4G LTE reception is usable, but switches to 3g 2-3 bars.

Never have reception problems or drops here, despite variable signal levels. Have been using Verizon in SF for nearly a decade, with a handful of phones, and quality has always been very good. Only dead areas for voice I have found are Midtown Terrace near Sutro Tower, and some low-lying parts of the Presidio. Using phone's wifi hotspot sometimes produces drops, no matter the location.

Coverage at my house with Verizon has always been satisfactory. My wife, on the other hand, has an iPhone with AT&T for which there is little to no reception in our house.

verizon gets an A+ I get service everywhere including many places where others have none. true here in SF, in remote parts of Cali and NV and Alaska.

I fled AT&T and was happy with Verizon (3G and phone) up until about 2 months ago. Now I go from 3G to 1x to no data and phone signals often are at 1-2 bars and lately, NO bars. The other night, I had no bars, no 3G / no data. Streaming is now impossible on my phone and, worse yet, my phone calls are breaking up and sometimes I miss incoming calls.

I've been with VZW for years and the reception has always pleasant at out sunset area until about a year ago. I'm not sure what is going on but my calls get dropped like 50% of the time when I'm in the basement and I often gets 0 or only 1 bar on the phone. I'm using both HTC incredible and a LG phone and same thing happens to both phones.

I've always been a fan of Verizon, but lately their service has been awful. My wife always wanted an iPhone but I kept telling her that AT&T service was worthless. Boy am I wrong in this case. We both get 1 bar in our apartment, and 3G is slow (300kbps if I'm lucky). Calls are always getting dropped, or not received. It's really frustrating. Our friends with iPhones on AT&T get great reception and really fast 3G service. Those dumb Verizon commercials are starting to irritate me.

Call service is decent but often has audio glitches while talking, overall decent for making and receiving calls. 3G on the other hand is a little subpar. I ofter get 2-3 bars at home but at SFSU it drops to 1X to no service often in that area but mostly inside buildings. I believe it's a phone problem or possibly poor signal strength? Either way, the 3G service is fairly decent in most places, even while riding the bus but I've had times when it's been stuck in 1X and extremely slow downloads.

I live in the inner sunset. Calls never drop but data (3g) Goes from 1x to 3g to nothing 1000 times or more a day. Streaming music from the internet is useless. I would use google voice to send a txt and it would fail for like 3 to 4 attempts (That is very little data). Verizon needs a tower out in the sunset area, like on the top of the De Young Museum.

I get horrible reception in my area. I switched from T-Mobile to Verizon and have regretted it ever since. I have trouble receiving and dialing calls. I drop calls ALL the time. When I called Verizon multiple times, they sent me an ENVY2 replacement phone three times. I'm on my 4th phone and am still having problems. Apparently there aren't enough towers in my area, but there will be in a year! Other people who have Verizon and visit my place also do not have reception, but AT&T phones have full reception and no problems. Service is ridiculous. I've called customer service and was told I would receive a call back; it never happened. Needless to say I am very angry and frustrated with Verizon's service. There's a signal booster that could possibly help that I would have to pay $200 out of pocket for - ridiculous! The company that claims that have the best service should pay for the instrument that would keep them to their contract. They are letting me out of my contract - hallelujah!

Good phone, 3G and satellite location all over Forest Hill. Satellite along Lincoln Ave (at least 5th to 19th) doesn't connect.

I'm an AT&T refugee. Got the Droid on Verizon because I couldn't wait around for iPhone any longer. I and the people I phone have been super happy ever since! Phone calls are crystal clear and no more dropped calls, while not moving at all. I now can move around my place while I'm on the phone without worrying about dropping a call or scratchy call quality. I usually fluctuate between 3-5 bars but 3 is sporadic, not the norm. With AT&T, I was lucky to get any bars unless I stood in one 2 ft area indoors. 3G has been consistent too. The system goes to the slower 1x really late at night but that's when I lose bars too. Not sure what that's all about. The apps aren't as diverse or extensive as Apple's but I don't care because I can receive, place and maintain phone calls at all times. It's supposed to be a phone after all, right?

My phone is practically useless in my Telegraph Hill apartment. Upon the rare occasion when I am able to call out or receive calls, they invariably drop off. Absolutely pathetic coverage by Verizon.

I just gave ATT a zero, but my friends have excellent coverage with verizon. To better help shoppers viewing the ratings, I am also ranking this service as I have experience with it through my co-workers. Verizon is great, no problems.

I have never had a dropped a call in the city. I forgot that dropped calls exist. Verizon is expensive, but man, they have good coverage.

