Cell Phone Service/Reception

NHKathy · 03-24-2006, 12:36 PM

I was wondering if some forum posters could give me their opinions on what they feel is the best cell phone company to go with as far as reception in the Lakes area, (as well as up toward the mountains.)
You can tell me what service you currently have, how the reception is, and if you are happy with it.
(Contract is comming due, and we are up in NH a lot, so i want to make sure it works there as well as down here in RI.)
Any feedback will be appreciated.
Thanks!

Weirs guy · 03-24-2006, 12:53 PM

I personally use US Cellular for my wives and mines cell phones, to the point where we don't have a house phone. While the service is pretty good, my suggestion is I think you'll find it has more to do with the phone itself then the service in most areas. Our old phones wouldn't work in parts of the Weirs

while the new ones seem to work everywhere with no issues.

trfour · 03-24-2006, 12:56 PM

Hi NHKathy,

I have had excellent coverage with Verizon and I am very happy with the performance.

Hope this helps.

T.

islandAl · 03-24-2006, 01:50 PM

I dropped AT&T and went with Verizon and like the service.

ITD · 03-24-2006, 01:52 PM

Second for Verizon, works well all around the lake in my experience.

Formula206 · 03-24-2006, 02:09 PM

Third for Verizon

SIKSUKR · 03-24-2006, 02:24 PM

Verizon has great coverage from RI to the mountains.

BlackCatIslander · 03-24-2006, 02:24 PM

I agree, we have had no problems with Verizon.

Skip · 03-24-2006, 04:22 PM

Let's see....

I've tried Sprint, Nextel, AT&T....now Cingular and finally landed with Verizon a year ago.

By far Verizon has worked the best from the Seacoast all up through the Ossipee/North Conway area and all around the big Lake.

I also use my current Motorola phone (V710) with my laptop (using necessary cable & software) and go online all around the same areas when necessary.

I am finally happy with my cell service!

Like the other three posters before me, I highly recommend Verizon!

p.s. - if you do a forum search, or perhaps our resident communication technology expert "Skipper of the Sea Que" will point you to the link, we did have a long technical discussion of the various cell technologies awhile back.

Good luck in your choice,

Skip

upthesaukee · 03-24-2006, 04:36 PM

I think this link will give you several threads...

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...earchid=144585

Silver Duck · 03-24-2006, 05:04 PM

Definitely Verizon!

KBoater · 03-24-2006, 05:53 PM

I am on Verizon and reception in Wofeboro is spotty. New tower is coming to town shortly after much politicial debate. I hope this will help the Valleys and downtown. Out on the lake the recepion is good.

Mee-n-Mac · 03-24-2006, 06:02 PM

Another vote for Verizon though in Alton Bay the reception for any carrier, Verizon included, is spotty at best.

Resident 2B · 03-24-2006, 06:30 PM

We stay both the on western side of the lake and on Loon in the Lincoln area. We swithced to Verizon 15 months ago and we are very happy with the service. It works in most of the places we go.

R2B

tis · 03-24-2006, 07:28 PM

We have Verizon and get almost no service in Wolfeboro or Tuftonboro. Know lots of other people who have the same problem. Hopefully it will get better when Wolfeboro gets the new tower. By the way, has anyone gotten what is called delayed minutes charges from Verizon? I have no roaming charges etc. but they said my phone roamed to another tower and other towers sometimes don't report minutes to them in a timely manner so a month or two later you find out you went over your minutes for the month.

jerseyonbear · 03-24-2006, 08:16 PM

Had At&T two years ago and had a very bad time of it on Bear however last year had Verison and no problem. They also have my vote.

codeman671 · 03-24-2006, 08:30 PM

I use Nextel and have great coverage on the lake and at the island but between Alton Bay and Gilford on 11 I hit some dead spots with all the hills around. There is another dead spot on the way up 11 between Farmington and New Durham.

NHKathy · 03-25-2006, 02:39 PM

Thank you all SO much !!!

Looks like Verizon wins!
Verizon is actually what I have now. Since we got Verizon service about 3 years ago or so, we have been pretty happy with it. It always worked perfect here in RI as well as up in New Hampshire. Last November, however, we all of sudden started to have a lot of "dropped" calls and reception problems. A lot of people that we know locally down here said they had some problems as well. It seems like whatever the problem was, maybe Verizon fixed it because it's not happening as often, but with my contract up in April, I thought i'd ask around. So, looks like i'll probably keep the Verizon. Thank you all so much for your suggestions, comments and thoughts.

