Do all cell towers from the same company carry the same bands?

Are bands 1 to 4 more common than, say, band 41?

I think of band 41 like Podunk, Idaho, some far away place no one has
ever been to, and band 2 like NYC or LA, the place everyone wants to
see. Or are they really just as popular?

On 9/2/2022 10:54 AM, micky wrote:
> Do all cell towers from the same company carry the same bands?
>
> Are bands 1 to 4 more common than, say, band 41?
>
> I think of band 41 like Podunk, Idaho, some far away place no one has
> ever been to, and band 2 like NYC or LA, the place everyone wants to
> see. Or are they really just as popular?

I have been wondering if band re-allocation for 5G might be why my
S9 and my wife's S5 using Verizon via PagePlus no longer get above 2
bars at home, where they used to be 3-4 most of the time. Calls go
silent, and texts do not send for an hour sometimes.

On 9/4/2022 8:55 PM, Bob F wrote:

> I have been wondering if band re-allocation for 5G might be why my S9
> and my wife's S5 using Verizon via PagePlus no longer get above 2
> bars at home, where they used to be 3-4 most of the time. Calls go
> silent, and texts do not send for an hour sometimes.

Do you mean Galaxy S5 and S9? If so they both have Wi-Fi calling
capability. I use WiFi calling with my Galaxy S10+ while at home since
my tower signal (Verizon) is also a bit weak. Works great, no more drops
walking around the house and seamlessly uses the network when I leave.
Give it a try, might solve your problem...

In comp.mobile.android, on Sun, 4 Sep 2022 20:55:30 -0700, Bob F
<bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:

>On 9/2/2022 10:54 AM, micky wrote:
>> Do all cell towers from the same company carry the same bands?
>>
>> Are bands 1 to 4 more common than, say, band 41?
>>
>> I think of band 41 like Podunk, Idaho, some far away place no one has
>> ever been to, and band 2 like NYC or LA, the place everyone wants to
>> see. Or are they really just as popular?
>
>I have been wondering if band re-allocation for 5G might be why my
>S9 and my wife's S5 using Verizon via PagePlus no longer get above 2
>bars at home, where they used to be 3-4 most of the time. Calls go
>silent, and texts do not send for an hour sometimes.

I called my cellular provider, Mint, and of course she didn't know the
answer to my OP, but after I pressed her to ask someone else there, she
said someone would call me back, but no one did.

Long story that I think deserves a another thread, later today I hope.

On 9/4/2022 9:47 PM, AJL wrote:
> On 9/4/2022 8:55 PM, Bob F wrote:
>
>> I have been wondering if band re-allocation for 5G might be why my S9
>> and my wife's S5 using Verizon via PagePlus no longer get above 2
>> bars at home, where they used to be 3-4 most of the time. Calls go
>> silent, and texts do not send for an hour sometimes.
>
> Do you mean Galaxy S5 and S9? If so they both have Wi-Fi calling
> capability. I use WiFi calling with my Galaxy S10+ while at home since
> my tower signal (Verizon) is also a bit weak. Works great, no more drops
> walking around the house and seamlessly uses the network when I leave.
> Give it a try, might solve your problem...
>

I got WiFi calling working on my S9, But can find nothing on my wife's
S5 to indicate that it exists on that phone. I did find suggestions
online that it exists, but no sign of it when I try to follow the online
instructions.

To get Wifi calling working on my S9, which had been set up for Tmobile,
I had to install the latest the latest Verizon firmware version. MY
wife's S5 was originally for Verizon and I have done no updates for it.
Any clues you can suggest for the S5 would be appreciated.

Bob F wrote:

> I got WiFi calling working on my S9, But can find nothing on my wife's S5 to
> indicate that it exists on that phone.

If combination of phone, SIM and network isn't configured properly for WiFi
Calling, the settings for it get completely hidden on the phone.

On 9/6/2022 7:56 AM, Bob F wrote:
> On 9/4/2022 9:47 PM, AJL wrote:
>> On 9/4/2022 8:55 PM, Bob F wrote:

>>> I have been wondering if band re-allocation for 5G might be why
>>> my S9 and my wife's S5 using Verizon via PagePlus no longer get
>>> above 2 bars at home, where they used to be 3-4 most of the time.
>>> Calls go silent, and texts do not send for an hour sometimes.

>> Do you mean Galaxy S5 and S9? If so they both have Wi-Fi calling
>> capability. I use WiFi calling with my Galaxy S10+ while at home
>> since my tower signal (Verizon) is also a bit weak. Works great, no
>> more drops walking around the house and seamlessly uses the network
>> when I leave. Give it a try, might solve your problem...

> I got WiFi calling working on my S9, But can find nothing on my
> wife's S5 to indicate that it exists on that phone. I did find
> suggestions online that it exists, but no sign of it when I try to
> follow the online instructions.

