When the sun is out, forget about using a cell phone. The signal strength map provided by T mobile needs to be corrected for this location. The number of times a call is dropped or breaks up or the 'No Service' message that pops is a bit aggrevating! So if you're moving to Ballard anywhere close to the water, test your cell phone indoors where you will be living when the sun is out before signing the agreement. I wish I did...

Occasional dropped calls, difficult to hear.

Sometimes no reception; most calls are dropped.

I switched over since the place I'm moving to in the east coast is flooded with Nextel coverage. Previously I had Nokia 3120 which worked well and though my contract was already up, I wanted to test and see how Nextel worked out here. With all the bad reviews I was hesitant but the more I read, the more convinced that it won't be so bad. I got the phone yesterday and the reception is SOLID. I think there's a trade off with Nextel's known battery life vs. the amount of power / output it has. The signal is very clear and I have yet to have any dropped calls whereas with Cingular it would drop randomly at least once a day.

I get very little reception in my downstairs, and sometimes two in the uper floor. *switching to T-Mobile next week*. I usually don't drop calls, but the sometimes can not be made

With my sisters Sprint My Wifes T moble and my Verizon phones dropped calls are the norm with a fading 1 to 2 bars showing weak reception at best.

Phone works perfect outside but not always as reliable inside especially in the basement. Happy with customer service and contract.

Ever since August, I get crackling and muffling. People can hear me. It's hard to describe the noise but it's horrible. Cingular keeps telling me it's the phone but this is the 5th phone on which I've had problems. Anyone else having this problem in Capital-CD area?

The last 2-3 months has been a downward spiral of dropped calls, bad reception, failed calls and stupid customer support reps. I got a new battery and a new chip, but it's still bad. I had two years of decent service and now I can't hold a conversation for more than 2 minutes if I can make it at all.

Signal strength change through the day from below average to poor to no reception.

I'm on the CDMA network and lately if I call long distance like the east coast, it's been dropping but it could be number of things. I have yet to experience any problems otherwise. The customer representative did tell me it's good to turn on and off the phone at least once a day so it will look for the nearest tower when you connect. If you don't it'll be stuck at one tower until you power on / off. Not sure if this is true but will try.

Sprint has been horrible in Capitol Hill. I don't receive reception at all in my apartment and I regularly drop calls in the neighborhood. I would NOT recommend Sprint at all. Their customer service has been terrible as well--the store is horrible.

i have to stand in a 2x2 corner of my house to get reception, otherwise go outside. I can not WAIT until my contract expires so I can switch out of tmobile.

3 bars is the highest I've ever seen here. Usually goes between 1 and 2. In certain parts of the house calls consistently get disconnected even though I haven't moved.

We're switching services as soon as our contract is up. I've never had such bad cell coverage. There's a dead spot on Yesler around 20th Ave and my phone is constantly going in and out of reception as I drive through Capitol Hill. I've also had calls dropped while on I-5 South between Mercer Exit and James St. Exit. Not sure if this is related to reception or to my particular phone model, but the call clarity is also very poor. All of my family is on the East coast, and I'm constantly saying "What?" "What did you say?" when I'm on the phone with them. And yes, this is with my volume turned all the way up.

My brother's and his GF's T Mobile phones are useless at my place on the hill - otherwise I would buy into their reasonable plans.

I live in a basement apartment and friends of mine who have Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile have to go outside to get a usable signal. With my V3 and Cingular, I get 5 bars and a clean call everytime without having to go outside or near a window.

Reception is very spotty: good is some places, terrible in others in Columbia City.

Always drops calls on South side of building and for about 1 mile south.

I tried all the other companies. One of them never got reception even once! The others were Poor, One Bar, Two at best. That's because my building is concrete and I live in the shadow of KIRO-TV and CISCO; buildings with microwave dishes on their roofs. I calls this north end of Belltown a 'Concrete Canyon'. Since signing up with Verizon four years ago, it's been smooth sailing from inside my apt! No dropped calls at all and crystal clear reception. How good is that? The only time I've ever had a dropped call has been from my car (parked, never driving) beside an industrial structure. Even then, I'm not sure if it's my cellular service's fault or the cellular service on the other end. Also, with only one exception, Verizon customer service has always treated me exceptionally well. I can't imagine that they are only rated #2. They always end calls by asking if there was anything they could improve upon and I let them know that it is a pleasure doing business with them.