Which cell phone provider has the fewest complaints concerning signal strength? I have T-Mobile now and I am terribly dissatisfied with signal strength. Most of the time when I do have a signal, my conversations are spotty and break up. There are 4 "major" providers, T-Mobile ranks a far 4th in terms of coverage. My thoughts are that either the buildings in the city are blocking your signal or the area is saturated with users and T-Mobile either does not have enough towers and/or is not partnering with Cingular in your area to get you more coverage.
I can tell you that if you are in the city in the eastern part of the US, you will most likely get the best coverage from Verizon. This is their "home" territory and they have built it up quite nicely. If you are in the West, you might want to try Sprint or Cingular and in the South, Cingular then Sprint and Verizon.
It's really based on the coverage and the number of towers. Are particular phone models better at getting a signal? RAZR phone has a very good internal antenna, by design. All four providers will tell you that they have the fewest complaints and several have done "independent" surveys that they pass off as unbiased, but since they pay for the surveys, they are rarely unbiased. In general, I would have to say that Verizon has the least amount of customer complaints, and if you only need to use your phone in the US and their coverage is good in your area, then they are a good choice. If you need to be able to take your phone abroad, then I would suggest Cingular. Currently, Cingular has the largest US footprint (since the merger of AT&T Wireless) and the most roaming partners internationally.
Because Cingular has a 30 day return policy, you could also try them and see if your experience improves. They are GSM, like T-Mobile, so if GSM is the issue in your area, then you may not have a better experience. Verizon and Sprint have 15 day return policies, so you can also try them without worry, just for a shorter time. I think you are going to be able to tell right away.
I live in the country and use a Palm Treo from Cingular. I cannot get a signal unless I go to a top of a hill on my property. I have a cellular antenna on my car that works when I am on the road but is pretty useless on my property. Is there a way I can put an antenna on my house. Your best chance for gaining a signal in your house will be realized with a Yagi antenna on your roof with a cellular amplifier in the antenna line to boost the signal.
The Yagi antenna is a directional antenna that you aim at the tower. There are two Yagi antennae for cellular. One is for the 800 MHz band and the other is for the 1900 MHz band. You would need to contact your cellular company to determine in which band they are serving your location.
Victor Epand is an expert agent for BuyCellularPhones.info, a huge cellphone superstore featuring great prices and rebates on cellphones including Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, Audiovox, LG, RIM Blackberry, Sanyo, Sony Ericsson, and others.