signalnoise

Looking for cell phone advice:

I have recently changed cell phone carriers. Before this, I had Sprint. I actually had Sprint for YEARS, and never had a problem with it. We moved to Montana, and it turns out - there are no Sprint carriers out here. We had a year on the contract, so we kept the service - and got really solid reception. Sprint users were allowed to bounce off a local tower (ether Verizon or alltel - the only options in my neck of the woods), so I wasn't paying roaming fees either.

Our contract was up this summer, so we switched to Verizon and got fancy new smartphones. But our reception is terrrrrrrrrible. I only get two bars at home. (I checked online before purchasing, and where my house is located IS covered. So this lack of quality coverage in mi casa is a bit of a surprise.) I get four bars on campus, but even there - people sound scratchy and weird. My old Sprint phone may as well have been a landline. My current situation is about a step up from a tin can and a string.

So, um, is there anything one can do about this? Is it likely it's an issue with my particular phone? Is this a smartphone issue? Do I just have to suck this up until I get better coverage in my area? Or does Verizon just blow ass? Advise me random internet people!