Summary: Will a 4G phone like the Thunderbolt still do 2G? And if it will do 2G, will it do data? And if that's all I can get at home, is it pointless to go Thunderbolt and pay for 4G?
I just made a horrifying discovery on Verizon's detailed coverage map. Up until now, my whole area was marked solid dark red on VZW coverage maps, indicating 4G coverage. But that must have been a less detailed map. Now that I check my exact home address on their site, it shows that not only does 4G cut off before it gets to my neighborhood, 3G cuts off a couple of streets away. I'm at the far end of a beach so I guess they didn't want to put any unsightly towers out there, and it's far enough out that the great signal in town just doesn't reach out there.
The whole point of me switching from Tmobile to Verizon was to get the awesome more extensive coverage everybody talks about, particularly since I'm not in a major urban center (I'm in an outlying area of one). But now I'm wondering whether I should bother to switch at all, or bother to get something like the Thunderbolt. My friend was at my house this weekend and his 3G Droid 2 was getting zero bars for a while, but later had a bit and he was able to take a call. That's just like what happens to me now on Tmobile. It's variable minute to minute.
I'm wondering whether a phone designed to work on 3G and 4G will even work on 2G. Right now 3G phones are designed to also work on 2G as a backup. And 4G phones are designed to fall back on 3G at least. But have they given up falling even further back to 2G now that they've added 4G? Is there room for all those radios?
While I can get both 3G and 4G at work in town, I'm thinking it doesn't make sense to get a Thunderbolt or any other 4G phone and pay for a 4G data plan that I can't use at home.
Tell me what you know about this situation and how the coverage and radios work. Thanks.
I just made a horrifying discovery on Verizon's detailed coverage map. Up until now, my whole area was marked solid dark red on VZW coverage maps, indicating 4G coverage. But that must have been a less detailed map. Now that I check my exact home address on their site, it shows that not only does 4G cut off before it gets to my neighborhood, 3G cuts off a couple of streets away. I'm at the far end of a beach so I guess they didn't want to put any unsightly towers out there, and it's far enough out that the great signal in town just doesn't reach out there.
The whole point of me switching from Tmobile to Verizon was to get the awesome more extensive coverage everybody talks about, particularly since I'm not in a major urban center (I'm in an outlying area of one). But now I'm wondering whether I should bother to switch at all, or bother to get something like the Thunderbolt. My friend was at my house this weekend and his 3G Droid 2 was getting zero bars for a while, but later had a bit and he was able to take a call. That's just like what happens to me now on Tmobile. It's variable minute to minute.
I'm wondering whether a phone designed to work on 3G and 4G will even work on 2G. Right now 3G phones are designed to also work on 2G as a backup. And 4G phones are designed to fall back on 3G at least. But have they given up falling even further back to 2G now that they've added 4G? Is there room for all those radios?
While I can get both 3G and 4G at work in town, I'm thinking it doesn't make sense to get a Thunderbolt or any other 4G phone and pay for a 4G data plan that I can't use at home.
Tell me what you know about this situation and how the coverage and radios work. Thanks.