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iPhone Text Effects: Tips and Tricks
March 18, 2025
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California is blessed by mountains, beaches, desert, and generally good cell phone coverage. Verizon offers the most 4G LTE cell phone coverage throughout the state, with 57% of its 163,693 square miles covered by its network. T-Mobile, meanwhile, offers the most 5G coverage with 42% of the state covered.
Whether you live in one of California’s major metropolitan areas—Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, or the Bay Area—or in a rural region, we’ll help you figure out which cell phone carrier offers the best coverage in your area.
Table of contents
What We Like
- All of California’s metro areas (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco) are well covered by major carrier 4G and 5G networks
- Verizon offers the most 4G LTE coverage in California
- T-Mobile offers the most 5G coverage in the state
What We Don't Like
- 5G coverage may be spotty in the northernmost areas of the state
- Certain zones along the Nevada border lack 5G coverage
If you live in California, going with Verizon is a wise move indeed. The nation’s largest carrier offers the most 4G coverage throughout the state, while its 5G network is growing rapidly, and is currently present in most of the towns and cities along the coast.
Verizon 4G Coverage in California
By zooming in to the map below, you can see just how formidable Verizon’s 4G coverage is throughout California. Other than some dead zones in Death Valley and just south of the Oregon border, Verizon’s 4G network is present just about everywhere.
Verizon 5G Coverage in California
Verizon’s 5G network covers 17% of California, and some of this includes Verizon’s super-fast 5G Ultra-Wideband. While 17% may not sound like a lot, a quick look at the map shows that most of the state’s populated regions are covered by the network. If you live in the greater Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, Bakersfield, Sacramento, or Riverside areas, you should be able to connect to Verizon 5G.
Like Verizon, AT&T offers excellent 4G LTE coverage throughout California. What’s more, the carrier’s fast-growing 5G network covers 25% of the state, behind 5G coverage leader T-Mobile.
AT&T 4G Coverage in California
AT&T’s offers an impressive amount of 4G coverage in California, with 54% of the state’s overall area covered. Other than one dead zone near the Nevada border, AT&T’s 4G network is present in most places.
AT&T 5G Coverage in California
T-Mobile gets most of the press for its 5G network (deservedly so), but AT&T is not far behind—especially in California. AT&T’s 5G network covers 25% of the state, trailing only T-Mobile for 5G dominance. Much of this 5G coverage includes AT&T’s enhanced 5G+ spectrum, which offers lightning-fast speeds and low latency.
While T-Mobile trails Verizon and AT&T in terms of 4G coverage in California, the carrier beats both of them in terms of 5G network coverage. T-Mobile’s 5G network covers 42% of California—and it's still growing as the carrier builds more towers.
T-Mobile 4G Coverage in California
T-Mobile’s 4G network covers 46% of the state, trailing the likes of Verizon and AT&T. Still, most of the state’s populated areas enjoy excellent 4G coverage from T-Mobile.
T-Mobile 5G Coverage in California
T-Mobile has leaned heavily into 5G, aggressively building its network out throughout California and beyond. Other than some dead zones along the Nevada border and the northeastern corner of the state, T-Mobile’s 5G is present in most areas. A good portion of T-Mobile’s network is made up of its enhanced 5G Ultra Capacity spectrum, which offers enhanced speeds.
When it comes to cell phone plans, your choices aren’t limited to Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile—there’s a whole universe of smaller carriers, or MVNOs, that also offer a range of plans. All of these carriers lease from the aforementioned major carrier networks to provide coverage to their customers. That means if you’re signed up with Spectrum Mobile, for example, you’ll have access to Verizon coverage, since the carrier runs on that network. Here some popular MVNOs, and the networks they operate on:
Boost Mobile
Metro by T-Mobile
Networks they use
Metro by T-Mobile
Networks they use
Optimum Mobile
Spectrum Mobile
Cox Mobile
Straight Talk
Networks they use
Cricket
Networks they use
Visible
Networks they use
Google Fi
Networks they use
Xfinity Mobile
Mint Mobile
Things to Know about Cell Phone Coverage
Cell Phone Coverage Speeds
When it comes to cell phone coverage, you don’t just need a cellular signal—you need that signal to provide adequate speed. That’s why it’s important to distinguish between 4G and 5G coverage in your area. In general, 5G provides faster speeds and greater reliability than 4G. However, that’s not always the case, as there may be instances when the speeds of these respective coverage types are actually quite similar.
How to Get the Best Cell Phone Coverage
There’s more to getting the best coverage than just signing up with the carrier that offers reliable service in the places you spend time. These include:
- Your phone: The newer and more cutting edge your device, the more likely you’ll be able to tap into the fastest speeds. Some older phones don’t have the built-in technology to connect to the fastest 5G bands, resulting in slower service. The newest 5G devices, like the Apple iPhone 16 or Samsung Galaxy S24 series don’t have this problem.
- Your software: It’s important to make sure your software is up to date, as an out-of-date operating system can translate to an inability to connect to the fastest network speeds.
- Your cell phone plan: Depending on the mobile plan you have, your data may experience deprioritization during times of network congestion. If this is consistently happening to you, it may be worth investigating whether you can sign up for a plan that includes more premium (i.e. un-deprioritized) data.
- Your location: Certain types of coverage, like high-band 5G, has difficulty penetrating solid materials, like concrete walls. As simple as it may sound, moving to an unobstructed location may help you connect to these fast networks more reliably.
Our methodology
We sourced our cell phone coverage metrics from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which collects data voluntarily submitted by the four major national carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, UScellular). Read More
The FCC incorporates standardized propagation model assumptions into its data, and notes that a user’s actual experience may vary based on end-use factors like network congestion and terrain. Read Less
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which carrier offers the best coverage in California?
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Verizon offers the best 4G coverage in California, while T-Mobile offers the best 5G coverage.
How do I determine the best cell service in my area?
To determine the best cell phone service in your area, we recommend taking a look at our 4G and 5G coverage maps and zooming in to inspect your local area.
Which carrier offers better coverage, T-Mobile or Verizon?
Verizon offers better overall 4G coverage throughout the country and California. T-Mobile, on the other hand, has a more wide-reaching 5G network.
Learn More Network Coverage Maps
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