I know this has been discussed in prior posts, however I am curious if there have been any recent changes with Verizon being able to get quality reception (or any reception) in Rocky Point??
I have been with AT&T for years, primarily because it works so well in Rocky Point. However, I drop at least 5 calls per day in Phoenix and if it hasn't already, it will cost me business. Nothing like being on an important 3 way conference call and your call drops and then have to reconnect everyone. Not to mention how annoying it is when your call may not drop, but you hear the other person about every 4th word...
Anyway, I am ready to leave AT&T for Verizon. Everyone I have spoken with really likes their service. The Verizon store claims they have GSM reception in Mexico, etc , but I trust the "boots on the ground" a lot more than a salesperson at Verizon.
larry i dumped att last month for Verizon and i did't think it possible but I hate them worse than ATT plus it doesn't work for shit in mexico to boot.
rplarry said:
I know this has been discussed in prior posts, however I am curious if there have been any recent changes with Verizon being able to get quality reception (or any reception) in Rocky Point??
I have been with AT&T for years, primarily because it works so well in Rocky Point. However, I drop at least 5 calls per day in Phoenix and if it hasn't already, it will cost me business. Nothing like being on an important 3 way conference call and your call drops and then have to reconnect everyone. Not to mention how annoying it is when your call may not drop, but you hear the other person about every 4th word...
Anyway, I am ready to leave AT&T for Verizon. Everyone I have spoken with really likes their service. The Verizon store claims they have GSM reception in Mexico, etc , but I trust the "boots on the ground" a lot more than a salesperson at Verizon.
I know several people with Verizon who have indicated that their phones work in Penasco.....but....I went on the Verizon web site, and the coverage map does not show Penasco, or most of northern Mexico. The local Mexican carriers, Telcel and Movistar, are both on GSM, while Verizon seems to still be CDMA. Even checking their dual band GSM or quad band GSM phones they offer, they don't show coverage for Mexico?????
I used to have Verizon years ago, and like their coverage in the US....but dropped them when they lost coverage in Mexico.
An alternate to those visiting Penasco regularly is to get a Telcel or Movistar phone.....mcch cheaper if you're calling within Mexico, and not any more expensive if you have to call back to the US, since you will get zapped with roaming charges to call home with a US phone.
I have a VERIZON Droid incredible. I bought the additional Mexico coverage for I believe ten bucks a month. Last time I was down in November, the phone didnt work a hoot. I stayed at the Bella Sirena. Could not make or receive calls. I did get a few calls to go through on the beach in front, but the calls were quickly dropped. Elsewhere in town was the same story. Could never complete a call. Text messages would not work either. By the way, Verizon only carries CDMA phones. They do NOT carry GSM phones. Thats an entirely different network.
In summary... My Verizon phone does NOT work in Rocky Point.
It's funny how some folks with Verizon claim the phone works in Rocky Point. Maybe it would be of help to post GPS coordinates of WHERE the phone is able to make or Receive a call. Or post what type of phone you are using. I would believe that the older phones with the retractable antennas would get a stronger signal. Mine, again I have Droid Incredible does not get a signal very well. Forget about making calls from the Bella Sirena, Mannys (RIP), The Friendly Dolphin, Dunas, the taco stand on Calle 13, or in the parking lot at Guau Guau.
Also being with Verizon and on the CDMA network, you cant just walk into a Telcel and Movistar store and simply remove your simcard and put a new Telcel simcard in and have a perfectly working phone. With ATT, you are on the GSM network and CAN do that.
I have a VERIZON Droid incredible. I bought the additional Mexico coverage for I believe ten bucks a month. Last time I was down in November, the phone didnt work a hoot. I stayed at the Bella Sirena. Could not make or receive calls. I did get a few calls to go through on the beach in front, but the calls were quickly dropped. Elsewhere in town was the same story. Could never complete a call. Text messages would not work either. By the way, Verizon only carries CDMA phones. They do NOT carry GSM phones. Thats an entirely different network.
In summary... My Verizon phone does NOT work in Rocky Point.
Check their website...they carry what they call their "world" phones....which they claim are GSM
Verizon World phones will work in Rocky Point but in a very small range. The world phones are dual band GSM & CDMA. Verizon peers with Movistar to carry the traffic. Like, I said, it is spotty at best. I use a Blackberry Storm on Verizon and I have the Nationwide + Mexico plan. So, it doesn't matter if I am in Mexico or the US for both voice and data. It just subtracts from my minute bank.
