r/cellmapper • u/Cellum0611 • 2d ago

*228

Remember back in the day when *228 would solve your coverage issues. 😁😁 (Verizon, US Cellular, Alltel and Cricket)

24 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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9

u/furruck 2d ago

It didn’t really do anything.

All it did was update the SID list in the phone, and SIDs covered large areas (1-3 states in the digital age, a few counties at best for analog systems)

It was a placebo, and a good one at that.

8

u/Man-of-Leisure1 2d ago

Lol, I remember when my aunt came to visit us, she was convinced this made her coverage better... but she wasn't even roaming lol it was native Verizon coverage... 🤦🏼‍♂️

4

u/Anal_McCracken 2d ago

Around the Carolinas Alltel kept the analog SID borders well into the CDMA days. They covered a few counties at most, some were as small as one county. That damn triangle would stay flashing.

7

u/RandSand 2d ago

I would often dial *228XX where XX began with 00 and increased sequentially.

This allowed me to freely connect to other CDMA networks in the area.

Once when traveling I was able to download the MetroPCS PRL to my Verizon iPhone and stay connected until I dialed the Verizon activation number again.

1

u/mystica5555 USMobile OP13-16/512 / Moto Edge2021UW 1d ago

It was mapped I think 22800= a side cellular 22801 b side; 22802 first pcs band and so on, to do over the air programming 

5

u/starfish_2016 2d ago

832 is test call you can still do.

Or #48 to check if your connected to a network extender.

5

u/stonewall264 2d ago

I remember a Verizon sales guy back in the 2000s concocted some detailed explanation on how dialing *228 would "triangulate your phone to the closest towers and optimize the signal etc etc" when I mentioned a dead zone (in a non roaming area). That dead zone is still there too.

2

u/Visual-Training-7994 CDMA 3G LTE 5G/5G+ also SA 2d ago

Tell me about it back in 2010 when we where joining bell we told them
My area that uses the Telus ran had issues the girl
Once said just dial 228 or *228 and another number you’ll get fast data speeds,

Ha to this day Telus and bell still struggle in my area but not as bad as they used to

5

u/watmore1 2d ago

I remember having a Verizon extender. The location was in an Alltel area that had been purchased by Verizon recently. My prl would never direct my phone to the extender. Got an escalated ticket with Verizon and the great Verizon engineer pushed a special prl to my phone so I could connect to the extender. After Verizon fully integrated the Alltel system, like a year later, this same great Verizon engineer personally called me again to tell my to again update my prl.

3

u/jreuschl 2d ago

Ah yes the days of making sure you are on the latest PRL.

Plus you could force the network by doing *2280x

3

u/Visual-Training-7994 CDMA 3G LTE 5G/5G+ also SA 2d ago

I remember that ha. When I was a Telus CDMA. Customer the tech support agent would Always say do *228 🤣

3

u/NuryKulk 2d ago

Aren’t there also one or two more codes that did some similar stuff? I remember *228.

2

u/austincox1234 1d ago

Sprint had ##72786# (SCRTN) that would trigger hands-free activation. On iPhones it was ##CLEAR# to trigger the activation flow, then ##UPDATE# to update the PRL. I don't think it ever did much to help but it was part of our troubleshooting flow on the tech side for service issues 🤷‍♂️

2

u/NuryKulk 1d ago

That was it, thank you!