cell phone reception

[lheinlel]

Does anyone else who has ATT have trouble with their service??

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Our place is in Duval, diagonal across Buena Vista from the Seabreeze Rec Center. Our AT&T reception is marginal in that area - 1 or 2 bars - but we haven't experienced any dropped calls. The phones work better for us if we're outdoors there.

Bill

[Challenger]

In Altamonte Villas-Bailey Trail area and have problems with Sprint reception .

[Tbugs]

I have absolutely great AT&T reception but I am about a mile north of 466 (in Glenbrook). I have visited friends DOWN SOUTH in St. Charles and noticed the AT&T reception is far from being good.

[vj1213]

I have ATT, at my home in Buttonwood I usually only have 2 bars and I do have quite a few dropped calls throughout TV

[LELANDJANE]

I live in BelleAire and have good ATT reception, but when I'm in Lake Sumter Landing, I don't have any service.

[Pookirgirl]

I also have AT&T and live in Duval. No problem here but in stores...such as Publix or Lowes.. no reception at all.

[l2ridehd]

I have AT&T, wife has Verizon. There are places where hers is good and mine weak and also where mine is good and hers is weak. Overall it seems my AT&T is a little better then her Verizon. I also believe the phone makes a difference. We live in Sunset Pointe.

[Gongy]

I should be moving to TV sometime late summer:MOJE_whot:. I have Sprint now and have it for many years, how good is their service in TV. I was actually going next week for a new phone and I am wondering if I should switch providers when my contract is up. Thanks all!

[faithfulfrank]

Now you are worrying me.......I've had verizon for years and plan on switching to AT&T soon when the iphone5 comes out, if I can wait that long.
As to the sprint question, I have a friend who does business in TV daily and uses his phone all day in TV with no problems.

I want an iphone...and reception.

Frank

[k2at]

I have verizon and rarely if ever have a problem connecting. I am very satisfied with Verizon.

[fraurauch]

I have Verizon and a Motorola Droid and I hever have any problems with reception. We live in Sunset Pointe as well.

[Chopper]

I have an iPhone 4 with AT&T service. The signal strength in our home in St. Charles was usually either one bar or no service at all. Recently I received a letter from AT&T that offered me a free AT&T 3G MicroCell (supposedly a $199 value). I picked it up at the AT&T store, installed it, and now we have great reception with four and five bars throughout our home. The 3G MicroCell works great. Check with AT&T if you haven't already received this offer in the mail. Maybe it would solve your reception problem when you are at home.

[tonyafd]

Now you are worrying me.......I've had verizon for years and plan on switching to AT&T soon when the iphone5 comes out, if I can wait that long.
As to the sprint question, I have a friend who does business in TV daily and uses his phone all day in TV with no problems.

I want an iphone...and reception.

Frank

I think that Verizon is supporting Apple products. It's at least worth a phone call to Verizon.

[Bob45]

In Hemingway with AT&T my iPhone works most of the time. But only 1 bar inside. And my wifes phone does not work most of the time at home. AT&T has a very weak signal here. My daughters Verizon phone worked fine here. We will be switching to Verizon as soon as our contracts are up.

Bob

[The Great Fumar]

I had big problems with sprint , Had to walk out in backyard to get anyone........Kids had verizon and had no trouble here so I switched and now talk from any room in my house .........I live in Chatham....

can you hear me now fumar

[normgreg]

I live in Buttonwood & AT&T is bad here. We had to get a land line to have a reliable connection. I have an Iphone 4.

[springfield illinois]

We areusing a virgin mobile card here to post this,,,it is on the sprint network,,,,I have streamed netflix with it here in TV...

[Freeda]

I have an Iphone 4G and Doug has a regular cell phone. Our ATT service is fine in Largo (2 miles south of Sumter Landing). Usually at least 3 bars inside the house; no problems with dropped calls.

[hedoman]

When we were there last month I noticed sometimes I had 3 or more bars on AT&T then suddenly no bars or dropped call. I think AT&T has only a limited number of access paths and when they are in use we get no bars/signal. I could get a pretty good signal in LSL but not in the creekside cabanas the other side of town indoors. Outside it was so so.


I didn't have much of a problem in our home in Polo Ridge but it wasn't the strongest signal by any means.

Sounds like Verizon is the best? May have to switch my IPhone4.

[Carla B]

Since we moved here almost three years ago, we've had (or have) Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and At&T. Not one has worked well in the house. Just recently got the AT&T and it's going back tomorrow before the 30 days are up. I just hope that some day soon there will be a cell tower near 466A.

