Poor cellular signal in Riverside South - Ottawa

[embersics]

Good Evening,

I live in Riverside South and just switched from Bell mobile to Rogers after staying with the former for over two years.

With Bell I had a very good signal anywhere when at home, basement included - always had at least two or three bars showing on my iPhone 7.

After moving to Rogers, however, I can hardly use my phone at home because signal is either 1 bar or ‘No Service’, even when I’m on the second floor.

I wonder if I should be concerned about it and start considering going back to Bell.

Before going through all that hustle again though I wanted to ask: does anyone know if there's something Rogers can do to fix that?

Thanks,
Andre

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[RogersYasmine]

Hello @embersics!

Thanks for sharing your wireless concerns with the rest of the community, you've reached the right place! 😊

A poor cellular connection can certainly be upsetting, especially if trying to stay in touch with loved ones. First off, I would try rebooting your device to see if this helps refresh the signals. Also, can you tell us if any other Rogers phones have issues with connecting to the network? What services are you having the most trouble with? (making/receiving calls, sending/receiving texts, accessing mobile data, or all of the above).

One thing you can do is check the wireless coverage and live status of the network using 'MyNetwork' through your MyRogers app. Here's how:

1. Log in to your MyRogers app.

2. Select Support located at the bottom navigation bar.

3. Select MyNetwork. The interactive coverage and status map is displayed.

4. To check for a specific address:
-If GPS is enabled on the device, the map will automatically geolocate to your location.
-If GPS is not enabled, or you need to check a different address, click the Magnifying Glass icon (top left) to type in an address in the search bar & click search. The searched address will appear on the map.

5. Click Check Status (bottom left) to check the live status of the network for that location (including planned or unplanned outages or other known factors affecting signal quality or coverage).

You will get a green or amber status message as follows:

• Green: Our wireless network appears to be working normally in your area. If you’re experiencing a unique issue, please let us know. (Note: You can select Report an Issue from the bottom of the status pop-up).
• Amber: We’re working quickly to resolve a Wireless network issue in your area. You may be experiencing problems using your data or voice services, or sending/receiving messages.

If the searched address will have a new cell tower coming to the area in the next 30 to 60 days, the status will be as follows:

• Green: Our wireless network appears to be working normally in your area. If you have a unique issue, please let us know. We believe in providing a network experience that empowers you to make more possible and are investing in your area to deliver that experience.
• Amber: We’re working quickly to resolve a Wireless network issue in your area. We believe in providing a network experience that empowers you to make more possible and are investing in your area to deliver that experience.

6. If there is a known problem, you have the option of being notified when the issue is resolved. Click Notify when resolved.

7. Enter your phone number or email address.
Click Submit. The app will confirm that the notification was registered.

I hope this is helpful! 

RogersLaura

[embersics]

Hello, Laura,

Thank you for your quick reply.

I have tried rebooting the cell phone but that didn't help. I have two lines with the same problem, both with signal bars alternating between one bar and 'no service', constantly.

We have trouble with everything, i.e., making/receiving calls, sending/receiving texts, accessing mobile data (it was impossible for me to login on the app by receiving the SMS text from Rogers, the message only came minutes later) even when we are on the second floor of the house or outside, in front of the house.

I used the app to run the test of the network and the result was green (Our wireless network appears to be working normally in your area. If you’re experiencing a unique issue, please let us know. (Note: You can select Report an Issue from the bottom of the status pop-up).

Could you please advise on what the next steps are?

Thanks a lot,

Andre

[RogersZia]

Hi @embersics,

Thank you for sharing the troubleshooting steps you've tried so far. Have you tried to reset the network settings to see if it may help with the cell service?

You may need to reach out to our wireless technical support team if the issues persists. You can contact them 24/7 at 1-855-381-7835.

RogersZia

[embersics]

Hi Zia,

Resetting was my first attempt, even before posting my issue in the forum. I don't think calling Rogers will solve the issue either, there's nothing they can do unless they have a tower they can install in my area.
Funny enough, Rogers claims in their website they have the best coverage across Canada - apparently, they forgot to include Riverside South which is bad for Rogers since this is an area that has grown exponentially in the last years. Too bad for me too because now I have to go through the trouble of finding another carrier for my two lines.

Cheers,
Andre

[Datalink]

@embersics have a look at the following site which shows the cell phone towers across Canada.  Drill down into the Ottawa area, specifically your location, to see where the nearest Rogers towers are.  That might explain the poor reception.  

http://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html

Looks like Riverside South is a no man's land for Rogers towers.  Their located to the north and west of Riverside South.  Telus has towers in the local area.

Here's a second map.  

https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/cell-tower-map-canada/

Use the following coordinates for the location entry and zoom into the teardrop icon, into Riverside South.  

Latitude:  45.281650

Longitude:  -75.682755

Move the icon to your location and then click on the nearest towers, one at a time to bring up the tower data in a separate popup.  That will show the tower elevation, location and Service Provider details on separate tabs within the popup display.

[testing3324325]

Any update on when Rogers will build a cell tower to cover the South East portion of Riverside South in Ottawa? We're looking at making a house purchase there and no one can get a signal from Rogers in that area.

[RogersTony]

Hello, @testing3324325

Welcome to the Rogers Community Forums and congratulations on your first post. 🙂

I can understand how important it is to have a strong cellular signal near your home. Have you reported the poor signal in that area using the MyNetwork tool in the MyRogers app? Our wireless network operations team monitors these reports to find coverage gaps in our network and resolve them. You can find out more about this feature by clicking here: www.rogers.com/consumer/wireless/my-network.

If you purchased your device from Rogers you may be able to benefit from Wi-Fi calling which is a great feature for when you have a poor cellular signal. Learn more about Wi-Fi Calling by clicking here: https://roge.rs/2ZLPr90.

I hope this helps!

RogersTony