Cell Phone Coverage In Oakland
All three major networks are expected to offer good cell coverage in Oakland. Check coverage at your location with the map below.
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4G LTE & 5G Coverage In Oakland
The table below shows the proportion of Oakland with coverage from different cellular technologies.| Network | 4G Coverage | 5G Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T | 100% | 99% |
| T-Mobile | 97% | 90% |
| Verizon | 100% | 97% |
| Dish | 0% | 74% |
Don't be alarmed by Dish's lack of 4G coverage in Oakland. Dish has a newly-built network that's 5G-only.
US Cellular And Dish Roaming Coverage
US Cellular does not have native coverage in Oakland. However, some US Cellular subscribers may still have coverage in Oakland thanks to roaming agreements.
The 74% figure for Dish may understate what subscribers in Oakland experience after accounting for roaming agreements.
Millimeter Wave 5G
Parts of Oakland have millimeter wave 5G coverage. This novel celluar technology offers extremely fast speeds, but the coverage potential is limited. Millimeter waves aren't well-suited for traveling long distances.
| Network | Millimeter Wave |
|---|---|
| Verizon | ? |
| AT&T | ✓ |
| T-Mobile | ? |
Millimeter wave coverage in Oakland is likely sparse (mostly limited to dense, outdoor areas like popular parks or sports stadiums).
Oakland Cell Signal Strength
There are 1,371 map hexes within the census-defined boundaries of Oakland. The table below shows the proportion of hexes at various levels of signal strength. Where both 4G and 5G coverage is available, data is drawn from whichever technology offers a stronger signal.
| Network | Strong | Decent | Weak | None |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T | 14% | 67% | 18% | 0% |
| T-Mobile | 52% | 35% | 11% | 2% |
| Verizon | 48% | 48% | 3% | 0% |
| Dish | 1% | 53% | 20% | 26% |
For most purposes, decent signals are perfectly sufficient. Weak or non-existent signals cause far greater degradation in user experience.
Due to data-reliability concerns, 51 hexes in Oakland that fall in bodies water, along rivers, or near shorelines are excluded from the table above.
Crowdsourced Coverage Data In Oakland
Coverage Critic has 48,307 crowdsourced data points from 678 map hexes within the boundaries of Oakland. Data is available for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
| Network | Unique Hexes | Total Observations |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T | 561 | 22,154 |
| T-Mobile | 501 | 19,544 |
| Verizon | 341 | 6,488 |
Click here to toggle to the map's crowdsourced data layer.
California State-Wide Coverage Scores
| Network | Coverage Score |
|---|---|
| Verizon | 8.8 / 10 |
| AT&T | 8.6 / 10 |
| T-Mobile | 8.2 / 10 |
Data Sourcing
Coverage maps draw on data from the FCC's Broadband Data Collection and Coverage Critic's crowdsourcing.
The coverage information for Oakland is rated as medium-high confidence. Documentation is available elsewhere covering limitations of Coverage Critic's approach.
Last updated: February 26, 2025