Sprint PCS - "We are unable to complete your call..."

texas*princess · #1 09-24-2002, 11:03 PM

Is anyone else having problems with Sprint PCS lately? Or am I just special?

For the past two nights in a row, I have tried making cell phone calls and I get an automated message saying "We are unable to complete your call at this time. Please try again later"

It's driving me crazy!

winnieb · #2 09-24-2002, 11:37 PM

I live in KC--home of Sprint Corp headquarters--- if I am not getting the message you get--I get dropped calls--and I roam--in town, not like I am in the woods calling someone--in the middle of a populated area. This is one particular area I drive thru (the triangle for those of you familiar with kc)--I always have to end the call when I enter the area--otherwise it will get dropped. Everyone I know drops calls there too.

--wendi

lifesaver · #3 09-24-2002, 11:42 PM

Cingular is the only one who works in San Antonio when more than 3 people are in the same place. Forget concerts, Spurs games, HS football games, festivals and parades if you use anybody else. Have NEVER figured that one out.

BTW - I am on ATT and always am dropped in about 8 parts of town. I am the apologetic dude, "OK, I am about to go into an area that drops me, If it hangs up, I'll call you right back."

The1calledTKE · #4 09-24-2002, 11:45 PM

I use Alltel and I never lose a signal even out in the boondox.

Kevin · #5 09-25-2002, 01:25 AM

I sell cell phones so I may have a little different perspective here.

People need to remember that cell phones work off of imperfect technology. The signal can be effected by the SMALLEST things and there's not a damned thing the company can do about it. There are also tons of considerations with zoning and other such legal items involved with building cell sites.

YES you will drop calls... Accept it and go on with life. It is a phone, people understand (or should) the limitations of the technology. If you drop the call call someone back. If it's a huge problem, call customer service and they'll comp you some minutes.

NO they won't ever fix it.. Again dead spots are something that can't be fixed. If the conditions are right (or wrong depending on how you read this) you could be standing right next to a cell tower and STILL not have a signal.

You'll probably have the best luck with your traditional A & B carriers -- whoever the 2 carriers that have been in your market the longest are. For us in OKC that's AT&T (A-carrier) and Cingular (B-Carrier). There are also independant studies in different markets that indicate who's coverage is the best (although what is "best" may not be the best for you).

Final though: If you're going to have a cell phone it is completely unreasonable to expect it to work all the time. Read the back of your contract and it even says that.

#6 09-25-2002, 03:20 AM

I've been with Sprint PCS for five years and I have never had a problem with them.

Sprint's actually one of the best service providers here in Hawaii.

Thanks for this thread...it reminded me that my bill's past due.

DWAlphaGam · #7 09-25-2002, 10:23 AM

My boyfriend sells cell phones now, so that's all I ever hear about from him. Here's what I've learned from him (when I'm actually paying attention to him while he's talking about cell phones

):

Sprint is crappy because they're doing that "building from the ground up" thing, so they don't have as many towers as many of the other companies and they can't use other companies' towers. So, unless you're near a Sprint tower, you're not going to get reception. Sprint will be better in a few years when they build more towers, but until then, you should probably go with something else. All of the other large companies (AT&T, Cingular, Verizon, VoiceStream/T-Mobil) can share towers so they get better reception in most places than Sprint does.

I personally have Cingular and I've never had a problem with them. They also usually have really good plans (i.e., nationwide service w/ no roaming and now they have rollover minutes). My boyfriend is an AT&T customer and that's also who he works for, so he's brainwashed me into being pro-AT&T and anti-Verizon.

I know people who have both of them and they like them and dislike them for different reasons. Everyone I know that has VoiceStream really doesn't like it, but it might be different now that they changed their name.

That's my non-expert opinion...

aephi alum · #8 09-25-2002, 10:59 AM

Cell coverage in Connecticut is pathetic... too many hills in this state. I use Verizon... my calls get dropped all the time. I just call back when I get a signal again.

What is really pathetic, not to mention dangerous, is that 911 calls get dropped. I had to call 911 once and the call got dropped

which is not fun when you're the one in danger!!

