Data signal strength?

[gloriousnumber1]

Is it my imagination or does the LTE on Verizon just doesn't offer nearly the signal strength as it did a couple years ago? Is it my area? Is it my S4? I had the Rezound and RAZR Maxx (and briefly HD) and they picked up the data better?

I'm thinking so many people on LTE has weakened bandwidth. Inside so many buildings now and in many areas I seem to lose data. Done plenty of factory resets (including yesterday after I got KitKat) so that's not it.

Thoughts?

 

[Twiz]

Signal got so bad for us that we left for AT&T. Fast doesn't mean a thing if you can hold the connection. I had the RAZR Maxx with Verizon and just bought a Nexus 5 and went to AT&T. Much better now! Hey Verizon... can you hear me now? hmm.. didn't think so.

Is it my imagination or does the LTE on Verizon just doesn't offer nearly the signal strength as it did a couple years ago? Is it my area? Is it my S4? I had the Rezound and RAZR Maxx (and briefly HD) and they picked up the data better?

I'm thinking so many people on LTE has weakened bandwidth. Inside so many buildings now and in many areas I seem to lose data. Done plenty of factory resets (including yesterday after I got KitKat) so that's not it.

Thoughts?

 

[kate]

Hard to say since reception in every area is different - you could ask other people in your city how their signal is. You could also post your city here in case someone nearby is reading this.

Also check with Verizon if any towers are down, or being upgraded, etc.

 

[Clementine_3]

I think there are a lot more 4G phones out there now, a few years ago they were relatively few and far between.
I don't get good reception (LTE) at my house but have noticed fewer bars when I'm out and about, the system seems to be over-taxed for sure.

 

[gloriousnumber1]

I try not to give too much information here but I live in the Portland Metro area (Oregon). This way anyone else who lives among the millions of people here can relate to this.

 

[trophynuts]

I think the word to use concerning this would be "saturated" VZW's network has just became really really over saturated in the last 2 years. Think about it. In the last 2 years they had millions of people swap from 3g to 4g phones. All of those iPhone 4S Original owners didn't get LTE until last fall if they held out till the end of their contract.

 

[gloriousnumber1]

I think the word to use concerning this would be "saturated" VZW's network has just became really really over saturated in the last 2 years. Think about it. In the last 2 years they had millions of people swap from 3g to 4g phones. All of those iPhone 4S Original owners didn't get LTE until last fall if they held out till the end of their contract.

I agree 100%. I remember the 57 Mbps download speeds in Ft. Worth Texas when I was there January 2012. I also remember 20-30 Mbps download speeds common here now I'm usually around half that. I'm afraid even with my unlimited data, the golden days of being an early adopter of LTE have been gone for quite a while. My local VZW store says that a "boost in speed" for my area is coming soon, whatever the heck that means.

 

[trophynuts]

I found the pinnacle of over saturation. It's at this place called. .... Atlanta International Airport. I was there last week. Several bars of LTE but the network was so so saturated that i got less than 1mb down. The ping rate was 443ms.

 

[Skipdawg]

I've noticed quite the difference just since last Fall. If they don't pull it together by time my contract is up may jump ship to who ever is being talked about as having the best service at the time. I don't care anymore who I'm paying for they no longer seem to care about loyalty.

 

[trophynuts]

i'm jumping to Tmo this fall. Just waiting on the new iPhones to come out.

 

[gloriousnumber1]

i'm jumping to Tmo this fall. Just waiting on the new iPhones to come out.

Well I certainly respect your choice. I had them for a while and coverage was so bad and customer service equally horrible that it wasn't even reliable enough to keep. I paid an ETF and everything.

For me, Verizon would have to get so bad that even the pay as you go services were better for me to jump ship. Kinda like if the USA got as corrupt and poor as some African or Asian countries that there was no difference at all, at which time I may consider moving to another country. Different subjects but parallels from my perspective.

VZW isn't perfect. They are expensive. They are screwing some people over on old plans like me, while trying to appeal to new ones (or get existing ones to change plan types) in order to stay competitive. The golden days of blazing fast, unlimited LTE are gone for good. However, even just the way that other carriers do warranty exchanges make me glad I'm still with them. So many carriers make you go through hell simply to replace a broken phone on warranty. You have to pay a fee, send it for repair, etc. I've sent at least 8 smartphone units (of the 5 models I've had) back and at least that is very painless. I can set up my phone from scratch in less than an hour without even seeing the old one as reference, or after a fresh reset.

 

[trophynuts]

yeah there are a few things that affect me directly with what TMO has to offer. Mainly...i travel out of the country several times a year. Their international plans are nuts. VZW's are basically nonexistent unless you have a money tree.

Going to Tmo would also set me up better for the day that I decide to give Android another try. Phone selection is much better on Tmo for Android phones. (NEXUS)

I'm not a big data user. So I can pay what I pay at VZW now and get unlimited OR I can pay less and get the same amount of data I have on my VZW plan. Which I will probably do. My wife and I share 4gb's and have never went over.

 

[gloriousnumber1]

yeah there are a few things that affect me directly with what TMO has to offer. Mainly...i travel out of the country several times a year. Their international plans are nuts. VZW's are basically nonexistent unless you have a money tree.

Going to Tmo would also set me up better for the day that I decide to give Android another try. Phone selection is much better on Tmo for Android phones. (NEXUS)

I'm not a big data user. So I can pay what I pay at VZW now and get unlimited OR I can pay less and get the same amount of data I have on my VZW plan. Which I will probably do. My wife and I share 4gb's and have never went over.

Sounds like a good deal for you. Good luck!