> To get Wifi calling working on my S9, which had been set up for
> Tmobile, I had to install the latest the latest Verizon firmware
> version. MY wife's S5 was originally for Verizon and I have done no
> updates for it. Any clues you can suggest for the S5 would be
> appreciated.

All I know about the Galaxy S5 is what I find online and since you've
already done that I have no further suggestions other than perhaps it's
time for a new (or newer) phone. That one was released in 2014 so a
newer model may have other benefits as well. Hopefully WiFi calling
solved the signal problem with your phone. When I got my Galaxy S10+
with its WiFi calling I was able to cancel my landline as the mobile
quality and reliability became just as good. Good luck with solving your
wife's phone's problem...

On 9/6/2022 9:15 AM, AJL wrote:
> On 9/6/2022 7:56 AM, Bob F wrote:
>> On 9/4/2022 9:47 PM, AJL wrote:
>>> On 9/4/2022 8:55 PM, Bob F wrote:
>
>>>> I have been wondering if band re-allocation for 5G might be why
>>>> my S9 and my wife's S5 using Verizon via PagePlus no longer get
>>>> above 2 bars at home, where they used to be 3-4 most of the time.
>>>> Calls go silent, and texts do not send for an hour sometimes.
>
>>> Do you mean Galaxy S5 and S9? If so they both have Wi-Fi calling
>>> capability. I use WiFi calling with my Galaxy S10+ while at home
>>> since my tower signal (Verizon) is also a bit weak. Works great, no
>>> more drops walking around the house and seamlessly uses the network
>>> when I leave. Give it a try, might solve your problem...
>
>> I got WiFi calling working on my S9, But can find nothing on my
>> wife's S5 to indicate that it exists on that phone. I did find
>> suggestions online that it exists, but no sign of it when I try to
>> follow the online instructions.
>
>> To get Wifi calling working on my S9, which had been set up for
>> Tmobile, I had to install the latest the latest Verizon firmware
>> version. MY wife's S5 was originally for Verizon and I have done no
>> updates for it. Any clues you can suggest for the S5 would be
>> appreciated.
>
> All I know about the Galaxy S5 is what I find online and since you've
> already done that I have no further suggestions other than perhaps it's
> time for a new (or newer) phone. That one was released in 2014 so a
> newer model may have other benefits as well. Hopefully WiFi calling
> solved the signal problem with your phone. When I got my Galaxy S10+
> with its WiFi calling I was able to cancel my landline as the mobile
> quality and reliability became just as good. Good luck with solving your
> wife's phone's problem...
>
>

The real issue is that neither phone gets often above 2 bars of signal
anywhere. Mine currently shows a signal strength of -111dbm at home. My
wife's shows -110dbm. We both used to get 3-4 bars most of the time, but
I did nor record the dbm at the time. It seems like sometime along the
way, the signal got a lot weaker. I don't understand why. I checked
along the way a few times this morning on a long bike ride. I did see 3
bars at one place at the best.

On 9/6/2022 3:09 PM, Bob F wrote:

> The real issue is that neither phone [Galaxy S5, S9] gets often above
> 2 bars of signal anywhere. Mine currently shows a signal strength of
> -111dbm at home. My wife's shows -110dbm.

Mine shows 2 bars at home. But when walking around I used to get the
occasional dropout before WiFi calling.

> We both used to get 3-4 bars most of the time, but I did nor record
> the dbm at the time. It seems like sometime along the way, the signal
> got a lot weaker. I don't understand why.

What counts is how the phone performs. If it no longer works where it
used to then you may have a problem. Otherwise I wouldn't worry about it.

> I checked along the way a few times this morning on a long bike ride.
> I did see 3 bars at one place at the best.

Try listening to a net radio station on your next ride. That might give
you an indication. Choose an app with a short buffer or it may fool you...

On 9/6/2022 4:48 PM, AJL wrote:
> On 9/6/2022 3:09 PM, Bob F wrote:
>
>> The real issue is that neither phone [Galaxy S5, S9] gets often above
>> 2 bars of signal anywhere. Mine currently shows a signal strength  of
>> -111dbm at home. My wife's shows -110dbm.
>
> Mine shows 2 bars at home. But when walking around I used to get the
> occasional dropout before WiFi calling.

Ditto. Frequent dropouts, especially up at Stevens pass and at home.
+ frequent looong delays for texts to sent or be received.

>
>> We both used to get 3-4 bars most of the time, but I did not record
>> the dbm at the time. It seems like sometime along the way, the signal
>> got a lot weaker. I don't understand why.
>
> What counts is how the phone performs. If it no longer works where it
> used to then you may have a problem. Otherwise I wouldn't worry about it.
>
>> I checked along the way a few times this morning on a long bike ride.
>> I did see 3 bars at one place at the best.
>
> Try listening to a net radio station on your next ride. That might give
> you an indication. Choose an app with a short buffer or it may fool you...
>

I have a Pay-as-you-go plan at PagePlus, and almost never turn on mobile
data, which costs $.05/MB. I rarely use the phone, but would like to be
able to trust it to be available when I need it.