Bye-bye Droid:(

[tourtelot]

Love my Droid, hate my Verizon coverage. I'm gone from Verizon. What are my best choices for phones and carriers?

D.

 

[gwlaw99]

Depends where you live. Verizon is by far the best on the east coast.

 

[tt07]

Do you not get service where you live? I haven't had a dropped call in 9 years with verizon.

 

[tourtelot]

Drop multiple calls from my home area (inside or out) EVERY day. Very bad for my business!

I live in Seattle, and Verizon admits I am in a trouble spot and they have no intention of making it better. They are letting me out of my contract with no fees.

D.

 

[brettlewis]

Drop multiple calls from my home area (inside or out) EVERY day. Very bad for my business!

I live in Seattle, and Verizon admits I am in a trouble spot and they have no intention of making it better. They are letting me out of my contract with no fees.

D.

at least they arent charging you. My brother live there and has no issues. the coverage map also shows full coverage in and around Seattle. Do you live outside the city?

 

[i VTAK]

Try Sprint, they have the 30 day free trial. No one can match thier prices and if you don't get good coverage just shut them off within the trial period and try the next carrier.

 

[djkeller3]

What a bummer about Verizon's coverage. You must be on the edge of one of their network borders and are restricted by FCC regulations from being able to do anything about it. Also, if there isn't much population to serve, there isn't much justification for them to spend many thousands of dollars to put up a cell site, unless you live close to an interstate. I know you say you live in Seattle, but that could also mean you live in the country in the Seattle area for all I know.

I would try out service with other carriers first before you commit. You might find that they're no better than Verizon in the area you live. Most will let you try a demo out for a day or two if home coverage is an issue.

 

[gwlaw99]

Well if Sprint is has good coverage you could always wait for the EVO.

 

[Spike760]

That sucks, I've had Verizon for probably three years, and I don't think I've ever dropped a call. My girlfriend had AT&T for a while and she used to drop calls all the time, until I got her on my plan. But yeah, I'm using a Minnesota phone in California, I don't know if there's roaming anymore, but if there is I'm roaming like 1,000's of miles and still have never dropped a call. I have to worry more about hitting the end button in the center of the Droid than dropping a call.

Good luck finding a new carrier.

 

[Lock-N-Load]

hate my Verizon coverage.

sure your not talking ATT

as that s a very, very rare statement. can't recall the last time I saw someone say that.

did you try to do a PRL update *228

 

[mcapozzi]

Where exactly in Seattle?

Check out Cell Phone Towers in Seattle, WA - Mobiledia

-Mike

PS - I have to agree with the other posters that in the Northeast, Verizon/Sprint is the best way to go. Although, almost every carrier has good coverage here, even AT&T.

 

[cdodge]

at least you have a reason to get off verizon. I am going to ge tthe Evo on sprints network but I feel sick to my stomach thinking of dropping verizons network. I have had nothing but great things to say abaut VZ service and now that they stopped crippling there phones they are even better.

 

[mcapozzi]

Don't despair, as a Sprint customer I roam on Verizon alot (Parish, Camden area).

It isn't too fast (Pandora goes out to lunch), but it does get you data when you need it.

-Mike

 

[icecold]

Well if Sprint is has good coverage you could always wait for the EVO.

I would second this. I think I saw the HTC EVO 4G is supposed to be available in June. If you can hold for until then, that is the route I would go, especially if you like the Droid and the Android platform.

 

[QrafTee]

Depends where you live. Verizon is by far the best on the east coast.

Verizon's coverage is very good on the West Coast as well.

 

[damule6666]

Came to brand (V) just for the Droid..(came from the Fruit Fone..)

But in the many years with AT&T and through the cingular years i never had an issue with AT&T..

Had verizon 3 weeks now and dont get service anywhere in my house..Thankfully that the only spot..

Overall LOVE my Droid, and Brand (V) has been better than expected...

 

[Fabolous]

Verizon's coverage is very good on the West Coast as well.

Very good in the midwest too...hrm...I'm seeing a trend here, lol.

