worst reception ever here in san rafael, especial when I can see cell towers

Fair reception throughout Lucas Valley - my friends have AT&T and always get a nice break from receiving pesky calls while visiting here (no reception). 'Too bad 'cause I would really like to have the iPhone - but no reception in my home office here in Lucas Valley? No can do. Does anyone here in Upper Lucas Valley (streets are all named for mountains) have any luck with iPhone? Any tips or insights will be appreciated.

Generally I can receive and send Text messages, but no MMS. Reception is almost never good enough to send or receive calls. On the off chance that I am able to send or answer a call, it will be dropped shortly thereafter... always.

Been with 10 permutations of Att, Cell one, Cingular, etc. All crap! Hundreds of dropped calls everywhere in Bay Area. 5 Bars when the Cell Towers are maintained, however they only maintain the equipment once in a millennium. This is the last time I'll renew with this totally unreliable carrier.

Returning my iPhones today. My previous AT&T device worked fine here, but both iPhones drop calls or have really poor quality from inside the house. It's a shame, because the iPhone seems like a great device. Going back to Sprint.

In house no reception. Can answer phone if I stand in the right location. Walking around the levy I dropped a call 3 times. Will try to find another carrier

Great reception at home and through most of central Marin. Exception: Going over Wolfe Grade (canyon like) and a certain spot on Sir Francis Drake - near Bachich school. If a call is in progress it's fine; if I try to make a call in those two areas - can't connect. Spotty in southern Marin in hills of Mill Valley.

Lucky to get one bar. Usually "no service" appears where the bars should be. I try to forward calls to my home number but don't always remember before I get to my neighborhood dead zone. If I didn't have an iPhone I'd switch to Sprint. My husband has Sprint and consistently has four-five bars.

Never had a problem with Sprint in San Rafael, even out at the beach I still have reception !

Very poor here also for husband's Razr (also Sprint). Coverage was poor here also with previous carriers / phones, including ATT and Verizon

We only get reception in the house if we're pressed against the front door. Otherwise we have to stand outside to use our phones.

No reception inside or outside house. Reliable reception ends at Valero gas station. As reception gets worse, phone will ring, and you can answer, but the line is effectively dead. No voice is heard either way.

The Sprint Treo 650 works all over Marin (even semi-reliably in some of the Fairfax area) but not relaibly in Santa Venetia area. I still have to have a land line at home, but I have been quite pleased with Sprint service coverage outside of my neighborhood. Their "Fair and Flexible" plan is neither fair nor flexible. I am looking for a better overall plan for Santa Venetia area and Marin in general.

I am using an old Nokia phone from AT&T (Cellular One). Reception is great, unfortunately Cingular is terminating the old AT&T system and I have to choose another plan, phone and perhaps a carrier. After reading your posts I am really puzzled- it looks that there is no good carrier here in Marin at all. I guess my best bet is to do a survey of the neighbors. I am planning to get a RAZR phone.

San Rafael CA has little or no reception for the Blackbery in most locations.

Generally very good reception now with T-Mobile; a few dead spots in the usual Marin areas (much of Fairfax, upper Sleepy Hollow).

No reception in our house or on our block, at the pool, or at the park. As far as I know, only Nextel or Sprint works here.

No coverage on Lucas Valley Rd west of Las Gallinas

Lots of hills / valleys here in San Rafael area. I live in Ignacio / Novato area, but drive a lot in San Rafael, Larkspur, etc. I get 4 or 5 bars in my house and in all neighborhoods. Everywhere in Marin County, actually. Very pleased.

No service at all until I get to 101. My wife had a Verizon SP and her phone -- same as mine -- gets reliable reception. I am looking to change and hear very good things about Verizon. I would be interested in comments from users deep in Lucas Valley