Best cell phone carrier for "wandering"?

[setter_guy]

Verizon works fine in the states but their international coverage sucks. When I went to Verizon they swore up and down that the phone would work in Mexico. It doesn't and I spend a couple months a year in Baja. I read them the riot act and they released me from my contract. I now have an ATT phone which works great in Baja.

Not a fan of Verizon, I don't like being lied to.

 

[MarkBC]

I see that VZW has recently added 4G/LTE coverage locations in middle-of-nowhere Northern Nevada.
(before they've added any along the Highway 97 corridor through Bend/central-Oregon.

)
I guess it makes sense to add coverage along busy I-80...but McDermitt?? US 95 has less traffic than US 97.

This high-speed network isn't a big deal, really, unless you stream video or transfer huge files...but 4G/LTE also permits simultaneous voice and data which hasn't been available on Verizon 3G and older CDMA networks (though has been/is on ATT & T-Mobile's GSM 3G networks).

 

[craig333]

Getting harder and harder to get away from it. I am not looking forward to the day I"m sitting around the campfire and someones phone starts ringing.

 

[MarkBC]

I'm looking forward to the day when we can sit around the campfire and text each other rather than talk...and enjoy the silence.

 

[Redline]

snip...
This high-speed network isn't a big deal, really, unless you stream video or transfer huge files...but 4G/LTE also permits simultaneous voice and data which hasn't been available on Verizon 3G and older CDMA networks (though has been/is on ATT & T-Mobile's GSM 3G networks).



Sorry they didn't improve your coverage in Oregon, but backcountry cell coverage is why we dumped ATT last year for Verizon. We only went to ATT a couple years prior because we wanted the iPhone.

 

[Redline]

Getting harder and harder to get away from it. I am not looking forward to the day I"m sitting around the campfire and someones phone starts ringing.


I agree, don't want phone intruding either. However, for some family emergencies/health concerns more (even intermittent) coverage can be helpful to check-in occasionally.

 

[randygirl]

I have had great luck with Verizon all over the lower 48 and Alaska. I try to keep the phone off except while driving (for the gps!)
Seems like when I really need service though, I don't have it no matter what carrier!
That's how I've met some of the nicest people ever though!

 

[home skillet]

Verizon.....I can get service in places I have no business getting service!

 

[Silvertip47]

Seems more and more places I go my AT&T is dead whole Verizon still works. My contract ends in July and switching to Verizon. Wife will keep her AT&T so we should have the best of both.

 

[Yvonne]

I'd go with Verizon too. It really has good reception.

 

[Rick NV]

att works better for me in nevada- I tried verizon but had better luck with att- there are areas that one works and the other doesn't but att is much improved now - i can use att in my basement and it gets four bars.

 

[Accrete]

Verizon user here.
In the Pacific Northwest area we live and camp in the reception is much better than my AT&T using friends see.
That said, once we go off the asphalt we are still pretty much out of luck.
We prospect outside Battle Ground WA and also Sweet Home OR... once away from those towns to our _spots_ ( ~ 30 miles ) there's no coverage ,( Maybe some day a cell tower will show up on a hill top to cover the areas.

Thom

 

[MarkBC]

In weak-signal areas, sometimes areas where there seems to be no signal, I've successfully used this powered signal booster.

This particular model is specific to Verizon 4G networks but works as well on other 2G/3G (CDMA) networks. It typically boosts the signal by "a couple of bars", or more-quantitatively, by 20 dBm (typically, by my own measurements, according to the "Network Signal Info" app).
It's not magic -- it doesn't enable a connection when there really is none...but it really works to extend the usable coverage area beyond what you'd have without it.

 

[highz]

In weak-signal areas, sometimes areas where there seems to be no signal, I've successfully used this powered signal booster.

This particular model is specific to Verizon 4G networks but works as well on other 2G/3G (CDMA) networks. It typically boosts the signal by "a couple of bars", or more-quantitatively, by 20 dBm (typically, by my own measurements, according to the "Network Signal Info" app).
It's not magic -- it doesn't enable a connection when there really is none...but it really works to extend the usable coverage area beyond what you'd have without it.

Would this work with a small format MiFi?

 

[MarkBC]

Would this work with a small format MiFi?

The model I have depends on (for best function) you putting the phone in the cradle, which contains the signal repeater (which is how it works). I think the range of the repeater is quite short, so you NEED to put the phone in the cradle. If your MiFi (wifi hotspot) fits in the cradle then it should work. It comes with several different "arms" for the cradle, so there's some adjustment for size possible.
Or they may make a model that has the same function but fits your device's physical dimenstions.
Check the company website to get more info.

 

[Rick NV]

i have done some research on the cell phone boosters and unlike earlier model cell phones newer cell phones with LTE etc don't work with a lot of booster you see for sale these days- if your seriously thinking about a booster and have a LTE phone i suggest doing a lot of research because a lot of areas don't have LTE in rural areas which make things even more complicated- in the old days there was just GSM and CDMA- now we have a lot more bandwidths to complicate things further- I think its best to turn off the phone if you trying to relax and camp !

 

[highz]

I think its best to turn off the phone if you trying to relax and camp !

Good advice. Not always possible, but good advice.

 

[MarkBC]

i have done some research on the cell phone boosters and unlike earlier model cell phones newer cell phones with LTE etc don't work with a lot of booster you see for sale these days-

In case there's some confusion...the unit I linked to does boost the 4G/LTE signal for any phone intended for the Verizon 4G/LTE network.
It also boosts the 3G signal for any phone that works on a 3G CDMA network (e.g., Sprint or US Cellular, as well as Verizon). I'm not sure about 3G GSM networks...(such as ATT & T-Mobile)... ...but the manufacturer does make a model for ATT's 4G/LTE network.

Here's what the manufacturer's Q&A says about what networks my unit works on:

• Sleek 4G-V will support voice and 3G communications for all carriers as well as Verizon’s 4G LTE network.
• 
  The Sleek 4G-V will cover the 800mhz and 1900 mhz frequency bands, as well as Verizon's 700mhz LTE channel.
  

 

[MarkBC]

My experience with a different cell-signal amplifier:
I was able to test a product made another company through a friend of a friend who works at this other company. He sent me a unit to test/demo for a couple of months, knowing that I already owned the competitor's product and knowing that I like to travel/camp in sparsely-populated -- and thus sparsely cell-covered -- areas.

This other product was supposed to work better than the one I had, and indeed it was better, it did boost the signal more (as measured by the Network Signal Info Android app)...but at more than twice the price of the one I already had, the improvement wasn't worth it to me. And their current model only boosted 3G, didn't yet support Verizon 4G/LTE...and it was quite a bit bigger/bulkier -- maybe required for their more-powerful technology...?
Still...this other company's more-expensive and more-powerful product might be worth it for someone who lives/works/routinely-travels in an area with a very-poor (but not zero) cellular signal.

 

[craig333]

Its early yet, only had so many attempts but I've had more success hitting 2meter repeaters that getting cell coverage in really remote areas. If you really must have phone access it looks like satellite phones are getting more reasonably priced.