Over the recent years, cell phone possession has increased significantly, to the point where over 95% of the American population has cell phone coverage. However, this doesn’t imply that reception is improving, and most phone users think they can do nothing to improve cell phone reception. This isn’t always factual, and the article will explain how to improve cell phone reception without waiting for a new cell tower to appear abruptly.
To improve your cell phone network reception, you can choose some free options like; getting to high grounds, changing from one network signal, and staying away from devices known to block network signals. Purchasing signal boosters and repeaters are some of the best-paid methods to take advantage of. However, you should choose a practical, reliable, and cost-effective option for you.
With so much of our daily life depending on our phones, issues like weak signals and dropped calls can significantly impact. Luckily, there are many things that you can do to improve your cell reception for clear calls and fast-delivered messages. The article will cover all the things you can do to help improve your cell reception today. Are you ready to learn more? Read on!
What Factors Affect Cell Phone Reception?
The quality of your mobile phone reception depends on how well your cell phone can receive the signal from a cellular network. It is essential to understand what factors affect your cell phone reception as they will give you a clue on how to boost cell signals at home for free. Some of the factors that affect mobile phone reception include.
i) Heavy cell traffic
For instance, take a look at those people caught in hurry hour traffic. Most if not all are texting or talking on their cell phones. All those signals are struggling for space on the nearest network phone tower.
Once your phone has connected to a cell tower, you are not likely to lose your call. However, the more phone traffic fights for the tower, the weaker your cell signal becomes.
ii) Proximity to the cellular tower
This does not need rocket science to understand. The farther away your phone is from the nearest cell tower, the lousy the signal gets, resulting in the “fish tank” voice and the persistent say-and-repeat moments.
iii) Low phone battery
Your cell phone requires energy to sustain a connection with a cell tower, and it may struggle when its battery is low. If you have been putting off charging your cell phone battery, you may find yourself with a lousy signal when you need it most.
iv) Building materials
Your home, car, office, or business premises’ building material is the number one cause of poor cell phone reception. Metallic objects and innovative tinted, low-Energy glass are the two materials most answerable.
If you regularly notice cellular service fading in and out as you walk around your house, or if your signal improves when you are near a window or door, it’s your cell signal that is being blocked by metallic building material.
v) Mother nature
Have you walked into a thick forest? The leafy vegetation can block some cell signals from the nearest tower and cause dropped and faded calls. If huge, coniferous trees surround your house, this can cause a considerable drop in your phone reception.
You might also be curious if snow affects cellular reception. Yes, it can, like any other weather condition and adversely affect cellular coverage. If you are hiking in these places, check out the best portable cell phone signal boosters for hiking you can purchase to improve coverage.
How can I improve cell phone reception?
There are so many ways that you can use to improve cell phone signal reception in areas that have low network coverage and poor internet speed. Some of the tips that you can use include;
1) Position Yourself for Better Reception
i) Increase your elevation
It is known that cell phone reception may be higher above the ground; therefore, to get a better signal, you need to get to a higher elevation to be free from obstructions, or you can even move around the obstruction.
ii) Move outside or near the window
Don’t trouble yourself making calls from underground buildings. Buildings and other engineering structures are unfavorable to a reliable cell phone signal. If you are having reception difficulties on the walkway, try walking to the nearest crossing, as there you may find improved coverage.
iii) Move to an unobstructed location.
Find a free place from an unobstructed location since the mobile phones available in the market today are susceptible to a clear signal. Think of the “best cell reception” in your line of sight. Even if you can’t factually see the cell tower, what’s the perfect path toward an open area?
In addition, note that cell signal can be reflected, so what cell reception you get is not just a function of what is in the line of sight, but also what it is reflecting.
2) Take Easy Action
a) Avoid signal interference devices
Keep your cellphone away from other electronic devices like laptops, microwaves, walkie-talkies, and iPads that might interfere with your reception. Turn off the Wi-Fi router and Bluetooth, and find out if it helps assign more of your phone’s capacity to find a robust signal.
b) Ensure that the cell phone battery has enough power
Cell phones use more power when making a call than on standby. Habitually, your battery can be robust enough to make a call but not robust enough to find a cell signal. If you find you are experiencing signal problems, consider charging your battery.
c) Use Wi-Fi as cell signal
Instead of using mobile data, you can use Wi-Fi as your cell phone signal to make calls and connect to the internet. Individuals whose cell phone supports the UMA network can use it in poor GSM signal coverage areas.
3) Make Technological Changes
i) Switch to 2G network
The 4G and 3G networks are designed to deliver high bandwidth to mobile phones; therefore, you are likely not to receive the signal if you are far away from the transmission tower. Therefore, switching to a 2G network with a lower bandwidth is recommended.
ii) You can use a Smart Signal Booster
This is a new emerging category of boosters utilizing super-powerful baseband processors to clean the signal before it rebroadcast. Most Smart Signal Boosters have boosting gains of 100db than analog booster’s gain of 63db to 70db.
That’s a 1000X to 2500X difference. The working of smart signal boosters is similar to that of an internet booster, and you can find out how does an internet booster works from our past article.
iii) Install a cellular repeater
If you are experiencing cell problems in one location of your home or office, you should try installing a cellular repeater. Cell phone repeaters pick up low cell signal with an outdoor antenna, boost the signal with an amplifier, and broadcast it over the coverage area.
iv) Upgrade your antenna
Only a handful of phone manufacturers design a “Hi-Gain” antenna for their phones, which may be altered in-store or by you at home. However, these won’t improve rural areas’ signals as much (or at all) as the best cell phone boosters for rural areas. These high-gain antennas are cheap and are not restricted to one location.
v) Switch carriers
Most cellular carriers operate autonomously of one another, using their own network frequencies and building their own cell towers. If the cell signal is lousy with one network provider, you can improve by switching to another.
Most cellular network providers of recent allowed customers to transfer their phone numbers when they change providers.
vi) Host cell site
Usually, this may take some time to implement. Still, where cell phone reception is insufficient, you can host small cell sites on your properties for major wireless carriers like T-Mobile and Verizon. Third parties like Wireless Revenue Programs let you register your property to be eligible.
Consequently, when there is carrier interest in the location, you’ll be on the shortlist of areas they choose from and will have the best coverage.
Can a Phone Case affect my cell reception?
Yes, it can, but only if you’ve got a real sense, one or one poorly designed enough to fit over the location of your phone antenna. It can also cover your receiver antenna if you have a phone case designed for another smartphone model.
How can I boost my cell phone signal for free?
First of all, you will need to know where your carrier’s base stations are located. You can find this using our interactive map. Once you know where they are, you need to determine the right way to reach them and place your antenna close to them.
Most of us are probably plugged into a mobile phone mast. One of these can take up to 500 meters of the line of sight, but it is possible to boost the signal using equipment on a roof or a building corner. You can either buy an antenna or just find one on the street.
It’s important to remember that these can not boost your signal for the whole street, just for the building where the mast is. If you live in a split house, you’ll have to place your antenna on both sides.
Bottom line
It is crucial to access a suitable signal connection for effective communication and not avoid dropped calls. Not all areas have excellent cellular connections. You can employ all the best tips discussed above for adequate cell phone reception.
If all else fails, switch your service provider to one with good coverage in your area. Avoid tips that involve a $5 (or likewise cheap) patch you stick on or in your cell phone. These are always useless and will not improve your cell reception.