[stephsan]

Live in Duval, been here 4 years, the ONLY phone service that works at my house is Verizon, and that ticks me off because they are too expensive. Just bought a Sprint phone today out of desperation, NO BARS at all, will be taking it back tmrw. I have been using Straighttalk for the past year because it's very inexpensive ($45/mo unlimited everything) and it's on the Verizon network, BUT they are slowly switching over to AT&T AND they don't have any cool droid phones, so I've been researching. Still grasping at straws hoping for a solution!! Good luck...

[English Ivy]

Since we moved here almost three years ago, we've had (or have) Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and At&T. Not one has worked well in the house. Just recently got the AT&T and it's going back tomorrow before the 30 days are up. I just hope that some day soon there will be a cell tower near 466A.

We're not that far from you, in Bonita, and have great reception in the house with AT&T and our Iphone 4.

[faithfulfrank]

I really do not know what I'm going to do yet.
It looks like after we sell our NY home and move down here for good within a few months I'll be woking in The Villages almost daily.

I'll need a smartphone, and want it to be an iphone.

I need to decide if I stay with Verizon as I've been a Verizon guy for over 12 years....or switch to AT&T........

Pluses with AT&T.....simultaneous voice and data.
Pluses with Verizon.....all of the family has Verizon. I think my cost with AT&T would be a bit less, but that is a small concern. It is most important that I can use my phone daily in The Villages....

Frank

[mrfixit]

Since we moved here almost three years ago, we've had (or have) Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and At&T. Not one has worked well in the house. Just recently got the AT&T and it's going back tomorrow before the 30 days are up. I just hope that some day soon there will be a cell tower near 466A.

Sounds like my experience here. Had 2 other brands and now have Verizon....which sometimes requires going out to the Lanai to keep working. However, when having NO SERVICE when fishing in the Sebastian Fl.area, I asked a few full time fishermen how they could always use their phones...and .. mine was spotty at best down there. They said ..." it is simple, you leave the name brand carriers in your home...and use the $30.00 cellphone from Wal-Mart along with the pay as you go Net10 at 10 cents a minute". Well, I went to Wal-mart and did just that...Voila'......no more problems... Works up to nine miles out to sea ( after nine miles you are past the horizon) ...... and ...it also works ALL over our Villages. Needless to say, I always carry my Net10 phone..and ___sometimes____ carry the Verizon phone, also. Found out from the crusty old fishermen..( yup__ they are ALMOST as old as I ).....that Net10 uses everybody's cell towers ..and simply pays whoever OWNS the cell tower about three cents per minute of use. You are never very far from somebody's cell tower. I love it ...am never without cell service no matter where my wanderings occur.

[mrfixit]

I really do not know what I'm going to do yet.
It looks like after we sell our NY home and move down here for good within a few months I'll be woking in The Villages almost daily.

I'll need a smartphone, and want it to be an iphone.

I need to decide if I stay with Verizon as I've been a Verizon guy for over 12 years....or switch to AT&T........

Pluses with AT&T.....simultaneous voice and data.
Pluses with Verizon.....all of the family has Verizon. I think my cost with AT&T would be a bit less, but that is a small concern. It is most important that I can use my phone daily in The Villages....

Frank

Frank says ...... "I will be working in The Villages almost daily.".....but his byline says he will live at The Plantation South of Leesburg...........Well guess what Frank....we WILL welcome you to The Villages ......if and when you decide to stop already with the 35 minute one-way commute. Plus we will gain a really decent neighbor, if you decide to join us here in PARADISE.

[faithfulfrank]

Dear mrfixit,
Thank you for the very kind words. Also, I like your forum name.

Just last week I worked in The Villages for the first time. It was the first time I was anywhere in The Villages other then the shops and Square. I worked in 4 homes in four different sections of The Villages and was very impressed! The homes were well made and beautiful. The folks in every case were quite nice.

It was strange driving by all those golf carts to the right of you, but no problem. The Roundabouts were a bit scary, but I'll get used to them. Basically, be safe, don't stop, watch all of your mirrors and signal your intentions I think will work.

Generally I find folks down here in Florida to be very kind and gracious. Perhaps because they are older, have nothing to prove, out of the rat race of life and now enjoying the fruits of years of their hard work.
We love the weather here. I need to go back to western NY to sell our home, etc, before we return for good. I really do not want to leave. hopefully it will be our last time.

Anyway, please forgive going off topic.....I just wanted to respond to your kind words. For those whom I made forget, the topic is cell phone reception..........carry on.....:D

Frank

[jgbama]

Dear mrfixit,
Thank you for the very kind words. Also, I like your forum name.

Just last week I worked in The Villages for the first time. It was the first time I was anywhere in The Villages other then the shops and Square. I worked in 4 homes in four different sections of The Villages and was very impressed! The homes were well made and beautiful. The folks in every case were quite nice.

It was strange driving by all those golf carts to the right of you, but no problem. The Roundabouts were a bit scary, but I'll get used to them. Basically, be safe, don't stop, watch all of your mirrors and signal your intentions I think will work.