I get good coverage from Las Palomas into the Old Port. I do not get coverage over at Capones and I slowly lose it moving down Sandy Beach until it disappears before reaching the Reef.
Check with AT&T about their Viva Mexico plan. That is what we have and it works great! Not many dropped calls and it seems to work well all over R.P. It costs only about $5-6 more on my plan. The only difference is that when you call other At&T numbers, you are charged minutes but not any more $. I can use the phone in the states as well as here. It's really nice when you cross the border, it automatically changes to TelCel. No extra roaming charges, etc. It's worth a try before you change to Verizon.
With viva mexico more than half your monthly minutes have to be stateside or the fine print hits you with a rabbit punch to the wallet
marisol said:
Check with AT&T about their Viva Mexico plan. That is what we have and it works great! Not many dropped calls and it seems to work well all over R.P. It costs only about $5-6 more on my plan. The only difference is that when you call other At&T numbers, you are charged minutes but not any more $. I can use the phone in the states as well as here. It's really nice when you cross the border, it automatically changes to TelCel. No extra roaming charges, etc. It's worth a try before you change to Verizon.
I have a "throwaway" gsm phone with a Telcel Amigo SIM....it costs me 1 peso/minute to call locally, somewhere around 5-6 pesos per minute to call the US(the last time I checked). If I'm going to be making a long call back to the states, I'll hop on the computer/internet and use my MagicJack.
I have T-Mobile. It works good in town and works on the east beaches as well. The downside is $1.50 a minute and $.35 per text. Needless to say I don't make many calls.
Verizon World phones will work in Rocky Point but in a very small range. The world phones are dual band GSM & CDMA. Verizon peers with Movistar to carry the traffic. Like, I said, it is spotty at best. I use a Blackberry Storm on Verizon and I have the Nationwide + Mexico plan. So, it doesn't matter if I am in Mexico or the US for both voice and data. It just subtracts from my minute bank.
I get good coverage from Las Palomas into the Old Port. I do not get coverage over at Capones and I slowly lose it moving down Sandy Beach until it disappears before reaching the Reef.
sir, your information is a little spotty at best. True, Verizon phones will work is Mexico
But you are still on the Verizon CDMA system. I think you are using the term "WORLD PHONE" incorrectly as you could use ANY Verizon phone in Mexico. However, as you pointed out coverage is spotty at best. I assume I have the same plan as you. When we are in Mexico, we are roaming.
Again Verizons technology, as of today exists solely on the decades old CDMA network (circa 1990's). We have Smartphones not worldphones. As we do Not have a SIM card. One thing others might be aware is that since our phones (your crackberry, my HTC Android and the Iphone) are constantly updating with the network. So if you are NOT on the Mexico plan and you do go to Mexico and leave your phone on, you CAN BE CHARGED for data. Which can be very expensive if you have lots of apps that require constant updates.
Like someone pointed out better to get online and use Skype or something similar.
In addition, the link provided above says nothing about the alleged Verizon GSM phone someone mentioned. It is a link for a coverage map. It fact, it specifically states Verizon's technology is based on the CDMA network.
The map is a simple roaming map. It obviously would differ from the coverage map from let's say Movietel or Comcel or whatever.
In summary:
Verizon is on the CDMA network. Period.
Best bet is probably Skpye.
Or get a ATT GSM phone with a SIM card and then go to Comcel in Mexico and buy one of their cards.
" This map reflects a depiction of approximate wireless coverage and does not guarantee service. Many factors, including customer's equipment, terrain, proximity to buildings, foliage and weather, may impact service. Coverage depicted is based on 3rd party network information and Verizon Wireless cannot ensure its accuracy. Above maps are not to be reproduced without written consent from Verizon Wireless." Source :http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/North_America/Mexico.html'
sir, your information is a little spotty at best. True, Verizon phones will work is Mexico
But you are still on the Verizon CDMA system. I think you are using the term "WORLD PHONE" incorrectly as you could use ANY Verizon phone in Mexico. However, as you pointed out coverage is spotty at best. I assume I have the same plan as you. When we are in Mexico, we are roaming.