Verizon is great in terms of customer service and reception, but their phones kinda suck. The curve is a great little workhorse, but when will Verizon get the iPhone?

att / cingular didn't work at all, Sprint barely worked, but other than the occasional voice feedback VERIZON has worked without a problem over the last two years

Overall good service, esp compared to my ATT phone. Glad I checked here*before* getting iphone.

I occasionaly lose signal (drop). More often it's the data signal. Voice seems much more robust. Our location is challenging. I'm in the shadow of the radio tower on Twin Peaks. The tower sometimes effects our stereo's radio reception and creates buzz in electronics (feedback).

If I sit on a particular chair and face Mecca, I can talk. If I move, I redial. The service was great when I first switched a few years ago, but it suddenly changed. I've called several times, they're not going to fix it. I'm here hoping to find someone with decent reception so I can switch to their provider. Verizon is worthless up here! Their commercials make me want to hurt someone, liars!

Reception is acceptable. Consistently drops calls when traveling over the hill at Pac Heights. Inside my house is fine.

With this Motorola phone reception has been consistently excellent, with no dropped calls. But with previous phone (Samsung v4010) I had to be on the front room, close to the street facing window, to be able to make and receive calls.

I've spent the last hour researching different carriers and price plans with the intention of switching from my current plan; Verizon's 900 min. $59.99 plan to upgrade to T-Mobile's 1500 minutes for the same price. I think I'm gonna stick to my "if it ain't broke" policy and stay with Verizon. With my Nokia 6215i I can pretty much get reception anywhere in the city and my voicemails never get delayed. I have always had good luck with Nokia phones.

Occ dropped calls, but really fairly good throughout the city, also good at some ski mountains at Lake Tahoe

Coverage is good at my apt at Sutter / Presidio but poor to nonexistent here at work. Numerous lost or delayed voice and text messages since plan inception. Also recently am experiencing rapid battery drain which suggests that signal is weak and phone is searching for it. Would switch back to ATT (am ex-Cingular where coverage and reliability was OK using Nokia phone and no lost messages) but complaints seem to be similar, plus they have hiked their plan costs to match Verizon and only offer two year programs now, at least per their website. Grrr.

Reception is generally extremely variable, but far superior to the Cingular reception I had several years ago before changing to Verizon. Reception indoors is not good even on the top floor of the building, which is near the top of a hill. For some reason it's better at the east end of the building. Also, outdoors in the immediate vicinity, reception can vary significantly simply by changing the position of the phone or walking a few yards in one direction or another. With very few exceptions, however, I can access the network and make and receive calls, although it sometimes requires that I move to another room. Dropped calls are infrequent and typically occur indoors in dead spots I'm familiar with. My building is on the other side of Eureka Valley opposite Sutro Tower where all the transmitters are. As with TV and radio transmissions, and whatever else is traveling on the airwaves around here, I think cell phone signals just bounce around in the heavy traffic mix -- off hills, buildings, and streets -- and often it's just a roll of the dice whether your carrier / phone combo works in your bedroom or your kitchen or on your back deck, or only in your left hand when facing north, or not at all. Use those 30-day trial periods to find out and switch to something else if it's not working.

Reception is generally good. However, my phone was dropping calls about 1 / 5 of the time. Recently, I tried to upgrade the roaming capability, and Verizon wasn't able to do it. They offered me a new phone, and since I'ver received it, it's been fine. So check the roaming upgrade, and complain if you must.

I've had no problems with reception in this area. Also my boyfriend who has ATT has no problems

In the street my reception is pretty good. The problem is when I am in my house... I need to be near an exterior window to get any service. And even tem I get dropped calls around 50% of the time. My roomates with AT&T get good service throughout my house

Drops my calls, calls that do go thru have horrible reception, I can't hear the other person well and they can't hear me - impossible to hold a conversation.

Calls are dropped more often than not. I almost never use my cell to make calls from this location (my home) because I fear the call will be dropped or will cut in and out.

Horrible reception on Jackson between Presidio and Cherry. Can't they figure this out? It's one of the most affluent few blocks in the United States. The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and two US senators, live only a few blocks away. Why won't they put up a tower around here?

I have used Verizon all over the Bay Area. A dropped call is almost unheard of. The only place I know I lose calls is going over the Altamont pass on HWY 580. I lose my call but if I call back immediately, reception is back. It must be a small dead zone.

At work, my signal alternates between full bars and no bars every couple of seconds, and many calls go straight into voicemail. What gives? I also noticed that AT&T gets better reception in underground MUNI / BART stations.

Grrr... seems like the only wireless option out here.

Great reception in general and in South Beach in particular. I live in the center of the 200 Brannan condo complex and get good reception in my condo, not perfect but pretty good.

