Understanding Cell Phone Signal Boosters: A Comprehensive Guide
Aug 17, 2021
Solve your signal and reception issues with a cell phone signal booster.
In this guide, we will share the essential information that you need to know about cell phone signal boosters, so you can take advantage of their tremendous power. According to a recent Pew survey, more than 30% of Americans experience multiple dropped calls during the week. It is a major issue for business owners and self-employed individuals, who rely on cell service for their business. With a quality cell phone signal booster, you can expand your current network coverage so that it fills an entire home, office building, or commercial space.
What is a Cell Phone Signal Booster?
Designed to amplify an existing cell signal, a signal booster (or "repeater") solves the problem of obstructive building materials and geographical elements, as well as weak service. Often, the first two issues can have a dramatic effect on the cellular signal.
Typically, a cell phone signal booster has three main parts: an outdoor antenna, a signal amplifier, and an indoor antenna. The outdoor antenna captures the existing cell signal, sends it to the signal amplifier, and then broadcasts the stronger signal with the indoor antenna. This process can also be reversed, if you want to broadcast a signal towards a cell tower.
What are the Most Common Causes of Weak Cell Service?
Let us look at a few of the most common reception issues, so that you can determine if a cell phone signal booster is necessary for your business or residence:
- Too Far from the Cell Tower: Most cell phone carriers are built with a network of carefully positioned towers, but the arrangement can be far from perfect. In most cases, your mobile device will connect to the closest tower, so that you experience the best possible reception in that location. However, as you reach the boundary of a particular tower, you are likely to experience weak and unreliable signal, especially if there are no other towers in the area. If your home or business is located in this type "dead zone", it will be difficult to maintain a cell connection, and your calls will drop on a regular basis.
- Geographical Obstructions: Cell coverage can also be blocked by natural barriers, including mountains, trees, and rolling hills. If the topography in your area is wild and dense, it can cause significant signal issues. In many cases, geographical obstructions can be exacerbated by a user's proximity to the nearest cell tower, making a signal even weaker and more unreliable.
- Building Materials: Many dense materials such as concrete or metal will likely interfere with the cell signal. This is also true for energy-efficient materials like window tinting and radiant barrier insulation. Luckily, a cell phone signal booster can maximize the outdoor cell reception, so as to help mitigate the effect of these materials and create a strong signal indoors.
Which Cell Phone Signal Booster is Right for Me?
To choose the best cell phone signal booster for your needs, it is important to consider these three key details:
- Your Cell Carrier and Network: First, determine your cell carrier (i.e. Verizon, Sprint) and the network that your carrier supports (i.e. 3G, 4G LTE). Some 3G cell phone signal boosters only work with a limited frequency range, so they won't work with some cell carriers and networks. You may also want to test which carrier performs the best in your area to ensure that you are getting the most out of your current service. Knowing your cell coverage will help you narrow down your signal booster options. For example, if your coverage supports multiple carriers, you will need to invest in an omnidirectional antenna.
- Your Desired Coverage: Next, consider where you would like the cell signal to reach. If there is an isolated room in the house or part of your office building that needs improved coverage, you should map these spaces out it in detail in as part of your cell phone signal booster shopping preparations. This will help you select a signal amplifier that covers the desired target areas. Meanwhile, the inside antenna should be compatible with your home or office layout.
- Your Current Signal Strength: Finally, you should always perform a building survey to test the outside signal strength in your area in order to determine which signal amplifier is the best investment for your particular needs.
Our experts want to help you find the perfect cell phone signal booster for your needs. Try our risk-free signal boosters today, with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
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6 comments
Good tips here, even though we’re in an era where 5G is becoming more and more common. The common reasons for weak cell service still ring true (pun intended) as do the suggestions on which booster is right for you.
Where can I get information on how to boost my signal for free? You can go online and find the best ways how to boost cell phone signal strength for free, but there are some good blogs here. This site isn’t just about articles concerning cell phone signal boosters for home or cell phone boosters for car. There’s general information on boosting your cell phone signal as well as your Wi-Fi signal. The cell phone article is at: https://www.signalbooster.com/blogs/news/10-ways-to-improve-cell-phone-reception-without-signal-booster while the Wi-Fi article is at: https://www.signalbooster.com/blogs/news/10-easy-ways-to-improve-your-wi-fi-signal. Lots of good things for anyone interested in improving their cell phone signal and/or Wi-Fi signal.
Here’s something I want to understand, why should I pay for a new cell phone booster for my home? Aren’t there different ways you can boost your cell phone signal strength for free? Those are the things I want to try first before I waste my money on the latest gizmo from Best Buy or wherever. Where can I get information on how to boost my signal for free?
“Any idea on whether they actually work?” Looking at the number of positive reviews for different types of cell phone boosters (such as home, office, and vehicle), I’d say they work and they work well. The idea is to boost a weak signal so you get a strong one, eliminating dropped calls, slow data downloads, and lousy voice reception. This is the same case with using boosters in rural areas. As long as you get a cell phone signal, a booster will help. They take the poor signals (whether they’re caused by being in the country far away from a tower and/or due to terrain interfering with you getting the signal).
Someone answer these questions please. 1. Do cell phone antenna boosters really work? 2. Do cell phone boosters work in rural areas? Rural areas are where I have the most troubles when it comes to staying on the line without dropped calls or poor voice quality. If these boosters work, they might be worth buying. Any idea on whether they actually work?
I’ve heard about cell phone boosters, but this is the first time I’ve seen a detailed explanation of things like the term “cell phone repeaters” (I always wondered if they were different than cell phone boosters, now I know they are the same thing) and an explanation of the problem with the location of cell phone towers. I can’t understand how any cell phone carrier would limit the number of towers. The idea of dead zones in populated areas makes no sense to me. Is there a cell phone signal booster that works? Yes. However, it sounds like you need to look into things before you buy one so you don’t waste your money.