I consistently got 2 bars of signal, which is not enough for a phone call, in El Cerrito, CA and downtown Columbus, OH. I had similar coverage with StraightTalk, at half the cost.
Is that 2 bars of 3G or 4G?
2 bars is plenty for a phone call, texting, and data use. If you cannot make calls with 2 bars, there is something else going on. Are you saying you get 2 bars no matter where you go? That is not normal. Signal strength will vary, sometimes just moving a few inches. Being inside a building will also affect signal strength. Also keep in mind that the number of bars is different for LTE vs 3G and 1x. So you could have 2 bars on your phone, which is the LTE data signal. Then when you make a call, you connect to the 1x service, which usually has higher signal.
2 bars of 4G on my Galaxy 5s. The most problematic calls were to the same landline and they reported that my voice was dropping out. I could hear them fine. I have no problems when I call to the same landline from a landline on my side.
I just want good quality voice calls wherever I go - data comes second. Your advice is appreciated.
2 bars of 4G should work just fine, if it's JUST that landline then I'd say something is wrong there. I, for the last couple years work off 1-2 bars of 4G and while I have dropped calls here and there, have never had a consistent problem.
Do you have LTE Voice or Advanced Calling or VoLTE turned on? If so, try turning it off to see if that improves things. For some in some areas, VoLTE is not quite ready and they get dropped calls or poorly connection on VoLTE. Switch over to the old technology, CDMA by turning the above off until the technology matures and Verizon builds out LTE to match CDMA.
