Why can't I make phone calls when iPhones at my house can?

[AC Question]

why can't I make phone calls when iphones at my house can?

I am in a 1 bar location at home. My service provider is ATT. I have their microcell but it does not work because I have an Exede satellite metered wifi connection. Is there a stronger internal antenna that I could get for my Note 4?

 

[Rukbat]

Re: why can't I make phone calls when iphones at my house can?

No. "stronger" antennas work by being directional, so you'd have to hold the phone in the correct position relative to the tower or microcell, which could be awkward.

You chould never choose a carrier that has a weak signal where you need signal, even if they offer a free microcell - as you can see, that doesn't always work.

 

[fatyank]

Re: why can't I make phone calls when iphones at my house can?

That's why I switched from Sprint to Verizon in my area. I live in Phoenix AZ and you'd think there would be no signal problem in the flat desert and a large city. However there is. Sprint was good. I hung in there for 9 years, but most of them with a small signal booster (micro tower) plugged into my cable system in my house. It was still anybody's guess if I would have a signal or not. That was all the phones on my account, Android and IPhone. I stayed that long because at the time Sprint was less expensive and they didn't charge me for the tower. When Verizon's prices became competitive I made the change. I now get 4 to 5 bars and no stupid micro tower.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Bbeelzebub]

Re: why can't I make phone calls when iphones at my house can?

People debate this all the time, but Samsung phones get weaker reception than other brands. iPhone, Moto and HTC generally get more bars shown (that do not always correlate w/ the db it's receiving). I fall off 4G back to 3G quite a bit with any Samsung phone on Verizon when the phone is in my pocket and I'm sitting down, if I'm in a weaker coverage area or if I'm in a concrete building. I made Verizon send me a Moto once to test the difference and unfortunately it was the same on my GSIII and the Note 4. It's just one of those things I've learned to live with. Sometimes it's just my data, sometimes voice goes with it. It's the same on all the Note 4s in my house (3). I'm heard it is a CDMA thing, but I don't believe that as it usually affects 4G which isn't CDMA.

That being said, the Note 4 is far better than the GSIII was. Still not perfect.

 

[natehoy]

Re: why can't I make phone calls when iphones at my house can?

Unfortunately, the Note 4's radio is apparently weaker than the iPhones you are comparing it to.

I have a moderately weak signal at my house and aluminum siding. The phone does not matter, I simply do not get signal indoors and it is spotty in places outdoors.

To solve the indoor problem, I ended up buying an older model (this was about 7-8 years ago) of this:

http://smile.amazon.com/zBoost-ZB54...&qid=1438000738&sr=8-1&keywords=cell+repeater

Just make sure you pick one that supports the frequencies your carrier uses for the type of service you want, and apparently carriers are now saying you have to register them (I never have, but whatevs).