Complete Coverage Report of T-Mobile at Yosemite!!!

[jushen1]

Came back from my 3 days and two nights trip at Yosemite just now.

During my stay at Yosemite, whenever and wherever I went, the first thing I did was always whipping out my Sony Ericsson T610, doing a slow 360 degree rotation, to check the signal strength. I've been to numerous famous sight-seeing places as well as trails.

After three days' extensive field test, here's the compiled final report of "TMO COVERAGE AT YOSEMITE":

No Network.







My friends' Verizon could roam at ATT and had no problem at all to make phone calls at most places.

[daftgem]

Get More?

[ChocoDough]

I would take a guess and say that it might be your phone.

The SE phones, especially the T610 / T616 are notorious for aweful RF.

[Delta]

Originally posted by jushen1
My friends' Verizon could roam at ATT and had no problem at all to make phone calls at most places.

How could Verizon roam of ATT if they are totally different technologies? CDMA and GSM/TDMA.

[jushen1]

Originally posted by Delta
How could Verizon roam of ATT if they are totally different technologies? CDMA and GSM/TDMA.

I don't know. The lady said so. I didn't check! Let others explain it.

[bitablespore]

Verizon and att roam on each other on ANALOG!

[anlog]

Originally posted by ChocoDough
I would take a guess and say that it might be your phone.

The SE phones, especially the T610 / T616 are notorious for aweful RF.

T610 has bad RF. T616 does not (different antenna, better signal interpretation with latest firmware)...

To say all SE phones have bad RF is too much of a generalization..

[XFF]

Originally posted by jushen1
After three days' extensive field test, here's the compiled final report of "TMO COVERAGE AT YOSEMITE":

No Network.

You could have come to the same conclusion looking at T-Mobile's coverage map. (http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/) Besides, nobody in their right mind expects T-Mobile coverage in such a rural area in the first place.

My friends' Verizon could roam at ATT and had no problem at all to make phone calls at most places. [/B]

Not so. VZW customers roam off of Golden State Cellular in CMA338.

[alanh]

As mentioned above, Verizon might also roam on AT&T's AMPS system.

[SterlingJ85]

Last time I was there (last summer) the ONLY network available in the park (incl. GSM) was Golden State Cellular AMPS, and nothing else. It was pretty mediocre reception, but it was better than nothing at all. But generally the only signal you had was only usable near "hotspots" in the park. The main visitors center, and the large camping grounds. Everywhere else, it was very difficult to make a call and chances are you'd get dropped.

[XFF]

Originally posted by alanh
As mentioned above, Verizon might also roam on AT&T's AMPS system.

Not in California. None of the AT&TWS California SIDs is in the current VZW PRLs (http://www.justalurker.com). So unless you override your PRL you'll be on Golden State Cellular.

[alanh]

I think you can still roam on an AMPS carrier even if it's not in the PRL. You'll pay roaming charges, or have to provide a credit card to make a call. I've picked up Commnet Wireless in Arizona with my Verizon phone, even though it's not in the PRL. It showed a solid (pay) roaming indicator.

[piel]

why would I want a phone in Yosemite? I'm on f-ing vacation if I'm there....and don't give me the in case of an emergency excuse.

[XFF]

Originally posted by alanh
I think you can still roam on an AMPS carrier even if it's not in the PRL. You'll pay roaming charges, or have to provide a credit card to make a call. I've picked up Commnet Wireless in Arizona with my Verizon phone, even though it's not in the PRL. It showed a solid (pay) roaming indicator.

Yes, it's possible, depending on how your phone's network preferences are set. When set to "Automatic" or "Auto B", the phone would never select ATTWS unless it's in the PRL. If the phone is set to "Auto A" then it could theoretically select ATTWS in CA, but only if the corresponding B-side system is not available. This is extremely unlikely, both that the phone is set to "Auto A" and also that there's an A-side signal where there's no B-side signal. So I content that the chances that a (properly configured) VZW phone ever roams on ATTWS in CA are extremely slim to non-existent.

Commnet in AZ is a different story since that's a B-side system and by definition where Commnet has service VZW does not (http://people.ku.edu/~cinema/wireless/west.html), so a phone set to "Auto B" will correctly select Commnet Wireless in these situations (as long as the A-side carrier is not the PRL or is not available).

[jushen1]

Hi, I put on-line part of the pictures I took at Yosemite. Please take a look and kindly give me your opinions.

It's my first time using a digital camera ... I am a noob + novice.

Click Here

Thanks!