2021 Severe Service Degradation

[dhodges45]

Beginning in January 2021, I noticed an abrupt change in my normally-reliable cellular data and even voice signal. It took a complete nosedive. I’ve relentlessly pursued  answers. I’ve begged for solutions. I filed an FCC complaint, took it to the media and was interviewed on the 6:00 news, was eventually contacted by Latayo C in Verizon’s executive relations department, and finally brushed off (basically).  I was told that whatever issues existed (though Latayo was careful not to admit there were any) are proprietary, and they’re not obliged to divulge that info to paying customers. I was assured that the issues (which may or may not have existed) had been resolved, and my case was closed. March 29, 2021.  

It is nearly June now. Not only are the obvious service degradation issues NOT resolved, they are worse. Since the time I spoke to Latayo on the phone, I’ve discovered large dead zones in my area which did not exist before. Our download and upload speeds are abysmal. Calls that never dropped in the past are now dropping. There’s frequent breaking-up as well; again, I did not have these problems previously. This began in earnest in January 2021.  

*Tell the truth.* This is an ongoing issue. And upon further research, I now realize that it’s not isolated to just my area. Verizon has a nationwide service degradation problem; yet I have yet to find anything, ANYWHERE, which properly and completely addresses customers’ questions and concerns. 

What happened or is happening?  Is this an infrastructure issue?  When can we expect a return to our previously-solid service?  

If an “executive relations agent” cannot provide proper resolution, who can?  Why was her first answer “no” when I asked for my past several bills to be prorated according to the data I was able to access vs my average usage (prior to 1/21)?  Why is someone at her level “unable” to provide me with my past data usage? Why did I have to insist that I shouldn’t be forced to pay for a service which Verizon failed to render? And further, why was I told that the issue was resolved?  

One final question: Latayo indicated to me on our phone call that our address is in a marginal coverage area. When did that happen?  Nothing has changed here. We have no new foliage. No freshly-erupted hills or mountains. No new skyscrapers. Our house didn’t pick up and move to an extremely high elevation, nor a low one. I want the actual truth, and then I would like a re-negotiated contract to reflect the current level of service we are getting. I would like to pay the fair market value for what basically amounts to dial-up speeds, rather than paying for 5G UW, which isn’t even available in our rural area. 

[GypsyJane]

I also have noticed a severe drop in service in 2021.  I travel. I can't get data or even phone reliably in places where I have previously had good connectivity.  Also, in a single location, it will be anything from 0 service to 5 bars of 4G LTE.  The tower didn't move, neither did I, but service fluctuates that badly.  I pay for unlimited data and have been struggling to keep up with just reading email due to this.  I came on here to see if it was my phone or Verizon, and i see that others have been having this issue for a couple of years now.

[vzw_customer_support]

We strive to provide the best network experience, GypsyJane. It is concerning to hear about this experience you are having. I know you stated this happens in multiple locations. Can you provide some of the locations so that we can review?

[GypsyJane]

Sure.  Since the beginning of the year I've been at Perry FL, Webster FL, Paynes Creek Historical State Park at Bowling Green FL, Lake Henry which is a Winter Haven address but closer to Haines City FL, Ocala FL, Gainesville FL, Olustee FL, Graham GA, Clover SC, Farmville VA, Midlothian VA.  

Thanks.

Gypsy Jane

[vzw_customer_support]

GypsyJane, thank you for the details. We certainly want you to have the best possible service. That is a lot of different areas to have problems. What make and model phone do you have? 

[BPF12158]

I dare say this has got to be something with the towers something's is just not right. I've been a Verizon customer for decades. Since cell phones didn't leave the car. Verizon was always the gold standard. A little more expensive but rock solid and worth it. Since 5G was initiated Verizon service has diminished in a big way. I have driven the same route to work every day for 20 years and once 5G came out me calls do constantly when I'm on the way to and from work. When 5G first came out I did not have a 5G phone so I upgraded and have always had a5G phone since but there is no difference. My sister in CT had the same issue and recently switched to T-Mobile with great results. I really do not want to switch but it's infuriating to spend so much every month and not be able to make a 25 min drive without constantly dropping calls. That's just the facts.

[BPF12158]

My calls drop constantly, NOT " me calls do constantly"

Sorry for the type o.

[vzw_customer_support]

We always want you to have excellent call quality. Let's see what's going on. Let's get to the bottom of this. Please send us a Private Note for assistance. *Melissa

[guitargain]

I live in the county that Olustee, Fl is in.  I was a previous customer of AT&T for almost 20 years.  AT&T service in my area had degraded to almost unusable.  I had many friends that always raved about Verizon being way better than AT&T for service.  So my wife and I switched to Verizon in October 2021.  At first is appeared the service was maybe just a little better than AT&T.  For the last several months it has degraded as well.  I am maybe getting one bar where before it was 3 or 4.  I live in Northern Baker County, and work around Macclenny, Glen St. Mary, Sanderson, and Olustee. I am not complaining about service at my home because none of the carriers work where I live.  So far I am not all that pleased with the service.  Someone locally said they called Verizon and was told it was because of the 5G upgrades but not sure if that's true or not.

[guitargain]

I should have also said the problem is more with the data than voice.  I can have 3 or 4 bars and still cannot stream Apple Music, or pandora, or get a usable speed for internet use.  There are less bars in areas where there used to be 3 or 4 and now it's maybe 1 or 2.  

[vzw_customer_support]

Got it. Your area and your plan can have a lot to do with it too. This is why the question above was so important in addition to what is the name of your price plan? Is it the Start Unlimited? 

