Are Verizon coverage maps just completely fake?
architeuthis
Enthusiast - Level 2

I get really crummy coverage for both voice and data at my house, so I used the coverage maps to check what they say. According to coverage maps, I should be getting 4G LTE coverage, and no one has EVER received a 4G signal at this house on a Verizon phone (3 different phones right now). Every once in a while we get an intermittent 1X that lasts a few minutes and then goes away, but we are lucky to get a 3G signal. In terms of voice coverage, the map says we should have digital voice signal (Verizon's map doesn't say estimate how strong the signal should be, just that we should get it), but we barely even get that -- most of the time we get one bar and if you walk around the house you will lose your call.

Am I losing my mind or are these coverage maps outright lies? Maybe the trick is they avoid saying how strong the signal should be -- I suppose since I intermittently see 1X pop up, I technically might be on the very, very edge of a 4G area. Pretty shifty. Other providers seem to accurately let me know what to expect right down to my street level.

Anyone else noticing the coverage map says they should get 4G and it's just not there at all?

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Re: Are Verizon coverage maps just completely fake?
Tidbits
Legend

What is your coverage outside your home? When was your home built?

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Re: Are Verizon coverage maps just completely fake?
architeuthis
Enthusiast - Level 2

Oops, didn't mean to imply it had something to do with my house -- there's no coverage in our neighborhood at all. I need to get in the car and go about a half mile towards downtown to get a 4G signal.

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Re: Are Verizon coverage maps just completely fake?
Tidbits
Legend

OK gotcha. Carriers don't offer coverage in buildings. So many factors can cause problems in buildings.

Has this happened recently? How long have you guys had this problem?

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Re: Are Verizon coverage maps just completely fake?
architeuthis
Enthusiast - Level 2

Had this problem since the day we started using Verizon, about 4 years. We have never had better than 3G in the house, and always had the "barely getting one bar" issue. It's just upsetting that the coverage map says we should be getting 4G when we so obviously do not.

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Re: Are Verizon coverage maps just completely fake?
architeuthis
Enthusiast - Level 2

Well the good news is AT&T maps are full of baloney too -- their map just shows one coverage color and indicates we should have 4G, and I am pretty sure my neighbors who have AT&T said they don't get a good voice signal or 4G.

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Re: Are Verizon coverage maps just completely fake?
Tidbits
Legend

The problem with the maps is they use a third party to gather the data. These third party companies use a receiver and not actual phones. Different devices will have different connectivities. Some will work better than others. The map may be accurate in the sense that's what the 3rd party people got, but not always what normal people get.

Re: Are Verizon coverage maps just completely fake?
architeuthis
Enthusiast - Level 2

That certainly makes sense, and of course it's not like a third party doing a coverage map is going to go down every side street in every town in America to check coverage -- a lot of it must be estimated / filled in / assumed.

Doesn't make me feel better about paying $300/month for such awful coverage though. Can barely make a call from my own home on "America's Largest Network".

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Re: Are Verizon coverage maps just completely fake?
Tidbits
Legend

You can always sell your devices and see if you can find better coverage elsewhere.  You may have a regional carrier with better coverage. 

Re: Are Verizon coverage maps just completely fake?
Not applicable

architeuthis wrote:

Oops, didn't mean to imply it had something to do with my house -- there's no coverage in our neighborhood at all. I need to get in the car and go about a half mile towards downtown to get a 4G signal.

You're on a moving vehicle which will skew your results. the vehicle blocks signal to a degree also there is movement. First of coverage maps assume outdoor coverage and not moving. Second no coverage maps is 100% accurate. part of that is it's simply impossible to be 100% effect also they don't take into account trees buildings etc. Also hilly terrain makes it harder to predict coverage. overage maps should be taken as a guide.

The person that an create a 95% coverage map will be a billionaire. TVfool is probably the best site for getting coverage maps for OTA TV signals but even their best results are at best very good educated guess and even then sometimes what they say and what is reality are totally off.

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