Am I doomed to forever suffer one bar of signal strength in Los Angeles?

[icanthearyou]

So two years ago, at my home in [Removed] Los Angeles, I remember having amazing 5 bars of Verizon signal.  I could go into my garage two levels down, and still make calls.  Back then, I got suckered into a AT&T plan, which was OK but not fantastic, and finally decided to switch back to Verizon three days ago.  Well, the bad news is that a lot has changed in two years.  Now my Verizon signal alternates between 1x, 3G and maybe a bar of LTE.  I haven't moved apartments, but I certainly can't get any signal in the garage anymore.  Calls are dropped or never reach my phone, which is such a big difference from what I remembered a few years ago.  I called Verizon and they told me I was in a variable service area which could explain this?  What happened?  I'm going to be living here for a while so what are all my options for reporting it to Verizon so that they can make it better?

First some caveats:

- Yes I know I can buy a network extender for $250.

- Yes I know I can use Wifi calling on my phone.  Both these options seem subpar because my TWC internet is unreliable.

- Yes I know I can buy a Wilson signal booster myself.

Tests I've done, and notes:

- The signal strength is -115dBm inside our apartment.  -110dBm or so outside.

- Two blocks away on the main street, I got 70dBm.

- I've tested on an iPhone 6+, iPhone 6, and an old Droid.  At most 1 or 2 bars of signal.

- When not using Wifi calling, I had a call drop earlier.  It had me at 2 bars on 3G.  I tried to call back, and the call failed again.

- So I don't know exactly how long it's been bad like this, but I found another forum where someone near me said that in Summer 2016, Verizon may have sold one of the local cell towers.  I can say that it's been bad every second for the full three days I've been testing.

- I've enabled and disabled all the data roaming / LTE options.  I've reset my phone a million times.  I've got the latest carrier settings.

Help me out here Verizon.  Is it worth sending a technician out?  Is there something they can do that I can't?

Please don't give me some generic advice.  HELP ME HELP ME!

Personal Information removed as required by the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service​

Message edited by by Verizon Moderator

[MiiHere]

I'd definitely give them a call, it's not uncommon for there to be issues. On a few occasions while out in Cali there was construction near the tower and it made my signal drop off and on for a couple of days. They sent someone out and provided an update. Once they left, my signal was back.

If it turns out there is nothing wrong and it's simply that more buildings have gone up, more customers have signed up, tower interference etc. etc. you should still be within the return policy to cancel your account and return the device. I believe it's 14 days, at least for the device, but might be longer for new customers. I'd definitely ask though, no one wants to be stuck paying for a service they can't get.