Fed up with Nextel

[tyha]

well gentlemen i finally took it in the stomach and dropped nextel. I have had so many issues over the last few years i could probably write a book. So with some fear in my heart I checked out the competition and settled on the new at&t. I have to tell you that so far I am impressed. here in nc nextel coverage sucks around raliegh and I had at least 2 or 3 calls dropped every day. its been about 2 weeks and not one dropped yet. i did take a hit from nextel and paid $1000 in early term fees but with the freaking money im saving Ill make it up in 2 months with the plan I got. plus at&t push to talk is working fairly well. its not as instant as nextel but with just one push of a button you can convert it to a cellular call instantly. that works great. so only time will tell if its going to work long term but for now its going alot better. plus the guys really like the phones they have a ton more features and are easier to use.

[GilbeSpark]

You're not the only one who thinks nextel sucks. Here in Charlotte a call without dropping is a crapshoot. If the company didn't use them I wouldn't be either. I never reccomend nextel to anybody.

Sample conversation:
Me: Beep: Hey Jim, where did you put that rece*BEEEEEEEEP*
Me: Beep: Sorry don't know what happened, anyway, where's the *BEEEEEEEEEEP*

You guys have no idea how many times this happens, and not in a remote area. In the middle of Charlotte!

I hate Nextel.

[mdshunk]

I guess I'm lucky. I've pretty much always been with AT&T, and havn't had any special problems. Even when I was with Nextel, however, I got decent service. AT&T just had better coverage in my area.

[480sparky]

I've had nextel for about 6 years now with no problems. I gotta reeeeeally get out into the sticks to start having calls dropped, and I'm in Iowa!

[satcom]

You're not the only one who thinks nextel sucks. Here in Charlotte a call without dropping is a crapshoot. If the company didn't use them I wouldn't be either. I never reccomend nextel to anybody.

Sample conversation:
Me: Beep: Hey Jim, where did you put that rece*BEEEEEEEEP*
Me: Beep: Sorry don't know what happened, anyway, where's the *BEEEEEEEEEEP*

You guys have no idea how many times this happens, and not in a remote area. In the middle of Charlotte!

I hate Nextel.

With dropped calls. and general poor service nestel remindes me of when I was a kid using a tin can and string to communicate.

Don't call the customer service, or you will end up on their nauty list. Stop complaining, and live with their poor service, they just want to collect excessive payments, and report increased profits, not be bothered by customers looking for decent service. They should win an award, for the worst cell service.

[jamesguy10]

I got sprint and i love it

[dereckbc]

Well in Raleigh/Durham/RTP area Alltel followed by Verizon have better coverage and equipment than ATT. Both have been there longer (meaning they have many more sights built and the largest chunk of bandwidth), use the cellular band (800 MHz), and CDMA technology.

[dereckbc]

I got sprint and i love it
Sprint = Nextel.

[GilbeSpark]

I have Sprint service and don't have nearly the problems I do with Nextel. I think they run on different networks which have different frequencies.

[infinity]

The happiest day in my cell phone life was when I dumped Nextel, didn't work in basements, didn't work in highrise buildings, dead zones everywhere. Now with Verizon and everyone on the same network we can talk for free. Pretty much eliminates the push to talk advantage of Nextel.

[dereckbc]

I have Sprint service and don't have nearly the problems I do with Nextel. I think they run on different networks which have different frequencies.
Nope no difference in equipment or frequencies. In fact if you GOOGLE Nextel it takes you straight to www.sprint.com Only difference is service plan options like PTT which every carrier offers.

They both use the same equipment, towers, technology, everything. Sprint/Nextel is PCS band (meaning 1900 MHz) using GSM technology. The kicker is the PCS band (1900 MHz) very short range line of sight only, will not penetrate buildings or heavy foliage. Sprint/Nextel is notorious for only installing towers along major highways.

[Pierre C Belarge]

I also could not deal with Nexsmell anymore. I moved my number to Verizon and now have almost no dropped calls. Prior with Nexsmell I was losing up to 10 calls a day...or getting the dreaded beeeeeeeeeeeeeep during PTT.

[dSilanskas]

Haha my boss dumped Nextel also ever since they joined with Sprint there hidden charges are crazy and the reception wicked sucks. We have Verizon now! A great service and we never lose signal even when working in a basement 8-)

[GilbeSpark]

Nope no difference in equipment or frequencies. In fact if you GOOGLE Nextel it takes you straight to www.sprint.com Only difference is service plan options like PTT which every carrier offers.

They both use the same equipment, towers, technology, everything. Sprint/Nextel is PCS band (meaning 1900 MHz) using GSM technology. The kicker is the PCS band (1900 MHz) very short range line of sight only, will not penetrate buildings or heavy foliage. Sprint/Nextel is notorious for only installing towers along major highways.

Hmmm interesting.
PTT is still BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
PTT is still my BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
PTT is still my gripe. Nexsmell, hahaha.