P.S. No one had mentioned T.Mobile. A friend of mine here in RI, who goes up to the mountains a lot said that her T.Mobile is always fine, no problems. Anyone at the lake have T.Mobile ?

THANKS AGAIN!!
-NHKathy

Merrymeeting · 03-25-2006, 03:34 PM

Try this one.

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...ead.php?t=2965

trfour · 03-25-2006, 04:02 PM

NHKathy,

When you get up to the Lake,

Try this first; Press * 228 send, wait for the prompt, then select option 2, on your cell phone. They recommend doing this every month whether or not you are having trouble with reception. They upgrade your phone in seconds for what ever area you are in. If this doesn't help, I would say you could have a loose antenna, or a defective phone.

This goes for everyone that has Verizon service, it's in your owners manual.

Love,
T. portable Weirs Bridge Cam

sawyers_point_girl · 03-28-2006, 02:12 PM

We have Nextel and haven't had any problems at the lake. We have, however, had more problems down in MA w/ them so we are switching at the end of our contract to Verizon. Good luck!

BroadHopper · 03-28-2006, 05:23 PM

Verizon is the best bet in New England as well as the Lakes Region.

Grant · 03-29-2006, 09:06 AM

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'll say Verizon. Although I am a satisfied Cingular customer, my former Verizon service was the best up at the Lake. Cingular's GSM network works on the western side of the Lake, but on the eastern side loses signal south of Alton circle. ZERO Cingular coverage in Wolfeboro, although you can pick up sporadic signals in Tuftonboro (Cingular coverage is just great from the top of Abenaki Tower). Good coverage throughout the 93 corridor, too. But from Alton to Wolfeboro and for most of Tuftonboro and Moultonboro, Cingular is virtually worthless.

But if you're on the western side of the Lake, Cingular works pretty well. Not as well as Verizon, though.

ITD · 03-29-2006, 09:41 AM

With Verizon, don't forget to perform the *228 then press 2 update, Verizon recommends at least every 3 months, helps prevent dropped calls and other things. Here's a link:

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/d...PIC&topicID=47

NHKathy · 03-29-2006, 09:55 AM

Thanks again for all of your comments, thoughts, imput and ideas.
Looks like we'll stick with Verizon!
--NHKathy
P.S. Keep the comments and opinions comming though, all feed back is appreciated, and our contract is only up mid to end of April.

BBS2 · 03-29-2006, 11:20 AM

Anybody have any trouble using tracfone?

upthesaukee · 03-29-2006, 05:29 PM

My daughter has a tracfone, lives here in Alton and has the same good reception / bad reception as most folks do with Cingular / Verizon / USCellular. It is pretty much a terrain issue in the lakes region.

RI Swamp Yankee · 03-29-2006, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NHKathy

.... Last November, however, we all of sudden started to have a lot of "dropped" calls and reception problems. ....

Interesting you should mention that NHKathy. I am in RI too (North Kingstown) and have Verizon. I always had good signal all around the Lake. My wife and I recently "upgraded" on the "new every two" plan around November and have had lots of problems with dropped calls in RI. Our old Kyocera digital phones worked great but our new LG3300 phones have problems, wife is on the third one under warranty. New phones use the new IS-2000 packet system. Guess it isn't just us with a problem. Our last trip up to the lake in February with the new phones we still had good service all around the lake except for the few dead spots everyone else has mentioned and we had on previous visits with the old phones. Verizon also worked well up past North Conway.

Airwaves · 03-29-2006, 10:21 PM

I have AT&T and the service is spotty in Gilford, my wife has Verizon and her phone doesn't appear to have any problems. Ditto for a friend on Gov's Island while a sister in law has Nextel and service is practically nil.

US Cell is very good in NH (my father had it, now has Verizon) but its pretty much limited to NH.

NHKathy · 03-31-2006, 10:09 PM

I thank you all so very much!
--NHKathy

wildwoodfam · 04-01-2006, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ITD

With Verizon, don't forget to perform the *228 then press 2 update, Verizon recommends at least every 3 months, helps prevent dropped calls and other things. Here's a link:

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/d...PIC&topicID=47

Why don't they tell you about this service when you purchase you phone....seems like it would be easy to say - "Oh and every 3 months don't forget to *228!" I am going to do it right now!

