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Verizon coverage map - fact or fiction?

My wife and I have been out of contract with Verizon for some time. We are currently shopping for a phone and a tablet.

One of our biggest concerns is signal reception: We head to a remote spot in eastern Washington state every weekend. Our frustration with cell reception there has led us to installing a yagi antenna and Wilson signal booster. This combination (with phone placed on the boosters "wire" antenna) allows us to go from zero signal to 1 bar voice service, and occasional 1G data. These results are from an older HTC and Samsung smartphone. Visitors with iPhones get mixed results.

The Verizon coverage map shows extended Digital Voice service at our exact location. It also shows solid 3G coverage bordering 4G/lte at the same location.

Sooo, my first question is: What is the general concensus of the Verizon coverage map for rural locations? It is marketing blather or does somebody actually test random spots and extrapolate a best guess for points in between? Certainly Verizon's claims appear lame at our location.

My second question is: From the set of available Verizon offerings right now, I had three phone options I liked; LG 3, Samsung S5, and Motorola MotoX (gen 2). I have not been able to find any conclusive review of reception/antenna quality on these phones. Can anybody point me at something that would help me decide between them?

Cheers

Comments

Snn5

I dare say, that whatever reception you are getting now will not get any better by changing devices. Even if it is better with another device, it might only be by a bar. And, given the rural terrain up there, could waiver in and out.

Snn5

Unless you are in the Colville National Forest ATT has data.

T-Mobile is a NO.

Sprint is a NO.

Verizon is a not really, given all the white on the eastern/northeastern portion of the state.

gwandsh

Thanks for the feedback

To be honest, an additional bar would be a 100% improvement. My HTC Incredible (I know, I know) sometimes gets a second bar while on the "antenna wire". When that happens, my voice calls are usually pretty solid. Sadly, data never gets past 1x.

My wife's Samsung S3 generally gets less signal than my phone, so although we both share Verizon service we do see differences between devices. About 8 years ago, when we first got the booster, I had a Nokia flip phone with a stubby antenna. It was pretty dependable for getting 2 bars and rarely dropping calls, so I really think some of the internal antenna design impacts reception there.

My fear is that the newer phones are all oriented towards apps and streaming in urban environments where signal is strong, with less emphasis on reception. So by upgrading we may shoot ourselves in the foot for our rural service.

Weth

The maps are close approximations,but not exact signal mappings. I do not see how you can get an answer to your question other than taking a desired device up to the area you need reception, or count on others that go there and what phones and providers they use.

Snn5

I agree with Weth: hands-on research will be needed. Remember the 14 day worry free guarantee with Verizon, but definitely speak with other you may know in the area or who go to that same area what their experiences have been. With reception so weak to begin with, I wouldn't count solely on the hopes that a new device or old device would make the difference worth the costs.

rcschnoor

gwandsh wrote:

The Verizon coverage map shows extended Digital Voice service at our exact location. It also shows solid 3G coverage bordering 4G/lte at the same location.

Sooo, my first question is: What is the general concensus of the Verizon coverage map for rural locations? It is marketing blather or does somebody actually test random spots and extrapolate a best guess for points in between? Certainly Verizon's claims appear lame at our location.

A cell tower is capable of sending a signal a certain distance and that is largely what the coverage maps are based upon. With that said, there are many factors which will lower the coverage footprint of any single tower which are listed as a disclaimer on Verizon's coverage map.

"These Coverage Locator maps depict predicted and approximate wireless coverage. The coverage areas shown do not guarantee service availability, and may include locations with limited or no coverage. Even within a coverage area, there are many factors, including customer’s equipment, terrain, proximity to buildings, foliage, and weather that may impact service. Some of the Coverage Areas include networks run by other carriers, the coverage depicted is based on their information and public sources, and we cannot ensure its accuracy."

You say you are in an area of "extended Digital Voice". These are normally areas reception on networks run by other providers, with information about coverage provided by said provider. IF phone coverage is important to you, you should find a provider with better coverage in the area. If there are no providers which can do so, get a landline or stay away from those areas.

Cellular service is not and never has been advertised as an available service for all areas. The technology isn't currently capable of doing so. Cellular is a line of site technology with rises and falls in surface topography being major factors which would lead to less than ideal reception(if any) in any given location. People who regularly frequent areas with limited reception must learn to live without service or find another method to get it.

gwandsh

All good advice. We have done due diligence on comparing as many visitor's devices and services as possible. Most seem to be verizon customers already, so not conclusive. I had hoped to determine if other providers coverage maps might be more accurate - but it makes sense that all claimed coverage in rural areas would be suspect unless the tower was in close proximity.

A couple of folks we know in the area use work-supplied phones with providers we don't want to limit ourselves to - Sprint and US Cellular. This is not a full-time residence, so having a service that works only there is not practical.

As for the comments to get a land line or stay away from the area... well, neither is an option. The cost to trench in a landline about half a mile is out of the question. As for staying away, we like it there a lot, but hope that somehow we can find the magic decoder ring to allow us to have more dependable cell service there.

Thanks again to all who had suggestions. A good resource.

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