BB as well as Galaxy S3 has calling over UMA (wifi) on T-Mobile too which worked well for local calling when I was traveling internationally so my calls were all considered local to my family and colleagues back home. -------- Original message -------- From: Ryan Coleman <ryanjcole at me.com> Date: 10/11/2013 5:03 PM (GMT-06:00) To: TCLUG Mailing List <tclug-list at mn-linux.org> Subject: Re: [tclug-list] Personal Tech: T-Mobile Hands Consumers a Pleasant Shocker You're welcome. Easy way to check is take the cover off any double duplex power outlet (2x2 - but turn off the breaker for that circuit first) and take a look. Or look at the wet wall pipe access (usually there, just a cover you can remove) and if it's an open hole through to a tub (like my parents) you will see the material the walls are made of. Pretty slick quick-check. TMO might work better because some of their phones, like many Blackberry models, support calls over WiFi and mobile radio - but this applies to most of those BBs (my 9300 I had on TMO and am unlocking right now supported that. On Oct 11, 2013, at 5:00 PM, Mike Miller <mbmiller+l at gmail.com> wrote: > On Fri, 11 Oct 2013, Ryan Coleman wrote: > >> What are your walls made of? Having to go to a window says to me it's 1900-1950s plaster, slat board and metal lattice and due to the distance, position or angle of the Sprint antennae it doesn't penetrate your house. Exteriors of Stucco cause the same issue, too, if they are backed with metal lattice work. >> >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage >> >> The same principal results in horrendously poor wifi reception in my parents house and my apartment - both built around 1900. > > > It was built in 1922 and I think you totally nailed it. Strangely, and to our great surprise, when we got new siding in May, we found that there was stucco underneath of our old siding! It is still there today because it is easier to put siding on top of stucco than to remove the stucco. > > Thanks for the info. I did not know about the metal in the walls. > > Mike > _______________________________________________ > TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota > tclug-list at mn-linux.org > http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list _______________________________________________ TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota tclug-list at mn-linux.org http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://mailman.mn-linux.org/pipermail/tclug-list/attachments/20131013/6e6a5bfd/attachment.html>