Wireless Internet Service Getting Worse

[Brose6]

I've been living in my current house for about 4 years now. Admittedly, I live out in the country where the wireless service has never been great. Fortunately, when I first moved and for about a year or two after, the wireless internet service through my phone was acceptable. Pages loaded quick enough, I could watch videos and there were no real connections issues. However, over the last year or two, I've noticed that my phone's internet service has been getting progressively worse. Pages load slower, videos need to buffer, sometimes there would be connection issues, etc. Overall, it was still manageable.

As of late though (last couple months), the connection has gotten significantly worse. Now, the phone isn't even able to load web pages half the time. It seems to work the best in the morning and late at night, but it is absolutely abysmal in the middle of the day. I'm not exactly sure what to make of it since nothing has changed on my end. It can't just be my phone because my wife's phone is experiencing the exact same issues and hers is only about a year old. Also, they seem to work fine in other locations.

Is there anything I can do to improve and or resolve this? Or, am I just out of luck and it is time to explore another carrier?

[Brose6]

Forgot to mention, the zip code is 21053. While outdoor can be slightly better, the issue of things getting noticeably worse applies to both indoor and outdoor compared to how it used to be in the same spots.

[vzw_customer_support]

I appreciate those additional details. I checked and didn't see any outages in that area. Please tell me, what's the make and model of your device?

-Carter

[Brose6]

Samsung S9 and Pixel 5. I'm confident it is not the device. It's the same issue with 2 different devices. Also, anyone who comes to my house with verizon has similar issues. 

[vzw_customer_support]

Thank you for clarifying. How far away from the area do you need to walk/drive to notice an improvement? -Evelyn

[Brose6]

About 1.5 - 2 miles.

[vzw_customer_support]

Hello, Brose6! We may need to troubleshoot to see if you are in a marginal coverage area. Is this only affecting your mobile data and internet or is this also affecting your calls and texts?

*Ayesha

[Brose6]

I do have less bars when it comes to calls, but I haven't dropped any. Texts do sometimes take a while to send or fail, especially when it is a file or picture.

[vzw_customer_support]

Thank you for those details, Brose6. I'm glad your calls are staying connected. It sounds like the multimedia messages are the main issue. Do you have Wi-Fi at home as well? If so, how is the connection with Wi-Fi working for you? 

What is your signal strength currently? What speeds are you getting? Please use this link to test: http://spr.ly/6187DxiIV and share the results with us.

-Ryan

[Brose6]

No, the main issue is the poor 4G LTE internet connection. I don't have wi-fi. I have to use my phone as a hotspot for internet where I live. Currently, I can't even get the speed test web page to load. Years ago, the internet connection to my phone was fine. It did everything I needed it to. However, now I'm lucky to get it to connect to the internet half of the time with no changes on my end. The only thing I can think of is that the 4G LTE signal from the tower I connect to has gotten progressively worse. Its' not the phone because it works well in other locations and other verizon phones experience the same terrible internet connection when they visit our house. Since it's not the phones, I can only think of 3 solutions. 1) Verizon would need to check the tower that I connect to and fix or improve whatever issues are going on with it. Again, the signal used to be fine, but it has been getting worse by the day. 2) Get some device that would boost the existing 4G signal. Does this even exist? I would need something that does not require a broadband connection to use. 3) Change cell phone carriers. I'm assuming this is the only reasonable solution if I can't seem to get a reliable connection using Verizon regardless of what phone I use. I ask you, if it's not the phone that is the issue, what options do I have if the internet connection is simply not going to work anymore due to my location?

[vzw_customer_support]

Brose6, we understand your concerns and would like to look further into everything for you. We have sent you a Private Note to discuss this further. 

-Christine

[vzw_customer_support]

We would never want to see you go to any other carrier. I would want to troubleshoot your device to help improve your service. Please send us a Private Message for account-specific help.

-Carter

[trinketman]

I have been a loyal Verizon customer for over 20 years.  The service has always been better than any other provider but over the last 2 years, it has become unbearable.  I never even thought about dropping a call.  It worked great all the time.

Now I drop multiple calls on a daily basis.  I use my phone for business and it is a big problem.

I have friends all over the country that are having the same experience.

I would like to hear from anyone who has found a solution.

Thanks

[vzw_customer_support]

Look out for our Private note!*Tyler

[Ant]

Same here in my rural area even in the local park and church. Too many people on it. No service, SOS, and very weak connections if any. 😞 Older iPhones (4S and 6+) did better even with 3G and 1X. Legacy and newer plans didn't matter. 😞

[vzw_customer_support]

Keeping you connected is vital, and we're truly sorry to learn of the service issues you've been experiencing. We'll be sending a Private Note to better assist.

~Izzy