Silicon Valley, home of the SLOWEST 4G LTE Verizon data speeds

[c1ph3r2u]

NW 1st St. & Trimble area in San Jose, 4G LTE data speeds have been <0.5Mbps down & <0.2Mbps up for over a week.  Switching phone to 3G yields similar, slightly faster data speeds.  Same results on all of my coworker's phones (Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S4, iPhone).  My phone has normal LTE speeds at home 10 miles away.

I can't find any other way to report this issue online.  I attempted to call *611, but gave up after waiting 15 minutes on hold. 

There should be an easier way to report service outages!!!!!

[Litchjim]

Your photo of Speedtest looks just like many that I have conducted over the last month in downtown Portland Oregon!  I have called Tech Support and talked to half a dozen reps.  They elevated my complain at the end of June.  I finally got a reply at the end of the first week of July.  The answer is that the network is overloaded in downtown Portland and that they need new towers.  No idea when that might happen!

As a result I canceled my data modem (LG V600) and the data speeds were abysmal in the Verizon office here in downtown. I don't see how Verizon markets 4G in Portland with speeds that are slower than DSL!

[Intocable]

samething happens in midtown manhattan NYC . the towesr are overloaded tmobile lte is more reliable in the city than VZW..unbelieable. my contract ends july 30.

[vzw_customer_support]

C1ph3r2u, I'm glad you were able to get a ticket submitted so that our network team can investigate this issue.

Intocable, I don't want you to be looking forward to your contract end date. We can figure this out! What zip code are you having this problem in? Are you indoors or outdoors? What phone do you have?


Marquia_VZW
Please follow us on twitter @VZWSupport

[c1ph3r2u]

@Litchjim - I've gotten the same run around in the past from Verizon that you've described.  I got multiple coworkers to call into Verizon and only then did the issue near my workplace get fixed.  Everyone at the office is furious at Verizon, but nobody there has 45 minutes to p!$$ away on the phone simply tell Verizon their network is broken.  Quite honestly, if I get the same answer as you did for Portland, then Verizon is unable to provide reasonable service to me inside a major metropolitan area and my contract should be terminated without any penalties...  T-Mobile seems hungry, competitive, and my coworkers have confirmed that their LTE is dependable at my office location.  Your move Verizon...

[c1ph3r2u]

So I called in to report this issue this evening since I figured this posting will not get anyone at Verizon's attention.

15 minutes hold time before speaking to a customer service representative.

5 minute conversation with CSR.

10 minutes waiting for connection to a tech support representative.

15 minutes for TSR to collect all the info for escalation to local technicians.

45 minutes total for a customer to simply report a service outage!!!  Really Verizon?!?!?  This is the best you can do?!?!

You do realize that you're making Comcast look like the masters of efficiency here as they've never made me wait more than 10 minutes to fully report an outage. 

New ad slogan: Verizon, the "Please Hold" Network

[vzw_customer_support]

Hi c1ph3r2u,

I am saddened to hear about your recent experience with us. I know that dealing with an outage along with being on the phone for a longer period of time than expected can be frustrating. We are constantly improving our customer experiences and appreciate your feedback. How is your service now?

Bobby_VZW
Please follow us on twitter @VZWSupport

[c1ph3r2u]

> How is your service now?

Let's check...

Ping: 252ms!

Up:  240Kbps

Down: 90Kbps

So to further answer your question, pretty good if I still lived in the 1990s, otherwise completely unacceptable in modern times.

While getting lunch yesterday at a location 1/2 mile away, I was able to see 45Mbps download speed, so something is really broken near my business location.

> We are constantly improving our customer experiences

Sorry Bobby, but I have to call BS on this statement.  My experience has been that 45 minutes is the minimum time required to report an outage.  Do you think I could stay employed if I made my customers wait in a queue for over 45 minutes in order to tell me that I'm not delivering contractual service to them?  Keep in mind that we can switch carriers faster than it currently takes to report issues.

Lets be honest here, my friends and colleagues have determined that the entire San Francisco Bay Area Verizon data coverage looks like swiss cheese and appears to be long forgotten after the initial LTE roll out.  Large swaths of Cupertino and Los Altos have abysmal data speeds.  Along Hwy 87 are big gaps.  Pockets of San Francisco have sub par coverage.  I could go on and on, but reporting these issues?  Sorry, I simply don't have the time, nor do any of your other customers with your current inadequate support structure.  It's quite silly as your parent site already has a proper solution, www.verizon.com/outage.  If you truly want the most reliable network, make it easy for your customers to report reliability issues to you first. 

The good thing is that when I eventually reach a CSR, they are very professional and courteous.  Clone them please!  [grin]

[vzw_customer_support]

Hello c1ph3r2u,

Your posting has quite a bit of details. As your wireless provider, we want you to enjoy the BEST wireles sservice in the world. That is our commitment to you and I would like to refresh that commitment today.May I ask for you to send me a private message with your full name and mobile number with a 2-3 sentence summary so that we can investigate.

Thank you...

Arnett_VZW
Please follow us on twitter @VZWSupport

[c1ph3r2u]

- I've accepted your follow request to connect 5 days ago, but I'm unable to send you a private message due to a follow request status of "Awaiting approval".   Any other Verizon CSRs that can help while is MIA?

[c1ph3r2u]

<< Please do not post any personal information including trouble ticket repair numbers >>

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

[c1ph3r2u]

@Arnett_VZW - Sure, I'd be happy to PM you with more details and a NRB#, but I am unable to find a method on this site to reply to you with a PM.

Status update: It's been 5 business days since reporting this outage and nothing has been fixed. 

No follow up call from customer service that was promised within 72 hours... 

Again, I wouldn't be able to stay in business if I ran it this way...

Had lunch near the AMC Mercado near Mission College in Santa Clara, CA with coworkers.  We repeated the same test using speedtest.net and found that area has the same horrible 4G speeds, even though we had 3-4 bars of signal strenght on our various phone models. I don't have the spare time to spend reporting this location too.

[sigh...]

[Ann154]

The username for the rep is and you would send them a follow request through their profile page on this community. They will have to accept that request and send a similar one back to you. Once you have accepted their follow request, you can send the rep a Direct Message with the private information.

[c1ph3r2u]

@Ann154 - Thank you!

[c1ph3r2u]

No signal (0 bars on 3G, no 4G) at the small Pearl Branch Library in San Jose.  My phone gets crazy hot while trying to keep in contact with the cell tower. 

[B33]

Its because the signal is Weak and the phone is basically over driving itself to stay connected to the Tower.. Is there any Free Wi-Fi in the Area or the Library that you can use that would help your phone from getting so Hot.. If there is you might try that  

[c1ph3r2u]

@B33 - You're absolutely correct.  In this posting however, I was continuing to describe further coverage holes in Silicon Valley which is purported to be blanketed in 4G coverage according to Verizon.  Reporting these outage issues via Verizon phone support involves a 45 minute minimum phone call, hence my doing so publically here.

[B33]

Well just trying to Help b

[c1ph3r2u]

And you were helpful, thank you. 

[B33]

Your Welcome

[c1ph3r2u]

Its been eight business days since this issue was reported and there has been NO response from Verizon.  I was promised a response by a CSR within 3 business days.

I will be happy to provide my NBR number to a Verizon rep here.

What does a customer have to do here to get service?  Initiate contract termination due to Verizon's inability to provide paid for service?