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PhilANZ

352 posts

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#180592 14-Sep-2015 19:28
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I had a call the other day from a Vodafone man trying to hook me up with a phone / internet plan they have for home businesses. I asked some questions and he said he'd get back to me next week. We're now another week down the track and I assume it's all got too hard for them - sad since we used to be with them when we had an office in town - and it might solve a signal problem for us - since they won't let their booster run on other networks. And now that Chorus are double charging us I thought it might be reasonable to swap, especially since Vodafone bought our ISP (WXC).

Anyway that's all background. My wife just had her phone dropped on the floor of the truck she was driving for a friend who has no licence. Her speakers are no longer working. Tomorrow we'll be looking to get it repaired - but our phones aren't new - so we might buy a new one. Currently the Sony's we bought on one factor: they had the best reception of any we could find.

That didn't matter until we moved our office home. People still call our cell phones even though our business line is usually diverted to a cell when we're out. Though we're only 2km from the city centre, we live on a hill in just the wrong spot for cell phone reception. Mine is usually useable, but my wife's (so much for buying two identical phones) often misses calls.

So if we are to buy a phone, we need great reception - first and foremost. We see that the top phones seem to offer that - but they're $1000 - give or take. We were hoping to find one for half that - we don't use them for much except for calls, texts and testing websites (use WIFI - not cellular data). Now ideally we'd take one home and try it out - but that isn't the way things work these days.

So I'm hoping someone here can make a suggestion on how we can find a phone with really strong reception.

Thanks

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PeterReader
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  #1387417 14-Sep-2015 19:28
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Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

 



 

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

 



 

- you have reset your modem and router

 


 

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

 

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

 


 

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

 


 

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

 



 

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

 



 

- Your ISP and plan

 


 

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

 


 

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

 


 

- Your general location (or street)

 


 

- If you are rural or urban

 


 

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

 


 

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

 


 

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

 



 

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

 



 

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

 



 

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

 



 

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

 


 

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?




I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

 

These links are referral codes: Sharesies | Mighty Ape 




wellygary
8312 posts

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  #1387429 14-Sep-2015 19:43
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johnr
19282 posts

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  #1387440 14-Sep-2015 19:59
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WXC customers will be able to use Sure Signal in the near future it's all part of the plan

Edit: If you want a Sure Signal unit up and running now obtain a unit and I sure I can get it up and running for you

John



johny99
495 posts

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  #1387442 14-Sep-2015 20:00
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huawei p8 (not lite) has amazing reception but not sure voda sell this model

PhilANZ

352 posts

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  #1387483 14-Sep-2015 20:46
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Thanks for that - hadn't considered Huawei - but I hadn't considered Sony before either. I'll put that on the list.

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