Verizon cell phones...

[catnapper]

ok folks, who here has Verizon? We signed up last night, and already I have some doubts. I'm not sure if its my new phone (which I could probably exchange since its so new) or if its the network.....

Hubby was out and about today. He called several times and 3 or 4 times the calls were dropped. We only occasionally got dropped calls when we had Cingular. We switched because all my kids friends have Verizon, and they were killing our bill.... Verizon to Verizon is free.... so the switch made sense. BUT not too much sense if calls are constantly dropped.

NOW, hubby said he's had no problems -- only when he talked to me were calls dropped. He said he called his sister in Florida and had a loooong talk with her. He called his dad, which is never a short call (FIL likes to go on and on and on) and then he called our son. I'm the only person who's calls were dropped. Son has the same cell phone as me... so maybe my phone is defective somehow? Did you follow all that? :D

Anyone else have Verizon and experience dropped calls? Or might it be the phone itself?

[katienoonan]

I have had verizon for two years and I have never had a problem with dropped calls.

[neko1]

I've had Verizon for years and never had any problems with it. It's the only one that gets any reception up here in the boonies. My phone has worked in places where others such as Nextels haven't :)

[Corinna]

I have Cellular One and I have had very little trouble (mostly billing) even when we switched (kicking and screaming on my part) to digital. Verizon here in MT doesn't have a good rep.

[K9karen]

I have Verizon and have had no problems. My phone gets goofy once in a while but I've had it for so long that I'm due for a free upgrade. My John's problem is just the opposite. Recently, his Cingular phone calls drop after 3 minutes. We're going to transfer his to my plan this week.

[Cinder & Smoke]

only when he talked to me were calls dropped.
Or might it be the phone itself?

It "could be" the fault of your phone ...

But it could be your "location", too!

Check Hubby's and Kid's phones in the SAME PLACE you were standing
when the calls dropped.

Cellular can be really "flakey" in certain "spots".

Could be your house is in a "dead spot" for Verizon.
IF it is a "dead spot" - then ALL Verizon phones should have trouble
in the same places - not just Your phone.

[NoahsMommy]

I have a Verizon cell phone and I'll get my calls dropped too. I've had Sprint and Cingulair and I've never had any dropped calls with them.

But, I do love the area of coverage for Verizon where I live, its very large and I can talk almost everywhere.

[tatsxxx11]

Love Verizon!!! I had nightmare experiences with ATT and Cellular One. Never had more than 2 bars worth of reception. With Verizon, 5 bars everywhere and never a dropped call. And they have the most far reaching coverage areas of all the major companies. The customer service people are so courteous and knowledgeable and willing to please! I switched all my phone service to Verizon now, cell, Lan line and long distance.

[catnapper]

Phred, I wonderd about the location too -- but, I had 4 bars, and talked to my mom no problem from the same spot I spoke to hubby. I wandered all around the house talkign to my mom (on her land line) and had no problems. For some reason talkign ot hubby in those same spots didn't work :confused:

Then last night, hubby was talking to our son (for the 100th tme yesterday :rolleyes: ) and HE was in the same spot I was when calls were dropped. Remember, my son has the SAME EXACT phone as I do. That call was not dropped. Just mine (oh, lucky me!)

[KYS]

I also have Verizon and am very happy with
their service.
It might be your location/or a dead spot or
your phone might be a lemon.

Phones can make a difference too.

I had problems with my past LG phones where my
sisters LG worked fine.
When I renewed my contract, I got a motorola e815.
I am very pleased with the clairty and the long life
of the battery.

Verizon has very good customer service/tech support.

[AmberLee]

I have Verizon and I think I've only had one dropped call in two years. I did have trouble using my phone when visiting in Los Angeles in July; it might have to do with the location I was calling from? Other than that the only times I've had trouble is when I've forgotten to keep it charged. (Bad me!) :o

My big gripe with my cell is that I get SO many wrong numbers, it's aggravating!

[Lady's Human]

It could be a tech support issue for the area you are living in. Depending on how many towers are in your area and who actually owns them, your phone could be getting confused as to which tower it's supposed to be picking up. We had a similar problem with cingular phones where we used to live, called cingular tech support, they did a flash upgrade on the phones while I was talking to them, and haven't had a problem since.

[Twisterdog]

My entire family has Verizon. No problems here.

[catnapper]

Ok, looked at my phone, hubby's phone and daughter's phone tonight..... both hubby and daughter had 5 bars ANYWHERE in the house. I had 2-3 bars. The phone is getting returned/exchanged tomorrow.

After I sat and programmed alllll my phone numbers into it :rolleyes: :D

[Flatcoatluver]

I have nextel, my whole family does, we plan on going to verizon after our contract is done, and thats not till may

[Cinder & Smoke]

The phone is getting returned/exchanged tomorrow.

After I sat and programmed alllll my phone numbers into it :rolleyes: :D

They should be able to hook your old/new phone up to their puter
and download all you numbers -
then hook up the new/new phone and upload em for you!

