Verizon Wireless

[MrGolf]

Just moving to TV. Wanted to know how the Verizon Wireless cell service works here.

[LI SNOWBIRD]

Works great in Tall Trees, where we live, and everywhere else we've used it.

[Brencpa]

Works great in Collier and all over The Villages, Ocala and areas nearby.

[Teryl1949]

Some areas just N of 466A loose a bar or two. We are S of 466A and have great signal strength. Never had a problem really anywhere. 4GLTE

[jnieman]

Just moving to TV. Wanted to know how the Verizon Wireless cell service works here.

It's hard to say. When we moved here we also had Verizon and automatically bought new Verizon phones when we got down here. They wouldn't work at all in our house in Hadley. We had the hardest time returning them but we were able to eventually. From what I have heard some areas have great Verizon reception, but some areas not. This is true for most cell phone companies. You may ask the neighbors what service they use. Try their phones in your own home to see if they work.

[SoccerCoach]

Been here 5 years, works ALL OVER TV, no problems!

[Carla B]

Hadley and Hemingway seem to be an anomaly, as far as cell phone coverage. If you're not there, you'll probably do fine.

[laceylady]

Verizon does not work at our house in Sanibel. Many others have the same problem. Me heck prior threads. Verizon gave us a free (usually costs $200) adapter after much complaining. My phones still drop the occasional call.

[gomoho]

If you don't have a signal and complain enough they will give you a booster at no charge when you explain to them they are failing in providing you service. Otherwise they want you to pay for it.

[MrGolf]

Thank you all for your responses. I feel more comfortable now than I did yesterday about the level of service we should expect. I am not as comfortable about my wife's provider which is T-Mobile. I have come across nothing but negative posts about their coverage.

Again thank you TVagers for being so responsive.

[Beth P]

I had T-Mobile and had to switch. We are in Lake Deaton and have great service with Verizon.

[The Buckeyes]

Use a Verizon air card for our laptop and no problem with 4G in the Village of Pinellas

[PPLEPEU]

We're also in the Village of Lake Deaton, but way at the end of Warnock Road. Since moving in last year we've had difficultly making calls on the Verizon network - when inside the house, the odds are extremely high that the call will be dropped or become so garbled that you cannot continue the call.

As others have posted, Verizon sells a Network Extender that worked well for us. The extender mimics a cell phone tower, providing full strength signal to your cell phone during calls -- it then uses your broadband cable to send the data.

You may or may not have success in getting Verizon to help cover the cost of the extender -- it sells for $299.

A couple of caveats with the extender:
- You need to position the extender fairly near to a window as it communicates with GPS satellites
- Placing the extender in the center of your home will help give you the best cell coverage in all areas
- A good high-speed broadband connection is necessary; 5-6 MB is borderline, 10 MB is best

It took a bit to find just the right place for the extender in our home, but once we did, the dropped or garbled phone calls stopped completely.

[Cobh521]

We are in Hillsborough. We were having a problem with our phones in the house. Verizon provided us with a free booster when I explained to them that I pay a lot for service that I expect to get.

[PPLEPEU]

We are in Hillsborough. We were having a problem with our phones in the house. Verizon provided us with a free booster when I explained to them that I pay a lot for service that I expect to get.

I was not as persuasive, apparently. My wife did get them to drop the price to $150 while she was upgrading her phone last month. I've heard others received a free or $99 extender if they were willing to take a refurbished one. I was never offered that opportunity.

BTW, the salespeople at the store readily admit to coverage problems in certain areas of The Villages. Last spring a Verizon person stated that the problem is a lack of towers in the newer areas - the existing infrastructure is swamped with all of the new users coming in. They said one of the major issues is the unwillingness of the Developer to allow an antenna within The Villages property. Dunno how true that is, but that's what they told me.

[CassieInVa]

We are in Village of Pennycamp and have Verizon and constantly have dropped calls inside the house, no matter where we stand. At least every other call. It is frustrating.

[robertcosmar]

I talked to both a village representative and a verizon store rep with knowledge of what is happening here. Apparently verizon, other carriers and the villages could not agree on terms concerns boosters or more towers. The increase of new developments and probably snow birds is putting a drain on the tower bandwidth.