Again Verizons technology, as of today exists solely on the decades old CDMA network (circa 1990's). We have Smartphones not worldphones. As we do Not have a SIM card. One thing others might be aware is that since our phones (your crackberry, my HTC Android and the Iphone) are constantly updating with the network. So if you are NOT on the Mexico plan and you do go to Mexico and leave your phone on, you CAN BE CHARGED for data. Which can be very expensive if you have lots of apps that require constant updates.
Like someone pointed out better to get online and use Skype or something similar.
In addition, the link provided above says nothing about the alleged Verizon GSM phone someone mentioned. It is a link for a coverage map. It fact, it specifically states Verizon's technology is based on the CDMA network.
The map is a simple roaming map. It obviously would differ from the coverage map from let's say Movietel or Comcel or whatever.
In summary:
Verizon is on the CDMA network. Period.
Best bet is probably Skpye.
Or get a ATT GSM phone with a SIM card and then go to Comcel in Mexico and buy one of their cards.
" This map reflects a depiction of approximate wireless coverage and does not guarantee service. Many factors, including customer's equipment, terrain, proximity to buildings, foliage and weather, may impact service. Coverage depicted is based on 3rd party network information and Verizon Wireless cannot ensure its accuracy. Above maps are not to be reproduced without written consent from Verizon Wireless." Source :http://b2b.vzw.com/international/Roaming/North_America/Mexico.html'
So I used the wrong term....instead of "World" phone, should have been "Global" Phone....my "ass"umption is that it is a dual CDMA/GSM phone.....have no idea if they will work in Mexico....but based on the map, I would venture not! There used to be a couple of carriers in the Penasco area that were CDMA....but that was at least 6-8 years ago!
I don't know why people have difficulty finding/searching on the Verizon site????
Verizon does in fact have blackberry phones that will take a gsm sim card but I never had good luck with verizon in Rocky Point. I have found that the best choice is the telcel amigo which you have to top up every couple of months but you can do that by puchasing a refill in Rocky Point or by using a service like babblebug on line before you go. This will give you good coverage all over town and you can easily be reached from the states if someone needs to get in touch with you or you need to get in touch with them.
larry i dumped att last month for Verizon and i did't think it possible but I hate them worse than ATT plus it doesn't work for shit in mexico to boot.
Wow, that's hard to believe. Hard to imagine it can be worse than AT&T with how many dropped calls I get in PHX, but definitely take your word for it. Most folks I have talked to living in the Valley are happy with their Verizon coverage and most folks I know who have AT&T, primarily because they have iPhones, cannot stand their coverage.
Thanks for the information Jerry. Definitely will take that into consideration!
It sounds like Verizon is definitely not the ticket for Rocky Point at this point. In the meantime, it seems like I need to either continue suffering through the AT&T woes in PHX while enjoying great coverage in RP, or switch from AT&T and just get a 'throw away' phone with a Mexican carrier.
I have a Movistar pay as you go phone.....$1.20 for up to 20 minutes to call the states. Text are the same as Telcel. Cost me $30 for the phone. I recharge it each time I am down there. I have a Droid X here in the states that I just put on airplane mode at the border and the internet access is usually from bars in RP offering free Wi-Fi.....Just ask them for their password.
I started with Verizon 2 years ago, nothing, not even under the antenna in Penasco, 2 days later went to ATT, I have coverage all the way from Tucson to Mayan Palace and in between, there are 3 main places that the service gets lost in the straight away in San Simon High school in the Tohono O'Odaham Nation (SR 86) for about 3 miles, weird such an open range in that section!!, then after I turn south on SR 85 close to the wayside table to Ajo mountains thru the entrance of the Organ Pipe National Monument, the service is spotty and goes back and force between ATT, Movistar and Telcel but unless you stop in any of those spots you will loose the connection the only other spot I have bad connection is in the Caborca highway for about 4 miles after I leave the Mayan Palace entrance towards Penasco, other than those I have no problems anywhere even behind Pelican Hill in Choya Bay.
I have the Viva Mexico plan and when in Mexico calling USA I only use the minutes in my account.even if I am calling Canada the only extra charges are text, I do not text therefore I do not have the unlimited texting which is free anywhere, I believe it is worldwide, I've decided not to text while driving, it is not healthy!!
Playa, did you do anything special to be able to hear the voice message in your laptop? everytime I try to listen to the message all I hear is a noise as if you are fast forwarding a cassette with the play button on, however I am able to hear them very good with the desktop!