[Minuteman]

Nextel Direct Connect does not work well in metropolitan areas. Must be something to do with bleed over. In the middle of conversations, you do get the dreaded BEEEEP. Sometimes when you key up to talk, you get a sort of "busy" beep. They are far more trouble than they are worth.:mad:

[LawnGuyLandSparky]

Nextel works fine all over NYC. Every cellular service works the same way - they invest in infrastructure only when their market share is at risk.

[jbower]

Nextel is no good in my area either, we use Verizon and it's done well from Va. to LA.

[hardworkingstiff]

I have good luck with US Cellular. They use CDMA.

I paid to get rid of Suncom, they use GSM.

CDMA is the way to go.

[jzadroga]

Two things bug me about nextels direct connect. The beep that indicates the begining or end of a conversation. And the people that use direct connect in in-apropriate places thinking everyone wants to here there conversation. I suppose the second thing could apply to all phone users to a degree.

[hey_poolboy]

Man, I'm glad I don't live where you guys do. We've had Nextel for 6-7 years now, and love it. A couple of the phones haven't quite held up, but our current ones are fine. I have no dropped call issues unless I am waaaaay out in the boonies, and I'm in central Illinois.

[brian john]

Nextel??? Oh you mean NexTime, it may not work this time but could work next time MAYBE.

I have Nextel for the blackberry only (because the company had Nextel), But for my calls I use Verizon. With NexTime I would drop 4 to 5 calls a day. NexTime had shaky coverage on the Washington beltway, WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! if you can not cover the beltway why offer service at all. With Verizon I have dropped maybe 4 to 5 calls in a year and a half and I swear these are from the other callers Nextel.

[realolman]

On one hand I think cell phones are amazing. Millions of people walking around with one stuck to each of their faces, talking to someone. I can't imagine what it takes to keep that mess sorted out and working. Call somebody and his phone rings... amazing.

I think how well a provider works has much to do with the area in which you're located. If I could throw a rock a half mile I could hit a Verizon tower from my house... in the sticks... so I have good service in the basement. All around my area verizon has good service... I have no dropped calls.

On the other hand, I used to have ATT wireless. Poor service everywhere, but at that time I didn't know what to expect. Six months from my last contract expiration, my daughter's phone loses a little bezel around the battery charging port, so you have to prop the wire up against some thing to charge it. I go over there to get it fixed...

can't fix it... we changed to CIngular... can I buy a new phone? ... nope... won't work... we changed to cingular... well, what can I do? You can buy all four new phones with a new service contract. So they thought of collecting the bill every month, but failed to consider keeping the customers' phones working.

Lately I see they've changed their name back.

So... I have no beefs with Verizon's service... it's been pretty amazing... but I imagine they are probably just as evil an empire as any one else's.

[hardworkingstiff]

can't fix it... we changed to CIngular... can I buy a new phone? ... nope... won't work... we changed to cingular... well, what can I do? You can buy all four new phones with a new service contract. So they thought of collecting the bill every month, but failed to consider keeping the customers' phones working.


The mentality of the cell phone companies amazes me. I've had a month to month contract w/US Cellular for over 3 years (my original 1-year contract ran out that long ago). I had insurance on the phone, it was having problems. I took it in, they gave me a loaner, sent it off. The problem was not covered under the insurance (I forget what it was). So I cancel the insurance and ask for a new simple no frills phone (to purchase). $200. I could get it for some low price (or maybe even free, I don't remember) if I signed a new 2-year contract. I like my existing contract and don't want a new one.

I said to them "I have used your service for over 4 years on the original contract and unless I sign a new 2-year contract I won't get any discount?". They responded "That's correct". I don't understand why they (not just cell phone providers) don't appreciate loyal customers as much as they do new customers. I think we can all learn something from them (as in what not to do).

The service is great. The customer appreciation sucks.

[Krim]

I got sprint and i love it

I had Sprint and hated it , now have Cingular ( AT&T ) and it's just as bad in my area . The only one that seems to work well around here is Verizon but the President of the facilities gets better reception from his boat with Cingular so they won't change service providers . Of course we have the option of saying that we never got the call too and be legit .
Carl :D

[mkoloj]

Nextel works fine all over NYC. Every cellular service works the same way - they invest in infrastructure only when their market share is at risk.

We use a lot of Nextel's and our in building reception was horrible until they came in and at their cost installed repeaters throughout our building, now there are still some random dead spots but it is dramatically improved.

[petersonra]

I have had US Cellular. It was a little spotty early on (maybe 12 years ago when I first got it), but has steadily improved. It made a big jump when they bought Primeco and switched to that network.

They don't have all the bells and whistles (like Internet service) but I have been pleased for the most part.

Last year they changed their policy so you can get out of an old contract earlier w/o paying a fee. My wife and I got new phones and we still had almost 6 months to go.

It has worked every where I have gone.

They even have a neat new plan where you can buy extra roaming minutes fo a specific month, or can change your plan for just a month w/o a charge (I use that when I go out of town on business).