Flawless call quality all over SF and in East Bay and South Bay. Took a conference call in my car today while driving 60 miles from Concord to Sunnyvale and the phone service was perfect the entire way at 75mph! My sibling has ATT service and his calls with me drop frequently or I can hear him, and he can't hear me. I'm annoyed that Verizon disabled GPS service on the phone and wants to charge another $10 on top of the $65 / mo I pay for unlimited world data roaming, but I guess that's the price to pay for having a phone that actually works in the USA.

I have a Verizon phone for home and a Cingular / ATT phone (Nokia E62) for work. The Verizon phone works much better all over SF, and the Cingular phone is the only phone that will get reception on Stanford campus.

After reading comments from all over USA, I scratch my head and wonder, why is it that we pay such high prices for a service that at best it would appear works average to just plain ole bad? (to say nothing of the problems these devices create) Is this indicative of a larger problem here in America?

No reception at all. People who call me go straight to voicemail. The only good thing about Verizon is full reception inside malls, restaurants and buildings. Had to switch to T-Mobile and altho I finally get reception at home, there is no reception inside of buildings and restaurants! what a headache...

Good reception on Twin Peaks using Verizon. I'm right below the viewing platform, and across the street from the Rooftop elementary school. I generally get pretty good reception almost anywhere in SF. The reception is also really good the whole way down Hwy. 101 from SF to Mountain View

5 bars on the street but two bars indoors with some incoming calls going directly to voicemail and some calls being dropped

great reception Verizon usually work nationwide for me... I travel coast to coast

Coverage is very good anywhere in my apartment. My roomates use Cingular and Sprint and they have no coverage in the apartment unless they are next to a window. Have been with Verizon for 4 years and have had next to no problems with service but choice of phone is not the greatest. If you're looking for a cool / latest phone your options are pretty limited. Guess it's a trade off, nice phone or better coverage. I've used all three major carriers and have noticed one thing, no service is perfect, you'll always find a place where you can't get service or calls start dropping

Dropped call city! They do not have the most reliable network. All they do is try to add customers without building tours at a rapid pace.

No and next-to-no reception in my apartment and around my apartment. Lots of dropped calls.

I usually get six bars reception and an ocasional static or break. I receive and send all my calls except at Tanforan Sears basement and Target Daly City

Absolutely no reception in or around the house. Minimal on Ocean Ave also. Just moved here, and depend on cell phone for work. Might have to switch services.

Been with VERIZON for 5 yrs now. At first I thought it was the phone and so I upgraded and bought a different one. Still Very bad reception. I have to move from room to room in my house in order for my phone to barely work. At times my calls are constantly forwarded to my voice mail without my phone even ringing. I have now been through 4 different phones, upgraded roaming capabilities, spoken to Verizon who assured that Service is good in SAN FRANCISCO, NOT! I am ready to MOVE-ON!

I've been with Verizon for 5 years. My reception at 43rd and Ulloa, even with a new phone (yes optimized for reception), is consistently weak (i.e., horrible). Verizon needs to look at its coverage in this area. I will otherwise move to another carrier.

I find I get excellent call quality almost all the time from anywhere in the house and around it. I occasionally have a problem when a very large truck goes by.

I only get reception in the top floor of my house. And reception throughout the Castro is extremely spotty.

Verizon does not have reception in the Hayes Valley of San Francisco.

Verizon is awful. I have to stand outside my apartment to make calls and even then, most calls are dropped within 10 minutes. I have tried customer service with zero response. Verizon is expensive and now my screen is dying, too. I rarely get so passionate about stuff like this, but have really grown to hate verizon.

Verizon doesn't work well around here. I'm switching to cingular.

Verizon is TERRIBLE. My friend with AT&T / Sprint never has any problems at all in my apartment. I get 0 bars of service.

Great reception with VZW.

Verizon provides excellent coverage from Nob Hill to the Financial District. No dropped calls, no interference. The only place I get a dropped call is on the lower deck of the eastern span of the Bay Bridge.

Although usually 2-3 bars inside, 5 outside, reception always clear and no dropped calls. Have had this phone one year now, and have yet to find a bad reception area in SF, rest of CA, SC, NY or IL (my frequent travel cities); this is a tri-mode phone, and I have also had good luck with it in Hong Kong, KL, and Penang on GSM.

Best service in the city, very few dead zones! As of the date of review, go with Verizon!

Every time I visit my mother, the reception drops like a rock. Once I hit 19th Ave, it seems to get a little better, but the entire Sunset / Parkside district is not a hot spot for Verizon at all.

My Verizon service in this central San Francisco neighborhood is far better than the Cingular GSM service it replaced, but still spotty. Reception inside my single-family home cuts in and out and I drop calls frequently.

I have Verizon for the past 5 years and I love it, I never have any dropped calls, or bad reception, the only downside is that the phones from Verizon are not as cool as T-Mobile.. but hey at least I can make a call from anywhere in town!