-Nicci

[vzw_customer_support]

guitargain, having reliable service, is key.  Also, from what you are stating it sounds like there may be some terrain restrictions.( ex: body of water, living by mountains, recent construction in area, very wooded area, etc.  These factors lead to low signal on a device which can then create the environment for low signal, frequent new service s, fluctuating signal, slow speeds, slow signal, no signal etc. Any of those around your area? 

-Nicci

[dhodges45]

Where, in the contiguous United States, is there a place without any of those “obstructions”? You’ve just described nature.

I get it. A low-level customer service agent at Verizon doesn’t even have the capability of “helping” customers, other than checking a computer for known outages. And those higher up the chain simply refuse to help. It’s easy when all he/she has to say is that the answers a customer seeks are “proprietary information.” 

Since this is a thread I started over a year ago, I see all these responses coming into my inbox. All of these frustrated customers, all over the country, need actual help. They need their once-reliable service to be restored. Platitudes are insulting. 

Meanwhile, I still have 5 devices on extremely expensive Verizon plans; because even a weak, slow signal is better than nothing at all.

It’s still an utter mystery to me why the adequate cellular signal we enjoyed for many years prior to January 2021 suddenly disappeared. Poof!  Verizon giveth, and Verizon taketh away. 😞

[vzw_customer_support]

dhodges45,

We want you to have great service, that's a big deal. You're absolutely right that most places have some of those things. It is a question of how many of them and in what combination though. Your signal strength is never based on one thing. It's a combination of hundreds of factors. Everything from foliage, to how many buildings are in the area, to how far you are from the tower, how many people are on that tower, other wireless signals in the area, and many more. There's rarely one thing to point to and say that one thing is the issue. It's often a variety of things.

For example, sometimes the main issue is that a lot more people started using the local tower. Or even a lot more people started using a nearby tower, which has pushed some of the traffic that used to be on that tower toward the tower you usually use. Maybe that started 6 months ago so it doesn't jump out as the likely issue, but it was winter and there was no foliage on the trees so the signal still worked pretty well. But now spring comes along and the foliage comes back in and now the signal isn't strong enough to get past it. The foliage is part of the issue, but it didn't necessarily change from past years. More people using nearby towers did though and now the signal isn't strong enough to get past that foliage. Neither of those things is the whole problem, but in combination they cause a bigger one. 

That's just an example, and it is actually simpler than how this often works. Often there are far more than two factors working together to cause an issue. Our goal is to solve issues when they happen, and often they can be solved. Other times though the ultimate solution is going to be building more towers, which doesn't happen overnight and sometimes can take quite a long time depending on local rules and regulations. Our goal is for the resolution to an issue to be service working better and often it is, but sometimes the resolution is being honest with you about the current state of the signal and setting the right expectations. At that point as a customer you can make the decision that makes the most sense for you. If you respond to us in PM I can get some details to check on your specific situation and see if I can find anything else that may help though. We're always glad to do all we can. 

-Andrew

[sffreeas]

@dhodges45 @vzw_customer_support 

Reading many of the responses from Verizon Customer Support, its apparent that management or the entire CS department is oblivious to what we are all on this forum complaining about or they refuse to admit to something they may know about which they will never do. Many or most CS responses are similar and generic, treating all issues or comments as if they are unrelated one-offs and localized issues. Attempting to troubleshoot at the device level. 

My issues which I described in a previous post are very similar to others on this post. Verizon service was once great and stood out from other providers but that is no longer the case. Service degradation is not specific to a single device or location. This is a more broad issue, in many different locations (mostly California for me) across different devices. It's become increasingly rare to get good speed test results. I even have similar coverage and speed results from an M1000 MiFI device that is on a company business plan. Its a waste of time to treat this as a localized issue and go through the same generic troubleshooting steps with no results. 

I am at the point of seriously considering a different provider and I've been a Verizon customer for 10+ years now.  

[vzw_customer_support]

sffreeas, we strive to provide the best possible signal at all times. I'm so very sorry that you've had issue with our service. We want to do all that we can to help you. Please contact our Business Support Department that is available by phone only at 800-922-0204. Our Business Support Department can truly investigate this further for you.  -Alicia

[rmcoleman16]

I have had terrible service this year; I can hear other people talk but they can't hear me.  I visited a local Verizon store and was told the issue was with my phone which is IPhone XR.  He said I needed a new phone. Wow.  I simply turned around and walked out.  My husband has a different phone and he has the exact same problem.

Seriously thinking of switching providers - THIS WEEK!  I've had enough.

[vzw_customer_support]

rmcoleman16 I'm sad to learn you have been dealing with this for over a year. Have you reached out to us to troubleshoot your phone? Is this happening at a specific location (indoors/outdoors)?-Dolores

[Adiaz110]

I honestly don't know what's happened to Verizon's service but it has severely degraded in quality. I worked for Verizon for 15 years and all we did was tout our Root Metrics wins stating we had the best and most reliable network. There's no way that's possible anymore. I live in Queens and commute into Manhattan often, even with all the cell towers, I get 1 maybe up to 3 bars. The data speeds are trash and becoming reminiscent of 3G. All the billions VZ claims to invest into the network hasn't been working. Moreover, my speeds if anything should be improving. I still have a 4G phone and according to VZ, when 5G rolled out, it was supposed to alleviate strain on the 4G network because of the increased 5G spectrum and coverage. It's only gotten worse.... I literally have zero faith in Verizon anymore. I'm going to pay off my daughter's phone and switch to another carrier, which is something I never saw myself doing since I've had Verizon's service since 2006.

[vzw_customer_support]

We want to make sure we fully troubleshoot your signal concerns, Adiaz110. With what you have told us so far, we have a good understanding of your service experience. Have you been able to perform any speed tests? If yes, please share those results here.  -George

[RightOn]

Me too... just in the last two weeks... voices are breaking up and cropping like NEVER BEFORE !  The date is October 2021... Something is WAY OFF !