What is the Easy Way of the Cell Phone Signal Booster Installation

For cell phone signal booster installation, you need to find the best outside signal, install indoor and outdoor antennas, connect the antennas to the amplifier by coaxial cables and check if you have a robust signal.

A cell phone signal booster is manufactured so that it works to amplify your 3G and 4G LTE signals. The boosted signals improve your cell reception, eliminate dropped calls, unmissed messages, and slow data connections. Proper cell phone signal booster installation ensures you get robust cell signal coverage in your building, office, or vehicle. Conversely, poor cell phone signal Booster installation will adversely affect your signal coverage area and uplink power. Today we discuss how to cell phone booster installation.

Installing any cell phone signal booster, including a homemade cell phone signal booster, is not difficult. As you will see from this article, you don’t have to be a professional cellular signal booster installer to get the task done. However, if you don’t buy the idea of installing a signal booster yourself, you can look for a professional installer. Sometimes the seller of the booster can offer to install the booster for you as after-sale services.

The installation process consists of several simple steps, as you will see. If you decide to install the booster for yourself, you will require the following tools; a Phillips-head screwdriver, a ladder, your smartphone, and an adjustable wrench. Let’s dig in at how to install various signal boosters.

How to Set Up a Cell phone signal booster Installation at home/office

While a home/office signal booster installation is a multi-stage process, each of these steps is straightforward on its own. The booster manual offers an excellent starting point for your installation, but this article will aid you with a step-by-step breakdown of the process of how to install network booster in home.

cell phone booster installation

Step 1: Find the Best outside Signal

It is prudent to understand how an internet booster works before starting installation. The internet booster’s primary work is to enhance the weak RF signal in an area. The outside signal strength from the outdoor antenna directly influences the efficiency of indoor coverage.

Locating the part of your home with a somehow strong signal is the essential step of the installation process. You can do this by walking around your home and using the number of bars on your smartphone (suitable method), smartphone apps (better method), or Field Test Mode (best method).

Step 2: Install Outside Antenna

Wall mount or pole mount are two types of outdoor antenna installation. You should install the antenna as high as possible on the roof of your house. This will improve the outdoor antenna’s line of sight with the nearest cell phone tower. The antenna must be on or near the edge of your roof. A directional antenna, such as a Yagi antenna, must point away from the house toward the nearest cell tower.

If installing the antenna on the roof is impossible, you can mount the antenna on a wall, in the attic, or near a window facing the nearest cell tower. It is worth noting that the wall, attic, and window can block the antenna’s signal. Thus, the signal amplifier will be receiving a minimal signal, which can shrink the coverage area.

Step 3: Connect the Outdoor Antenna to the Amplifier

After installing the outside antenna, connect the coaxial cable (included in your booster kit) to the antenna and run it inside your house. You can be done in multiple ways:

  • Running the cable through a vent
  • Drilling a hole into your house
  • Next, your satellite TV antenna cable and running the coax cable alongside it
  • Employ a flat window entry cable and pass it below the window

Once the cable is inside your house, connect it to the cell phone signal amplifier.

Note: It is advisable to have a drip loop in your coaxial cable before entering the house to have water drip off and stop it from entering your house.

Step 4: Install the inside antenna

Find out where you are experiencing connectivity issues in your house, and place the indoor antenna there. Note that signal booster kits can consist of three types of indoor antennas:

  • Dome Antenna is ceiling mounted and will broadcast a signal in 3600.
  • Panel Antenna is wall-mounted; however, it can also be ceiling mounted facing down. They distribute a signal in 450 to 700, implying the signal will be robust in the areas near it.
  • Desktop Antenna can be placed on any flat surface.

Ensure at least twenty feet vertical or fifty feet horizontal distance between the outdoor and indoor antennas to prevent oscillation, resulting in your cell signal booster automatically shutting down.

After placing the indoor antenna where you need a better and improved signal, connect the coaxial cable (that is included in the package box) to the indoor antenna and the signal amplifier. 

