Dropped calls and garbled calls south of 466A Verizon
 

Have had some trouble inside the house in the Village of Charlotte with calls dropping or sometimes garbled... walk outside and they are fine... Researched it and tried out a new and possible solution tonight and it's free. If you have an iPhone or android, download the app Talkatone and then register your account. Then you can sit in your home attach to your wireless and make phone calls and texts without driving up your data plan on your phone. Phone calls are clear... only used this today but I am impressed on the simplicity of the app and the effectiveness of it. Below is info that I pulled off the web that you might find useful.

Free calls & texts via WiFi or cellular data, no cell minutes used
Free inbound calls, free SMS texting, free monthly outbound minutes
Unlimited free in-app calls & texts with pictures
FREE LOCAL U.S. PHONE NUMBER
Get a free U.S. phone number of your choice, make and receive free texts and calls to U.S. phone numbers, including landlines. If you don’t have a cell phone plan, Talkatone can be your only phone.
CALLING & TEXTING TO REGULAR PHONES
All SMS texting and inbound calls are always free. You get free outbound minutes every month. If you run out of your free outbound minutes, you can easily purchase additional minutes for a very low price.
IN-APP CALLS & TEXTS
Truly unlimited free Talkatone-to-Talkatone calls and texts anywhere in the world, including picture messaging. Invite friends and family to Talkatone, talk as long as you want, send thousands of texts, and share photos or videos.
TRAVELING OVERSEAS
Take your Android device with you when you travel. Call and text U.S. phone numbers on WiFi without paying outrageous roaming charges.
TURN YOUR ANDROID TABLET INTO A PHONE
Call and text friends and family from your Android tablet with Talkatone. No cell plan required.
IMPORTANT NOTES
Talkatone does not support 911 emergency calling or texting.
Carrier data charges may apply. Contact your carrier for more information.

were you dropping calls on your landline or cell?

Verizon works fine for me in Charlotte.

Do you have a link to the site so I can get the app?

Z

If your phone works fine outside and bars go away inside, I'll bet that you have a stucco exterior. And that they exterior walls are poured. Right? Faraday cage! Micro cell will solve or you can just walk outside to use your cell. Not the cell phone carrier's fault.

Reviving old post - moved to Antrim Dell's no verizon service inside house at all. Bizdoc what do 'Faraday cages' and 'micro cell' solution mean?
Pat and Bill
Finally here!

Down south: This might help you with those terms, and the general problem you're having.....good luck!

Solid Signal Blog - Why is cell service so much worse indoors?

Thanks - cell booster it is then
 

thank navyj - another expense - ugggh!

Pat and Bill

Wait a minute I just did a test - we turned on wifi on my husbands iphone and turned it off on mine, I stepped out front and called him. He can hear me perfectly, I can't hear him at all - it rings but nothing. So with a booster we would turn off wireless and be able to call from outside to inside and vice versa correct? I plead ignorance in this area.

Pat and Bill

Although we are on AT&T (originally experiencing your same problems) I believe Verizon's solution uses same approach as AT&T. We obtained a MicroCell transmitter from AT&T (at no charge after really pressuring them). It requires a wireless network (yours) to join. You authorize the wireless phone number(s) that the MicroCell will recognize. Our wireless phones now work great calling and receiving in our house. No more dropped/garbled calls. We can walk out of the house (in our case only a few feet) and the transition to the AT&T tower is seamless.

Personally, I would never use a third party app as it gives them complete access to my voice and data info as it relayed through their system. My exceptions would be apps created and provided by large, long-time established, publicly owned companies like Verizon/AT&T.

Don

PS I spent nearly 20 years designing, developing and maintaining telecommunication software that operated world wide "over the internet" even before VOIP.

We live in Charlotte, in a vinyl sided home, same issue. We have AT&T, and were told by a neighbor that they have a small antenna you can get which attaches to the wifi and allows us to talk inside our home. Works perfect!

Thanks all I will stop by verizon and check out the microcell

This is very good information.

We live in Charlotte in an stucco home and have no problems making and receiving cell phone calls. We also have Verizon.

I live in Hillsborough and my AT&T Cell service is not the best. I hear well but others claim my voice breaks and is noisey. Also get dropped calls. Never had the problem until I moved here from Indiana.