KSigkid · #9 09-25-2002, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by aephi alum
Cell coverage in Connecticut is pathetic... too many hills in this state. I use Verizon... my calls get dropped all the time. I just call back when I get a signal again.

What is really pathetic, not to mention dangerous, is that 911 calls get dropped. I had to call 911 once and the call got dropped which is not fun when you're the one in danger!!

Seriously, I can't even use my cell phone when I go home to Connecticut. My town (Bristol) is really hilly, and I live at the top of a hill - which I thought would increase my reception, but that shows how little I know about this stuff.

Collin

Betarulz! · #10 09-25-2002, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by alphagam-alum
I live in KC--home of Sprint Corp headquarters--- if I am not getting the message you get--I get dropped calls--and I roam--in town, not like I am in the woods calling someone--in the middle of a populated area. This is one particular area I drive thru (the triangle for those of you familiar with kc)--I always have to end the call when I enter the area--otherwise it will get dropped. Everyone I know drops calls there too.

--wendi

That's reason #5619 to avoid the Grandview Triangle...lol

Anyways I live just down the street (about 5 miles away) from the Sprint World HQ campus, so I when I'm home I drive by it all the time. For a while right when it first opened it was impossible to get a decent PCS signal when you drove past the place!!! How ludicrous is that! I talking like zero bars as you drive past the entrance!!! It has since gotten a lot better, but people were definetly wondering about it, and I know HSer's who were thinking about turning down the discount they got on PCS for other carriers b/c they couldn't be reached at work...

texas*princess · #11 09-25-2002, 12:35 PM

I can understand not being able to get a signal in some places. When i went to Missouri this summer, the only place I could get a cell phone signal was in Springfield at the airport. Other than that, I lived without my cell phone for about a week

Eupolis · #12 09-26-2002, 01:37 AM

For the last 3 years, I used Sprint PCS in Minneapolis and assorted places in Wisconsin. When I started using them in 1999 in Minneapolis their antenna density was still a bit low, but they've improved and I rarely got dropped calls.

I've recently moved to Denver. When I first came here, I got dropped calls all the time. When I called to complain, they told me to check that my phone's "Preferred Roam List" or "PRL" was up to date. Apparently the phone has some internal method of keeping track of certain things about towers. I had to take the phone to a Sprint Store to have it updated, but since I did that, I no longer get dropped calls in the Denver-Boulder area.

Of the big players out here, I think Verizon is the most recent arrival, so I hear they have the worst reputation for dropped calls. If they're investing as much money in antenna development as they are in advertising, that'll probably change before long.

ZTAngel · #13 09-26-2002, 08:49 AM

Sprint has gotten a lot better. Around this time last year, they put a tower up on UCF campus so I was finally able to get single when I'm at school. I live only 2 and half miles from campus and I get very poor single at my apartment. My calls are dropped all the time. I was thinking of switching but my friends with Verizon, Cingular, AT&T, and VoiceStream all have the same problems. I think it's just the cell phone industry in general. They spend all their money improving cell phones and making them smaller but forget that they also need to improve their connections.

Kevin · #14 09-26-2002, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ZTAngel
Sprint has gotten a lot better. Around this time last year, they put a tower up on UCF campus so I was finally able to get single when I'm at school. I live only 2 and half miles from campus and I get very poor single at my apartment. My calls are dropped all the time. I was thinking of switching but my friends with Verizon, Cingular, AT&T, and VoiceStream all have the same problems. I think it's just the cell phone industry in general. They spend all their money improving cell phones and making them smaller but forget that they also need to improve their connections.

Making them smaller/lighter is part of the problem. You take away the big antenna and somehow your reception drops off

. If you are having difficulty with your phone I'd recommend you try a larger model. For Sprint I've heard the Sanyo 4900 priced between $149 and $179 depending on location is superb.

texas*princess · #15 09-26-2002, 11:14 AM

that's really cool ktsnake.

i like sprint b/c they were the only ones that offered included nation-wide long distance when I got my cell phone

Now it's even more helpful, because the 'rents can call me from their regular telephone line and it's not long distance for them, and so can my friends from "back home".