No service in some places my house

[AM27]

We just switched to PM a few weeks ago and have noticed we can not receive any phone calls in a certain spot on the counter. We had no issues at all with our previous company. We did tests with the phone in differents spots and some will let the call go through, others go straight to voicemail. Any ideas? Not very reliable 😕

[Murco]

Just move! Lol

[sheytoon]

@AM27, based on these maps:

https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html

You should be able to see which provider will give you the best signal. Keep in mind Bell, Telus, Sasktel share coverage.

At this point it sounds like you are at cell edge, and you already know Rogers is best for you. Not much you can do about that unfortunately.

You can check to see if your phone supports low band LTE (B5, B12/B17). This would help improve your signal. Most modern phones do, so unless you have a very old phone, don't bother changing it. The only other solution is buying a repeater/enhancer, but those are expensive and usually not worth the high cost.

I think your best option is to switch back to Rogers/Fido/chatr as previously mentioned.

As for the comment about coverage changing with network load, that's not really true with LTE. In general, LTE networks have a constant reference signal power (pilot channel), which is not impacted by network load. Some vendors have introduced new features that reduce reference signal when load is low, in order to reduce interference to neighbouring cells. In practice, such features don't work as well as advertised, in my experience.

Are your calls failing for incoming and outgoing? Does the situation improve if you disable LTE on your phone?

[computergeek541]

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@AM27 wrote:

My kitchen counter is a congested area? But a half inch away it’s not. Doesn’t seem to make sense to me. 

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There can actually be some truth to the network congestion comment.

When more people connect to a specific cell site, the coverage area actually slightly shrinks, a phenomemnom called cell breathing.  I'll tag @sheytoon about this since I think he's one of our resident experts when it comes to networks. 

Now, that I realize that that congestion probably changing the coverage area by that much from one to second to another when you move your phone that inch, but it can factor in with how wide of area the towers near you can cover.  That slight shrinkage in coveage can be just enough to make your phone drop the network connection.  The congestion isn't happening when you move your phone, but any congestion would affect your overall experience. 

[Carld123]

This thread reminds me of a prior @Anonymous question...are you in a..

Lol 😀😀

[computergeek541]

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@AM27 wrote:

We just switched to PM a few weeks ago and have noticed we can not receive any phone calls in a certain spot on the counter. We had no issues at all with our previous company. We did tests with the phone in differents spots and some will let the call go through, others go straight to voicemail. Any ideas? Not very reliable 😕

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Public Mobile will probably not like me for making this recomendation, but Public Mobile is probably the wrong company for you.

While some phones have will pick up slighlty better signal than others, the fact is that if you're having problem by moving your phone from one place in to another, you have very weak signal. 

You could try a different phone that is a little better, but that still won't change the fact that the network is weak at your location.  You could try lobbying Telus/Bell to improve the network near you, but improvements of the nature could take years.

If one network works better for you than another, then there's your answer.

[lheintzman]

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@stonechucker 

Yep that's one. Others are branded as VTech, AT&T, Bell and a few others, but Panasonic tends to have a generally better rep. 

[wetcoaster]

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@AM27 wrote:

Never a problem in 10 years with Rogers living in the same house. Not a reliable service. A half inch can mean no calls coming through. 

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Yes, half an inch can make a difference, even orientation of the phone.

Like @stonechucker said, building materials etc can interfere heavily (I recently moved my shop into a building with metal siding, the building itself is in a good range from the next tower, but depending on where I am inside, signal strength fluctuates wildly, step out the door I have full bars. I also tested with service on the Rogers network, exactly same problem..).

And the person who mentioned congested area didn't talk about your kitchen counter but the tower that's delivering the signal....

Heaving said all that - what phone are you using? Is it possible that your part of the Rogers network was still supplemented with 2G fequencies (Telus/Bell doesn't support 2G, only 3G and up)?

[srlawren]

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@RossN wrote:

you are on the same network as telus and koodo they claim to have the best coverage in canada, have you recently ported your number that sometimes takes a few hours

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@RossN two things:  1) porting has absolutely nothing to do with getting a signal or not, so that's not a factor at all, and 2) just because a particular network is the "best in Canada" (and I'm sure that's a disputed metric), doesn't mean that in every single square inch of Canada they will always have the best coverage.  It means overall on the whole it is rated the best.  There are going to be areas where one will have excellent coverage and another will have none or nearly none.  This is just a reality of cellular networks.  Unfortunately, sometimes these deadspots on one network occur in a place somebody frequents (like their kitchen), and the only thing they can do is live with it or go to a network that works better for them in the areas they frequent.  The same will be true for some customers leaving Telus/Bell and going to Rogers network.  

[stonechucker]

@lheintzman, are talking about something like this?

https://shop.panasonic.com/cordless-corded-telephones/cordless-telephones/KX-TG7875S.html

[lheintzman]

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@AM27 wrote:

Rogers. But I mean if we move the phone an inch to the left it works, an inch to the left it doesn’t. 

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Sorry to say, but if you've been happy with Rogers, and PM just doesn't give you the coverage you need, your best bet might be Fido or Chatr. However, if you want to stay, because of the rates or the service outside your house, there is at least one solution that should give you what you need for a relatively modest initial expense

Panasonic, for one, offers a cordless Bluetooth phone system. Place your mobile in an area of your house with good cell reception, then pair it to one of the cordless units. Distribute other cordless units throughout the house in locations where they're most convenient. Don't have first-hand experience but it's reported to work pretty well. 

[AM27]

My kitchen counter is a congested area? But a half inch away it’s not. Doesn’t seem to make sense to me. 

[AM27]

Never a problem in 10 years with Rogers living in the same house. Not a reliable service. A half inch can mean no calls coming through. 

[AM27]

No we switched at the start of the month and ported the numbers then

Never a problem in 10 years with Rogers 

[stonechucker]

@AM27, interference from electrical wires in your walls, and other building materials may cause this.  Best reception in buildings are above group with open space around the device, and near to windows facing known tower locations.

i previously had both Wind and Rogers as my service providers, and rarely had connection at home or at work.  Service could be better with Rogers in some areas.  For my experience, the shared Telus and Bell network is better for my usage.

[stonechucker]

@RossN, this is wrong.  Rogers has their own network, hosting Fido and Chatr and many other prepaid services.

Telus and Bell companies share this network nationwide.

[929ameer]

Hi there,

             Sometimes with mobile services is that you may not recieve signals in some "congested" type places. I myself use public mobile and do not recieve good coverage in the basement of my house. I lose reception while in the elevator or in malls.

            A good fix to this problem is to know which places you do not recieve reception and try to avoid talking at those certain spots. If all else fails, you can switch to another network that provides better coverage in your city.

           Hope this helps. 🙂

[AM27]

Rogers. But I mean if we move the phone an inch to the left it works, an inch to the left it doesn’t. 

[Anonymous]

@AM27, Who was you previous service provider?  Keep in mind that your location relative to the nearest tower will influence the signal strength you have.