Lived in Village of Gilchrist for 2 years...stucco home...never an issue with my Verizon cell service. Moved to Village of Charlotte about a month ago...stucco home...and it's been a nightmare. Dropped calls, garbled calls. From previous posts it sounds like a micro cell is what I need to check into? I have no idea what that is...do I go to the Verizon store and ask for it?

This link should help answer your questions. Verizon calls it a network extender.

Wireless signal quality for all carriers is very spotty in the southern portion of TV.

Don

got a cell phone booster from Verizon, I can now talk in my house and no drop or problems hear, works great, got it from the Verizon store.

I live in Charlotte. When we moved here in November, 2013 we would have some occasional dropped calls with Verizon. I had heard Verizon was going to install a couple new cell towers in 2014. Since the later part of 2014, I have had no dropped calls. I assume that is because of new cell towers.

We used a Samsung Network Extender, purchased from Verizon Wireless, to provide cell service in a remote area where we used to live. It is here in a box, and available for $75 if anyone wants it. New is $250. I believe you need to register it to your Verizon account. If interested, I suggest you speak with a Verizon Wireless rep to get the details, and if it will help, we are happy to sell it. 802-722-4522

The problem is not the stucco. It is that some stucco homes are built with concrete block and some are poured concrete. The ones which are poured have rebar tied together and create a Faraday Cage.

Faraday cage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You can get the same effect in vinyl sided home if you have metal studs rather than wooden one (which some do in TV).

The solution is a micro cell. Nothing else the cell phone carrier does (short of building a cell tower inside or above your home) will solve the problem. If you have worked in an office building, you may have experienced the same things if they used rebar. Some buildings (I worked in a few) are built or retrofitted to be Faraday cages to block electrical signals for security reasons.

How did you get that? Verizon typically won't provide one for free because the won't admit to a service problem. Did you have to buy it?

My feelings exactly...I went to the Verizon store last night and ordered a network extender (they don't stock them...cost $200...uggghhh). They employee there told me The Villages won't permit them to build another tower...kind of find that hard to believe...anyway, don't really have much of a choice because I work from home and my cellphone is pretty much my bread and butter.

I have 1 bar of service in the entire house and out in the screened in porch. We're in Antrim Dells - across from Brownwood. Neighbor said the water towers are where the cell devices are usually located, but The Villages are in negotiations with Verizon to add some to the Brownwood tower. I as well went to the Verizon store - they did not have any extenders - out of stock, wouldn't buy anyways for $250. Not much cheaper on Ebay. I also called Verizon and same story, would have to buy a network extender. I refuse so I will downgrade my cell service, and will use my hard line for work (I as well work from home) and personal as well and hope that the negotiations will be fairly swift.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh

Don't let my phone hear you. We are South of 466a and have never had any issues. We also have a 4G hot-spot in the house and never have less than three bars.

:pepper2:

Live by Eisenhower Rec center and have AT&T service that works good. Our sales agent that travels around a lot said she / other agents had trouble with Verizon service south of 466a in Brownwood area.

BTW I have recently switched to CRICKET no contract service that is a sub sid of AT&T now (I'm told) and uses AT&T Towers. No contract rate for 2.5 GB data is only $35 a month. Before that I had Straight talk no contract service from Walmart for $45/mt but just heard Walmart now has another no contract provider (not sure of name) at $35/mt and 2.5 GB data. Cricket/straight talk are also 4G LTE service. Save yourself some aggravation and forget T Mobile I found there were more placed I couldn't make or receive a simple call then places I could about 1 year ago - very frustrating .

Received my network extender yesterday afternoon and installed it this morning. Took 30 minutes to run through its process...all day I've had great cell phone service! No dropped calls...no garbled conversations. Yes, it cost $200+ but I couldn't afford to be without my cell (I work from home and use both a land line and my cell phone).

I Just noticed a new cell tower directly West of our house, maybe a .5 to 1 mile away, and we now have 3 bars inside the block (aka stucco) house, located in the Village of Pinellas. BTW we have been here over 18 months, and have never experienced problems inside the house, however I have seen the signal as low as 1 bar.

Dunedin here, Verizon bounces from one bar up to 2 and sometimes to 3. Bad!

Was considering changing from AT & T to Verizon but after these posts I will stick with my current carrier. Have lived south of 466a for over two years and always have great service no matter where we are in the Villages

Thanks for the Heads Up