Nokia 8260 reception problems

[telmac]

I have started working out of my home office and am running into reception problems on my Nokia 8260 (bought Feb 2001) and missing important calls. I have callers who get my voicemail after several rings on my 8260, even though the phone is on. At such times, my 8260 will respond with a beep when I get a voicemail, although the phone did not ring when the caller phoned. Rogers tell me it's likely because of the internal antennae on the 8260 and the lack of strong coverage in Ancaster, ON where I live. They have offered me a free replacement of either a Nokia 5165 or Startac 6500.
Comments on:
1) The problem?
2) The offer? Should I push for more - such as a Panasonic Tx-220?
Just to complicate things, the on/off button failed out of the blue yesterday - the phone will not turn on. Even when hooked up to the charger, and ditto on a new battery in the Rogers store today. So it's been sent off to be repaired under warranty. Apart from these reception problems, I love the phone.

[NuG050]

Originally posted by telmac
...get my voicemail after several rings...even though the phone is on. At such times, my 8260 will respond with a beep when I get a voicemail, although the phone did not ring when the caller phoned...

1) It does sound like it could be a reception problem. Where do you have your phone located? Is it on the floor or on your table? Is it beside electronics which could cause interference? This happens to my Nokia 8890, too, when I'm in my house...I have the phone on the floor beside my bed and it would beep or chirp and then say "Missed Call"...but when I move it to my desk or ontop of my bed, the calls go through...this is with full bars at my house...

Originally posted by telmac
Rogers tell me it's likely because of the internal antennae on the 8260 and the lack of strong coverage in Ancaster, ON where I live. They have offered me a free replacement of either a Nokia 5165 or Startac 6500...

2) I don't think the internal antenna would be the absolute culprit here but who knows, right? And it's sorta unfair to compare the 8260 with the 5165 because the 51xx/61xx series phones will ALWAYS have better reception than that of the 8260...but, for all intents and purposes of this situation, the 5165 might fix the problem...as well as the StarTac and Panasonic as both have external antennas...

[Merlin]

1) The problem?

It could be a few things:

1. The phone isn't receiving the page request from the network (downlink).
2. The network isn't liking the signal strength and quality your phone is reporting (uplink).
3. Congestion.

Most likely, you're suffering from #2. If you've got signal (even if it's one bar) your phone is most likely hearing the page request from the network.

Once it receives the page request, your phone replies back with a signal quality and strength status (uplink). If the reply is below the threshold specified by Rogers, the call will be postponed and paged again. If on the second page the situation remains the same, the call will end up being forwarded to your Call Forward Busy number, in this case, voicemail.

If you keep your phone on your hip or in your pocket, don't. Keep it on a desk (try standing it up) and see if it helps.

2) The offer?

A new phone might help a little. Any phone with a traditional antenna will work slightly better. The flat panel antenna in the 82xx Nokia series is a slight compromise.

Hope this helps.

merliN.

[labjr]

"Should I push for more - such as a Panasonic Tx-220?"

Is the TX-220 really better?