Cell phone coverage in TV
 

Our Verizon contracts are almost up!! We have noticed relatively weak cell signals for Verizon south of 466A as well as in the Spanish Springs area. Signal level is so bad in the Spanish Springs bowling alley, we need to go outside to make a call.

So, fellow villagers, which of the providers actually provide a decent signal here? Thank you.

Others will chime in here, but I don't think you'll be able to do much better than Verizon for overall coverage in the Villages; top to bottom. They all seems to have reception problems in various places.

Just my .02

We've had Verizon for the entire 10+ years we've been here and have yet to have a call dropped or failed to be able to make a call no matter where we were in the area.

I had the same problem with AT&T and when I called them they said I needed a micro cell for $199. The cost will be reimbursed through the cell phone bills. I have heard they work great. You might want to call Verizon and inquire if they have a micro cell booster plan.

It's not just the provider it may be the phone. If you have an old phone don't expect much!

Us too.

Plus if you ever leave the bubble..........Verizon has the best nationwide coverage. (wow.........was that a commercial??)

Sprint is not the best

Verizon works for me just fine south of 466A and everywhere else.

Been here four years with T-Mobile. Live near Havana CC. Coverage is poor, often no signal inside the house. We will be changing carriers before the end of the year.

Had Boost for years and couldn't be happier! No dropped calls and clarity superb. Rates are cheap...no limit on anything...all included in monthly fee. Fee reduces if you are a good paying customer and I'm now paying only $45 a month for unlimited everything.

They have individual and family plans.

They sell Androids and even Iphones. I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 and love it.

Check Boostmobile. Prepaid Cell Phones & No Contract Cell Phones | Boost Mobile or go visit one of their many local stores around The Villages area.

Have AT&T. Generally good reception. There are a few spots where the coverage is on the weak side. I suspect that every carrier has good and bad spots here. Also keep in mind that in new construction areas, coverage may not be complete when the first residents move in.

Note that when you are in a large building (like the bowling alley), the steel in the framing will act like a Faraday cage and screw up reception. Not the phone company's fault.

Be sure to consider www.Cricketwireless.com They are owned by ATT and use ATT towers. I pay $45/month with auto pay unlimited everything and great coverage. Also, NO CONTRACT

A semi-Verizon user here. I use Smart Talk with Verizon coverage. A whopping $45/month with unlimited coverage and no plan. Only downside is you have to pay full price for your phone but that comes back to you in no time.

As to coverage, Verizon wins that one. They have the most towers here.

uses Sprint towers
 

Just checked their website as our Verizon contract is up soon also. Trying to to find good coverage at our Villages home in Sabal Chase and our Worthington (Columbus), Ohio condo. Sprint seems to be ok in north part of Villages (north of 466) but not where we are. Also bad reception in our condo (could be interference from elevator shafts as it is fine 200-300 ft away.

Think we are going to try AT&T or Consumer Cellular thru AARP (it's my understanding they use AT&T towers). We have heard it has improved since 2006-2009 when I used to have AT&T and got poor reception in Sabal Chase. Going to check out a friend's phone in our villa before we take the plunge.

We have had the problem since we came here a year ago. We have AT&T and it's very weak south of 466A also. Been told Verizon has the best coverage, but maybe that's not always the case. Would really like to get better coverage than we have now. Contract runs out soon.

Wow, Thank all of you for your replies. Both my wife and I have 2 year old Samsung S3, which we love, looking forward to the S5 shortly when contract is up.

We had consumer cellular. it worked fine with a regular phone. When I got my smart phone switched to Cricketwireless. Both worked well but Cricket works with smart phones. Both are no contract and use ATT towers.

Yes, but . . .
 

Problem is we both need new smartphones. This will be the first time we will have a data plan (tired of being dinosaurs). Appears that to get a GOOD free phone with any carrier (Apple or Samsung) that we will have to sign a 2 yr contract. I still need to do the math, but at first glance seems like will be cheaper - to get 2 new phones - to go with a new 2 yr plan, probably with AT & T.

