Do you get cell phone reception in Jamaica?

Cell phone Reception

• I get bad reception in my house with my cell phone. Is their something that can help me get better reception? I have seen the little thing on TV that you put under your battery but I have heard those don’t work. Can you please find something that is proven to work? The phone I am using is an LG TP-5250 and my service is sprint. Also if you could personally recommend a hands free headset also that would be great but not necessary. I mainly need to know how I can get better reception. Please also take into consideration the price of the product as I do not want to pay to much.

• Answer:

  Hi, Cmecklen! As a former cellular retailer, I've been through this many times with my customers. I'll expand on the comments shown below, and add a few things from my personal knowledge. The first thing you need to do is establish whether your difficulty is related to your area, your carrier, your house, or your phone. The remedy to your problem will depend to some degree which of these proves to be the difficulty. The steps given below by alienintelligence-ga are pretty comprehensive. If signal is good outside your house, your coverage is likely not at fault. If coverage is good-but-not-great outside your house (most phones will show you on their display how good a signal you've got), then you may be on the fringe of your carrier's coverage area. Try to organize two friends: one with a different carrier, one with the same carrier but a different phone. If the friend with a different carrier has excellent signal, you may be on the fringe of Sprint's coverage. If another Sprint customer with a different phone gets good signal, it may be your phone. If everybody's signal is fine outside the house but bad inside, then you have an issue with the house itself. Some types of construction are worse than others. As alienintelligence has learned, concrete has "rebar" inside, which interferes with the signal. Stucco walls typically have wire mesh inside them, which also is a problem. Aluminum siding, of course, is self-explanatory. If you have no obvious construction-related issues, you probably are getting interference from something within the house. These are always difficult to track down. Regardless of the cause of your problem, improving your signal strength will usually clear it up. Using an external antenna on your house is the option most likely to improve your signal. If you are simply in an area of poor signal, it might be the only thing that will work. This involves an investment not just in the antenna, but usually also an adaptor kit to allow your phone to use the antenna. You may also choose to have the antenna professionally installed, in order to ensure proper grounding (and to "pass the buck" for any liability to the installer). This is costly, however, and you'd specified that you wanted to keep the price low. Those little gizmos that attach to your phone are not a very viable option. Like the others, feedback I've received on them has been poor. The principle they use, however (Passive Repeater) is genuine. Specialty cellular outlets usually carry the "proper" repeaters, though your mall electronics store may not. They will typically look like either a small antenna, or a flat patch that goes onto your window. Essentially they focus the signal in their immediate vicinity, giving your built-in antenna a "leg up", so to speak. Be aware that while these are a legitimate and well-recognized product, they do not work in all cases. Before you buy one, check the return policy clearly. These will usually cost less than antennas. A third choice is to purchase a higher-gain antenna for your cel phone. Most manufacturers make a "Hi-gain" or "Fringe Area" antenna for their handsets, which may be easily changed in-store or by the user at home. These work well, and typically cost much less than external antennas. Again, be sure of your return options in case you do not see an improvement. Older "bag" cel phones are more powerful than handhelds. These are essentially car-mount cel phones made portable by the addition of a carry case, and either a battery or a plug-in power supply. If you can acquire one of these cheaply, most carriers allow a second phone on your account for a minimal extra charge. Simply forward calls from your handheld to the bag phone while you're in. Finally, I will suggest one more option: if you have a landline (regular phone phone)in the house, just forward your calls! The cost is usually modest, even if your local telco charges for call forwarding. You may also be able to get it bundled with one or more features you already have, getting the forwarding for relatively little. This pretty much covers the options you have available. I can't guarantee any of them, but with ten years' cellular sales under your belt I can tell you it's a reasonably comprehensive list. Good luck, and hopefully one of these suggestions will do the job for you. -Chromedome