Best cell phone for wanderers

[Stymie]

Probably debated here already but what company - Verizon or ATT has best coverage?
I had att then dropped when I lived in Idaho then Verizon.   Had sprint when I traveled more but not worth anything off the hwy.

 

[Blanch]

I use Cricket wireless. It uses AT&T towers. $55 a month for unlimited. It isn't the best option, but if cost is a factor, I think it is the cheapest unlimited plan around. I travel the western states and I can usually get coverage.


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[RVTravel]

Verizon has the best coverage for mobile users.

 

[lenny flank]

I use Tracfone. It gets coverage everywhere there is any coverage to get, because if it can't get a signal from one company it uses signals from the others.

It is kinda pricey if you use it a lot though. But for me--who barely makes a call a month--it's fine.

 

[Putts]

As Montanan I can tell you that unless you have Verizon you're not going to get coverage up here unless you're near a highway. It's not even close. Virtually everyone in the state uses Verizon unless it's some teenager sucked into lower prices. Sadly the kids won't have coverage when they really need it.

 

[highdesertranger]

for out in the boonies #1 Verizon, #2 AT&T. the others don't work unless you are close to an interstate hwy. highdesertranger

 

[RVTravel]

My tracfone does not roam at all. I heard most MVNO prepaid phones do not roam.

 

[Grey]

I'm using a Virgin Mobile iPhone SE that I recently picked up.  Virgin had a special offer where you buy the phone from them for $239 or there abouts and you get a 1 year service for unlimited 4g voice/data for $1.  I don't know if it's still offered or not at this time.  Makes for a good backup phone though if you are traveling near cities or highways.

 

[sushidog]

On my last trip to the western NC mountains, my Verizon coverage was spotty at best, but my DW's Tracfone worked almost everywhere. I guess it depends upon what part of America you are in, east vs west.

Chip

 

[Willy]

Up here in Canada I have an unlocked dual SIM Asus Zenfone2 and generally just use 7-11 Speakout prepaid. I just use that for phone calls and a $25 top up can last me 6 months. They rape ya here for data, so I just hook up to free WiFi for downloading to it. ..Willy.

 

[lenny flank]

On my last trip to the western NC mountains, my Verizon coverage was spotty at best, but my DW's Tracfone worked almost everywhere. I guess it depends upon what part of America you are in, east vs west.

Chip

Tracfone works almost everywhere because it uses the signal from any provider, as long as there is a signal to get.

 

[Ballenxj]

Up here in Canada I have an unlocked dual SIM Asus Zenfone2 and generally just use 7-11 Speakout prepaid. I just use that for phone calls and a $25 top up can last me 6 months. They rape ya here for data, so I just hook up to free WiFi for downloading to it. ..Willy.

ASUS Zenfone? I've looked at those. How do you like yours?
Unfortunately, Verizon seems to have the best coverage in the U.S allowing them to charge higher rates with less customer care concerns.
Hoping this will equalize soon allowing for more competitive rates to be the norm.

 

[Willy]

I like the Zenfone a lot. was kinda iffy about the size but, having become accustomed to it, find the larger size preferable. It's also basically a high end phone at a budget price. 4GB of RAM isn't all that common even now and the 64GB storage means I don't have to buy a micro SD for it, tho I could. I bought mine used off Ebay.ca from a surplus site. It was sold 'working as-is' due to a screen problem that turned out to be a ribbon cable that came loose. I fixed that and, at the end of the day, ended up with a $250 phone for $70 (Canadian bux). ..Willy.

 

[jimindenver]

I will have to check into the Tracfone deal. Having the option of all four carriers is the deal unless you are in a area that has third party towers. Then you need roaming too.

 

[WriterMs]

I have a StraightTalk phone and plan through Walmart and it uses the Verizon network. But you have to be specific to get a Verizon enabled phone and plan... they will tell you/show you which ones use the Verizon network. I pay $45 a month for unlimited calls and they throw in 8 GB of data (speeds up to 4G) for most of it. Since I use a hotspot for my laptop to go online, I never get close to using that much phone data. I have also bought my mobile hotspot data plan through Straightalk, but will be looking into Verizon plans for that before I get back on the road.

 

[Alfred C.]

I was interested to find out more about Tracfone using multiple networks so I contacted them via Chat. Here is an excerpt from that conversation:

Me: Hello. I travel a lot, sometimes in fairly remote areas. I was told that a Tracfone can use any carrier for more coverage. However, looking at your forums, it appears that changes between carriers are done by changing sims and porting numbers. Is there any way to get a phone that can do this on the fly?

Agent: There is no TracFone phone that can from one carrier to another. We are also unable to determine which carrier network your phone will work on. Upon completing the activation of your phone, the system determines which carrier will be used to service your phone. We have no control over this nor do we have any access to any carrier information.

Oh well, it was worth a try! Maybe I'll just carry 2 or 3 phones?

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Verizon unless you are rural east coast, then att or something using their towers like cricket.

 

[Kia girl]

Att works from Massachusetts to North Carolina. Verizon has spotty service for me. The rest of the us I am not sure.

 

[user 15722]

I am on the west coast. Here, VZN has better coverage than any other carrier, with a few notable exceptions which are generally in or near large cities.
Our politicians and the FCC failed us when they allowed the major carriers to present programs that are not reasonable, clear, and concise.
A prepaid phone that can be re-filled, as described above, for periodic use, on Verizon is probably your best bet. YMMV. wheels

 

[user 37446]

I’ll just say that T-Mobile barely works in much of the rural West even on the interstate, sadly. I like their unlimited 3G but since almost nothing worthwhile will load, it’s pretty iffy.  When I go out for good I will likely look for Verizon or ATT...