If you’re installing a cell phone signal booster, you need to know where the nearest cell phone towers are. You also need to know which of those towers is owned by your chosen carrier. Sure, you can drive around town and take note of every cell phone tower in your area, but you won’t know which carriers are on those towers. If you’re thinking “there has to be an easier way,” I’m here to tell you that there is. There are a handful of online cell phone tower locators you can use to find your carrier’s tower near your home. Best of all, these sites are fairly easy to use.
Before I walk you through each of these sites, there’s something you need to know. Solid Signal cannot verify that that the information on these sites is 100 percent accurate. Keep in mind that cell carriers are constantly installing and taking down towers all across the country. This can make it hard for these third-party websites to keep up. That said, it never hurts to check these sites. The information they provide can help you mount your cell booster antenna for the best reception.
How Online Cell Phone Tower Locators Work
For the most part, it’s fairly easy. You just enter your zip code or address into the site lists the local cell tower locations. Some of these sites might even tell you which carriers own the towers in your community. This is a huge help for anyone who’s mounting the outside antenna of their cell phone signal booster system. Generally speaking, you’ll get your best results when you aim the cell booster’s (usually) wedge-shaped antenna directly toward the cell phone tower’s location. The less obstructions – buildings, trees, etc. – between you and the tower, the better. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the four most popular online cell phone tower locators:
AntennaSearch.com
Maybe it’s just me, but AntennaSearch.com has a very dated, early 1990s look. Perhaps in internet terms that could be considered “vintage,” but it just didn’t really work for me. What did work, though, was the amount of information AntennaSearch provides. Be forewarned, you’re going to do a lot of clicking, but you’ll get what you need. Just follow this process:
Enter your address
- Click “go”
- At the address confirmation page, click “process”
- You’ll get a report of the towers, new towers, and antennas in your area
- Click “view tower results”
- Read the listing of tower owners
- Click on specific tower link that corresponds with your carrier
My experience: I entered my old address and the site listed 16 towers, zero new towers, and 41 antennas within a three-mile radius. I use ATT as my wireless carrier. If I were still living at this address, I might have a problem. There were Cricket, Nextel, and T-Mobile antennas, but none for ATT. Then again, some of the towers listed under other company names might be ATT carriers. When I punched in my current address, I easily found a tower clearly marked AT&T Wireless. (One of the many reasons I’m glad I moved!) Just for fun, I also entered Solid Signal’s address and included the image above.
Final verdict: This one’s a keeper despite its outdated design. Look, you’re using it to find the cell phone towers in your area. So it doesn’t have to have the latest bells and whistles. Leave that to your favorite ecommerce sites. AntennaSearch.com is all about information, and this site delivers that. If you need to know where your carrier’s tower is located, it’s worth it to invest a little time on this site to find it.
CellMapper.net
Many people swear by CellMapper.net and it’s easy to see why. This website helps you find the cell phone tower locations in your community. The only possible downside is that some consider this website’s design is less than user-friendly. Since everyone’s experience and expectations are different, you’ll have to judge that for yourself. If you’re going to use CellMapper, go to the section in the upper left portion of the screen and follow these steps:
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Provider: in this slot, type in the name of your wireless carrier
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Network: enter your network type, such as 4G-LTE, etc.
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Band: select “all bands” for a quick search
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Band: scroll through the listing of specific bands and select the one that’s appropriate
My experience: I gave this a whirl and I wasn’t overly impressed. It largely had to do with how CellMapper presents its information. Once you fill in the info bars, a large map of the US appears in the center of the screen. You have to manually click, scroll, and roll your way to your home’s approximate location. Once there, you click on each of the pinned tower locations to learn more about it. The one unique thing about the site’s map is that it seems to show what I assumed was the width and length of each tower’s transmission beam. These are highlighted in bright blues, pinks, and purples. (You have to click on the tower pin and zoom in fairly close.) I also checked out an overview of the Novi, Michigan area, which is where Solid Signal is located. (Pic above.)