Ed you might need to download a fix, its on there. Mine works perfect. I tell people I'm on the beach, and they tell me when are you going stop bullshiting. It works
good down there so I know its not the speed of the dsl in penasco. I can email u my #. Tu sabes estos Guays son Rockyleaks.....
Ed you might need to download a fix, its on there. Mine works perfect. I tell people I'm on the beach, and they tell me when are you going stop bullshiting. It works
good down there so I know its not the speed of the dsl in penasco. I can email u my #. Tu sabes estos Guays son Rockyleaks.....
Playa, did you find the fix in the MagicJack website? I would love to know how you get it to work, thanks
Roberto, I have your magik box but your works just fine!! I'll see you later today, ta ta.
Playa, did you find the fix in the MagicJack website? I would love to know how you get it to work, thanks
Roberto, I have your magik box but your works just fine!! I'll see you later today, ta ta.
Ed' you start by pluging in the magic jack. let it load up, bueno entonces, click on menu, scroll down to magic jack fix, click on that, bueno that don't work go to chat
and report your magic jack it might take 2 or 3 days but they will fix it. Pasa un gran dia amigo!
Ed' you start by pluging in the magic jack. let it load up, bueno entonces, click on menu, scroll down to magic jack fix, click on that, bueno that don't work go to chat
and report your magic jack it might take 2 or 3 days but they will fix it. Pasa un gran dia amigo!
It sounds like Verizon is definitely not the ticket for Rocky Point at this point. In the meantime, it seems like I need to either continue suffering through the AT&T woes in PHX while enjoying great coverage in RP, or switch from AT&T and just get a 'throw away' phone with a Mexican carrier.
Thanks again to all.
RpLarry, I dont know about all the trouble everyone else is having but I disagree and I have a pretty good testimonial to the fact that verizon works just fine. May 30th, 2010 I was injured riding my dirtbike in rocky point, specifically +-200 yards from the cholla bay police station. It was a serious spinal cord injury and I had two phones in my pocket of my riding pants. One was my moto droid and the other was my LG telcel prepay mexico phone. I already know that both phones work well in Rocky Point and yes it is true that data can cost, but that moto droid worked just fine that morning and allowed me to be on a heli 2 hours later to phoenix. Every time I go I always put a $10 prepay card on my telcel but if need be I usually just use my verizon phone(driod 2). The only exception and the reason why I still like to have minutes on my telcel is the 50+ miles of open road between Sonoyta and RP, the telcel gets coverage the whole way. I disagree with the poor reception claim, however I can't attest to the cost of any of this, I dont pay... jeje
Another thing a person might think about is a external antenna's I have a older Nokia GSM sim card cell phone that has a little rubber plug on top of it. There was just one service in the remote area I was needed it to work and a cheap $10 magnetic base from Radio Shack took me from one bar going on and off to 4 solid bars. The problem is most newer cell phones don't have the plug for external antenna's !!!
I have seen those older nokia's on ebay unlocked dual band for cheap..... Just another option if your on the fringe of service..... If you have more questions Just post or PM me and I try to help you out !
Mexico Joe....I don't have Verizon now....so can't attest to the current coverage....but I did have it several years ago.....one time down I had coverage....the next trip down I did not....sometimes the phone would show a couple bars, but I could not dial out....you were roaming with local CDMA companies...who seemed to change avery few months.....
With a GSM based phone...you'll have the same coverage that you would with Telcel or Movistar....even on the road down....you'll just be paying the roaming charge! The only advantage is coverage in the US....Verizon has better coverage even down to the border. I sometimes show Telcel/Movistar on the phone down at the entrance to Organ Pipe campground.....instead of AT&T....the same at the border after I've crossed.
Yea, I understand. My telcel phone starts to pick up Mexicos network about five miles out also in the organ pipe. I was just saying that really in the last year or so I havent really used my telcel phone that much because my verizon phone works fine. Ive even used the google sky app at night to look at all the stars and it uses gps location so that has to go against my data roaming. Like I said I dont pay for my phone its on my parents family plan. I know if I was using a ton of money when I use the phone in mexico my parents would slap me and that hasnt been the case so it cant be too expensive. LIke I said I dont pay so I dont know but I do know the phone works and has worked for about a year or so now.