Troubleshooting my cell phone

[old_stuff_hound]

Sitting here on hold with the cell phone company trying to figure out why I'm getting no signal suddenly on my 3-year-old cell phone. Of course I can't use the cell phone, so I'm speaking with them on my 64-year-old desk phone. I just love the irony of that....

[dsk]

Some telephones are made for lasting a little bit longer. 

the cellphone should last at least 5 years, we (Norway) have got a law about 5 years warranty on cell phones. (limited to the ordinary production /construction errors)

dsk

[deedubya3800]

Gosh, I couldn't imagine wanting to own a mobile phone for more than 18 months! The one I use now I got in January and I already consider it a clunker. I'd much rather use the 80-year-old set on my desk to talk to someone anyway!

[old_stuff_hound]

I very rarely use the cellphone, so I'm loathe to put money into upgrading it. It's one of those pre-paid things and it costs me less than $10/month.....

Still haven't got it working right again -- 4 weeks ago it worked fine at my house, now it doesn't (though it works fine anywhere else). The cell phone people tell me it's because it's so old, but 4 weeks ago, it was only 4 weeks younger than it is now!

[Bill]

Dumb question, but are you sure the battery is charged? A three-year old battery is not a good candidate for much of anything.

Did it just quit working, out of the blue? No apparent cause? Did it get wet at some point? They are very sensitive to wetness, but there is a fix that sometimes works - at least it did for me.

Bill

[old_stuff_hound]

I'm absolutely certain it's a tower problem, but I'm having trouble convincing the cell company that. The problem is that at my home only, I suddenly (as of a few weeks ago) get little to no reception. Everywhere else is fine, and it was fine here before the trouble started. It's really not even that big a deal -- as I said, I really don't use it that much. It is annoying though, given that it worked before and now it doesn't. They of course claim that nothing has changed on their end....

Thanks!

[AE_Collector]

Many companies are upgrading to the new HSPA network from GSM and CDMA networks. They would usually be running dual networks for several years to support old and new technology cell phones that are out there. Since your phone is 5 years old it is either GSM or CDMA and it sounds as though your provider may have inadvertently (or maybe on purpose) shut down the GSM or CDMA service on just your local cell tower.

Analog service has been completely gone in Canada for at least a couple of years now and presumaby the same in the USA so not likely that your phone is Analog only.

Good laws there in Norway! Somehow manufacturers need to be forced to produce items that are intended to last longer rather than being throw away. Way too much waste of material, labor, shipping and landfill space for some of this junk. Now if the consumers can just be retrained to spend a bit more for quality and to let the junk linger on the store shelves, maybe the earth WILL survive! <end of rant!>

Terry

[MAin 0-2368]

I want a rotary cell phone!
Like this one.
http://youtu.be/vix6TMnj9vY

[old_stuff_hound]

I want a rotary cell phone!
Like this one.
http://youtu.be/vix6TMnj9vY

Would it be worth $300 to you?
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/287

[old_stuff_hound]

Many companies are upgrading to the new HSPA network from GSM and CDMA networks. They would usually be running dual networks for several years to support old and new technology cell phones that are out there. Since your phone is 5 years old it is either GSM or CDMA and it sounds as though your provider may have inadvertently (or maybe on purpose) shut down the GSM or CDMA service on just your local cell tower.
Terry

Mine's GSM. They /claim/ that they did service on the nearest tower about the time I first noticed the trouble (suspicious, that....) but that the problem -- whatever it was -- was fixed and that they made no changes to the configuration of the tower. But something changed, and it was nothing I changed on my end!

[MAin 0-2368]

I want a rotary cell phone!
Like this one.
http://youtu.be/vix6TMnj9vY

Would it be worth $300 to you?
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/287

I love it! Out of my price range, unfortunately.

[Sargeguy]

My wife got a new Blackberry from her employer.  She called home and I answered with the 335 that just arrived in the mail.  I had hooked it up to a modular plug, but otherwise it was "Barn Fresh" The connection was awful.  She asked if I was using one of my old phones I said, Yes the 90 year old one.  She got angry and told me to switch to a new phone (the 1960 500) and it still sounded awful.  She called me back from her parents land line, I answered with the 335 and she said it sounded fine, just a little tinny.  Two phones right out of the box and the 90 year old one beats the state of the art one in performance!

[TelePlay]

Mine's GSM. They /claim/ that they did service on the nearest tower about the time I first noticed the trouble (suspicious, that....) but that the problem -- whatever it was -- was fixed and that they made no changes to the configuration of the tower. But something changed, and it was nothing I changed on my end!

Are you talking to your cell provider's customer service agent or the RF Engineer responsible for that part of the provider's network?

[old_stuff_hound]

I'm talking to the customer service agent. They won't let me talk to an engineer -- I asked. Grrr.....

[AE_Collector]

Cell providers usually have employees that test coverage in areas so maybe asking to terminate your service unless they send someone out to test your phone in your area might work. However they may not care about a Prepaid customer too much. A good way to test their customer service though.

Terry