Cell phone companies in Maine.

[inthetrees]

Originally Posted by namder1

I just use a Trac phone. It's ok but reception is spotty.

For best reception, make sure your tracphone is a CDMA phone and not a GSM. Tracphone has contracts with verizon and also tmobile, the cdma phones use verizon towers and the GSM use tmobile's. Aside from googling your phone model number (to tell if its CDMA or GSM),

GSM phones need sim cards to opperate, CDMA don't have sims.

Verizon is by far the best cell phone service in our area. For a cheaper alternative, Page plus cellular,straight talk and tracphone all use verizon's towers.

[bangorme]

I've had no trouble with Verizon (which I brought with me from D.C.). My daughter loves U.S. Cellular (and they were rated tops by Consumer Reports, so I'd think twice about changing from them). The only problem I've seen with U.S. Cellular is if you leave New England, the coverage is spotty and you will be roaming a lot.

[GrammieLinda]

Originally Posted by Newdaawn

Did they tell you why this happend?

All they told me was that it was unrecoverable.

[GrammieLinda]

[quote=mollysmiles;20197619]I too have US Cellular. Two months ago I started receiving notifications from them saying that voicemails older than 30 days would be deleted after a certain date. We have 5 lines with them, and each number received the same notifications. It was also in the paper bills from the last two months, as well as on their website. I'm sorry this happened to you, but I know I received plenty of notice that this was in the works.

They deleted all of my messages, including the one they sent saying that unsaved messages would be deleted which was less than 3 weeks old and had been resaved.

[GrammieLinda]

[quote=mollysmiles;20197619]I too have US Cellular. Two months ago I started receiving notifications from them saying that voicemails older than 30 days would be deleted after a certain date. We have 5 lines with them, and each number received the same notifications. It was also in the paper bills from the last two months, as well as on their website. I'm sorry this happened to you, but I know I received plenty of notice that this was in the works.

Perhaps, then, that is why I am so upset. We just went through the last three months' bills to see if there was anything we missed, and there was no notice or warning whatsoever. Also, my husband and I received one automated message approximately two weeks before the deletion, stating that all messages that had not been re-saved would be deleted. Nothing about messages over a certain age being deleted. So I made a point of re-saving any messages that I wanted to keep, including the one from them, which was also deleted before it was even three weeks old.

I wonder why different areas would receive different warnings.

[AustinB]

I got the same messages as Molly. It didn't worry me at all, since I delete my messages after I hear them.

[maine4.us]

There is a new player in town called Wilson. These guys sell everything you need to make your own cellular "hot spot." The kit includes a highly directional antenna that you mount on the roof and point to the strongest cell tower in your area. The outside antenna is connected to a "repeater" that rebroadcasts the cell signal to your home/yard/area. If you get 1 bar on your cell, with this gizmo you most likely will get 5 bars. You can set the size of your hotspot so no one free loads off your signal. The kits will handle up to 5 cell phones at once, and if you want to pay the money, an unlimited number of phones over a 5 acre area. I used one of these at a camp in Florida years ago, but the device had to connect directly to the phone, now it doesn't. You don't have to be a techno geek to set this up. All the cables, and hardware come with it. The only other thing you need is a short mast to mount the outside antenna on. These work with CDMA/TDMA phones, and there is also a GSM model available for ATT customers. They come with a money back guarantee! By the way, they handle data and streaming just as well as a regular cell tower. There is however a tad of lag time for people who online game on their phone. If you want more info, DM me. PS for the mods, I am not their sales rep I just have a lot of info on these hotspots.

Maine is the 3% of America that ATT doesn't cover completely....no one else does either because of the low population density.

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by maine4.us

There is a new player in town called Wilson. These guys sell everything you need to make your own cellular "hot spot." The kit includes a highly directional antenna that you mount on the roof and point to the strongest cell tower in your area. The outside antenna is connected to a "repeater" that rebroadcasts the cell signal to your home/yard/area. If you get 1 bar on your cell, with this gizmo you most likely will get 5 bars. You can set the size of your hotspot so no one free loads off your signal. The kits will handle up to 5 cell phones at once, and if you want to pay the money, an unlimited number of phones over a 5 acre area. I used one of these at a camp in Florida years ago, but the device had to connect directly to the phone, now it doesn't. You don't have to be a techno geek to set this up. All the cables, and hardware come with it. The only other thing you need is a short mast to mount the outside antenna on. These work with CDMA/TDMA phones, and there is also a GSM model available for ATT customers. They come with a money back guarantee! By the way, they handle data and streaming just as well as a regular cell tower. There is however a tad of lag time for people who online game on their phone. If you want more info, DM me. PS for the mods, I am not their sales rep I just have a lot of info on these hotspots.

Maine is the 3% of America that ATT doesn't cover completely....no one else does either because of the low population density.

Wilson isn't new- I've been using their antennas for decades. They have over 40 years of experience in the RF field (pun intended) and many satisfied customers. No association other than being one of their customers.

[mollysmiles]

Originally Posted by mollysmiles

I too have US Cellular. Two months ago I started receiving notifications from them saying that voicemails older than 30 days would be deleted after a certain date. We have 5 lines with them, and each number received the same notifications. It was also in the paper bills from the last two months, as well as on their website. I'm sorry this happened to you, but I know I received plenty of notice that this was in the works.

If you do a forum search for Maine cell phones you'll see that this topic has come up quite a bit, and there is some good information all ready provided. Good luck.

[quote=GrammieLinda;20280564]

Originally Posted by mollysmiles

I too have US Cellular. Two months ago I started receiving notifications from them saying that voicemails older than 30 days would be deleted after a certain date. We have 5 lines with them, and each number received the same notifications. It was also in the paper bills from the last two months, as well as on their website. I'm sorry this happened to you, but I know I received plenty of notice that this was in the works.

They deleted all of my messages, including the one they sent saying that unsaved messages would be deleted which was less than 3 weeks old and had been resaved.

[quote=GrammieLinda;20280870]

Originally Posted by mollysmiles

I too have US Cellular. Two months ago I started receiving notifications from them saying that voicemails older than 30 days would be deleted after a certain date. We have 5 lines with them, and each number received the same notifications. It was also in the paper bills from the last two months, as well as on their website. I'm sorry this happened to you, but I know I received plenty of notice that this was in the works.

Perhaps, then, that is why I am so upset. We just went through the last three months' bills to see if there was anything we missed, and there was no notice or warning whatsoever. Also, my husband and I received one automated message approximately two weeks before the deletion, stating that all messages that had not been re-saved would be deleted. Nothing about messages over a certain age being deleted. So I made a point of re-saving any messages that I wanted to keep, including the one from them, which was also deleted before it was even three weeks old.

I wonder why different areas would receive different warnings.

I quoted what I said, then what you said, because it seems that you missed my point. US Cellular said ALL MESSAGES over 30 days old were to be deleted, NOT only "unsaved" messages. I had a message from a sweet friend of mine, who died of cancer, that was more than 30 days old. I made d*mn sure I saved that message elsewhere so that I would still have it. It sounds to me as if the phone company notified you that this would happen, and you misunderstood. It doesn't seem as if you'd get an entirely different message than I did, or Austin. I'm sorry it happened to you, and I understand that it's upsetting. I think the next course of action for you is to find a back-up method for voice mails you want to save MORE than 30 days.

[hennybenny]

I've got Verizon in the Bangor area and I've never had any trouble with it.