I'm looking for a website that compare mobile phone handsets for their signal strength (as in which are the best in an area with poor signal strength)

What sites do you recommend/

TIA

You wont really find that info as all mobile handsets are supposed to be the same in terms of the radio/power levels etc. You might find somre anecdotal stuff but no figures.

Don't get;

Anything Sony Ericsson

Anything LG

Any newer Blackberry (Think post Curve)

The Nokia 6300 is pretty stable for these things...

I was talking to my brother in law (who is a big tekkie) over the weekend and he said that he had been on one site (but couldn't remember the address!!) and was pretty shocked at the difference between phones.

My current phone is a 6300 but i am unable to put it in my pocket at home or whilst we were indoors in Cornwall last week without loosing service, other Nokia phones (and a SE one) that were also on Vodafone didn't drop out of service though, just mine. (i have my network set to manual, so i hear it beep at me to 'select network' as when i loose service at home in Kent it normally ends up on a French network)

I am swaying towards the 5800, but obviously don't want to 'upgrade' to a phone that is as much use as my current one.

Well the Over the Air performance can vary in certain conditions but trust me that all GSM handsets are supposed to be at a certain spec.

Odd the 6300 doesn't perform. You running the latest software?

You running the latest software?

Haven't a scooby TBH, IIRC i have not had an update for a very long time, where will i find what software is on it?

(that is when SWMBO gets home from work - she picked up my mobile on the way out this morning! )

Edited 17 November, 200916 yr by Gizmo68

The software on it currently is:

V 06.01

16-01-08

RM-217

© Nokia.

There are no software updates on the phone to install.

Are you in 2G or 3G mode?

The software on it currently is:

V 06.01

16-01-08

RM-217

© Nokia.

There are no software updates on the phone to install.

Really?

Have you used the NSU?

Are you in 2G or 3G mode?

Good call on that, if you using Automatic or 3g mode then it could have prblems with handover and give you poor or no signal. Try changing the selection to 2g

I have got V 07.21 software installed now (latest) so will see how it goes, it doesn't appear to have increased the signal strength but time will tell when/if it drops out again.

BTW it was in 2g mode.

Try 3G mode instead.

In some areas I hear they're shutting down the 2G masts due to maintenance costs. What mode were your friends handsets on?

Remember as well different manufacturers represent signal differently. Some are in equal segments, others I've seen use differing methods of working out how much each progression actually is.

My sisters SE is a classic. 0-1/2 equates to one bar on my work Nokia on the same network and 3G. Full on hers is 3/4 on the Nokia. Yet SWMBO's Samsung is the other way. I can have 1/3 before hers registers. Yet with the Nokia on full, she's at around 90%. When she's on 100% she gets a funky HSDPA symbol and her data switches to always on.

Go figure.

I'm pretty sure the 6300 doesn't have 3G anyway?

All the other phones would of been 3G capable, but I'm not sure if they were all in 3G (two would of been, but i doubt the other one was).

After the update the service still drops out when the phone is in my pocket, so the update made no difference.

I'm pretty sure the 6300 doesn't have 3G anyway?

It doesn't

Phil

I wonder if something like a Sonim ruggedised phone would have better qualities for reception?

Edit - I don't know if the OEM phone does but you can buy an antenna for the Sonim XP1 to improved reception.

http://store.kagi.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?storeID=6FFRA_LIVE

Which network are you on. T-Mobile and Orange use a frequency that especially in weak areas has difficulty penetrating buildings. Vodafone and O2 use a lower frequency which can be to your benefit in weak areas, assuming of course you actually have O2 and Vodafone coverage. From your Nokia it should be possible to do a network scan and see whats available, the results are listed strongest first. You wont be able to connect to the other networks, but at least you can see whats strongest. something like (settings > phone settings > operator selection. Change to manual and your phone will scan for networks.

I have been on Vodafone for about the last 3 years after moving away from Orange (who i was with for around 15 years) when they refused to give me a date for repairing the local transmitter that had been down for about 3 years!