KBoater · 04-07-2006, 11:22 AM

From an article in this weeks online Granite State News, It looks like Wolfeboro will have a new tower for both US Cellular and Verizon.

Grant · 04-07-2006, 11:48 AM

Wonder if that translates into good news for Cingular users...Verizon is not GSM, but is US Cellular?

Grant · 04-07-2006, 11:52 AM

Looks like US Cellular indeed offers GSM service, based on some of the phones they offer on their site for Wolfeboro service, so I imagine the Cingular GSM users will soon pick up a signal.

glory be

03-24-2006, 12:36 PM	#1
NHKathy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Moultonborough when I can / RI Posts: 699 Thanks: 180 Thanked 38 Times in 22 Posts	Cell Phone Service/Reception I was wondering if some forum posters could give me their opinions on what they feel is the best cell phone company to go with as far as reception in the Lakes area, (as well as up toward the mountains.) You can tell me what service you currently have, how the reception is, and if you are happy with it. (Contract is comming due, and we are up in NH a lot, so i want to make sure it works there as well as down here in RI.) Any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks!

03-24-2006, 12:53 PM	#2
Weirs guy Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Weirs Beach, NH Posts: 1,067 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I personally use US Cellular for my wives and mines cell phones, to the point where we don't have a house phone. While the service is pretty good, my suggestion is I think you'll find it has more to do with the phone itself then the service in most areas. Our old phones wouldn't work in parts of the Weirs while the new ones seem to work everywhere with no issues. __________________ Is it bikeweek yet? Now?

03-24-2006, 12:56 PM	#3
trfour Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Lakes, Central NH. and Dallas/Fort Worth TX. Posts: 3,694 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 3,069 Thanked 472 Times in 236 Posts	Hi NHKathy, I have had excellent coverage with Verizon and I am very happy with the performance. Hope this helps. T. __________________ *trfour* Always Remember, The Best Safety Device In The Boat, or on a PWC Snowmobile etc., Is YOU! Safe sledding tips and much more; http://www.snowmobile.org/snowmobiling-safety.html

03-24-2006, 01:50 PM	#4
islandAl Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mountonboro Posts: 200 Thanks: 12 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Verizon I dropped AT&T and went with Verizon and like the service.

03-24-2006, 02:24 PM	#7
SIKSUKR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 5,075 Thanks: 215 Thanked 903 Times in 509 Posts	Verizon has great coverage from RI to the mountains. __________________ SIKSUKR

03-24-2006, 01:52 PM	#5
ITD Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonboro, NH Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 476 Thanked 691 Times in 387 Posts	Second for Verizon, works well all around the lake in my experience.

03-24-2006, 02:09 PM	#6
Formula206 Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 6 Thanks: 11 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Third for Verizon

03-24-2006, 02:24 PM	#8
BlackCatIslander Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 201 Thanks: 52 Thanked 17 Times in 11 Posts	Verizon Wireless I agree, we have had no problems with Verizon.

03-24-2006, 04:22 PM	#9
Skip Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Dover, NH Posts: 1,615 Thanks: 256 Thanked 514 Times in 182 Posts	Thumbs up to Verizon! Let's see.... I've tried Sprint, Nextel, AT&T....now Cingular and finally landed with Verizon a year ago. By far Verizon has worked the best from the Seacoast all up through the Ossipee/North Conway area and all around the big Lake. I also use my current Motorola phone (V710) with my laptop (using necessary cable & software) and go online all around the same areas when necessary. I am finally happy with my cell service! Like the other three posters before me, I highly recommend Verizon! p.s. - if you do a forum search, or perhaps our resident communication technology expert "Skipper of the Sea Que" will point you to the link, we did have a long technical discussion of the various cell technologies awhile back. Good luck in your choice, Skip

03-24-2006, 04:36 PM	#10
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,596 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,449 Thanked 1,978 Times in 1,079 Posts	Try this link, I think I think this link will give you several threads... http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...earchid=144585 __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!

03-24-2006, 05:04 PM	#11
Silver Duck Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Billerica, MA Posts: 364 Thanks: 40 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	Definitely Verizon!