Final verdict: If you enjoy scrolling around on Google Maps, you might like CellMapper.net. Sure, the site has its up sides, including searches targeted by carriers and transmission beam mapping. Despite those finer touches, its overall operation just didn’t appeal to me. That said, it works and that’s what really matters. If you need to find your carrier’s local antenna, this site does the job. Don’t avoid CellMapper just because I didn’t enjoy the experience.
CellReception.com
If you need to find your carrier’s local cell phone tower location, CellReception.com can help you. The site has a fresh, clean, new look that is pleasing to the eyes. It’s easy to use, too. In just six steps, you’ll find your carrier’s tower. Here’s how to get that information:
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Enter your zip code or city and state
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Click “go”
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When you come to the review page, click “towers” at the top
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Enter your city and state then click “go”
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Scroll down to map in the middle of the page
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Using the map, click on each tower location to get info about each
My experience: I entered my old address into CellReception.com. This site produced a Google map with digital “pins” used to mark the location of all the cell towers. When I placed the cursor on each pin, a bubble would show the name of the company the owned the tower and its address.
CellReception also had a unique feature that I found rather helpful. Right above the map is a column labelled “towers.” I clicked the box marked “AT&T Towers,” which altered the map to show only those towers owned by AT&T. Some of the towers listed under various companies are actually AT&T carriers. If I were mounting a cell phone booster antenna in my old home, I’d know right were to aim it. I now also know where all the towers in relation to the Solid Signal offices. (See attached pic.)
Final verdict: CellReception is a great website to find the information you need. It’s very easy to use and the details are clearly displayed on this clean, attractive site. If you need a snapshot of your area’s tower locations, CellReception delivers.
Find Cell Tower Locations with Smartphone Apps
Did you know there are cellphone apps that can help you find cell towers near you. These apps typically use your location to map out the closest cell tower to you. Like the websites above, there’s no guarantee that the information provided is 100% up to date. It’s still a decent tool to have to get a good idea of where the towers are in relation to your home. I don’t have time to download all of these apps and report back on them. What I am happy to do is list them and the operating systems they’re compatible with:
- OpenSignal for iPhone and Android
- Network Signal Info for Android
- LTE Discovery for Android
- RootMetrics Cell Phone Coverage Map for iPhone and Android
- AntennaPointer for Android
Make Sure Your Carrier Serves Your Area
Some of the major carriers offer interactive online coverage maps. While each one is different, they tend to operate off the principal of entering your location to get a map of voice and data coverage in a given area. These sites aren’t ideal for locating cell phone towers, but they can give you an idea about which networks serve your area. (Hint: There are some areas that even the big-name providers don’t cover yet.) Here is a listing of these carrier sites:
Something else you need to know about these sites: they offer no indication about the strength of cell coverage in these areas. If you’re experiencing spotty signal and have a cell phone booster, you should check the online sources listed above to find exact tower locations. This lets you better position your cell booster’s outdoor antenna for the best signal reception.
Finding Cell Towers: The Nuclear Option
Okay, a cellular signal meter isn’t exactly a “nuclear option,” but it can be a costly one. Some of these devices cost upwards of $300. Every professional installer has one in their toolbox because it’s an important device that they use every day. The average person might find the price tag a bit high for something they’ll probably only use once. While you’d think this info would totally rule out this meter, there is a catch…
…When it comes to finding your carrier’s signal, there really is no better tool than this. When you get up on the roof with one of these, you can be confident that you’ll lock down the best direction to aim your cell booster antenna. If you’re someone who has to have the best of everything, we recommend you pool your resources with friends or family members to get this. It lowers the cost for each of you while making sure everyone gets the best cell phone reception in their homes. Hey, it’s an option, right?
Finding Cell Towers Doesn’t Have to be Difficult
While all this might seem like a lot of work for mounting your cell phone signal booster antenna, it’s really not. Unless your wireless carrier plans on moving their cell towers, you just have to locate your local tower one time. This is why I recommend using one of the free websites listed above. Using the website and a printer, you can print up the map of your area and draw a line from the tower to your home. Use that as your guide when installing your cell phone signal booster antenna. If you need help, installation advice, or a product recommendation, call the Solid Signal techs at 888-233-7563.