My calls drop 75% of the time indoors. sometimes my phone just goes straight to voice mail. I wish Verizon would put up a new tower.

Excellent reception everywhere in the bay area. Consistently full bars. It's too bad verizon's phone and pda-phone selection sucks so bad - the Nokia gsm 9300 sure looks pretty... . The only place I don't get reception--though I've seen others talking on phones there--is in muni and BART stations. Anyone know what provider serves down there?

What the hell are you people talking about. You need to read the instructions that came with your system. It says to call *228 and press 2 to update roaming. They must of put up a million towers around here and you don't know about it, because I get 4-5 bars everywhere I go. I had ATT wich was great but since Cingular ncomined them out there reception sucked. That's why I got Verizon. They were as good or mabye even better than ATT berfore the combined.

But! I am on the 3rd floor, so that might help me more. The reception here is great, never a dropped call, much more clear than Sprint or T-Mobile (my sister had both at one time during the past 12 months).

Very spotty reception here. Phone cuts out so often, it's way too frustrating to use. My roommate has T-mobile, and says it works just fine.

Very strange--on the 12th floor, I get full-scale or nearly full-scale reception, but there's a lot of interference, and sometimes there's no sound at all. No dropped calls, but it's very hard to use.

We went with Verizon because of little complaints. We have little complaints. Perhaps a little more expensive than others, but worth it, I think. Plus the phone looks cool, like 80s robotic action g.

Verizon reception sucks here. Indoors I get 0-1 bar and 50% of my calls drop. Few times I was even roaming in my own house. Outdoors I get 1-2 bars and some cutout but probably only 25% dropped calls. I've used 3 different phones in the past 2 years and all have had the same issue with dropped calls. Friends who come over using T-Mobile do not seem to have these troubles. Verizon does have pretty good coverage throughout the city and no matter where I go (outdoors) I seem to get a strong signal where other carriers might vary. But its all pointless if I spend more time at home than on the go.

Had AT&T (Nokia 6820) with Average reception, but after the Cingular merger, reception dropped to Poor. Dropped calls every day, late text messages, often failed to receive calls. Verizon has been much better at home and around the Peninsula.

Perfect reception all over the Great Hwy. / Ocean Beach area.

Inside my office I have ZERO reception. Out on the street I have 5 bars...

Pretty good signal indoor and outside. The only blind spot I know near by is Cliff House area.

I got 1-2 bars of reception in my home with Nextel. Changing to Verizon has been fabulous, both in my neighborhood as well as throughout San Francisco and surrounding environs. AT&T (TDMA) seemed like next best from feedback from my friends, but amazingly seems to be getting *worse* after the Cingular merger?!?

Verizon at home works anywhere in the house, even in the basement. Usually have great reception all around the city. For some reason, on the corner of Castro and 18th, reception is bad. May be all the power lines above (not knowledgable about powerline effects and cellphones). Also have Blackberry 7280 with AT&T / Cingular for business. Only time it works in the house is if I'm at the front of the house on the top floor. Not sure if it's because it doesn't have 900 MHz GSM only 850 / 1800 / 1900). Drops a lot around the city, especially on Divisadero between Oak and Market and near the Presidio.

Finally, a carrier with coverage in this neighborhood. AT&T was bad. Cingular was non-existent. Verizon has 5 bars all the time. Also 5 bars inside our thick walled office building in SOMA. GSM is cool but what is really cool is receiving calls and being able to make them.

Just switched from AT&T to Verizon. Much better coverage throughout SF and 280 corridor. Almost always have 4-5 bars.

Fat connection here! Sprint is also good.

Very good reception. I had AT&T before and could only get reception in one corner of my house.

I hate to pay the price, but my Verizon reception is really consistent in the Bay Area. I want to move to T-Mobile for the price differential, but these other reviews scare me. I drop in the same places - like under Sutro tower, but can't imagine any phone working well there. Great coverage - high price for the priviledge.

None of our non-Verizon friends get reception here. I was considering switching to AT&T, since I like their phone selection better, but I haven't heard anything good about their coverage / reception. I'll stick with Verizon for now...

Two member of household have ATT Nokia phones; able to use the phone anywhere in the house; upstairs, downstairs or in the garage. I however, must run upstairs, be by a window, or run outside to the sidewalk to carry a conversation. The LG VX4400B will ring, but the party calling cannot hear me. Also driving through the Sunset District of San Francisco, the LG VX4400B is spotty; fading in and out then finally dropping calls. Other than using it around home, the phone seems to works well. When the signal bar shows 3 bars thats the limit for someone to hear me. My work phone Nextel, able to work on 2 bars.