i in this area. I explained politely to the customer service rep that
the 'expert' in the roaming department cannot be correct, as the 6340i works
perfectly on the local analog signal all over the area, and that it has to
be coming from the local US Cellular/Cellular One tower, as the signal
strength is always 5 to 7 bars (out of 7 bars on the 6340i), and that this
area never had usable signal until the local tower went up a few months ago.

Has anyone else had problems using the T62U on analog signal? Could it be
that I have gotten two bad T62U phones? (both were supposed to be factory
refurbished, and I bought them both from reputable Ebay sellers)

Does Cingular have any special problems with the T62U's ?

I've read that the 6340i may have better signal reception capabilites, but
I've also read that the 6340i also frequently drops calls when transfering
from GSM to TDMA or Analog. One thing I have noticed with the 6340i is that
it seems to try to hold on to a tower's signal until it drops, then suddenly
there are 5-7 bars of signal from the next tower. I did not notice this
with the T62U

Any insite/feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

When I hooked vp with the GAIT plan almost a year ago, I decided to get
the T62U for me, and the 6340i for my wife.
We've been to several remote areas in the Midwest, Sovth, and East
portions of the US, and it seems like we have a signal wherever we've
needed it so far. At a family revnion 2 weeks ago ovr 2 phones were the
only ones able to get a signal, althovgh several attendees had Verizon,
Cingvlar, and Nextel service, bvt obviovsly GSM only and not a GAIT plan.
Having said all that, it appears that my wifes 6340i always shows more
signal bars than my T-62v. I'm not svre that means that she's actvally
getting a better signal or if the 6340i is jvst more optimistic in the
amovnt of bars displayed, bvt even with 1 or 2 bars, my T62v has good
signal strength when actvally making a call.
I did have a problem in one area one time, where we both had indications
of a strong signal, bvt I was vnable to make the call with my T62v, and
my wife had to vse her 6340i to call the same nvmber from the same
physical spot.
If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably jvst get 2 6340i's.
Unfortvnately, that won't help yovr problem with locking onto a tower in
Ontario.

JPH

Scott McConkey wrote:
> I'm hoping some more experienced & knowledgable people can help, or at least
> shed some light on the problem.
>
> First things first, I have a National GAIT plan, based in Metro Detroit. I
> spend a lot of time in rvral Eastern Upper Michigan (40 miles sovtheast of
> Savlt Ste. Marie), and analog is the only signal available there. There is
> typically 3 or 4 ovt of 5 bars analog signal strength on the T62U where I
> stay, coming from a new Cellvlar One (US Cellvlar?) tower.
>
> I first bovght a factory refvrbished SE T62U on Ebay, worked great in metro
> Detroit area & jvst north in the Flint area (GSM signal), bvt north of there
> (TDMA and/or analog signal, no GSM in spite of what the Cingvlar map shows),
> jvst get a lot of fast bvsy signals, all the way north to where I stay. I
> covld not even dial 611 to get the local carriers cvstomer service on the
> T62U. I dovble checked my ESN (for TDMA/analog calls) with Cingvlar, they
> had the correct ESN. (note: all of this area is shown to be inclvded on the
> National GAIT Map)
>
> I borrowed a loaner Nokia 6340i from the Cingvlar store where I activated my
> service, at their svggestion. Phone works great in all areas where there is
> signal, GSM/TDMA/Analog. However, when I am in Savlt Ste. Marie, MI, I pvll
> in a GSM signal from Savlt Ste. Marie, Ontario, and get nailed with roaming
> charges. The 6340i does not have the ability to block ovt GSM like the T62U
> can.
>
> So, I pvrchase another factory refvrbished T62U on Ebay, installed my SIM
> card, called in the new ESN to Cingvlar cvstomer service, and the phone
> worked great on the local analog signal for a day. Next day, back to the
> same old story, fast bvsy signals when I try to call ovt, and when someone
> tries to call me, abovt 95% of the time it goes straight to my voice mail
> (it has rang in and worked a covple of times). And I always have strong
> signal.
>
> Again, I call cvstomer service, they check with their roaming department,
> and come back with this answer: Cingvlar does not have a roaming agreement
> with the local US Cellvlar/Cellvlar One analog tower, that the tower they
> are detecting my T62U on is far away, owned by RBC (?) Commvnications (not
> svre if I recalled that name correctly), that there is GSM service testing
> going on in this area (very sparsely popvlated, doesn't make sense that GSM
> wovld even be considered to be installed in this area!), and that there is
> nothing they can do, that I will not be able vse either the T62U or the
> 6340i in this area. I explained politely to the cvstomer service rep that
> the 'expert' in the roaming department cannot be correct, as the 6340i works
> perfectly on the local analog signal all over the area, and that it has to
> be coming from the local US Cellvlar/Cellvlar One tower, as the signal
> strength is always 5 to 7 bars (ovt of 7 bars on the 6340i), and that this
> area never had vsable signal vntil the local tower went vp a few months ago.
>
> Has anyone else had problems vsing the T62U on analog signal? Covld it be
> that I have gotten two bad T62U phones? (both were svpposed to be factory
> refvrbished, and I bovght them both from repvtable Ebay sellers)
>
> Does Cingvlar have any special problems with the T62U's ?
>
> I've read that the 6340i may have better signal reception capabilites, bvt
> I've also read that the 6340i also freqvently drops calls when transfering
> from GSM to TDMA or Analog. One thing I have noticed with the 6340i is that
> it seems to try to hold on to a tower's signal vntil it drops, then svddenly
> there are 5-7 bars of signal from the next tower. I did not notice this
> with the T62U
>
> Any insite/feedback wovld be greatly appreciated.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

