Paul writes in to ask:
My wife and I are buying our first house. We’re planning on camping at Upper Pines on the Friday August 10th. Will I be able receive and make phone calls on my cell phone while in Yosemite?
Well Paul that’s a tricky question and not to sound ambiguous but it’s a definite maybe. I have a Motorola Razr and most of the time while I’m in the Valley I have no signal. My wife, on the other hand, has the cheapy, free phone from the same carrier and she usually has 1-2 bars. Obviously the guy in the photo below has signal and he appears to be in the apple orchard at Curry Village so you might try there if you need to make a call.
On 120 we usually lose signal just after Big Oak Flat and then it’s hit and miss the rest of the way in. On 140 we get signal every time we crest a hill but then it falls off until Mariposa. From Mariposa on into the Valley we normally have no signal. On 41 I have signal in Oakhurst but nothing all the way into the Valley.
On 120 headed east over Tioga Pass I usually have signal at Crane Flat and then it’s spotty until about White Wolf where it disappears all together until Tuolumne Meadows. After Tuolumne Meadows I have no signal until I start descending the pass.
I’m sure this will vary for everyone depending on the weather, their carrier, the strength of their phones antenna and exactly where they are.
Good luck with the house. Have a great trip.
Photo by neli3e22 via Photobucket.
Comments
6 responses to “Will My Cell Phone Work in Yosemite?”
FYI: Verizon doesn’t work in the valley at all. I can get very good coverage with Cingular, now AT&T.
Edie
T mobile doesnt work in the valley. It hardly works anywhere in the united states either.
We have verizon and were in Yosemite Valley last August and we were able to get good reception. Our fellow camper who had cingular was not.
on our recent trip there I had great coverage on my Razr (At&T) everywhere except coming up near Wawona. My husband however only had coverage on Glacier Point on his Treo (with Sprint)
You need to have analog mode on your phones. Most new cell phones are digital and will not work. I believe the tri mode phones work but are still spotty at times. I have verizon with analog on a phone and it works pretty good up in TM
Do they even still make analog cell phones? We were told upgrade or they’d quit working and we’d be left without service. Our old Nokia’s got great service all over the park.