Cell phone reception while traveling

[LeonW]

on my cross country bike trip, using mostly secondary and less than secondary roads, I often found that my friends who had Verizon had coverage while my ATT phone did not. When I retired I switched carriers and now have a Verizon phone, and find that I now have coverage in many areas where I did not previously. I don't think anyone really loves their cell phone provider, but I am reasonably happy with Verizon.

[citabria90]

Hi Jon!
I'm interested in the WeBoost, and am just curious as to how you have the external antenna mounted. Are you using the stock antenna, or an optional one?

Many thanks!
Chuck
19' Escape

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by citabria90

Hi Jon!
I'm interested in the WeBoost, and am just curious as to how you have the external antenna mounted. Are you using the stock antenna, or an optional one?

Many thanks!
Chuck
19' Escape

The WeBoost comes with a magnetic antenna that requires it be mounted on a 4" - 6" metal ground plane. It has minimal gain. I replaced it with a WirEng Boat Ant that has more gain. It is permanently mounted on the upper driver's side of the trailer & the cable runs through a feed through into the upper cabinets.

[War Eagle]

My wife and I still have Alltel flip phones, $100/year pre-pay. We originally got them for when we lose track of each other in big box stores ("I'm on aisle 5, where are you?"). Rarely have them with us, rarely turned on when we do. I wonder where I put mine. I know it's around here somewhere. When we travel, we still enjoy the challenge of trying to match a road atlas with road signs and the peacefulness of a gadgetless journey.

[Brian B-P]

The signal strength indication on most phone ("bars" or whatever") is pretty questionable. A much more precise and detailed display of the same information is available by using one of the many signal strength apps (for Android or iOS). Some of these apps test data transfer (download and upload) speeds as well. Without the better display and/or speed test, I wouldn't depend on the phone's display as a very meaningful indication of network service.

I think my wife's iPhone 5S has the worst radio performance of any phone we've had, so it wouldn't surprise me if the iPhone 6 is lousy as well... but I agree that picking the right network for your location(s) is the critical choice.

[padlin]

FWIW, Cell phones have a signal strength in db's, on a droid it's under About Phone/Status. Been too long since I had an Iphone to recall where it was on those.

[blue_bullet]

Stay with a 3G phone to keep your rates low. We get $10 PINs from PagePlus cellular,
a Verizon reseller, for 120 days. Rate is $.10/minute with rollover @ 120 days if you remember to renew before expiration. Data can be turned off/on. We use 1st gen Moto G
Android Sprint phones I converted to Verizon (no longer allowed by Big Red) for $79 (Target) and $94 (Amazon). The phones are fun to play with as smart phones but
Android updates for these phones are now over. Stuck at Lollipop. We can use the phones
or tablets or PCs at home with Google Hangouts to make free calls with VOIP. Call quality varies.

I keep looking at the new 4G phones but rates go up for them and some burn a hole in your pocket literally. Since we get no cell coverage at home we only need cells when we travel.
On top of that we have no friends so no one calls us.

We pay just over $30/phone/year (Feds inserted a tax) for minimal service. That's a good solution for those that live in areas without cell coverage. Verizon seems to rule in much of the northwest US.

[rbryan4]

Rob, if it's just for phone calls, I agree that 3G is fine. Nowadays people use their phone as a portable computer that happens to make phone calls. That means 4G, that is, if you want it useable.

[padlin]

3G/4G, might depend on what your used to. We have DSL at home, having a 3G phone I don't notice any issues, both are slow.

[advenas]

I am surprised nobody has Consumer Cellular. It is an AT&T reseller that lets you raise and lower your voice and data plans each month. I bought my own phone, put in the AT&T chip and had Consumer Cellular port over my phone number, etc from Verizon. They even have a hotspot you can purchase and use for traveling. Works great. I found Verizon very expensive and just not worth it for me.

[Bobbie54]

Originally Posted by advenas

I am surprised nobody has Consumer Cellular. It is an AT&T reseller that lets you raise and lower your voice and data plans each month. I bought my own phone, put in the AT&T chip and had Consumer Cellular port over my phone number, etc from Verizon. They even have a hotspot you can purchase and use for traveling. Works great. I found Verizon very expensive and just not worth it for me.

I thought about it but can't get a decent connection with AT&T even at home.

