Road trip and cell coverage

[tvguy]

We are planning a road trip from California to Lake Havasu, Arizona, Sedona Arizona, Grand Canyon, Roswell, New Mexico, Big Spring, Texas, Tucson and home.

Anyone have experience with cell coverage on the main highways in those areas on Verizon? Not interested in phone calls, just data for GPS. I am planning on bringing our Tom
Tom GPS in case of dead zones.

From what I have read Grand Canyon is fine with Verizon, and a huge dead zone with other carriers.

Any experience?

 

[sam_gordon]

It's been a number of years, but I used to do a trip to Ruidoso (about 60miles west of Roswell) and don't remember any issues.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Did you look at the coverage map? That should give you a good idea.

https://www.verizon.com/coverage-map/
It's interactive so you can input the destinations, zoom in, etc:
Here's a quick screenshot though

 

[kymom99]

I have Verizon. I have bern to a number of those places by car and had no problem with coverage.

 

[bcla]

Haven't been there for so long, but what I do remember was that cell phone coverage in remote areas could be pretty bad. But that was before 4G. Your biggest issue is going to be that there might be sparse cell towers, and if one in the area has obstacles to your location you'll have connection difficulty.

As long as you have real GPS on your phone, then having immediate internet access may not be as important. I remember way back during a trip to Canada, I turned off my cellular data for fear of roaming charges. I would map out a route using Wi-Fi internet. My main issue (I think with Google Maps for iPhone - before Apple Maps came out) was that I didn't get turn by turn voice directions, so I'd have to peek at the screen. And if I made the wrong turn it "lost contact" until I either established Wi-Fi internet or managed to get back on the route. So it must have preloaded the route and didn't know much about any kind of deviations.

 

[barkley]

don't rely on their coverage maps-google search the various regions you will be in for news articles b/c there have been major complaints to the fcc regarding verizon in some more rural areas. verizon's response has been-

"we’ve seen a dramatic increase in voice and data traffic on our network. we only expect that trend to increase. our teams are actively deploying new network solutions to address some of this demand.”

 

[amylevan]

I would have an atlas with me, just in case.

 

[kymom99]

I drove from Phoenix to Sedona using the maps app on my iPhone. Then I drove from Sedona to Tucson using the app. I had no issues and I had no clue where I was going. So I would have noticed if I had lost connection. In some of the remote areas, if you get high enough you can get a signal. My son interned at Chiricahua national monument in the middle of nowhere in SE Arizona. There was no cell service at the visitor center, but if you drove to the top of the scenic drive, you could get a signal with Verizon.

I’ve also been to grand canyon and had no issues. We drove from Vegas via interstate 40.

Hopefully that helps with that part of your trip.

 

[adkkev]

Download your maps from Google Maps to your phone … you’ll be able to use them with the GPS feature on your phone.

 

[FreeTime]

I would have an atlas with me, just in case.

I agree. We always have an Atlas with us when driving in these more remote areas. Also usually download the gps route.

 

[Tink3815]

Driving from Phoenix to Grand Canyon 5 years ago , we would occasionally would lose service on Verizon. Also on the trip back on 89A to Sedona.
I know it's old school, I still like to print out the google directions and bring them with me for a back up. I have issues with my phone not getting the correct GPS location in the mountains.

 

[starry_solo]

When we did a road trip through Utah last year, in every national park, we lost cell service. We had already put in the destination into Waze so all the directions were there. Plus, we also had the paper back-up from AAA.

 

[tvguy]

Did you look at the coverage map? That should give you a good idea.

https://www.verizon.com/coverage-map/
It's interactive so you can input the destinations, zoom in, etc:
Here's a quick screenshot though
View attachment 751415

I can't get it to load. I probably should try a different browser.

 

[tvguy]

Download your maps from Google Maps to your phone … you’ll be able to use them with the GPS feature on your phone.

I guess I have to do some homework because I have no idea how to use maps on my phone other than Google Maps which appears to dependent on cellular service.