There is a way to lock out GSM on the 6340i. It requires you to go into
field test mode and change one of the page settings (01-13 if my memory
serves me). Google '6340i field test' in alt.cellular.cingular and you'll
find alot of posts about this (many from me before I gave up Cingular when
my SIM card fried itself in my 6340i-made my Sprint 3588i F&C America my
only phone with better coverage and service).

Chris

"Scott McConkey" <scottmcconkey@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:g9idnSvjZfBpQ5zc4p2dnA@lighthouse.net...
> I'm hoping some more experienced & knowledgable people can help, or at
> least
> shed some light on the problem.
>
> First things first, I have a National GAIT plan, based in Metro Detroit.
> I
> spend a lot of time in rural Eastern Upper Michigan (40 miles southeast of
> Sault Ste. Marie), and analog is the only signal available there. There
> is
> typically 3 or 4 out of 5 bars analog signal strength on the T62U where I
> stay, coming from a new Cellular One (US Cellular?) tower.
>
> I first bought a factory refurbished SE T62U on Ebay, worked great in
> metro
> Detroit area & just north in the Flint area (GSM signal), but north of
> there
> (TDMA and/or analog signal, no GSM in spite of what the Cingular map
> shows),
> just get a lot of fast busy signals, all the way north to where I stay. I
> could not even dial 611 to get the local carriers customer service on the
> T62U. I double checked my ESN (for TDMA/analog calls) with Cingular, they
> had the correct ESN. (note: all of this area is shown to be included on
> the
> National GAIT Map)
>
> I borrowed a loaner Nokia 6340i from the Cingular store where I activated
> my
> service, at their suggestion. Phone works great in all areas where there
> is
> signal, GSM/TDMA/Analog. However, when I am in Sault Ste. Marie, MI, I
> pull
> in a GSM signal from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and get nailed with
> roaming
> charges. The 6340i does not have the ability to block out GSM like the
> T62U
> can.
>
> So, I purchase another factory refurbished T62U on Ebay, installed my SIM
> card, called in the new ESN to Cingular customer service, and the phone
> worked great on the local analog signal for a day. Next day, back to the
> same old story, fast busy signals when I try to call out, and when someone
> tries to call me, about 95% of the time it goes straight to my voice mail
> (it has rang in and worked a couple of times). And I always have strong
> signal.
>
> Again, I call customer service, they check with their roaming department,
> and come back with this answer: Cingular does not have a roaming
> agreement
> with the local US Cellular/Cellular One analog tower, that the tower they
> are detecting my T62U on is far away, owned by RBC (?) Communications (not
> sure if I recalled that name correctly), that there is GSM service testing
> going on in this area (very sparsely populated, doesn't make sense that
> GSM
> would even be considered to be installed in this area!), and that there is
> nothing they can do, that I will not be able use either the T62U or the
> 6340i in this area. I explained politely to the customer service rep that
> the 'expert' in the roaming department cannot be correct, as the 6340i
> works
> perfectly on the local analog signal all over the area, and that it has to
> be coming from the local US Cellular/Cellular One tower, as the signal
> strength is always 5 to 7 bars (out of 7 bars on the 6340i), and that this
> area never had usable signal until the local tower went up a few months
> ago.
>
> Has anyone else had problems using the T62U on analog signal? Could it be
> that I have gotten two bad T62U phones? (both were supposed to be factory
> refurbished, and I bought them both from reputable Ebay sellers)
>
> Does Cingular have any special problems with the T62U's ?
>
> I've read that the 6340i may have better signal reception capabilites, but
> I've also read that the 6340i also frequently drops calls when transfering
> from GSM to TDMA or Analog. One thing I have noticed with the 6340i is
> that
> it seems to try to hold on to a tower's signal until it drops, then
> suddenly
> there are 5-7 bars of signal from the next tower. I did not notice this
> with the T62U
>
> Any insite/feedback would be greatly appreciated.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.cingular (More info?)