03-24-2006, 05:53 PM	#12
KBoater Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Wolfeboro Posts: 521 Thanks: 10 Thanked 29 Times in 15 Posts	Wolfeboro I am on Verizon and reception in Wofeboro is spotty. New tower is coming to town shortly after much politicial debate. I hope this will help the Valleys and downtown. Out on the lake the recepion is good. __________________ Home Permanently in NH

03-24-2006, 06:02 PM	#13
Mee-n-Mac Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,943 Thanks: 23 Thanked 111 Times in 51 Posts	Verizon Another vote for Verizon though in Alton Bay the reception for any carrier, Verizon included, is spotty at best. __________________ Mee'n'Mac "Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by simple stupidity or ignorance. The latter are a lot more common than the former." - RAH

03-24-2006, 06:30 PM	#14
Resident 2B Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Shore, MA Posts: 1,357 Thanks: 993 Thanked 313 Times in 163 Posts	Lakes and Lincoln Area: Verizon We stay both the on western side of the lake and on Loon in the Lincoln area. We swithced to Verizon 15 months ago and we are very happy with the service. It works in most of the places we go. R2B

03-24-2006, 07:28 PM	#15
tis Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 6,685 Thanks: 750 Thanked 1,446 Times in 1,004 Posts	We have Verizon and get almost no service in Wolfeboro or Tuftonboro. Know lots of other people who have the same problem. Hopefully it will get better when Wolfeboro gets the new tower. By the way, has anyone gotten what is called delayed minutes charges from Verizon? I have no roaming charges etc. but they said my phone roamed to another tower and other towers sometimes don't report minutes to them in a timely manner so a month or two later you find out you went over your minutes for the month.

03-24-2006, 08:16 PM	#16
jerseyonbear Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 97 Thanks: 94 Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts	Verison has my vote Had At&T two years ago and had a very bad time of it on Bear however last year had Verison and no problem. They also have my vote.

03-24-2006, 08:30 PM	#17
codeman671 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,480 Thanks: 221 Thanked 809 Times in 485 Posts	I use Nextel and have great coverage on the lake and at the island but between Alton Bay and Gilford on 11 I hit some dead spots with all the hills around. There is another dead spot on the way up 11 between Farmington and New Durham.

03-25-2006, 02:39 PM	#18
NHKathy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Moultonborough when I can / RI Posts: 699 Thanks: 180 Thanked 38 Times in 22 Posts	VERIZON gets the vote! Thank you all SO much !!! Looks like Verizon wins! Verizon is actually what I have now. Since we got Verizon service about 3 years ago or so, we have been pretty happy with it. It always worked perfect here in RI as well as up in New Hampshire. Last November, however, we all of sudden started to have a lot of "dropped" calls and reception problems. A lot of people that we know locally down here said they had some problems as well. It seems like whatever the problem was, maybe Verizon fixed it because it's not happening as often, but with my contract up in April, I thought i'd ask around. So, looks like i'll probably keep the Verizon. Thank you all so much for your suggestions, comments and thoughts. P.S. No one had mentioned T.Mobile. A friend of mine here in RI, who goes up to the mountains a lot said that her T.Mobile is always fine, no problems. Anyone at the lake have T.Mobile ? THANKS AGAIN!! -NHKathy

03-25-2006, 03:34 PM	#19
Merrymeeting Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Merrymeeting Lake, New Durham Posts: 2,226 Thanks: 302 Thanked 800 Times in 368 Posts	T-Mobile Try this one. http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...ead.php?t=2965

03-25-2006, 04:02 PM	#20
trfour Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: The Lakes, Central NH. and Dallas/Fort Worth TX. Posts: 3,694 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 3,069 Thanked 472 Times in 236 Posts	Before you change NHKathy, When you get up to the Lake, Try this first; Press * 228 send, wait for the prompt, then select option 2, on your cell phone. They recommend doing this every month whether or not you are having trouble with reception. They upgrade your phone in seconds for what ever area you are in. If this doesn't help, I would say you could have a loose antenna, or a defective phone. This goes for everyone that has Verizon service, it's in your owners manual. Love, T. portable Weirs Bridge Cam __________________ *trfour* Always Remember, The Best Safety Device In The Boat, or on a PWC Snowmobile etc., Is YOU! Safe sledding tips and much more; http://www.snowmobile.org/snowmobiling-safety.html Last edited by trfour; 03-26-2006 at 12:17 AM.

03-28-2006, 02:12 PM	#21
sawyers_point_girl Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sawyer Point/Tuftonboro, Bedford/Weymouth, MA Posts: 41 Thanks: 4 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	We have Nextel and haven't had any problems at the lake. We have, however, had more problems down in MA w/ them so we are switching at the end of our contract to Verizon. Good luck!

