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Big Red got some new towers? Update *228!

Decus22

Well-Known Member
Nov 13, 2009
164
13
Oklahoma
I read in here http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/48607-droids-3g-chip-piece-crap.html that Big Red has expanded and/or improved there coverage.

I get Very bad signal at work and by that I mean my signal jumps from 1 bar 3g to 1 bar 1x sometimes I get a big fat 0 signal.

After reading this I decided to bring the old *228 option 2 out of retirement and give it a shot.

I have had a solid 2 bars of 3g for about an hour now!! I haven't dropped to 1x once and it used to be if I moved my phone the wrong way it would go to drop to 1x or no signal!

For those who don't know how to do this open your dialer and press *228 then press 2.

If you live in or around the Oklahoma City area I highly recommend this!
 
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The last prl update was released on Jan 29th and only included a couple changes in Wisconsin:
HowardForums: Your Mobile Phone Community & Resource - New PRL - January 29, 2010

A42887 on Howardforums said:
51731 to 51739 changes:

It's another major major update here. The only change involves this SID:

Code:
  00362  [D]  FR  Cellcom
         CMA186B  Green Bay, WI
         CMA263B  Wausau, WI
         CMA711B  Wisconsin 4 - Marinette
         CMA717B  Wisconsin 10 - Door
The specific channels the phone is set to search for EvDO on were reduced to a more narrow, specific set of channels from a broader range.

That is all.

Howardforums is always on top of new PRL updates and they usually break down what actually changed pretty quickly.
 
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I read in here http://androidforums.com/motorola-droid/48607-droids-3g-chip-piece-crap.html that Big Red has expanded and/or improved there coverage.

I get Very bad signal at work and by that I mean my signal jumps from 1 bar 3g to 1 bar 1x sometimes I get a big fat 0 signal.

After reading this I decided to bring the old *228 option 2 out of retirement and give it a shot.

I have had a solid 2 bars of 3g for about an hour now!! I haven't dropped to 1x once and it used to be if I moved my phone the wrong way it would go to drop to 1x or no signal!

For those who don't know how to do this open your dialer and press *228 then press 2.

If you live in or around the Oklahoma City area I highly recommend this!

what do you do once you dial *228?
 
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The last prl update was released on Jan 29th and only included a couple changes in Wisconsin:

I take that back. There is a new one available today (51803.) Don't know what is changed in it yet.

The towers around here were all Altell towers. Maybe they did something to those? Would that show up as a prl update?

Yeah, a change to alltel towers should show up in a prl update if they change the priority or something like that. If they simply upgraded the tower for better reception then it wouldn't show up.
 
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can someone explain what the numbers mean? 51803 etc. sorry noob here and i have no idea what PRL is.

The number doesn't mean anything but to Verizon. The point of a PRL ( stands for Preferred Roaming List) tells your phone wherever you are which towers to use first to ensure better service. Also especially in a roaming area it tells your phone which towers have an agreement and saves them lots of money and offers again better service. It is so importnant right now becuase of the alltell merger happeneing and the ongoing network changes that wreak havoc if the phones are not up to date on the tower changes.
 
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I don't know if it will help any here in Alabama but I am so scatterbrained anyway that it is just another thing that I never remember to do so thanks for the reminder. It sure can't hurt and it only takes a minute. I guess I should add it to my list of monthly reminders. That list is really getting long. :rolleyes:

Could you report any differences you may have? If anyone could that would be great so we know what is changing. I have seen a major difference myself which is why i shared the love lol!
 
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