Question about cell towers (and battery life)?

[WBMc36]

So I bought and activated my phone about 100 miles from where I am currently living. When I got up here at school I did the *228 thing and updated my towers. Just wondering since the distance between my permanent address and where i cucurrently live is about 100 miles should I update towers like over summer and Christmas break when I am home for an extended period of time? Basically I am wondering if me updating will have any positive effect on battery life?

 

[cipher6]

From what little bit I've read, and I might be totally wrong, the *228 thing updates your prl, which stands for, Preferred Roaming List, and according to wikipedia, mostly effects the way your phone selects towers and carriers while in roaming mode.

So, I don't think it has a large effect on improving signal on your home network.

 

[euph_22]

From what little bit I've read, and I might be totally wrong, the *228 thing updates your prl, which stands for, Preferred Roaming List, and according to wikipedia, mostly effects the way your phone selects towers and carriers while in roaming mode.

So, I don't think it has a large effect on improving signal on your home network.

It *can* have a big effect, but only if you're having problems. However, it's something you need to update overtime, not everytime you change location. Not to say it isn't a good idea to do it before a big road trip (it takes a whole 4 keystrokes and 2 minutes to update). But I wouldn't expect a huge change.

 

[WormDoes]

This is news to me. What exactly are the steps to do after dialing *228 and what are the benefits to do this?

 

[cipher6]

It *can* have a big effect, but only if you're having problems. However, it's something you need to update overtime, not everytime you change location. Not to say it isn't a good idea to do it before a big road trip (it takes a whole 4 keystrokes and 2 minutes to update). But I wouldn't expect a huge change.

but how does "preferred roaming list" help find towers on your home network?

Before I can ever believe someone when they say doing X Y Z will give you A, I want to know the why behind it.

 

[PSkeptic]

So I bought and activated my phone about 100 miles from where I am currently living. When I got up here at school I did the *228 thing and updated my towers. Just wondering since the distance between my permanent address and where i cucurrently live is about 100 miles should I update towers like over summer and Christmas break when I am home for an extended period of time? Basically I am wondering if me updating will have any positive effect on battery life?

Yes, you should do it when you arrive in a new geographic area. This is coming from a road warrior.

Going from BUF-OHA-ORD-etc, I do a *228 when I arrive, and I get better signal (Which leads to better battery life).

 

[euph_22]

but how does "preferred roaming list" help find towers on your home network?

Before I can ever believe someone when they say doing X Y Z will give you A, I want to know the why behind it.

It basically a big list of frequencies and channels used by various cell providers. Essentially you can think of it as a list of all the thousands of towers that make up the home network (according to your rate plan. For most but not all of us that will be verizons towers, and regional carriers their partnered with). basically anything not in your home network is considered roaming, so you will use those only if you can't connect to a "home" tower.

By keeping the prl up to date, you make sure you're seeing any new towers put up by regional partners, which makes it more likely your connecting to nearby towers.