Verizon 5G at campgrounds question

[Buckskin]

Was thinking about upgrading Motorola Verizon phone to a Motorola Verizon 5G. Is anyone able to get Verizon 5G at campgrounds that you go to? Is it worth the upgrade?

[RoJoSo]

We do get 5G here in the North Eastern states.
If not, then we do get 4G as well.
Look at verizon website and see their coverage map.

[traveldawg]

What RoJoSo said..... check a coverage map.

Heck - I'm just happy to have any signal most of the time. I just upgraded to a 5G phone and have only seen the 5G icon once so far and it wasn't at a campground; so, for where I am, upgrading just to get 5G wouldn't not have been useful (I did it for the cameras and short battery life in my 2017 model phone).

[jkwilson]

Close to miraculous to get 5G outside of cities, and when you do it won’t be noticeably faster than 4G for anything but downloading large chunks of data.

[RV Sailor]

5G is in its infancy stages. I wouldn’t expect to see it universal yet. That being said I hold my phones at least 4-5 years so it will become to standard going forward. I would only buy a new phone if it’s time to replace your phone not chasing the new technology which is in the stages of ramping up.

I am in the same quandary as you as I like the 5G technology and live in the suburbs of a metro city which already is showing 5 g. I decided to hold off as my I 11 is still relatively new and has a quick A-13 chip. When it starts slowing or I need to replace my phone it will have 5G and the 5G system will be ready universally for it.

Sometimes it also goes to philosophy. I don’t just trade in for new and tend to hold things until they break or their technology is antiquated. For example I still drive a 2010 Toyota Highlander I bought new. It was at 0% interest loan. I paid it off. Opened another savings account and continued making payments for the next 5 years. $7200 per year led to $36,000 plus its interest which made it $39,000. That savings either bought me with change our GD2500RL or a great portion of the Ram 2500 ( that’s what it went to) . Aside from needing the correct payload capacity, it mitigated the price difference from it or the 1500 to the 2500 so it wasn’t uncomfortable spending the extra.

[boyscout]

Was thinking about upgrading Motorola Verizon phone to a Motorola Verizon 5G. Is anyone able to get Verizon 5G at campgrounds that you go to? Is it worth the upgrade?

You've got advice from @RoJoSo and @traveldawg to check coverage maps to determine if you'll have 5G coverage at a campsite.

Our experience over three years with coverage maps offered by Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T is that all were - to put it politely - optimistic about their 4G/LTE coverage. We had a large handful of disappointments relying on them. For example a campground only a few miles from Port Charlotte FL was supposed to have strong coverage and had none whatsoever, could not make calls even with our cell booster.

I'd guess that 5G maps would be equally unreliable. I've also seen a fair number of reports that 5G is not very-noticeably faster than LTE, but there are many variables involved so that's not likely a certain outcome for you.

Good luck with your choices.

[Buckskin]

5G is in its infancy stages. I wouldn’t expect to see it universal yet. That being said I hold my phones at least 4-5 years so it will become to standard going forward. I would only buy a new phone if it’s time to replace your phone not chasing the new technology which is in the stages of ramping up.

I am in the same quandary as you as I like the 5G technology and live in the suburbs of a metro city which already is showing 5 g. I decided to hold off as my I 11 is still relatively new and has a quick A-13 chip. When it starts slowing or I need to replace my phone it will have 5G and the 5G system will be ready universally for it.

Sometimes it also goes to philosophy. I don’t just trade in for new and tend to hold things until they break or their technology is antiquated. For example I still drive a 2010 Toyota Highlander I bought new. It was at 0% interest loan. I paid it off. Opened another savings account and continued making payments for the next 5 years. $7200 per year led to $36,000 plus its interest which made it $39,000. That savings either bought me with change our GD2500RL or a great portion of the Ram 2500 ( that’s what it went to) . Aside from needing the correct payload capacity, it mitigated the price difference from it or the 1500 to the 2500 so it wasn’t uncomfortable spending the extra.

Yep, I am same way but thinking about switching carriers. Just sold 1997 Honda Accord we bought new, needed some routine work and didn't want to spend money as it was an extra car for us. Driving 2012 Tundra with less than 50,000 miles and it will out tow my friends 2019 Silverado 2500 with gas engine. Tundra is coming out with new 2022 at end of year and it is suppose to be a barn burner, with more payload and towing capacity.

[Buckskin]

Do what I did and get yourself a booster off Ebay, Obdator brand works great. You got to know your phone's band, Verizon works good on band 13. Got myself a retractable painter's pole at Home Depot that I connect outside antenna to.

You've got advice from @RoJoSo and @traveldawg to check coverage maps to determine if you'll have 5G coverage at a campsite.

Our experience over three years with coverage maps offered by Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T is that all were - to put it politely - optimistic about their 4G/LTE coverage. We had a large handful of disappointments relying on them. For example a campground only a few miles from Port Charlotte FL was supposed to have strong coverage and had none whatsoever, could not make calls even with our cell booster.

I'd guess that 5G maps would be equally unreliable. I've also seen a fair number of reports that 5G is not very-noticeably faster than LTE, but there are many variables involved so that's not likely a certain outcome for you.

Good luck with your choices.

[boyscout]

Do what I did and get yourself a booster off Ebay, Obdator brand works great. You got to know your phone's band, Verizon works good on band 13. Got myself a retractable painter's pole at Home Depot that I connect outside antenna to.

Thanks. We have two Wilson weBoost boosters, one more powerful than the other, but have found places (one mentioned in my post above) where even a booster doesn't do the trick.

[Summit1]

If there is anything positive to be expected with regard to cell coverage, VZW and AT&T (as well as, to some extent, T-Mobile/Sprint) are adding cell sites. Much of this comes from the FirstNet project, and the contract won by AT&T for that. The lofty goal is nearly 100% coverage across the US, but that will take more than a few years to achieve. Each site needs a "backhaul"... an internet connection for linking and control, so expecting 4G/LTE or 5G may be unrealistic in most rural areas. 3G and 1X are going away as parts with whichto maintain that equipment is extremely expensive and difficult to find. It's cheaper and more effective to replace it with current 4G/LTE. I doubt we will see anything near 100% coverage any time soon. Because AT&T had added FirstNet sites, they are "co-locating" 4G/LTE consumer/business stuff on those sites. VZW and the others, in order that they compete, are building new sites, too.