Extended digital coverage area, new phone, horrible service

I live in an extended digital coverage area, and I got a new iPhone 5s last month. Before that, I didn't have great service, calls were patchy depending on what part of the house I was in, but I never had a problem sending/receiving texts. Well, now I can almost never send or receive texts, and I definitely can't make calls, even when it's showing that I have 2 or 3 bars of service. It's getting annoying, because I'm almost always home, and trying to start a home-based business, and not being able to use my phone is going to be a problem. What's weird about it is that it only seems to really have been this way since I got my new phone. If anyone has any suggestions or any ideas why this might be happening, I would greatly appreciate the input.

Accepted answers

JMP451

I called Verizon customer service and was issued a new SIM card and phone. I tried the new SIM card in the old phone, then I tried the old SIM card in the new phone, then I tried the new SIM card in the new phone. None of that made any difference, so I called customer service again and they made a network report of some kind for me. After I got off the phone, my brother came home who has an iphone 5c. As a last ditch effort, I asked if I could borrow his SIM card and put it in my phone. As soon as I tried his SIM card, it was like magic. I IMMEDIATELY was able to make calls with absolutely no problem. I'm not sure why the new SIM card didn't work, but somehow if I can get a SIM card that will work, I don't think I should have any problems. I just don't understand why the new one I was sent wouldn't have helped.

All comments

Verizon_Support

JMP451, we don't want this to be an ongoing problem. Are you connected to Wi-Fi when you have this issue with sending and recieving text messages? Are you unable to send and receive text messages to certain phone numbers or all numbers?

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JMP451

I am connected to WiFi at home constantly, so I can use the internet on my phone, and I'm not concerned about accessing data. But yes, I am connected to WiFi when I have issues sending and receiving text messages, and it's an issue with all numbers. I already tried changing my messaging system to SMS only, and it didn't help, either.

Verizon_Support

JMP451, thanks for those clues. We have another step that will help. Is data enabled on in Settings when you have this issue? Make sure that data is enabled on and try to send a test text message. Please keep us posted.

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JMP451

Yes, data is always enabled. My whole family has iphones, and they almost always have service, but mine doesn't. The only differentiating factor is they had theirs shipped from Verizon, and I bought mine at a corporate location. Is it possible that my phone might be defective?

JMP451

Yes, data is always enabled. My whole family has iphones, and they almost always have service, but mine doesn't. The only differentiating factor is that they had theirs shipped from Verizon, but I bought mine at a corporate location. This isn't the first time I've had this kind of issue when buying a phone at a Verizon store. I bought a Samsung a few years ago and couldn't get any service when at home, and even had the phone replaced at the store, and it still didn't work. When I upgraded, I bought my new phone at Radio Shack, and it worked fine at home. Now that I bought one at a Verizon store again, I'm having the same issue. If I can't call or text with my phone from home, there is really no point in paying $80 a month for it, I could just hook up my ipod touch to WiFi and use it to access the internet. However, I really need phone service at home, so it's very important that I get this resolved.