Best Cell Phone Coverage in Central/Eastern WA? (Seattle, Spokane: live, moving)

[FNH5-7]

Hello,

Moving back to Washington in the near future. I've been a Verizon customer for decades but their reception is starting to lack. My company provided phone is Verizon, so I wanted to compliment it by having my personal phone in a different company.

Who has the best cellphone reception in Central and Eastern Washington? Should I go with ATT or T-Mobile?

[StealthRabbit]

this appears as ATT being the best (but check coverage map)
https://www.whistleout.com/CellPhone...Washington-USA

A SIL stayed with us for a yr and had good luck with Consumer Cellular

T-mobile is worse than worthless in rural areas.

I carried (3) for a summer and usually had to use my Verizon Phone. Someone who shares their towers should be a good choice. But... Verizon just doubled our rates.

https://www.moneysavingpro.com/carriers/coverage/wa/

[ShowMeBryan]

AT&T is the winner in WA.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by ShowMeBryan

AT&T is the winner in WA.

yes, as long as your WA is Seattle, Ellensburg, Tri Cites, and Spokane, or a few miles from an interstate Highway (except were we live <5 miles to an interstate highway and no reception. (Verizon works sometimes on cloudy days. ATT, never. )

do the voice and data overlays and you will see a lot of red (verizon) on the fringes.
https://fcc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/web...bc88a0d1bdd25b

[CalWorth]

I’m in rural western WA where Verizon is dominant, but every time I cross the state, Verizon has been consistent wherever I go, they seem to cover the entire state. Also note that, if you can’t make up your mind right away, you could do a Tracfone with pre-purchased minutes. That will definitely work since Tracfone is owned by Verizon.

[509]

This is by far the best map source for cell coverage I have found:

https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=47.4...cellcoverage_a

You can select between the three cell companies on the right side. Scroll around to see the best coverage in the areas you are interested.

[ShowMeBryan]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

yes, as long as your WA is Seattle, Ellensburg, Tri Cites, and Spokane, or a few miles from an interstate Highway (except were we live <5 miles to an interstate highway and no reception. (Verizon works sometimes on cloudy days. ATT, never. )

do the voice and data overlays and you will see a lot of red (verizon) on the fringes.
https://fcc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/web...bc88a0d1bdd25b

Simply basing it off of the carriers' coverage maps. Based on percentage of land area covered on those maps AT&T leads Verizon in WA, with T-Mobile (+Sprint's towers now) in third with U.S. Cellular in a distant 4th. Between my wife and I we have had all carriers and at times only 1-2 would work in some rural areas of WA. In one instance only U.S. Cellular had any service!

There are other things that can affect signal such as mountainous terrain. It can be highly location-dependent.

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by ShowMeBryan

Simply basing it off of the carriers' coverage maps. Based on percentage of land area covered on those maps AT&T leads Verizon in WA, with T-Mobile (+Sprint's towers now) in third with U.S. Cellular in a distant 4th. Between my wife and I we have had all carriers and at times only 1-2 would work in some rural areas of WA. In one instance only U.S. Cellular had any service!

There are other things that can affect signal such as mountainous terrain. It can be highly location-dependent.

The coverage maps, including (https://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=47.4...cellcoverage_a)

are very inaccurate for our specific area of WA.

We are on an exposed ridge, not in a canyon, and have clear views for 50+ miles (including into OR), but... very limited coverage. Verizon map shows 100% and T-Mobile and AT&T show our ridges as covered.

Only Verizon works sometimes, (depending on weather / towers)

US Cellular also works most of the time.

AT&T and T Mobile never work (tho they show access on the map and on the signal of device)

I often lay the (4) carriers side by side and call each, and try hotspots / data.

I drive to several key areas in our region and do the same.

[509]

Originally Posted by ShowMeBryan

Simply basing it off of the carriers' coverage maps. Based on percentage of land area covered on those maps AT&T leads Verizon in WA, with T-Mobile (+Sprint's towers now) in third with U.S. Cellular in a distant 4th. Between my wife and I we have had all carriers and at times only 1-2 would work in some rural areas of WA. In one instance only U.S. Cellular had any service!

There are other things that can affect signal such as mountainous terrain. It can be highly location-dependent.

Carriers coverage maps are total fabrications.

TheCal-Topo maps appear to be based on GIS runs.

My guess is they did a seen area analysis and coupled that with tower signal strength, which is the biggest variable. I have found that is the only map that comes close to real on the ground conditions.

Stealth…..what did cal topi show and what was wrong?