[jamarcus]

OK, I give up. I live in Sanibel and my cell phone service provider, Verizon, is not living up to expectations. I am dropping calls, having calls going into voice mail without even ringing the phone and static on the lines on occasion. I have read on this forum people complaining about Verizon and AT&T basically saying the same things I am saying. Is anyone out there using Sprint, Virgin or Walmart and are you happy with the service? My contract is up this month and I am ready to go with any provider that provides excellent service. Verizon was great in south Florida where we used to live. HELP

[DougB]

I have AT&T and have no problems with service wherever I am in The Villages

[scoutii]

I have Verizon and have had no issues at all. I had even check with a Best Buy kid on a visit here prior to my move as to who had the best coverage. (I had already had Verizon and wanted a change) He response was sorry buddy Verizon "Hands Down" had the best coverage in the area. Sorry you are having issues.

[Cedwards38]

I keep hearing that AT&T is going to build new cell towers somewhere in the Villages, possibly the south end. I also know that AT&T has a device you can purchase called a Mini Cell Tower. About $99 new at the AT&T store or much cheaper on eBay. No additional charge to use it. It installs in your home, connected to your internet router, and boosts your signal significantly. I have one at my northern home and it makes a big difference. I'm going to install one in my Sanibel home too.

[Mimivillager]

ATT is great for me!

[KayakerNC]

Originally Posted by jamarcus

OK, I give up. I live in Sanibel and my cell phone service provider, Verizon, is not living up to expectations. I am dropping calls, having calls going into voice mail without even ringing the phone and static on the lines on occasion. I have read on this forum people complaining about Verizon and AT&T basically saying the same things I am saying. Is anyone out there using Sprint, Virgin or Walmart and are you happy with the service? My contract is up this month and I am ready to go with any provider that provides excellent service. Verizon was great in south Florida where we used to live. HELP

It may be the phone itself, rather than the service provided by Verizon.
Just a thought.

[SoccerCoach]

We have NO PROBLEM using Verizon anyplace in TV or USA for that matter. No ststic, no dropped calls, connects first time every time.

[uujudy]

Does it seem to happen only at home? The reason I ask is that I have a 'dead zone' at the end of my kitchen counter. My phone works great everywhere in The Villages, except in the dead zone. There must be something in my roof/attic that interferes with the phone. As long as I stay away from the end of the counter, my phone works great.

[CFrance]

We have Sprint, and it works like a charm down here. As opposed to our former location in MI, which gave us problems in different parts of the house, everywhere here (TG and Florida in general) it works fine. And I like the unlimited everything--data, text, calls--for $89.

[SouthOfTheBorder]

Hello jamarcus,

Have you had a chance to review this ongoing thread:

AT&T Cell Phone Service

Its has been around a while and has some helpful info regarding current experiences.....
Don

[ctuttle]

I have verizon, never have had a problem when I lived in CT, but now that we are in Hadley, we have to go to our lanai to use the phone. Dropped calls, static, breaking up, you name it, its a problem. Very frustrating!

[kittygilchrist]

Verizon android. no problems. just over here in Gilchrist. I don't know the answer for you, but would go to the nearest big Verizon store for help.

[Crobin52]

We have Sprint and just moved to The Lindsey Villas in Sanibel. We have also experienced dropped calls, static or poor quality, in our home. Most other places seems to get good reception. We've talked about changing carriers when our contract is up, but after reading the complaints about AT&T & Verizon, I'm not sure what we'll do. I think Sprint has a "booster" you can get for your home. We're going to be checking on that soon!

[3puttharry]

Originally Posted by ctuttle

I have verizon, never have had a problem when I lived in CT, but now that we are in Hadley, we have to go to our lanai to use the phone. Dropped calls, static, breaking up, you name it, its a problem. Very frustrating!

Just wondering and I have absolutely no basis for this possibility. Hadley is somewhat close to the huge north south power lines running on the east side of TV. I hv verizon and in three years never had a problem anywhere with it. Maybe someone who knows more can answer but wondering what 25,000 Volts (give or take 10,000) running through those huge towers can do to cell phone signals?

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Crobin52

We have Sprint and just moved to The Lindsey Villas in Sanibel. We have also experienced dropped calls, static or poor quality, in our home. Most other places seems to get good reception. We've talked about changing carriers when our contract is up, but after reading the complaints about AT&T & Verizon, I'm not sure what we'll do. I think Sprint has a "booster" you can get for your home. We're going to be checking on that soon!

As far as Sprint and boosters are concerned... our Sprint sales rep in MI told us (at the end of 2011) to call Sprint and insist on getting one for free, along with no extra monthly charge, based on repeatedly experiencing dropped calls. He said to be insistent. They supposedly are not allowed to hang up until the customer says they're satisfied. He said keep saying you're not satisfied till they give you what you want (within reason, of course).

We procrastinated, and then didn't do it because we came down here and had no further problems.