I think it'll be down to 2G mast removal. Most networks have a 2G and 3G strength checker on their website.

You'll find the 2G masts diminishing completely very soon.

Mobile Phone Coverage UK - Vodafone

And zoom right in. Lots of gaps in your area when you zoom in, on 2G.

Mobile Phone Coverage UK - Vodafone

And zoom right in. Lots of gaps in your area when you zoom in, on 2G.

Hmmm, thats very interesting, the 3g coverage is patchy at best here (which i have witnessed on a N97) but 2G shows up as solid for at least a 1km circumference around our house (and it is just one small patch around 1km away that shows as 'variable quality service'!)

I'm looking for a website that compare mobile phone handsets for their signal strength (as in which are the best in an area with poor signal strength)

What sites do you recommend/

TIA

Have you got a broadband connection with over a 1mb speed? If so get a Voda 3g phone and one of these:

Vodafone Access Gateway - Vodafone

Job done

Steve

Nice idea Steve, i just have an issue with spending £160 (or £5 a month) just to get reception, this on top of a new phone as mine is not 3G capable, i know the upgrade will be a free phone (probably a 5800) but i might see if they will throw the access gateway in as part of the deal - can't see it happening, but if you don't ask ..............

Nice idea Steve, i just have an issue with spending £160 (or £5 a month) just to get reception, this on top of a new phone as mine is not 3G capable, i know the upgrade will be a free phone (probably a 5800) but i might see if they will throw the access gateway in as part of the deal - can't see it happening, but if you don't ask ..............

But what other choice do you have?

Another idea is to get a SIM card from isle of mann etc that will roam onto all the mainlaind networks and try that in your house.... lock onto each network manually and see what performs better at different times of day and weather conditions.

3G signals will vary depending on usage, they retract the coverage when they are busy and expand when quiet...so you could get 3g coverage at night time but not in day.

2g signals can be affected by weather, not massively though. As mentioned O2 and Voda primarily use 900mhz which gets into buildings better than Oranges and T-Mobiles 1800Mhz. All 3g services at the mo are 2.2Ghz but may be moving to around 900Mhz soon.

TBH I reckon it will be years if at all that GSM (2g) masts get turned off for the reasons above.... a GSM tower can transmit upto approx 25/30 miles in the right location....a 3g tower maybe 3 to 5 miles (which as mentioned above changes by the minute) and they will always need the GSM service to fall back on, hence why Orange and O2 are upgrading their GSM sites to EDGE technology (a faster data connection, between GPRS and 3G in speed) so that people can still get a decent data speed when outside a 3g area.

Steve

Get Voda to do a signal test with your handset and check for any masts that are faulty in your area.

Try politly, if no joy then use the "cant live with this, perhaps I'll change networks...". Bets are they find a mast with issues near you.

We were talking about doing just that tonight after i tried SHMBO's 6500 in my pocket - with exactly the same results as my 6300.

Get Voda to do a signal test with your handset and check for any masts that are faulty in your area.

Try politly, if no joy then use the "cant live with this, perhaps I'll change networks...". Bets are they find a mast with issues near you.

But they will know what other networks work in that area too, and if they were to go as far as looking for faulty sites then they would look into that too.

But anyways, they would know of faulty sites through the stats collected from that site.... call durations will change, handovers will change, more dropped calls etc.... and these are investigated on a regular basis anyway.

If the OP was saying he used to have good coverage and then suddenly got worse then fair point, but it seems that due to his location then hes never had good coverage. Remember when the networks say that the cover 99.7%, they mean 99.7% of the population, not of the UK land mass. The only network that attempts to cover the whole of the land mass (well the roads anyway) is Airwave....when I had an airwave handset the coverage in remote areas was phenomenal.

Steve

Forgot to say, try and borrow an old Nokia 6310i (the i version is better)....

In my mind they have been the best phone Nokia have ever made.... and always seemed to get a signal when other phones couldnt and the battery needs charged about once a year, lol

Steve