[Tford]

We have AT&T because it works the best where we live, and our old shared data plan (4GB) is less than $100 for two smartphones. While out on the road this summer, it was fine for most of the trip (iPhone 5C) but rural MN and WI it was useless. There were a few nights in campgrounds where we wanted to call friends but couldn't. We're actually thinking about trying a Verizon Go Phone from someplace like Walmart. We'll get to try out a new carrier, and they have the whole phone and such in one package that starts at something like $30 for a flip type phone. You can add data and minutes on prepaid cards from there. We've got to have data, though, if for nothing else to check out unplanned stop campgrounds and local restaurants.

[cpaharley2008]

Yes, I had CC in the past, good company, thinking about switching to them.

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by advenas

I am surprised nobody has Consumer Cellular. It is an AT&T reseller that lets you raise and lower your voice and data plans each month. I bought my own phone, put in the AT&T chip and had Consumer Cellular port over my phone number, etc from Verizon. They even have a hotspot you can purchase and use for traveling. Works great. I found Verizon very expensive and just not worth it for me.

I see their ads in TV Guide, but have never really checked them out.

[cpaharley2008]

They offer no contract plans as well as 10% discount for AARP members

[Bear101]

Hello Jon
thank you for your informative posts.
We are looking to get an antenna for a weBoost 4G-X cell phone signal amplifier. WeBoost sells this as part of a kit for trucks,
https://store.weboost.ca/products/we...-truck-edition
It comes with an omnidirectional antenna with similar capabilities to the Boat Ant you installed. I wondered if you could look at this and give an opinion on whether ETI would be able to install this Antenna on a forth coming 2017 19.
Any thoughts you have time to share would be appreciated
Barry

[Jim Bennett]

We are with Telus here in Canada, which uses (at least used to) the Verison network in the US. I have had pretty darn good reception most everywhere I go, with just a few dead spots.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Bear101

Hello Jon
thank you for your informative posts.
We are looking to get an antenna for a weBoost 4G-X cell phone signal amplifier. WeBoost sells this as part of a kit for trucks,
https://store.weboost.ca/products/we...-truck-edition
It comes with an omnidirectional antenna with similar capabilities to the Boat Ant you installed. I wondered if you could look at this and give an opinion on whether ETI would be able to install this Antenna on a forth coming 2017 19.
Any thoughts you have time to share would be appreciated
Barry

I'm not familiar with the product, but the few times I've contacted Wilson, they have been very helpful answering questions. If it is a 2 antenna system, I would be concerned about the isolation without the steel roof in most vehicles. I'd ask Wilson about the feasibility of installing it in a fiberglass trailer.

If it can be installed in a fiberglass trailer, I suspect Escape can do it...

[Bill_75]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

On the recent cross country trip to acquire Prairie Schooner, I was dismayed with both the cell phone and the truck's internet reception. The truck's issue is not that important but my T-Mobile with the iPhone 6 was really sporadic. No service or third party towers were abundant on the other side of the Mississippi. This was my first cross country trip with both TMobile and the iPhone 6.
Well I went to T-Mobile yesterday and they were aware of the problem. They said that they allow third party providers to use their towers in exchange for using their towers in other areas. So roaming is not an issue.
Reception with the IPhone 6 is poor. It seems to be an Apple problem which was fixed with the iPhone 6S which came out last year. TMobile will trade my phone for a $60 fee and give me the IPhone 6S. I still owe $300 on the old phone which they will forgive and drop the price on the new phone so that my payments will drop $5/month but I now owe them $550 for the new phone. They also guarantee better reception or my money back.

Am I being taken for a ride here or is the new iPhone 6S that much better in reception than the first IPhone 6? Anyone with this phone, please let me know your thoughts, thank you,

Hi Jim,

On our x-country trip we took along a Galaxy S7 w/Verizon and a Canadian data/call plan. I must say I was really impressed with the availability throughout the trip.

Data worked almost everywhere, and voice, other than dropped calls while driving(worked while stopped) in N CA/SW OR on 101, worked almost everywhere as well.

I can't speak about T-Mobile & iPhone 6 vs 6s, but that was our experience

[cpaharley2008]

Thanks for the responses, I have switched to Consumer Cellular and they use Verizon's towers, so we will see. No contract, so we will see.