This troper would like to point out that his cellphone is the perfect example of this in real life. The camera broke within a couple of months, the WAP decided it wasn't going to work any more after six months, you can't get any signal unless you're in a heavily built-up area or rather high, it receives txt messages up to ''48 hours'' after they've been sent, and can barely ever send or receive pxts. Oh, and the price went down almost $150 six months after the troper bought it.

This troper knows what that feels like. She would be perfect for a LockedInARoom plot in RealLife, because her phone conversations are always drowned in static. "Hello? Fsssssshzzzzzztllo? I'm lofshzzzzzt in a fsshhzzt oh, never mind."

This troper has a phone that has at least three bars anywhere in Houston other than his own apartment. This includes right outside his own apartment building. Apparently AT&T has a problem with certain structural designs or something.

This troper's cell phone gets great reception in even surprising places like subway stations, but can't get more than 1 bar when sitting in his own house unless he is near a window.

And people are constantly asking me, "Why don't you have a cell phone? You need a cell phone." Then I read something like this. HA-HA-HA!

This troper's mobile cannot make or receive calls in her university accommodation. One block down the road either way, no problem. Accommodation? You're lucky if the call lasts 20 seconds before dropping out and most of that time is blank noise.

This troper's phone works everywhere above ground he's tried it in the Northeast US--except the bathrooms of a particular building Manhattan. Rest of the building is fine, neither men's room in the public areas.

All it takes to justify this trope is to give the characters Sprint.

Or locate them in the ancient concrete wasteland of this troper's university accommodation. The university's first aid team are reluctant to stage training events there because ''their walkie-talkies stop working'' as soon as they enter the area.

Sprint's not nearly that bad anymore, at least in Charlotte, NC and Memphis, TN. Now, my grandmother uses AT&T, and her cell phone tops out at three bars, in the middle of downtown Memphis, directly under a tower. Everyone I know who has Verizon is always complaining about reception, or rather, the lack thereof, in downtown Charlotte of all places. And don't even get me started on Cricket or US Cellular!

Variation: The wireless network at this troper's school is a crapshoot, as it only works in certain spots half the time. And it's always the most awkward and ridiculous spots.

Well, not really ''Can You Hear Me Now'', but his friends and This Troper love to screw around. One such conversation sounds a lot like ''Can You Hear Me Now'', because... well, just read below. #QUOTE#Friend: Hey, there, Troper! You got a big ol' bucket on your head! (Really, don't ask how it got there...) #QUOTE#Me: What? #QUOTE#Friend: I said HEY! Man, you got a bucket on your head!! #QUOTE#Me: Sorry, could you repeat that?! #QUOTE#Friend: I SAID YOU GOT A ****ING BUCKET... ON... YOUR... HEAD!!! #QUOTE#Me: Sorry, mate, can't hear worth shit, got a big ol' bucket on mah covering my ears. #QUOTE#Friend: *Bangs on the bucket* Yeah?! HOW ABOUT NOW?!

Metal buildings play merry hell with cell phones. Customers go in to a business, in the middle of a call; then turn around and go right back out to the parking lot to finish their call. Only when they're ''done'' with the calls do they come in. It gets worse when the customer needs to call his office for a purchase order...

This troper works in an electronics store in a mall that's about 25 feet from end to end. The cell phone signal is utterly shot by the time one gets behind the counter. What's weird is that one whole wall is directly adjacent to the outside. It is literally possible to open a door and get a vastly improved signal.

This troper works near a wall to outside. If he leaves his phone in his pocket, he gets no signal. If he puts the phone on a high shelf, he gets three bars. If he opens the door, he gets five.

This troper lives in a small NotQuiteDead spot. Reception is terrible, the person on the other end fades in and out, and every call has an even chance of getting dropped. Going maybe a quarter mile in any direction completely eliminates the problem, but who's going to do that for a phone call?

Do you live in my neighbourhood?

Can anyone explain to this troper why Skype thinks 'Make Call' means 'Make Call And Also Please Silently Mute My Microphone, Because It's Not Like This Was Important Or Anything'? I think my computer has been taken over by Bill O'Reilly.

This troper has become blase about seeing vendor reps standing on benches by the front windows of the store he works in, heads and cellphones pressed to the glass, yelling, "HELLO!?"

This portuguese troper fails to understand how phone reception is supposed to work in this country. We have more cell phones than people. We have reception in almost every inch of the country, including the Lisbon Metro. But every time I walk into the local supermarket or my places elevator the phone craps out. I can access the internet from the middle of nowhere, but I can't call home to confirm the shopping list.

This troper heard a story of a maintenance worker repairing something inside a Faraday cage with a motorized lift one evening. The lift craps out, he gets out his cell phone to call for help, and I think you can see where this is going...

This troper's scout troop owns a house. It's really nice because it's right outside of town so it only takes about ten minutes to get there, but it's still quite rural and has no neighbors, so we don't bother anyone. The reception, however, is terrible. If you want to make a call or send a text, you either have to be right outside the front door with your phone slightly raised up in the air, or lean out the kitchen window. Both options are quite unpleasant if it's snowing or raining.

At this troper's old job, she could get reception anywhere in the building EXCEPT at her desk. Literally three feet away there would be two bars, but at the desk, nada.

This troper's phone breaks up in over-phoned areas like train stations where everybody has their phone up to their ear, also takes real long to get texts and can only hold like, 20 at a time. No lie. It has been known for me to be waiting twenty four hours to get an important text.