 

[Colleen27]

We didn't have issues through the Grand Canyon (both rims) or along the I40 corridor through AZ and into CA in 2019. Better coverage in remote areas was the biggest reason we switched to Verizon after having two experiences (one in northern Montana and the other in Michigan's Upper Peninsula) where we didn't have signal but travel companions with Verizon did.

More recently I've heard from friends in the vanlife/camping world that Verizon has had overloading issues in some places in the post-pandemic travel boom so you may find the network slow or unavailable if you're traveling in areas that draw heavy seasonal tourist traffic.

 

[adkkev]

I guess I have to do some homework because I have no idea how to use maps on my phone other than Google Maps which appears to dependent on cellular service.

https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6291838?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=iOS

 

[bcla]

I guess I have to do some homework because I have no idea how to use maps on my phone other than Google Maps which appears to dependent on cellular service.

I mentioned it before, but I can clarify. Back in 2015 I was using Google Maps for iOS and wasn't sure if I could use data towards my regular plan or if I'd be charged international roaming. Turns out I could use it in Canada as part of my normal data plan (and calls were unlimited) as long as less than half my cellular data for the month was in Canada. But that I didn't know, so I turned off the cellular data. If I could find a McDonald's or Tim Horton's, I would map out a trip, and even when I didn't have Wi-Fi internet I had silent turn by turn directions. And if I missed a turn it couldn't cope with it unless I somehow made it back to the planned route. A little bit clunky, but it worked to some degree. That's kind of what you can expect if you're lacking internet service.

A previous link gives instructions on how to download maps and have the ability to navigate without internet access. But in my experience just having the ability to select a route when there's internet access will at least load the planned route to follow.

 

[tvguy]

I mentioned it before, but I can clarify. Back in 2015 I was using Google Maps for iOS and wasn't sure if I could use data towards my regular plan or if I'd be charged international roaming. Turns out I could use it in Canada as part of my normal data plan (and calls were unlimited) as long as less than half my cellular data for the month was in Canada. But that I didn't know, so I turned off the cellular data. If I could find a McDonald's or Tim Horton's, I would map out a trip, and even when I didn't have Wi-Fi internet I had silent turn by turn directions. And if I missed a turn it couldn't cope with it unless I somehow made it back to the planned route. A little bit clunky, but it worked to some degree. That's kind of what you can expect if you're lacking internet service.

A previous link gives instructions on how to download maps and have the ability to navigate without internet access. But in my experience just having the ability to select a route when there's internet access will at least load the planned route to follow.

Yeah, the link is for iPhone, I have an Android. But if all else fails I have Tom Tom. I haven't used it in years, and the map database hasn't been updated since 2009, but for travel in Highways, it could do the trick in a pinch. Took it out and tested it and it works just fine.

 

[bcla]

Yeah, the link is for iPhone, I have an Android. But if all else fails I have Tom Tom. I haven't used it in years, and the map database hasn't been updated since 2009, but for travel in Highways, it could do the trick in a pinch. Took it out and tested it and it works just fine.

Should work about the same. There seem to be slight differences where they have different instructions, like the Android version can have an SD card specified for saving a map. Obviously iOS and iPadOS have never supported internal add-on storage. Here are the Android instructions:

https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6291838?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Android

Also - you don't necessarily need cellular internet to get turn by turn and voice navigation with Google Maps. You just need internet. Sometimes my phone will connect to Wi-Fi while I'm driving and that works just fine.

 

[JLTraveling]

We didn't have any significant issues with Sprint on a long and meandering Western trip a few years ago. Can't speak to Verizon. BUT, if you plan to do ANYTHING that involves getting off the major highways, carry actual paper maps. Our GPS worked fine, but more than once it sent us off on what appeared to be a cow trail instead of an actual road, and we were towing a 27 foot travel trailer! Fortunately travel plazas still carry plenty of old-fashioned maps, so we made the switch.