Cellular or smartphone calls / texts / data when on a moving train

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the quality of cellular service, data connectivity, and the challenges faced by smartphone users while on a moving passenger train, particularly in the absence of Wi-Fi. Participants explore various factors affecting connectivity, including geographical coverage and technical issues related to signal transmission.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that cellular service quality depends on the train's location and the availability of coverage in rural areas.
  • One participant shares an experience where sending photos from a moving bus failed due to intermittent service, leading to data plan exhaustion.
  • Another participant advises against sending large files like pictures while on a moving train, recommending to wait for stable Wi-Fi instead.
  • Some participants note that multi-path reflections from buildings and other structures complicate signal reception, especially for moving devices.
  • There is a suggestion that cellular data on a moving train may be unreliable, potentially preventing communication between passengers in different train cars.
  • One participant mentions that voice calls may be more resilient to dropouts compared to data uploads, which can be disrupted by brief signal losses.
  • Another viewpoint is that modern mobile systems are designed to handle multi-path issues, but high speeds and frequent obstructions can still lead to signal loss.
  • Participants discuss the utility of coverage maps provided by carriers to assess signal availability for different generations of mobile networks.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying opinions on the reliability of cellular service on moving trains, with some agreeing on the challenges posed by rural coverage and multi-path effects, while others highlight the potential for voice calls to succeed where data transmission fails. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the overall effectiveness of mobile systems in these scenarios.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the dependence on specific geographical areas and the variability of signal strength based on environmental factors. There are also unresolved technical details regarding the performance of different mobile generations in dynamic conditions.

symbolipoint
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TL;DR
Smartphone users on moving train receive good cellular service?
Do smartphone users get good cellular service as well as good cellular data while on a moving passenger train? This is assuming no wi-fi available.
 
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It depends on where the train is and whether there is coverage in rural areas the train passes through.
 
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My wife had an odd experience with her cell phone and sending a photo while on a national parks tour. Their tour bus would go in an out of service areas. While on the bus, she tried to send me a few photos but the sending would fail when she lost service and try again when service was strong enough and then fail...

We got an error message email that said we had exhausted our cell data plan and that when we discovered what had happened.
 
jedishrfu said:
My wife had an odd experience with her cell phone and sending a photo while on a national parks tour. Their tour bus would go in an out of service areas. While on the bus, she tried to send me a few photos but the sending would fail when she lost service and try again when service was strong enough and then fail...

We got an error message email that said we had exhausted our cell data plan and that when we discovered what had happened.
That tells us something. Restrict data usage while using cell/smartphone on moving train. One thing best to avoid, is to try to send picture attachments in email. Another thing best to not do is upload images to cloud storage. Waiting until you're in a stable wi-fi location would be the way to go.
 
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Yes, that's what we did. This happened quite a few years ago for us.
 
jedishrfu said:
It depends on where the train is and whether there is coverage in rural areas the train passes through.
In addition to poor signal strength issues in rural areas, the multi-path reflections will play havoc with the cell signals when there are reflecting objects in the area (like buildings, bridges, etc. Multi-path is hard enough to deal with for a stationary TX/RX system, let alone when the RX device is moving through multiple reflection zones (at several time a second...
 
berkeman said:
In addition to poor signal strength issues in rural areas, the multi-path reflections will play havoc with the cell signals when there are reflecting objects in the area (like buildings, bridges, etc. Multi-path is hard enough to deal with for a stationary TX/RX system, let alone when the RX device is moving through multiple reflection zones (at several time a second...
So the meaning is, cellular data while on a moving train will likely be spotty or absent. I guess this also means that travelers who are on the same moving train but in different train cars will often not be able to call or text each other.
 
I believe so. But in a moving car, we can often carry on voice calls, so maybe the cell companies have figured out ways to combat the multi-path issues (make the packets small enough to make it through the multi-path flutter...
 
In a voice call, a 1 second dropout may be hard to notice. But when sending a picture, it may be enough to spoil the upload and make it start over.
 
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I believe that Fourth and Fifth Generation mobile systems are designed to work with multipath and even to exploit it to actually increase performance by using diversity. A mobile can communicate with more than one base station simultaneously, for instance. However the high speed of a train plus the frequent obstructions to propagation will mean frequent loss of signal, which I have found worse than with road travel. When at a remote location with no apparent mobile coverage, I have found that I can send a text via reflection from a passing aircraft. Text is very efficient for getting a quick burst through.
 
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  • #11
Does your provider provide a map of coverage? I know with mine, Vodafone NZ, you can see signal coverage for 2G / 3G / 4G and areas now privy to 5G.
 
  • #12
StevieTNZ said:
Does your provider provide a map of coverage? I know with mine, Vodafone NZ, you can see signal coverage for 2G / 3G / 4G and areas now privy to 5G.
Good question and worth checking. I believe the carrier (the provider) does give a coverage map. Worth a recheck!
 

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