failboat wrote:
Of course, If we ONLY get a signal booster/antenna, that alone may make things much more tolerable, in regards to tethering things to the phone, using the PDA Net app. It would also discourage exorbitant data use, like attempting to stream videos, or really using xbox live a lot.
To verify if a booster will improve the user experience, get outdoors. That is, take your phone and laptop outside where you are more likely to get a full 4 bars of coverage. Is the user experience and DL speed improved enough?
What you are hoping to get from a booster is the elimination of signal degradation from barriers. Steel, stone and terrain are your enemy; glass and wood not nearly so much unless that glass is mirrored. An eternal mounted booster can only gain as much signal as typically possible outside. What it tries to do is then replicate that outside signal, inside.
failboat wrote:
I have a number of things to research and consider, and it depends on how much I want to pay per month. Less is good, I dont want to get into a hotspot contract only to find out that they are raping me on the bill. Maybe we'll just try the signal booster alone at first and see if it meets our needs, thats a one time cost and the better signal would be awesome, she gets 2-3 bars on her Droid X, I get 0-1 on my Droid Incredible 2 (and LG Ally before), WTF.
The difference between the two phones is just differences in Internal antenna. It is very possible that you have two FM radios in the house as well and one does a better job of pulling signal than the other.
If you think the ability to pull signal has degraded on the Incredible and it is in warranty then it may be worth to bitch about it at the store. You will need to stress the point that the capabilities have degraded. If you tell them it has always been that way then they will just say that is the limits of the equipment.
If the handset is insured through the optional insurance then it may be wise to make an insurance claim (there will be a deductible so find out what that is.) Of course, this switching of handsets will not guarantee any improvement.
failboat wrote:
PS. About the DSL, We did contact a few carriers and said they dont service our area. We found another one recently on the county website that we need to contact to inquire about service. Currently do not have a home phone so I guess thats a perk if we can go that route. We did have a home phone for a month until I saw the bill. Local+Long distance was about as much as my smartphone bill, and we never used it. Cancelled it.
For DSL, contact the traditional home phone provider in your area, likely the one that you previously had the home phone through. They will be the ones who know if your home can do DSL since they are the ones who provide the actual phone line. Sure, there are many vendors of DSL but most just resell the services of the original phone company in your area.
Is there a cable company that services your area? Contact them as well. The cable companies are usually the most receptive to expansions of services since that brings them options of new revenue.
A good video from Wilson:
http://wilsoncellboosters.com/wilson-blog/video-how-wilsons-cellphone-signal-boost...