Step 5: Power on the amplifier

Power the amplifier by plugging it into the power supply. You should never plug the amplifier into the power supply before checking that the antennas and cable are connected! Doing so may cause damage to the amplifier.

The signal amplifier will sync up, and if you notice all green lights, that marks the end of dropped calls, unsent messages, and slow data speeds. Find out near the indoor antenna how much-boosted signal you’re getting at your phone.

Any post-installation adjustments will need rebooting the amplifier. Unplug the power supply for seconds and plug it back in to reboot the system. The process is much similar to that of resetting your Wi-Fi router.

If your cell signal at ground level is only 1-2 bars after installation, it may be that your outside antenna is too low, and you are required to locate it in a higher place (such as the roof). It is recommended that the outside antenna be positioned three to five meters above the ground. Follow the above procedure to install one of the best cell phone signal boosters for rural areas.

How to install a vehicle Signal Booster

To install a vehicle signal booster does not require ant tools as the process is quick and straightforward.

Step 1: Install the signal Amplifier

You can place the signal amplifier anywhere in the vehicle so long as it is adequately ventilated. You can place the amplifier under or mount it to a seat.

Step 2: Install the Outside Antenna

Most car boosters have a magnetic mount antenna, making them extremely straightforward to set up on a vehicle. Mount the outside antenna on the roof of your vehicle, and voila. The antenna should be at least 6’’ away from any vehicle windows and at least one foot away from any other antennas on your vehicle’s roof for ideal performance. Run the cable under a door’s weather seal and connect it to the signal amplifier.

Some vehicles are made of non-magnetic metals like aluminum, and the outside antenna will not magnetically attach to the non-magnetic roof. You will require to use a sticker to attach the external antenna.

Step 3: Install the Inside Antenna

Nowadays, low-profile antennas are the most common in-vehicle antennas. They can be attached vertically or horizontally to the vehicle dashboard or a seat. On the other hand, Cradle antennas are installed on your vehicle’s air vent.

Notwithstanding which inside antenna your signal booster uses, you must install it at least 8” away from any individual. After installing the antenna, connect the indoor antenna’s cable to the signal amplifier.

Step 4: Power on the amplifier

Connect the DC power supply to the signal booster and the auxiliary power outlet to finalize the vehicle booster’s installation. The booster will take a few seconds to configure itself. Once it’s through, if all the lights are green, you’re now away from poor cell reception.

How to connect to signal booster?

Depending on your signal booster, you may have to do a few things to connect it to your current router. If you own a WiFi router, you need to ensure that it has a WAN port. This is the port you’ll use to connect the booster. Another something you will have to do is change the settings on your current router. Moreover, The signal booster will tell your router to send all data through the central hub. This means all your devices will use the signal booster’s connection.

If you wish to ensure your gadgets connect to the booster, you can change your devices’ settings. There’s usually a menu option for this. Once your devices are connected to the booster, you can change their settings to connect to your regular network.

How Does a Cell Phone Signal Booster Works?

Boosters usually work by amplifying the signal from a nearby tower or streetlight. The signal travels inside a box and is amplified before hitting your device. The best boosters use a directional antenna that only sends a signal in one direction. This helps them focus on the signal so they can amplify it.

Some boosters work on the same principles as more advanced repeaters. This is a more powerful version of a repeater that works while you’re asleep to keep your phone working at full strength. It uses the same principles as a booster but is more efficient.

Besides, getting a cell phone signal booster doesn’t change the type of phone you have. It only works with your phone and cell phone carrier. It is unnecessary to have the newest phone model to get a reliable signal. Even older phones and models can receive a strong signal with the help of a booster.

Bottom line

As you can see from the article, cell phone signal booster installation is a multi-step process that is fast and quick. You can decide to install your booster by yourself, and if you don’t like the idea, you can go for a professional installer.

The booster kit manual can be an excellent guide to start, but you will have to read through it intensively. Follow the easy steps discussed in the article, and you will install your home or vehicle booster in a short time.

Paula Beaton

Paula Beaton