I just started this post to find out how everyone else in Calgary is doing with cell signals. I recently quit Rogers and moved to Mobilicity. Since then my cell signal is very unreliable. I even get "Emergency Calls Only" and "Roaming" in Downtown Calgary. I thought signals in downtown would be the best given there is so much traffic in downtown. Yesterday I was trying to call someone and it dropped three times before the cell went through. If this goes on I am thinking of switching to another carrier soon.
I have had little problems with downtown coverage on Mobilicity in Calgary. I have a Torch 9810 and it does very well with receiving a signal though. No problem in Banker's Hall or on 8th too. I have even had a signal on the observation deck of the Calgary Tower. Walking around down in Princess Island is no problem and same with anywhere else I've been. What kind of phone do you have? I have heard some are better than others at receiving a signal...
Where there is a terrible/non-existant signal is over in the Industrial area (52nd) over in Ogden. There is no tower nearby and it's a giant black hole for coverage. I have been hoping Mobilicity would smarten up and put at least ONE tower over there but no - none thus far. If you look at the coverage map it's like a total wasteland over there...
Set your phone network to "WCDMA only" should help dropped calls. I contacted CS once regarding the issue and was instructed to set as such and it did help.
For Mobilicity in downtown Calgary, not much signal east of 1st st sw station along the c-train line. West side should be ok.
I agree. I did mention before that there's indications of Mobi microwave licensing over at the stampede grandstand (you can see a microwave antenna mentioned at the stampede grandstand for Mobi - 'CALGARY AB 2200 STAMPEDE TR SE 081' - search for rogers or wind to see it as they share the tower and microwave-only information is filtered from the tower locator by default). Hoping this turns into a Mobi tower at some point soon.
Wind does have quite a few more towers downtown than Mobi which should help with AWS's building penetration issues - indoor Mobi reception downtown generally hasn't been the best for me.
So I live in the Beltline area and I get 0 to 1 bars. The most I will get is 2. However, even with that people who call me complain that it goes straight to voice-mail sometimes even when I will have a bar or two. Also if I am sitting on the balcony the calls will be ok and the moment I come in the calls will start dropping. Messaging has been unreliable as well. Signals in the tower building in downtown where I work are much better where I get 4 out of 5 most of the time. Another thing I have noticed is that signals are poor in some parts along the C-train route as well.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 LTE which is unlocked to pentaband (with 3G/4G 850/1700/1900/2100) and works on all carriers in Canada. I am not too sure if my signals would have been better if I had a different phone.
I am thinking of switching over to WIND if things go like this. Hopefully they have better coverage in downtown at least.
I don't know how well the Galaxy S2 fairs myself, but the reason I mentioned different phones have different reception abilities is from experience. I tried an original Google Nexus phone on Mobilicity (lent to me from the store to try out) and it was a useless, but attractive looking paperweight. It wouldn't get signal properly no matter what I tried. I took it into South Center mall in my travels and had no signal at all. It wouldn't connect at home nor even outside in my car in the parking lot. I went back, complained a bit and then tried a Panache out and also had the exact same issues. I was not happy and didn't think Mobilicity was for me since these two phones were essentially useless.
A few months went by and up came a good deal on the Blackberry Torch 9810's ($299) and the unlimited everything plan with BIS (Blackberry Internet Service) for $38/month. I was really hesitant to try it but I bit once more and decided to try one last time. I was given a tester model from the store and as a result of my trials I bought one and have had a really good experience since. I mean Mobilicity's network in Calgary could definitely improve but all in all, things are working well for me and I am thrilled to be saving money from what I was used to paying.
I do know that their signals don't seem to penetrate well into concrete buildings or basements though. When I am in the basement of my home I get 0-1 bars. Sometimes 2 bars but not for long. On the main level, I get between 3-5 bars depending on which room I am in but mostly 4 bars. I have zero problems with this phone in South Center Mall and it keeps connection well and picks up GPS and cell signals quickly. I do not use roaming with it at all but only 3G by the way as that is the setting I have configured in my setup.
Anyhow, this has turned into a long story which I hadn't intended on doing. So to wrap up, I guess the good news for you is that you can definitely go to WIND and try your phone out since you don't have a contract. Worst case is that you don't like WIND either though. At that point you could turn to Rogers and go back to ridiculous prices and contracts once more - at least your phone can still be used though.
So whatever you decide, I hope things work out for you. If you go to WIND, please follow up and let us know how it works for you. I'm interested in your experience.
I have S3 with WindMobile and Panache with Mobilicity. Signal wise Wind is better than Mobilicity that on my routine routes (SE-DT-NW). Wind has no black holes (a couple of spots has weak 1-bar signal useable for call except data). But Mobilicity has weak/no signal to the east of 1st st sw c-train station, weak on 39th st - chinook station and weak/no on Canyan meadows station. No problem in South Center mall and else where I go. In NW, Weak signal in Market Mall. Weak/no signal in my friend's house in Edgemount.
So I live in the Beltline area and I get 0 to 1 bars. The most I will get is 2. However, even with that people who call me complain that it goes straight to voice-mail sometimes even when I will have a bar or two. Also if I am sitting on the balcony the calls will be ok and the moment I come in the calls will start dropping. Messaging has been unreliable as well. Signals in the tower building in downtown where I work are much better where I get 4 out of 5 most of the time. Another thing I have noticed is that signals are poor in some parts along the C-train route as well.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 LTE which is unlocked to pentaband (with 3G/4G 850/1700/1900/2100) and works on all carriers in Canada. I am not too sure if my signals would have been better if I had a different phone.
I am thinking of switching over to WIND if things go like this. Hopefully they have better coverage in downtown at least.
I have the S2 LTE and a Lumia 710, & I get the same bad service with both in the GTA. The Lumia is ever so slightly better at getting a weak signal, but outgoing sound quality especially suffers to the point where it is just as useful as having no signal. At least with no signal the call goes directly into VM, saving the person at the other end the frustration of trying to understand you due to the bad connection.
The radio that works the best for me on the SII LTE is the blaze 4g mod, I believe there is a version for GB & ICS.
So I moved to WIND after trying Mobilicity for a month and let me tell you that I couldnt be any happier. The signal strength is consistent mostly throughout downtown Calgary and the city. Theres no dropped calls. Texting is find. Data speeds are better than Mobilicity and people can actually call me now. I can actually say now that I am not frustrated using my phone anymore. I was with Rogers for the last 6 years and was very happy with their service but got treated pretty badly by them. I paid through the nose every month and was lied by their customer service people on rates, my bills etc on more than one instance. I am happy to say that WIND's service comes very near Rogers service, their customer service has been pretty good whenever I have called them so far and I am not paying through the nose.
Cell Signals in Calgary especially Downtown
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Originally Posted by HF_visitor
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