[skatterbrane]

I am considering ditching my Pre for another phone, as for 40 hours per week, it's basically a brick with a cool screen.

There are two other people in my building who have the Pre and have the same problem: no signal unless you go outside the building. There are other Sprint customers in my building with different phones and they have no problems with coverage.

I tried downloading the patch to set the phone to "roam only" and this works great for the web (although, it's slow) - I have 5 bars. I can receive calls and use the web, but I can't make a call because I'm on US Cellular's network, so I have to switch the phone back to 'automatic' and go outside.

I cannot get the AirRave, because my employer is not going to allow me to plug into their internet connection for my personal cell phone.

I'm currently trying to decide what phone to go to and Sprint said that they'd work with me on cost because I'm not eligible for an upgrade until July of 2011. I'm looking for suggestions on a different phone.

This breaks my heart because I love the Pre, especially after having spent so much time downloading patches from PreWare and making this phone 'the perfect phone for me.'

Any ideas?

[Workerb33]

do other phones or carriers have better reception in your bldg?

you should also ask sprint to test your radio. I recall someone posting that they had reception problems and it tested bad when a sprint technician checked it.

[ryleyinstl]

Not much you can do about the signal issues, especially given an AirRave is not doable (assuming the phone is working properly).

You can't place phone calls while roaming? This is odd or at least doesn't mirror my roaming experiences.

[RMB175]

I dont have very good Sprint signal at home.
I use roam only patch/mode switcher to change the voice signal to roam only.
I am able to make and receive calls without any issue.

[RUSH]

oh, I'm sorry you feel that way about your pre. However, I believe this is more your phone subscriber problem, rather than your phone.

I'm also having signal problem too, and most time I'm getting full signal strength. At one point..I thought the problem was with my phone, until when I notice it only happen where I lived and no where else.

[zulfaqar621#AC]

You can't place phone calls while roaming? This is odd or at least doesn't mirror my roaming experiences.

I'm not experiencing any problems making out going calls while roaming. I do sometimes have problems with incoming calls getting directed straight to voicemail.

I'm just chiming in to confirm I didn't have any roaming issues like the OP.

[ryleyinstl]

If the roam-only doesn't solve your issues, the Pre radio checks out and you can't use an AirRave then your only option is going to be a new phone and/or network.

[morrison0880]

Can't hurt to try updating network settings and updating PRL. Other than that, stay off your phone at work. They're not paying you to yak it up with your pals! =)

[skatterbrane]

Thanks so much for all the replies. After researching other phones, I've decided to go with the Evo (after reading rave review after rave review and receiving emails from other Sprint customers in the building who have the Evo), however, the best Sprint can do for me now is for me to send in my Pre and they'll send me an Evo for $299 and give me a $100 rebate (I'm not eligible for an upgrade until July 2011).

I can't afford that right now, so they set up an appointment for me to swap out my old Pre for a new one to see if that might solve the problem. If it doesn't, then I'll wait until July to get my Evo without having to 'trade in' my old phone.