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The phone sucks just by it self. Reception though is marginal over all. Ive had a few dropped calls in my apt. and more where I work in Salinas. On average I have at the most 4 bars but a lot of the time down to 1 or less.

This is the location of a hotel I stay at a couple times a year. The problem is not particularly the signal strength, but the quality. I get 2-3 bars, which normally is adequate. At this location, however, even if I have 3 bars, the quality of the signal is so bad that you just can't have an understandable conversation. And then, inevitably, the call gets dropped. Fortunately, I have an unlimited roaming plan, and I just set the phone to "roam only" while I'm at this location, and I get 4-5 bars and good signal quality (probably the Verizon tower, which appears to be closer to central Monterey than the Sprint tower).

AT&T has better coverage than most carriers in the area. Ft. Ord has trouble across the board, but since I had a software update on my Nokia, I went from having 0-1 bars to 1-3. It works great throughout Monterey and Carmel, though Carmel Valley is problematic (get Verizon if you live past Safeway). I recommend it to most people, given the ease of use, the ease of transferring phones WITHOUT paying $200+ (goPhone+SIM), and the above average customer service.

very good reception, you can even make calls and use the internet when you don't have any bars out in the monterey forest

I never got good signal in my house (on Fort Ord, of course,) until I got my Razr. My husband's crappy Samsung never got any signal at all. After I got my Razr, I could talk on my cell phone in my house okay. I dropped calls sometimes, but not too often. All over Fort Ord, signal is spotty. If the wind blows, you lose the one bar you had. Hwy. 1 I had signal okay, but it would go in and out. Friends of mine had Sprint and AT&T and I would have to say even my husband had better reception than they did. A few ended up switching to Verizon. If you can, I would go with Verizon. It's better than anything else out there...

In my experience, Sprint is a service provider that just can't be competed with. They have a LONG history. In my experience, their customer service is phenominal! I don't get a representative from Iraq named Saddam Hussein, I ALWAYS get a polite and helpful representative FROM THIS COUNTRY! Everywhere I have gone I have had phenominal reception and data speeds, I have the free roaming plan and have never had to use it. AT THE MINIMUM, I ALWAYS have AT LEAST 4 / 6 bars. For those of you who "have bad or terrible" signal in your areas, it is most likely your device because most people on this site with signal problems are people who own or owned Treo devices... yeah not the best choice if you're expecting good service. Just to be straight with you, I am NOT affiliated with Sprint Nextel a bit! So, choose the right device, do some research BEFORE you start talking bad about Sprint or any other service provider... as for the customer service, I have no answer for you. Maybe just bad luck? I don't know... just follow my word, do some research and, GOOD LUCK!

I have been living in Monterey County since December 2004 and have had the misfortune of subscribing to a two year contract when I moved here from Japan. While understandably cellular service in America is pathetic regardless of the service provider, when compared to say, Japan, Sprint is certainly at the bottom of the heap. I lose signal and drop calls inside my house even when I am sitting down in one place. While on the Presidio in Monterey, you have to walk around all over the place in search of a spot with signal before attempting to make a call. On Ft. Ord, Sprint is the ONLY carrier that does not have any service anywhere on the post. Other carriers at least report coverage in patches in and around the post, but not Sprint. Thank GOD my contract is up with them in a few days. I will NEVER go back to Sprint even if they paid me.

I tend to drop one or two calls a day. Usually, the important ones. Can't find anything more consistent than Verizon, though.

Average to below average signal strength outside (many dropped calls while driving), unable to complete most calls indoors.

My phone is practically unusable. Coverage is very spotty and almost every call gets dropped at least once.