[ID.4intheBurg]

We took our ID.4 on a 3.5 hour roadtrip this week. About 2.5 hours into the trip I noticed that the 4G bars and symbol switched to a globe outline (was driving, so no photo), then the globe also went away completely. While we drove through some remote areas, we ended up at a major tourist area, so not off the grid or anything. Cell service worked fine.
The 4G (and Car Net) remained gone for the rest of our trip. We got home yesterday and I was prepared to call the dealership this morning but now the 4G is back on and Car Net is working again.
Coincidence? Or are there dead spots in the network that could explain this/we should anticipate?

 

[ID Rather Drive Electric]

The car uses the Verizon network. We have found that our T-Mobile phones sometimes have better coverage in places that we go, but generally Verizon has better coverage across the country. There are however dead spots in rural areas where you won’t get any cell coverage.

 

[ericy]

Yeah, in rural and/or mountainous areas there are definitely dead zones. The locations vary depending on the carrier. There are dead zones when we travel west heading back to DC, and it sometimes seems like the entire state of West Virginia is a dead zone.

To me this is one of the flaws with using Google/Apple for maps. Having something builtin gives you navigation capability that isn't tied to cell signal.

 

[MikeQBF]

Verizon, huh? You bet they have dead spots. We had to switch to Cricket/AT&T because our regular 300-mile drive to our weekend cabin through western Illinois had essentially no in-network coverage, and no data coverage when we were on the "extended" network, which was 90% of the trip. Same problem on cross-country trips through deep rural Midwest areas away from interstates. Verizon's advertised 4G coverage map is laughable, at least in our real-world experience.

We keep DeLorme map books in the car. We shun-pike a lot and learned we can't depend on the online maps being there when we need them.

 

[SunWizard]

To me this is one of the flaws with using Google/Apple for maps. Having something builtin gives you navigation capability that isn't tied to cell signal.

With google maps I avoid that problem by choosing the 'Download for offline use' button that appears once you have a route's directions shown. Then its not tied to cell signal anymore.

 

[ericy]

With google maps I avoid that problem by choosing the 'Download for offline use' button that appears once you have a route's directions shown. Then its not tied to cell signal anymore.

Yeah, you can do that, but that's an extra step you need to remember to take while you are still in a region with good cell coverage. And the maps do expire from time to time.

 

[Don]

There are dead zones when we travel west heading back to DC, and it sometimes seems like the entire state of West Virginia is a dead zone.

Well, West Virginia is in the heart of the United States National Radio Quiet Zone which is near the Green Bank Telescope - I know for a fact that you're not gonna get a cell signal (or much of anything else) anywhere near that telescope. Our CBX Club used to go there every year to ride fast motorcycles on the wonderful twisty mountain roads in that area. There never will be any cel towers erected anywhere near that telescope, so it's just a huge dead zone

Green Bank Telescope - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Don