Coverage dead zone in downtown Yellowknife

[CheeseGrater52]

Long-term Bell Mobility customer here, currently using iPhone 11 Pro, and experiencing a persistent coverage "dead zone" in one particular location (only) in downtown Yellowknife.  Unfortunately, this happens to be a location where I spend 8 hours per day so it is rather inconvenient and annoying.

I work on the 3rd floor of a 7-storey building.  I frequently have extremely slow or no data connectivity when I am inside this building, on its north side, on any floor above the ground floor.  I also experience intermittent connectivity trouble to make and receive calls here, and when I am on a call the other person often tells me that I sound broken up.  I can provide screenshots showing my location, device indicating 3-4 full bars of coverage with LTE connection, but "Check your internet connection" error messages.

The Bell coverage map for this location shows: Available coverage: LTE Advanced (LTE-A), LTE, HSPA+ and LTE-M.

I have read other posts here about similar issues elsewhere, and followed the troubleshooting steps suggested in those threads, with no improvement.  Pre-emptively:

Do keep in mind that many factors can limit signal strength; topography, environmental conditions, line of sight to towers, types of buildings in your area, etc. 

• Have you tried changing the network settings in your phone?  Yes - see question 3.
• Do you know of anyone else with Bell in the area having similar issues?  Yes.  A family member's Bell phone has similar experience, also at this location only.
• What troubleshooting steps have you done so far?  I have: Rebooted my phone.  Toggled Airplane mode ON/OFF.  Toggled cellular data OFF/ON.  Verified network selection is Automatic.  Verified that I have not reached any data limits of my plan.  Verified that my phone OS is up-to-date (iOS 16.6.1).  Note: I have Wi-Fi Calling switched OFF and I do not have access to Wi-Fi at this location.
• Have you gotten in touch with our technical support team to open a ticket? No.

Leaving the building resolves the issue, and I don't experience this trouble anywhere else in the city.  It has been like this for years and I hope Bell can do something to increase their network strength at this particular location.  Happy to provide more detail if someone from Bell contacts me.

[BellAntgio · Accepted solution]

Hey there @CheeseGrater52 , 

Welcome to the Community and great post.

We appreciate all of the details in your post and attempted troubleshooting. However, the issues being limited to the one building and is resolved the moment you walk out, makes it sound like the building materials are affecting the signal.

We will be happy to look into it and have sent you a private message.

Please check your Messages within your profile avatar in the top right corner.

Unsure how to check or send a private message? See How to send a private message

[ArcticBerry80]

I believe i know which building you are referring to as I along with many other Bell customers working in this building are experiencing the same issue. This is now a safety issue as my son was trying to contact me as i'm his emergency contact and i didn't get any missed calls for over an hour! 

[CheeseGrater52]

To close my loop, I was promptly contacted by a Bell rep via DM after making my post here in Sept 2023, and issued a ticket number.

I chased it a couple months later, in Nov 2023, checking the online ticket status page, and following-up to the DM, but no response.  I informed Bell that my problem was ongoing and that I’d give until the new year and then consider taking my business elsewhere.

[BellAntgio]

Hey there @ArcticBerry80 ,

Welcome to the Community and thanks for your post.

As mentioned above, the issues being limited to the one building and is resolved the moment you walk out, makes it sound like the building materials are affecting the signal.

We will be happy to look into it and have sent you a private message.

Please check your Messages within your profile avatar in the top right corner.

Unsure how to check or send a private message? See How to send a private message

[BOSS_]

I realize that Bell is always upgrading our services in the Yellowknife area, yet in the past couple months our signal strength throughout our capital city has been “extremely poor”. It has gotten so bad that at my residence I no longer can use cellular to communicate and must use my wifi signal. My signal strength is maybe one bar if I’m lucky.   If you are wondering if my settings are accurate on my iPhone, yes, I had them checked at the local Bell store.