i had the same problem wih my phone. i had t-moblie service and the same thing happend.i would be out in the middle of basically nowhere and have service then at my hose no bars at all.i called t-mobile with the problem they looked at my phone and stuff and said theres no problem with it. i said it worked fine when i got it they said they didnt know wat happend. i know alot of people with t-mobile service who has had this problem.i just dont think t-mobile is that good of a sevice.you will never know if ull hav bars or not.i decided to switch to verizon and they work great.altel and at&t r good ones too too but i like verizon best.t-mobile could nerver figure out the problem with my phone.i think its just because they hav bad sevice.