I'm surprised to see that VZW's coverage in Seattle is subpar, as IIRC, that was one of their original 2 LTE test sites, along with Boston. You'd think they'd choose a city where they had strong coverage?

Anyways, good luck with finding a new carrier. If going with AT&T or T-Mobile, the N1 is probably your best Android phone available. If going to Sprint, I'd hold out for the EVO (coming in June).

 

[shadowdude777]

I live in an area (about a 1/2 mile radius?) that has no Verizon coverage as well. I'm considering seeing if I can get out of my contract when the EVO is closer to release date and trying out Sprint. I would advise you to do the same.

 

[Psychokitty]

What about one of those booster boxes they sell? Maybe they'll give/lease (for free) one to you to keep you as a customer.

 

[potatolover1102]

I never thought I would see the day someone said this. Verizon is the best here in the south by far! Well it seems they are the best everywhere lol. J.D.Powers for many years straight has said so too. I would try sprint as well due to the free thirty day thing. AT&T use a worse frequency that deos not go through walls as well so if it your house doing it then good luck with that.

 

[takeshi]

I never thought I would see the day someone said this.

Why? Coverage varies not only from market to market but within markets as well. Blanket statements regarding any carrier's coverage are pointless despite what fanboys, marketing or coverage maps may claim. Every carrier has holes in coverage. What works best for you in your area won't necessarily be the best for someone else in another area.

Everyone needs to assess carriers based on real world coverage where they need it.

 

[shadowdude777]

What about one of those booster boxes they sell? Maybe they'll give/lease (for free) one to you to keep you as a customer.

He needs to be okay with the fact that it lets anyone within a 40-foot radius leech off your internet bandwidth to make voice calls. I wasn't okay with that, so my Network Extender got put back into the box on the same day it came out of it.

 

[Psychokitty]

He needs to be okay with the fact that it lets anyone within a 40-foot radius leech off your internet bandwidth to make voice calls. I wasn't okay with that, so my Network Extender got put back into the box on the same day it came out of it.

Sorry dude, but the guy lives in outside of Seattle, not in Queens. Also, I'm quite sure that there is a security capability that you simply weren't aware of. I can say that with confidence because you didn't wait until, say, the next day to put it "right back in the box".
No?

 

[colnago]

sure your not talking ATT

as that s a very, very rare statement. can't recall the last time I saw someone say that.

did you try to do a PRL update *228

There's always a bunch of factors involved with reception. Personally, I think its the phone (tried two different Droids, diff mfg dates), and the nature of the 1x technology. My antenna mod helped the Droid though:

http://androidforums.com/motorola-d...rough-3g-1x-switching.html?highlight=homemade

Mutiple spots I lose reception in my town, with (4) verizon stores within an 8 miles, in the middle of the DC/Baltimore corridor, right of off I-95. I can't believe that its a "fringe area", but I even get weak/no signal near our county hospital/community college.

Conversely, I've never had reception issues with AT&T "with the Motorola Q", in the North East, from NC to RI...can't say the same with the iPhone or HTC TP2 "on AT&T".

 

[colnago]

...AT&T use a worse frequency that deos not go through walls as well so if it your house doing it then good luck with that.

I don't know about that...the lower the frequency, better the penetration. After my stint with the Droid, and its issues, I went to T-Mobile (higher frequency). I was able to stream internet radio feed, wile using FM Transmitter, from Baltimore to Philly, without dropping once. Stayed on 3.5G. If I go inside my local grocery stores, no signal. As soon as I step outside, full bars. I never had that issue with AT&T. Even with the T-Mobile SIM in the Q, no joy.

I even get reception in elevators with AT&T, in many buildings in downtown DC, vs. people having trouble in the same buildings with Verizon and their BBerries. But again, this is with my Moto Q, and my g/f's Nokia E71x...can't say the same for other phones on AT&T. Now I will say that if I'm on 2G/Edge, then I'll start having varying signal strength.

Bottom line, one has to look at all the factors. I'm still open to go back to VZ, once Android is on a phone "with great reception", and Sling Moblie is ready (summer '10). However I'll probably go back to AT&T, just because of the better building penetration issue alone. Being on call 24/7 won't allow for "dead zones".