A lot of people ask this question when they suddenly have bad cellular reception. When you find yourself in this spot, you’ll get a lot of advice. It seems like everyone has tips to improve reception on the spot. Someone tell you that you can improve your cell reception by doing one or more of these things:
- Stay still
- Move to another room
- Stand by a window
- Go upstairs
- Step outside
- Use a mobile service map tool
So, if you’re indoors and your reception is on the fritz, will any of these things work? Hmmmm… how do I say this? I guess I’ll cut right to the chase: no, they probably won’t work. These things probably won’t work. When it comes to improving your cell phone reception, there really is only one thing that works. I’ll share that with you in a bit. For now, let’s take a closer look at each of these pieces of “advice” and discuss why it probably won’t improve your cellular reception.
Remain Still While You’re on the Phone
The thinking here is that when you’re standing still, your phone and the network don’t have to struggle to find your location. I got a chuckle out of this one, especially when I actually hear someone actually share this “advice.” Rather than belabor the point, I’ll debunk this cherished little chestnut as quickly as possible. I can do it all with one simple question: Have you ever used your cell phone while you were driving your car, truck, or SUV? If you answered yes, then you know full well that you can talk on your phone while moving. Knowing this, what possible will stopping your movement do to improve your cell phone connection?
Move to Another Room
This one is a bit of a mixed bag. If you’re at home, you can try different rooms to see which one gives you the best reception. At least that’s what some people will tell you. My experiences have told me that this isn’t the case for everyone, thus it’s probably not the best advice someone can give to help you. In many cases, metal, concrete, brick, and even fiberglass insulation tend to block or repel cell phone signals. This is why reception is either good or bad throughout your home, office, or out structure.
Now, I have to say that there might be the rare exceptions to this rule. For example, I have a friend who lives way out in the sticks. One part of his house tends to get slightly better reception than others. I believe this was due to both the materials his home is made of and his distance from the nearest cell tower, which was about 10 miles away. My home and office are about three miles from an AT&T cellular tower, which means solid reception in every room. That’s why “move to another room” isn’t always the best advice.
Stand by a Window
Oh, I love this one. Apparently, there are many people believe that glass might allow cellular signal to pass through easier than the concrete and metals of the building itself. Here’s the problem: many energy-efficient windows have a coat of metal oxide than repels cell signals. If your home, office, or the building your in has these windows, good luck getting voice or text when you’re standing in front of them.
Go Upstairs Where Reception is Better
Here’s the theory: going to the top floor of your home, workplace, etc. will provide better reception. The people that give this advice are making the same mistake as those who say, “Go to another room.” The top floor of a home or building just puts you closer to the metal, fiberglass, and roofing materials that are known cell phone signal blockers. In other words, going upstairs likely won’t change anything in most cases.
Just Go Outside, Then
Okay, this actually might help some people who are struggling to get signal because they’re inside a building. While this removes the biggest obstruction – the building itself – it doesn’t remove other obstructions. If the building you’re in is surrounded by hills, mountains, bluffs, or heavy vegetation, you might not get better signal outside.
Another thing about stepping outside is that it puts you in contact with the weather. This can also affect your cell reception. Water, such as rain, mist, or heavy snow, can reflect radio waves. Even dust particles can affect your cellular reception. Windy days can put a lot of dust particles in the air, for example. People often think it’s the wind that affects their reception but in reality, it’s the dust that the wind kicks up.
Use a Mobile Service Map Tool
There are websites that show you the exact locations of cell phone towers in your area. If you have faulty reception, some people will recommend that you log onto one of these sites as if this is going to help you. It might, but chances are good that it might not. First of all, if you’re having bad reception, you might not be able to log onto these sites. When you do, you’ll find out where the towers are, but it doesn’t mean you’ll be able to remove the obstructions that are likely affecting your reception.
Don’t let what I wrote above sour your opinion of mobile service map tools. These websites are very useful when it’s time to mount a cell phone booster antenna to your home. It’s best to aim your outdoor antenna toward the nearest cell phone tower owned by your wireless carrier. You can’t do that unless you know where your carrier’s tower is located. This is why knowing how to use mobile service map tools is important.
“So, How do I Get Better Reception?”
There really is only one way to improve your cell phone reception, and that’s to get a cell phone signal booster. These devices strengthen weak incoming and outgoing cellular signals simultaneously, which practically puts an end to dropped calls, missed texts, and interrupted data. There are cell boosters for your home, office, or vehicles. Which one should you get? That all depends upon where you need one of these devices the most.
If you have poor reception at home, you’ll need some type of residential cell booster. Solid Signal carries a variety of weBoost cellular signal boosters to help. I recommend everyone get one of these devices for the vehicle. You never know if you’ll be driving through an area with obstructions or you’re far from the nearest tower. We carry a variety of weBoost cell boosters to fit your vehicle. And if you need one of these devices for your office, getting a customized solution delivers maximum benefits.
Do you need a cell phone signal booster? Solid Signal carries a variety of these devices from weBoost and other top manufacturers. Our techs can match your home and/or vehicle with the best cell phone booster for your needs. And if you’d like one of these devices at your office or business, we can deliver a custom solution. In other words, wherever you want your cell signal booster, we provide the solution. Just give us a call at 888-233-7563.