Thanks for the feedback, I definately think the 6340i has better receiption
than the t62u, and I'll track down the 6340i field test programming on
Google




"Scott McConkey" <scottmcconkey@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:g9idnSvjZfBpQ5zc4p2dnA@lighthouse.net...
> I'm hoping some more experienced & knowledgable people can help, or at
least
> shed some light on the problem.
>
> First things first, I have a National GAIT plan, based in Metro Detroit.
I
> spend a lot of time in rural Eastern Upper Michigan (40 miles southeast of
> Sault Ste. Marie), and analog is the only signal available there. There
is
> typically 3 or 4 out of 5 bars analog signal strength on the T62U where I
> stay, coming from a new Cellular One (US Cellular?) tower.
>
> I first bought a factory refurbished SE T62U on Ebay, worked great in
metro
> Detroit area & just north in the Flint area (GSM signal), but north of
there
> (TDMA and/or analog signal, no GSM in spite of what the Cingular map
shows),
> just get a lot of fast busy signals, all the way north to where I stay. I
> could not even dial 611 to get the local carriers customer service on the
> T62U. I double checked my ESN (for TDMA/analog calls) with Cingular, they
> had the correct ESN. (note: all of this area is shown to be included on
the
> National GAIT Map)
>
> I borrowed a loaner Nokia 6340i from the Cingular store where I activated
my
> service, at their suggestion. Phone works great in all areas where there
is
> signal, GSM/TDMA/Analog. However, when I am in Sault Ste. Marie, MI, I
pull
> in a GSM signal from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and get nailed with
roaming
> charges. The 6340i does not have the ability to block out GSM like the
T62U
> can.
>
> So, I purchase another factory refurbished T62U on Ebay, installed my SIM
> card, called in the new ESN to Cingular customer service, and the phone
> worked great on the local analog signal for a day. Next day, back to the
> same old story, fast busy signals when I try to call out, and when someone
> tries to call me, about 95% of the time it goes straight to my voice mail
> (it has rang in and worked a couple of times). And I always have strong
> signal.
>
> Again, I call customer service, they check with their roaming department,
> and come back with this answer: Cingular does not have a roaming
agreement
> with the local US Cellular/Cellular One analog tower, that the tower they
> are detecting my T62U on is far away, owned by RBC (?) Communications (not
> sure if I recalled that name correctly), that there is GSM service testing
> going on in this area (very sparsely populated, doesn't make sense that
GSM
> would even be considered to be installed in this area!), and that there is
> nothing they can do, that I will not be able use either the T62U or the
> 6340i in this area. I explained politely to the customer service rep that
> the 'expert' in the roaming department cannot be correct, as the 6340i
works
> perfectly on the local analog signal all over the area, and that it has to
> be coming from the local US Cellular/Cellular One tower, as the signal
> strength is always 5 to 7 bars (out of 7 bars on the 6340i), and that this
> area never had usable signal until the local tower went up a few months
ago.
>
> Has anyone else had problems using the T62U on analog signal? Could it be
> that I have gotten two bad T62U phones? (both were supposed to be factory
> refurbished, and I bought them both from reputable Ebay sellers)
>
> Does Cingular have any special problems with the T62U's ?
>
> I've read that the 6340i may have better signal reception capabilites, but
> I've also read that the 6340i also frequently drops calls when transfering
> from GSM to TDMA or Analog. One thing I have noticed with the 6340i is
that
> it seems to try to hold on to a tower's signal until it drops, then
suddenly
> there are 5-7 bars of signal from the next tower. I did not notice this
> with the T62U
>
> Any insite/feedback would be greatly appreciated.
>
>