Generally I find folks down here in Florida to be very kind and gracious. Perhaps because they are older, have nothing to prove, out of the rat race of life and now enjoying the fruits of years of their hard work.
We love the weather here. I need to go back to western NY to sell our home, etc, before we return for good. I really do not want to leave. hopefully it will be our last time.

Anyway, please forgive going off topic.....I just wanted to respond to your kind words. For those whom I made forget, the topic is cell phone reception..........carry on.....:D

Frank

Frank, we aren't down there yet, but during our 7 visits we have stayed in 7 different villages and never had a reception problem with our Verizon phones (wife nor me). Of all the posts, seems like Verizon gets the "nod".

[Happyliz]

Yes, Yes, Yes!!!! I am calling ATT today to complain. Calls are dropped constantly. My friend is having the same trouble. I hope I can get this resolved.

[Happyliz]

I called ATT today. Explaining all the dropped calls and dialing problems. They told me that if enough people complain a new tower may be considered. I live in Buttonwood and noticed quite a few neighbors are also having problems. I related this to ATT. They gave me a $69.00 credit on my next bill for the inconvenience. Might be time for others to give them a call

[Mikitv]

I had same problem last year when we came here with our ATT phones. Calls dropped or every few words were all that you heard. So went to Verizon and said where is tower located near Pennecamp. Promised me and showed me on map that there was one near our area. Had similar problems with Verizon especially in the house. Found out there is a type of booster you can get for Verizon and put it in the house and service has been great ever since.

[brostholder]

we live in Pennecamp and have sprint. We often have to go outside to talk but for some reason it seems to have gotten better lately.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

I can't help but think that with the upcoming development south of 466A, the major cell service providers will beef us their coverage strength in that area. In the meantime,though, happyliz had a reasonable suggestion: Contact your provider to make them aware of your concerns. Yes, they should already be aware of the situation........and they probably are. But many times, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease".

To my own point, I contacted AT&T earlier regarding their coverage/signal strength, specifically in the 466A and Buena Vista vicinity. I did this via their online chat function.

What the representative was able to tell me:

"The service in the area of Wildwood and Lady Lake is good. There are several towers there. When you venture further away from the highways, though, is when it starts to get less reliable......There is a small triangle of Wildwood, Lady Lake, and Belleview and then highway 75 is to the west of that and you have good service there." Our history with their coverage supports that.

When I asked about future plans along 466A: "I do show some new towers planned in the area over the next few months, so maybe that will help!......It appears to be to the north (of 466A), but I don't have any way to know by how far, unfortunately......I can only say it should be some time before the fall." Pretty vanilla/non-committal replies but I suspect the rep didn't have access to a level of detail that would have pinpointed things better.

If you check their web site's "Coverage Viewer" function http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/ , you'd think pretty much ALL of TV had pretty good coverage! Unfortunately, as most know, it's not as good in all areas as their map would lead you to believe.

But I asked the rep to pass my thoughts/concerns re: coverage/signal strength on up the ladder. Hopefully, she'll do that.

Bill :)

[stephsan]

All of the carriers now have a coverage map on their website. Good information! Just put in your Villages address. My address has "fair" or "moderate" showing with ATT, Tmobile and Sprint and in actuality I have NO coverage with these carriers. The only map that is awesome is Verizon and I wish that weren't so because we basically have no other choices and they are the most expensive. Everyone else is a reseller, there are only 4 players now and with ATT buying Tmobile there will be only 2! Not good for the consumer.

[rhredd1654]

I'm still up north and switched from AT&T to Verizon because I could not get cell phone reception in my house. While down in TV a few weeks ago, I had great reception everywhere with Verizon. From reading these posts it appears AT&T has problem reception areas nationwide.

Dick

[robertj1954]

We have Verizon Wireless - My wife works for them, they built their business model upon having a "network" to provide coverage for their customers.

We are in Hacienda South and our coverage is excellent. We also have 4G hotspot which supports our other wireless devices. Data transmission is quick and without interruption or drop offs. I can't say the same thing about Comcast and their wireless reception.

[red tail]

i have a samsung and the reception is terrible. my wife has a motorola and gets great reception. when my daughter visited with her i phone she got great signal as well. so the phone has a lot to do with it. im in rio grande.

[florlrl]

I have Straighttalk which runs on AT&T lines, I'm told. Until recently, I had great service, now it's horrible. I'm wondering whether something happened to a satellite near here and can't get any responses from my HELPLESS desk.

[Snowbird]

I live in St Charles and had an Iphone3 which was great until the iphone4s came out, after that I have had numerous dropped calls and very poor reception. I even got the Iphone4 and still have dropped calls when in TV, up north the phone works great. You'd think with 90,000 potential customers that AT&T would get on the stick and erect another tower to cover the southern end of TV.