Verizon Signal Strength and Quality at Home and in General Surrounding Area

[craigmoritz]

Verizon service in local suburban area north of Twin Cities has gotten worse over the years and I have run into a couple of issues where the service level is just unacceptable and the only solution is service improvement by Verizon.

1. We had a power outage than knocked out our Comcast internet service one morning when I had a video doctor appointment. We tried a couple of methods and nothing worked so the analog phone call was used (I still have one that I was going to get rid of).
2. Many times when I walk, bike, or drive in the local area around my house, streaming music stops  and starts and does not become reliable until a mile or so away.
3. Phone service is relatively poor in the house and we can not move around when chatting or the signal cuts out.

I ran Apple Xs phone signal strength measurements at home and around the area as well as Speedtest measurements with erratic and poor results (yes, phone was restarted and other services were off)

1. Typical signal measurements were RSRP0 -110 to -120, RSRQ0 -20 to -36 which are not good
2. Speedtest would not even run at time and in some locations. The download speeds were generally adequate at >2 Mbps although not by much but the upload speeds were generally bad at < 1.0 Mbps and many times in the 0.1 range which would explain

My problem is I can not solve these problems. Connect over WiFI and extenders do not solve the problem of my internet service being off line or traveling outside the home on foot, bike or car.

How do I get Verizon to acknowledge this problem and more importantly, solve it? We are 10 miles north of Minneapolis and St. Paul in a typical suburban area with no large buildings, power lines or significant topography that might explain the poor service. I chatted with tech support one time and just wasted the better part of an hour with no resolution which is why I spent more time on it.

[vzw_customer_support]

craigmoritz,

You've provided us with a ton of details regarding your service concerns with us, and we don't want you to be experiencing any lack of signal or speed. Let's make sure your neck of the woods is further investigated to see what's causing you to get these sub-par experiences. 

To begin, it seems the main focus of the service concern revolves around data. How often do you experience any trouble with your calling or texting in comparison to the data connection? What is the experience like for others on your plan when they're in the same area (specifically outdoors)? Also, to hone in on the location, what is the zip code where you are experiencing the bulk of the troubles? 

RyanC_VZW

[craigmoritz]

Thank you for responding.

Area code - 55127, McMenemy & Meadowood Lane area

Both phones and iPad in our house have issues and neighbors across street have had similar issues.

Calling and texting works but is very sensitive to location. You can’t move around house or drive around area using phone service without it breaking up here and there.

Data is the most obvious problem due to high bandwidth requirements. It is hit and miss around the house and slow when it works.

Comcast Internet just went out this afternoon and it took a while to find a place that allowed me to connect to their website on my iPad to confirm service outage. It was slow but I could finally get logged in.

[vzw_customer_support]

craigmoritz, thank you for your reply. There are always changes that impact our Network, some are controllable and others may not be. This can include cell site changes, foliage, construction, population changes, and interference. How far do you have to travel to obtain an adequate signal?

[craigmoritz]

For an adequate signal that would permit video calling and quick website access, at least a mile. I have never tested for the break between good and poor service but it improves once you get out of the local area.

I can drive from Minneapolis to Chicago or Minneapolis to Duluth and get pretty good service on my iPad for most of the drive. Service within a mile of my house is pretty unreliable as far as I can tell with it being worse inside the house.

[vzw_customer_support]

@craigmoritz , 

Thank you for those details. It's great to know that your services work well elsewhere. As for your service at home, just like the previous rep had touched upon, there are factors beyond any carrier's control that will affect your signal. Please check out this link for more on that: https://www.verizon.com/support/troubleshooting-wireless-signal-coverage-video/ . For tasks that require higher data speeds, such as video calls, you would need to be in a strong coverage area for sure, which is why the consistency of home internet is recommended.

RussellM_VZW 

[craigmoritz]

Thank you for responding Russell.

My problem is not with my home internet as I noted previously. All works well at home normally.

The problem is when the power goes out, knocks out the home internet, and coverage inside or outside house is not sufficient for web use. Also, the coverage is weak and erratic when I am walking, biking, driving in the local area close to home and try to play streaming music or access websites. The local coverage generally does not permit data intensive usage when not connected to WiFi in some manner and even phone call use in the house can be erratic if moving at all.

I cannot do anything to solve this problem on my end and I have tried. I would appreciate Verizon looking into the matter to see if they can replicate my findings. It may be that one of their local towers can be tweaked for better coverage or possibly planning a new or taller structure at a nearby.

[vzw_customer_support]

Thank you very much for the additional details. Being able to use your services when needed is a must. Are your other services like calls and text messages being impacted? Have you been able to complete a speed test in your home area?

[craigmoritz]

Voice and text work at home but we cannot wander around house without cell service fading in and out so signal is weak.

Please look at my original post. I ran the signal strength app built into the iPhone and also the Speedtest app. Many times the Speedtest app will not lock in on a server so it will time out. Other times, I lock in on the same server each time at different locations and the upload results are <1.0Mbps and as low as .10 Mbps so nothing requiring data exchange (download & upload) works well such as video

[vzw_customer_support]

We would be happy to look into an alternative for you, please meet us in a Private Note. - Cecile_VZW