View Full Version : Cell phone coverage on the AT
Thru hiking in 2017. Currently have Sprint as my carrier but am contemplating switching to Verizon because of coverage. Would be interested in some feedback on other peoples experience.
Verizon seems to be the carrier of choice on the AT in the South for many years, and I concur. I've heard recommendations for AT+T in the North, but those who had Verizon were able to cope. Very few good things have been said by AT hikers thru the years about Sprint or T Mobile. Good question though, and as things change in the wireless game I'd love to learn that all the carriers have upped their games.
Verizon seems to be the carrier of choice on the AT in the South for many years, and I concur. I've heard recommendations for AT+T in the North, but those who had Verizon were able to cope. Very few good things have been said by AT hikers thru the years about Sprint or T Mobile. Good question though, and as things change in the wireless game I'd love to learn that all the carriers have upped their games.
AT 'n T means Appalachian Trail No Talk.
Uncle Joe
08-19-2016, 16:52
Full disclosure: I work for Sprint. That said, in my GA section hike I faired pretty well. Carriers overlap in some areas and not in others. Verizon has the most coverage because they have the most towers. I wouldn't switch just for coverage on the AT because you're still going to have many places with no coverage. As long as you have one of the major carriers you'll probably fair as well as anyone else. I found I had poor coverage when others had great coverage but then again I found I had good LTE in places where others had none.
Sandy of PA
08-19-2016, 17:01
In the last 6 years I have hiked all but half of NH and all of Maine with a Tracphone, had coverage from most mountaintops. I used a cheap flip phone in case it got broken or wet. I still don't use a smart phone, I prefer to have a real camera for pictures.
Red Cinema
08-19-2016, 21:18
Verizon has worked well for me from northern VA through NJ; never a day without some connectivity, nearly always good signal on the tops of things (ridges, hills, mountains).
The Cleaner
08-19-2016, 21:58
I did a lot of hiking back in the 80s before the trail became the crowded hostel every 30 miles place it is today.I got plenty of rides with my thumb.Back in January I hitched from Tanyard Gap to here.Got home about 1pm.
scrabbler
08-19-2016, 22:07
Not all phones are created equal, also make sure you have a good phone, regardless of carrier.
skinnbones
08-20-2016, 01:15
Verizon seems to be the carrier of choice on the AT in the South for many years, and I concur. I've heard recommendations for AT+T in the North, but those who had Verizon were able to cope. Very few good things have been said by AT hikers thru the years about Sprint or T Mobile. Good question though, and as things change in the wireless game I'd love to learn that all the carriers have upped their games.I guess I don't have a chance with my Metro coverage?
Slo-go'en
08-20-2016, 07:22
I guess I don't have a chance with my Metro coverage?
Probably not. I've had pretty good coverage with TracFone, but it can be spotty too. Where you happen to be in relationship to the nearest cell tower has a lot to do with it.
I have little to no experience north of Virginia, but from that point south if you want the most reliable coverage Verizon seemed to be the only option. I had AT&T and reception was very poor...maybe 5-10% of the time when I would check. I don't leave the phone on all the time and only power up when I need to, so there could have been better service than I perceived, but we'll be using Verizon next time for sure.
Christoph
08-20-2016, 09:11
Not all phones are created equal, also make sure you have a good phone, regardless of carrier.
So true. There were times where I was on my Droid Maxx (Verizon) and my hiking partner sitting right next to me with (I think it was) an earlier iphone (Verizon). I would have service and he started walking around trying to get a signal. And then there were times it was the opposite, but most times mine was the winner.
JumpMaster Blaster
08-20-2016, 22:08
I did a lot of hiking back in the 80s before the trail became the crowded hostel every 30 miles place it is today.I got plenty of rides with my thumb.Back in January I hitched from Tanyard Gap to here.Got home about 1pm.
???
What does that have to do with which carrier has better coverage?
MuddyWaters
08-20-2016, 22:58
No need to choose anymore.
Several phones available that work on all US and primary world frequencies
You can have Verizon service and pop in an active ATT network sim card when ATT is better. Of course that means two phone bills. Who can put price on connectivity to Facebook??
If pick one, pick verizon. Real Verizon includes roaming on partner towers, mvnos don't include this roaming and service won't be as good.
TheWhiteWalker
08-30-2016, 13:48
I just completed a thru hike in 2016. Verizon is clearly the best carrier for the AT. I was able to send out a text message at camp 95% of the nights. Other hikers nearby with different carriers would be lucky to have 40% for their thru hike.
The only thing I would recommend is getting a new smart phone or new battery for your phone before doing a thru hike. My battery on my smart phone was over 1 year old and did not work as well as when it was brand new. Anker battery packs work great on the trail!
I used T-Mobile this year thru GA to the Smokies. It worked pretty good for texts. I was able to Facetime on top of Albert Mountain fire tower, so that was cool. If you have a choice, I'd go with Verizon.