[shais_mom]

Might be your phone - I have Verizon and I love them I would not use any other that we have around here.
I have used it in Chicago and Los Angeles with no problems.


good luck
and yup have them download the numbers it will take just a couple min..

[Angus's Dad]

Anna and I had the same problem, call 1-800-922-0204
from a landline. Tell them the problem and they will fix it.

[prechrswife]

We have Verizon and have only had dropped calls in dead spots. We live in a rural area, and Verizon has the best coverage here. It does sound like it may be the phone. As for programming your numbers in, they can transfer your phone book from one phone to another at the service desk at the Verizon store. They did this for my husband when he got his new phone.

[jennifert9]

I have had Verizon for about 15 years now and have no problems really with dropped calls and only occassionally do I come across areas where there is no service. But they are usually very rural areas where you wouldn't expect service anyway! :rolleyes:

I have the opposite problem with Verizon though...their customer service has been horrendous, absolutely horrendous!! And we have encountered this all over the country...at Verizon stores in California, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania!! It's amazing how horrible they treat my mother and I who have been such long time customers... :mad:
They are only happy if you are buying new phones and spending $$ all the time whereas we just need the phones for emergencies and traveling.

Take advantage of the fact that you are a new customer and get as much free service and help as possible!!

[RICHARD]

Software glitch kills Verizon 911 network in South Bay, CA
An equipment disruption also affected regular phone service as well as some Internet services for 11 hours.
By Larry Altman
Daily Breeze

Tens of thousands of South Bay residents lost the ability to call 911 for 11 hours on Tuesday when equipment failed at a Verizon telephone switching station.

Regular phone service and some AT&T and Verizon Internet services also were affected, knocking out the ability to get online. Some emergency radio transmitters that serve police and firefighters in Redondo Beach and other parts of the South Bay stopped working, and several ATM machines and credit card machines were affected.



Police and fire agencies immediately shifted into 1980s mode when the system failed at 2:20 a.m., calling residents through automated computer systems and broadcasting alerts on radio and television stations stating the departments could be reached with old-fashioned seven-digit numbers that existed before the more convenient 911 system evolved.

No major problems were reported. SBC and other phone company customers were not affected.

"Luckily it was a slow day because of the rain and people anticipated the rain," said Redondo Beach police Sgt. Phil Keenan.

Verizon spokesman Jon Davies said corrupted software in routing equipment caused the problem at a Long Beach switching station. The equipment links, routes and processes 911 calls.

"It was a software error on a piece of equipment that connects two parts of our network together," Davies said.

Technicians copied software from a backup, reloaded the software and rebooted the computer to fix the problem. By 1:30 p.m., 911 operations in the South Bay were working.

"When the system came up with the previous version of software it resolved itself," Davies said.

Throughout the early morning hours and much of the day, residents with Verizon service in Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, and parts of Torrance and the Palos Verdes Peninsula lost the ability to use their land lines to access the three-digit 911 system.

Instead, they received busy signals or "all circuits are busy" recordings.

After putting out word about regular telephone numbers, police officers and firefighters in the affected cities conducted extra patrols, driving through areas to make themselves visible in case of an emergency. Redondo Beach put all of its officers, including detectives, on the street, Keenan said.

Although much of Torrance's telephone service is handled by SBC, police put notices on the city's cable and radio channels to alert residents, Torrance police Lt. Rod Irvine said.

In Hermosa Beach, police kept watch on normally busy areas of the city.

"We've got the officers out doing extra patrol along the highway where we would have the biggest problems with traffic," Hermosa Beach police Sgt. Paul Wolcott said.

Ralph Mailloux, executive director of the South Bay Regional Public Communications Authority, which handles 911 operations for affected cities Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach, said three of its eight broadcast towers went down, but an emergency backup system kicked in to keep the dispatch center in touch with its fire and police officers in the field.

Residents in Manhattan Beach received two phone calls in the middle of the night to alert them about the 911 problem, one from a community alert network and another from a reverse 911 system at the dispatch center, Mailloux said.

Through the morning, the center had few emergency calls, but had a number of people calling to ask about the problem.

The Verizon equipment failure also affected Long Beach, Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Downey, Bellflower and communities along the Orange County-Los Angeles County border.

In some communities, residents were able to make local calls, but not long distance.

Davies said Verizon would conduct an investigation into why the failure occurred. They also would look at why backup systems also failed.

"As part of our routine operations we always look at any kind of failure -- minor or major"

---------------------

Ah, a few drops call..... :eek:

[jennifert9]

Here is another lovely example of their customer service...

I have been having problems with my bills and every month I have to call to have them correct them...well, they close at 6pm and since I don't get home from work until 6:30 or so everyday, I called during my lunch hour. I spent the entire hour and then another 15 minutes on hold!!!!! I finally had to hang up because I had to get back to work. NOT ONCE did I speak to a person or even have an option of speaking to someone....!!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: