Need Help with Verizon PRL, Alltel Plan, Network Extender, TP2

[DLCPhoto]

Our 3 family phones are all new Verizon devices (HTC Touch Pro 2 with Data Plan, LG enV Touch with VCast, VPack, Motorola Rival), but as former Alltel customers, we have kept our Alltel plan - much more cost effective than the VZW equivalent.

The problem is that the cell reception in our home, which was poor with Alltel, has become worse since the Verizon merger. I just installed the Verizon Network Extender, and it works fine, except that it doesn't "see" or accept our phones. According to VZW Tech Support, that is because they have an Alltel PRL (30045, north of Charlotte, NC); he had no solution for this other than switching to a Verizon plan (which is not acceptable).

He did answer my question, saying that a Verizon plan phone in our area would have PRL 51440. I have searched the web (Corolado, etc.) but haven't been able to find this PRL. I have found how to manually install it, but I need to verify which file I need, and to actually get my hands on it.

So:

First, does anybody see a problem with this plan, or see what unanticipated consequences might arise if I did manually change the PRL (such as phone or data charge changes, roaming charges, etc.)? (Our plan is Total Freedom, so there should never be roaming charges)

Second, does anybody know where I can get VZW PRL 51440, or know of another that is available that would work for my needs, in my area?

Third, where is the current PRL file on my Touch Pro 2, and what is the file name? I did a search of the device for both the text 'prl' as well as the 30045 number, and came up empty. Someone elsewhere suggested it might be possible to edit the current PRL to achieve my goal, but I have no details on that.

Any help greatly appreciated. I'd love to be able to reliably use our phones at home!

[vzwdts]

To answer the first question, yes and no. You may experience degraded overall service if there is a stronger legacy Alltel presence in your area. With a VZW PRL, it will attempt to hang on to even a weak VZW signal, even if a stronger "Alltel" signal is available. This will be irrelevant (assuming you are not the divested Alltel footprint) once the actual conversion takes place in your area. You should not see any additional charges with that PRL.

[DLCPhoto]

Originally Posted by vzwdts

To answer the first question, yes and no. You may experience degraded overall service if there is a stronger legacy Alltel presence in your area. With a VZW PRL, it will attempt to hang on to even a weak VZW signal, even if a stronger "Alltel" signal is available. This will be irrelevant (assuming you are not the divested Alltel footprint) once the actual conversion takes place in your area. You should not see any additional charges with that PRL.

Thanks for the reply.

Am I correct in assuming that I can reverse the process, and restore the current Alltel PRL by simply doing a *228 after manually trying out a VZW PRL once I can locate the proper one?

Anybody with any insight on the 2 other questions?

[twostep]

I don't know where to find that particular PRL, but I bet you could use just about any PRL and it should, key word, should, work. I don't know where the PRL is stored on the phone, but to manually load a PRL, do a ##PRL and it will let you load a PRL file to the phone yourself.

[DLCPhoto]

Originally Posted by twostep

I don't know where to find that particular PRL, but I bet you could use just about any PRL and it should, key word, should, work. I don't know where the PRL is stored on the phone, but to manually load a PRL, do a ##PRL and it will let you load a PRL file to the phone yourself.

Thanks.

From what I'm learning, the PRL's are somehow tied to geographic regions, so I would think that having the wrong location in there could adversely effect reception in general. Similarly, they are somehow tied to the plan features, which again might mess things up if the wrong one were used.

I wish this was all spelled out somewhere...

[vzwdts]

This varies greatly from company to company, and yes, PRLs can vary depending on where you're located, but truthfully you shouldn't see any issues running a generic VZW PRL when it comes to coverage. As far as dependencies on calling plans plans go, as long as you're on a no-roaming plan (i.e. America's Choice II or Nationwide), the 51xxx PRL will be fine. This only becomes an issue with very old price plans or older PRLs that wouldn't give you the coverage your calling plan includes (i.e. you somehow get the PRL for some ancient Local DigitalChoice plan loaded and try to go to Canada or something)

[DLCPhoto]

vzwdts - thanks for the reply.

My Alltel Plan is "Total Freedom" meaning I would never have any roaming charges. At the corolada site, I figured that this would correspond to the "America's Choice II/Nationwide" which is what you seem to confirm.

The latest PRL listed there is 51143, dated 10/28/2008, so I guess this would be the one to try?

Would a more recent one be preferrable (and if so, where would I find it), or would the 10/28/2008 one be considered "current"?

And do you happen to know how to view the file details on the PRL currently installed on the phone? I can't find it anywhere, and would be interested to poke around inside it, compare it to the VZW one, etc.

[txyaloo]

Even though you're on an Alltel plan, you should still be running a Verizon PRL by default. I don't know the answer to your network extender problem, but I routinely switch between 3 PRLs on my phone when I run into poor coverage.

This Alltel PRL still allows Sprint data roaming. If you're on an Alltel plan, it could possibly help if Sprint's signal is stronger at your house.

http://corolada.com/prl/alltel/40042.prl

In the past, 3xxxx series PRLs were designed for dumb phones and 4xxxxx series were for certain smart phones and datacards. This is the latest Alltel smartphone PRL.

http://corolada.com/prl/alltel/40052.prl

Then you have the Verizon Hybrid PRL. I'm not sure why the rep didn't offer to push this to your phone. It allows you access to both the Verizon and Alltel networks.

http://corolada.com/prl/verizon/65036.prl

I'd try all three and see which one offers you the better signal and fastest data speeds. Having a red phone on a blue plan in a converged area can be somewhat of a pain.

[twostep]

Originally Posted by txyaloo

Even though you're on an Alltel plan, you should still be running a Verizon PRL by default. I don't know the answer to your network extender problem, but I routinely switch between 3 PRLs on my phone when I run into poor coverage.

I have a legacy alltel plan, and running a verizon PRL restricted me from using 3G... and when I *228, I get an alltel PRL, no matter what. However, that seems to work out alright for me, since most of the towers in the panhandle of florida are converted over, or so it seems.

[DLCPhoto]

Thanks, txyaloo.

To update you, a day or so ago, I went to the corolado site, downloaded the latest Nationwide/EVDO Verizon PRL he has listed there (51143), installed it on my Touch Pro 2, and after the reset, it connected promptly with my Network Extender.

As far as 3G reception, it's hard to be sure, but if anything, unlike twostep's experience, it seems slightly better than I had before (as I was frequently dropping to 1x with the Alltel PRL, and it seems to hold 3G a lot more of the time now).

Like you, I really have no idea why Verizon doesn't offer a PRL correction to enable their own customers to access the network they're paying for, using equipment they purchased from them!!

A follow-up question: when I updated my WinMob 6.1 TP2, I used ##775, and that took me to the Update PRL screen, and it was very straightforward.

I tried today to update my wife's Brew-based LG enV Touch, and neither ##775 or ##775# got me anywhere - just a recorded announcement that the number I was calling had been changed or disconnected, etc.

Do you, or anybody, know how to get to the Update PRL screen on this Brew phone, so I can point it to the Verizon PRL I have on its microSD card??

Thanks!