03-28-2006, 05:23 PM	#22
BroadHopper Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Laconia NH Posts: 5,569 Thanks: 3,202 Thanked 1,101 Times in 793 Posts	Verizon Verizon is the best bet in New England as well as the Lakes Region. __________________ Someday may never be an actual day.

03-29-2006, 09:06 AM	#23
Grant Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Pennsyltuckey, Tuftonboro, Moultonborough Posts: 1,499 Thanks: 374 Thanked 229 Times in 123 Posts	At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'll say Verizon. Although I am a satisfied Cingular customer, my former Verizon service was the best up at the Lake. Cingular's GSM network works on the western side of the Lake, but on the eastern side loses signal south of Alton circle. ZERO Cingular coverage in Wolfeboro, although you can pick up sporadic signals in Tuftonboro (Cingular coverage is just great from the top of Abenaki Tower). Good coverage throughout the 93 corridor, too. But from Alton to Wolfeboro and for most of Tuftonboro and Moultonboro, Cingular is virtually worthless. But if you're on the western side of the Lake, Cingular works pretty well. Not as well as Verizon, though. __________________ "When I die, please don't let my wife sell my dive gear for what I told her I paid for it."

03-29-2006, 09:41 AM	#24
ITD Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonboro, NH Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 476 Thanked 691 Times in 387 Posts	With Verizon, don't forget to perform the *228 then press 2 update, Verizon recommends at least every 3 months, helps prevent dropped calls and other things. Here's a link: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/d...PIC&topicID=47

03-29-2006, 09:55 AM	#25
NHKathy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Moultonborough when I can / RI Posts: 699 Thanks: 180 Thanked 38 Times in 22 Posts	Thanks Thanks again for all of your comments, thoughts, imput and ideas. Looks like we'll stick with Verizon! --NHKathy P.S. Keep the comments and opinions comming though, all feed back is appreciated, and our contract is only up mid to end of April.

03-29-2006, 11:20 AM	#26
BBS2 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 88 Thanks: 11 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	tracfone Anybody have any trouble using tracfone?

03-29-2006, 05:29 PM	#27
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,596 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,449 Thanked 1,978 Times in 1,079 Posts	My daughter has a tracfone, lives here in Alton and has the same good reception / bad reception as most folks do with Cingular / Verizon / USCellular. It is pretty much a terrain issue in the lakes region. __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!

03-29-2006, 10:21 PM	#29
Airwaves Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: I'm right here! Posts: 1,153 Thanks: 9 Thanked 102 Times in 37 Posts	I have AT&T and the service is spotty in Gilford, my wife has Verizon and her phone doesn't appear to have any problems. Ditto for a friend on Gov's Island while a sister in law has Nextel and service is practically nil. US Cell is very good in NH (my father had it, now has Verizon) but its pretty much limited to NH.

03-31-2006, 10:09 PM	#30
NHKathy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Moultonborough when I can / RI Posts: 699 Thanks: 180 Thanked 38 Times in 22 Posts	Thanks I thank you all so very much! --NHKathy

04-07-2006, 11:22 AM	#32
KBoater Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Wolfeboro Posts: 521 Thanks: 10 Thanked 29 Times in 15 Posts	Wolfeboro Cell Phones From an article in this weeks online Granite State News, It looks like Wolfeboro will have a new tower for both US Cellular and Verizon. __________________ Home Permanently in NH

04-07-2006, 11:48 AM	#33
Grant Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Pennsyltuckey, Tuftonboro, Moultonborough Posts: 1,499 Thanks: 374 Thanked 229 Times in 123 Posts	Wonder if that translates into good news for Cingular users...Verizon is not GSM, but is US Cellular? __________________ "When I die, please don't let my wife sell my dive gear for what I told her I paid for it."

04-07-2006, 11:52 AM	#34
Grant Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Pennsyltuckey, Tuftonboro, Moultonborough Posts: 1,499 Thanks: 374 Thanked 229 Times in 123 Posts	Looks like US Cellular indeed offers GSM service, based on some of the phones they offer on their site for Wolfeboro service, so I imagine the Cingular GSM users will soon pick up a signal. glory be __________________ "When I die, please don't let my wife sell my dive gear for what I told her I paid for it."