[hardworkingstiff]

They even have a neat new plan where you can buy extra roaming minutes fo a specific month, or can change your plan for just a month w/o a charge (I use that when I go out of town on business).

I almost did that, but when it came time to switch back, I would have lost my free minutes and would have had to pay (monthly fee) for the free incoming calls. I just paid the roaming charges while I was in NM.

[bigjohn67]

We recently dropped Nextel. They have the worst service. We now have shared minutes with a cellular company with our techs only and purchased 2 way radios for the trucks for tech/helper communication. It has been working great.

[ItsHot]

well gentlemen i finally took it in the stomach and dropped nextel. I have had so many issues over the last few years i could probably write a book. So with some fear in my heart I checked out the competition and settled on the new at&t. I have to tell you that so far I am impressed. here in nc nextel coverage sucks around raliegh and I had at least 2 or 3 calls dropped every day. its been about 2 weeks and not one dropped yet. i did take a hit from nextel and paid $1000 in early term fees but with the freaking money im saving Ill make it up in 2 months with the plan I got. plus at&t push to talk is working fairly well. its not as instant as nextel but with just one push of a button you can convert it to a cellular call instantly. that works great. so only time will tell if its going to work long term but for now its going alot better. plus the guys really like the phones they have a ton more features and are easier to use.
Don't get your hopes up to high with AT&T you will see what I mean in time. It seems that so many large corporations continue to lower their standards, such as the airlines!! Have you flown lately??

[dereckbc]

I have Sprint service and don't have nearly the problems I do with Nextel. I think they run on different networks which have different frequencies.
Gilberspark, I owe you an apology, there is still some difference between NEXTEL and SPRINT. For lack of a better word NEXTEL is a queer with their technology, they use iDEN modulation. They developed it for their PTT function. However it is being phased out now and completely in the near future. The technology and frequencies is reportably being sold to the US military for their own use.

I found my mistake this morning when I went back to work; I work for a cell phone carrier so I have access to a lot of inside info. So is you are in an area that still uses NEXTEL iDEN technology is more than likely the reason for all the problems.

For all of you trying to figure out which is best I can sum up pretty quickly. You want to find a carrier that uses CDMA technology in the Cellular band of 800 MHz, rather than GSM or TDMA (TDMA is history December 2008 as the equipment manufactures will no longer support it).

CDMA has many advantages over GSM and TDMA; most importantly data speeds, security, and 4 times the capacity for a given bandwidth.

The list is rather short and you can easily tell which carriers use what. The catch is which band Cellular (800 MHz) or PCS (1900 MHz)

CDMA carriers are:
Verizon (Both Cellular and PCS, depends on market area)
Alltel (Cellular band only)
US Cellular (Cellular Band only very limited coverage and services like data)
Sprint (PCS band only)

Verizon is the largest and best out there with all the bells and whistles. Here is a word or two of advice. Sprint and US Cellular are in deep trouble and will likely be bought out by the other two (Verizon or Alltel). Alltel just went private and it is not known what exactly will be done with it. Rumor has it one of two things.


Alltel will buy US Cellular, merge the two, slash employees and cost, then sell out to Verizon.
Or just slash cost and employees, then sell to Verizon.


As for SPRINT, Verizon is just waiting for the right price which shouldn’t be long as SPRINT is undergoing layoffs and cost cutting right now to stop their market cap slide to $0.

Short story is Verizon will be the CDMA carrier in the end.

On the GSM/TDMA side you have:
ATT/Cingular
T-Mobile
Quest

[Rewire]

The mentality of the cell phone companies amazes me. I've had a month to month contract w/US Cellular for over 3 years (my original 1-year contract ran out that long ago). I had insurance on the phone, it was having problems. I took it in, they gave me a loaner, sent it off. The problem was not covered under the insurance (I forget what it was). So I cancel the insurance and ask for a new simple no frills phone (to purchase). $200. I could get it for some low price (or maybe even free, I don't remember) if I signed a new 2-year contract. I like my existing contract and don't want a new one.

I said to them "I have used your service for over 4 years on the original contract and unless I sign a new 2-year contract I won't get any discount?". They responded "That's correct". I don't understand why they (not just cell phone providers) don't appreciate loyal customers as much as they do new customers. I think we can all learn something from them (as in what not to do).

The service is great. The customer appreciation sucks.
Most of the older contracts are better so they want you to sign a new contract that usually gives you less I was going to renew to get some free phones and the guy at Cingular told me I had a better contract than they could offer so I just bought a phone and stuck with what I have.

[jerm]

I prefer GSM over CDMA because I keep all of my contacts on my sim card and move it from phone to phone without having to go to the carrier (tmobile) for swap outs. When a phone wears out, I just buy the pay-as-you-go phone ($40) that's simlocked to our carrier and put my sim in and go. I've never had a dropped call with tmobile, forgot that used to happen with the previous carrier.