Now if the Villages would just get some competition for wifi service in our home . . .

Sitting in my loving room, with 4 bars on my iPhone, in Vil of Dunedin, off Hillsborough.

Does that include unlimited internet? Does it work outside of this area? If I go up north to visit my relatives, will it work?

I have Verizon and it has great coverage. The only place that I have a problem is in my house. More specifically at the desk at which I am sitting while typing this.
Sometime when I'm on a call, I have to go into my kitchen.

Interesting. Also have Verizon. We get the most dropped calls in the den with the desktop computer and the wi-fi router. Only get 1-2 bars (dots on the iPhone) of signal strength in the house. A little better out on the lanai. Miss a lot of incoming calls when the phone is in the den or kitchen. Later on we discover the voice mail in the queue.

I too have Verizon and have had some dropped calls. Went to Verizon store and was told we have inadequate cell towers and their working on it. I was told the best solution is to buy a signal booster for $300. For 300 bucks I will deal with a couple of dropped calls.

We were told the same thing. When we moved into the new area south of 466a, phone reception was fine until they started building the houses. Once the houses were built we had numerous dropped calls while in the house. Verizon suggested additional boosting equipment for around $200. I told them that I may enough for service. I also told them that when they advertise on TV our service area is covered by Verizon. They then advised a rebuilt booster and sent it to me free of charge. No problems since. It is like I have my own mini tower. You can even program your phone numbers to take priority as others can pick up the signal.

I have ATT and bought a micro cell used on eBay and it made a huge difference for me. I am south of 466A and before the micro cell the service was inconsistent. Now it's stable.

All of the carriers have cell coverage issues in TV especially south of 466 and spotty in various Florida spots. I have AT&T and had to get a microcell just so my phone could work properly in my house - the microcell really does work well.

We are south of 466A and have ATT. Terrible. One bar. Got the total run around as far as getting a free or reimbursed micro cell. One person said we would get it, but the higher up said no. Same thing the second time we tried. I thought we would switch to Verizon when our contract is up, but now I'm not sure what to do.

I had the same problem when I first moved her, but that was back in 2008. I thought they corrected it by now with a new tower. When I talked to them they admitted they knew the reception was bad and stopped hassling me and gave me a refund. Guess they changed their attitude.

As a follow-up, we complained to Verizon, and they claimed that they were installing a new cell tower, well maybe they actually are. A new tower was install on Micro Racetrack road, but no equipment has been installed yet.

Complain some more, maybe they will get the message and finish it.

I have Verizon without any problem. You can update your roaming by calling Verizon at #228 option then number 2 and wait about 30 seconds and your there. Works every time and you can do this any time you travel to a new area.
If your phone works in other areas this should be the fix!
I am located south of 466A

Coverage will vary. When we moved here (Amelia) in 08 we had Verizon and had good coverage. With more new customers the service became spotty. Swithched to ATT after 2 years it became spotty then back to Verizon after 2 years they again became spotty. Last year ATT added towers, I think and we switched to Consummer Cellular, they use ATT towers and it works.

Best part Consummer Cellular is no contract, month to month. If it stops working we will switch again. We have always ported our number so we keep our old number.

Consummer cellular, I think, Has the best pricing and the plan can be changed instantly if you find you are going to run over. You can program the service to warn you if you are comming close. We pay $44.61 per month for two phones/lines. 600 min/1000 text and data. That,s a medium cost plan more minutes are available.

To answer your question for us ATT has been good all over TV for right now.
I think they, Comsummer Celular, have a 100% guarantee no charge return if it doesn't work for you. Check out the web site.

I had a sprint, not happy so I bought and signed up for verison. No bars at home but if I drove my golf cart around with it, I got more bars a few blocks from home. I took it back. I guess I am in a dead zone. My son visited me here and got good reception with a galaxy 5 through at&t. I ended up just going with a contract free boost phone. I don't want to pay the money required to get a good signal. I go outside if it is a problem which it usually is.