BAD NEWS: a $9 cellular antenna just isn’t going to do it

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This is our lowest priced cellular antenna. It’s a great piece of engineering, does its job well. But it’s not going to help you get better cell service. Not by itself anyway. In fact, it’s going to be a waste of money for you. Not a lot of money, but that’s really not the point.

Why this won’t help you.

You see, putting up an antenna on the outside of your house will not do you a lot of good unless it’s hooked up to a cellular signal booster. Let’s think about it for a second. The outdoor antenna will pick up cell signals and put them on a wire, and then you… see that’s the point. Cell phones don’t have anywhere to connect an external antenna, at least 99.9% of them don’t. There was a time when they all did, but now we want small and thin and light, so extra parts go out the window.

What you really need if you have bad cell signals in the house is a cellular signal booster. And I’m sorry to say, it’s going to cost a bit more than $9. The good news is that you’ll get everything you need and that includes the outdoor antenna… you don’t need to purchase that separately. A cell phone signal booster takes the signal from outside, amplfies it, and brings it inside. It’s actually a complex computer that’s doing all sorts of automatic adjustments several times a second, which is one of the reasons it’s a little spendy.

So why does this thing even exist?

So you might be asking, why does Solid Signal still offer cellular antennas by themselves? Some folks like to upgrade their antenna to something more powerful, or replace one that has been damaged by weather or by accident. It doesn’t make sense to buy a whole new kit just for the antenna, and adding a more powerful antenna is a great upgrade for people who bought a lower-priced booster at the beginning and want to keep costs down while they add the kind of power they needed in the first place.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to boost cellular signal, I get it… it’s frustrating. You wish there were a low-priced solution for this sort of thing. But take it from me… if someone promises you better cell signal for under $100, it’s likely that it won’t work. There’s just no good solution in that price range, except for vehicle boosters which only work with a single phone in a very confined range. Anything else and there’s no point to it.

A better way to get what you need

If you’re looking for better cell signal indoors and don’t know what to get, call the experts at Solid Signal! We have real qualified technicians available during East Coast business hours to help you. We can show you solutions that will flood your home or business with great cell service for less than you’ll pay for one cell phone. The number to call: 888-233-7563. We’re here for you!

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.