It might seem like a cell phone signal booster is full of impossible magic. After all, it’s a little device that gives you clearer calls and faster data. It seemingly pulls signal out of nowhere, defying that axiom “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” I’ve explained before that a cell phone booster can’t really provide signal that isn’t there, but it can make the most of signal that reaches the outside of your home or office. The amazing thing is that it does all the stuff it does without any lag time. But isn’t that impossible? Shouldn’t there be some delay of some sort? In order to understand, you need to realize what a cell phone signal booster does (and what it doesn’t do.)
The basics of cell phone signal boosters
Here’s a basic diagram of how a cell booster works:
There are two antennas, one outside and one inside. There’s an amplifier between them. The amplifier pulls in signal from outside, amplifies it, and rebroadcasts it inside. It does the same in reverse, too. It receives signals from your phone and blasts them out through that big outside antennas. The booster does a lot of other things as well, ensuring that the two signals don’t interfere with each other and testing to make sure it’s not amplifying too much.
When you think about all the things that a booster does, you would expect there to be some sort of delay. There is extra cabling to think about. There’s all the processing and the amplification. Yet, it doesn’t seem like there really is a delay.
How can that be? I thought about this as I was tweaking my home theater’s audio receiver. I’ve made adjustments to keep the voices in sync with the picture. Why don’t I need to do this with my phone?
The answer is fairly simple
Yes, your booster does introduce some lag into the conversation. Of course it does. It would literally be impossible to avoid it. However, the lag is so short that you don’t notice it. If it were possible to test the exact same conversation passed through a booster against one that wasn’t, you’d notice it. But, realistically, you can’t do that. Not only that, you wouldn’t want to.
I don’t know what the exact lag time is. I am willing to bet that it changes from booster to booster. Chances are it’s no more than a few hundredths of a second. In most cases, people just can’t perceive chunks of time that small. You’ll notice it if there’s something obvious to compare it with, sure. But without that visual cue, your brain just doesn’t pick it up.
Why there aren’t lip sync problems with Zoom, Google Meet, FaceTime, etc.
First of all, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Most forms of video conferencing have terrible lip sync problems. If you pay attention you’ll see them. After several years of using these apps, your brain just ignores it. But even if you have a pristine connection, you’ll notice no lip sync issues.
This is because both video and audio go through the booster. To the booster, it’s all data. If the picture and sound sync up without a booster, they’ll sync up with a booster. The lag will be there equally in video and audio. Again, you won’t notice it. Your brain isn’t tuned to expect people to answer in one tenth of a second. You’ll simply accept a tiny bit more lag. You won’t notice it at all.
Other downsides to cell boosters
Truth is, I can’t think of any. A cell phone signal booster costs less than one premium phone. It will probably work for your next five phones. It boosts 4G, LTE, and 5G. Not only that it works with all your devices at once in most cases. It’s an easy installation, and you can do it yourself. So I guess there’s just one more question. What are you waiting for?
Check out the great selection of cell phone signal boosters from SolidSignal.com. We have solutions for spaces from 6 square feet to 60,000 square feet and above. It doesn’t matter if you’re at home or at work. You can even be in your car, truck, RV, or on a boat. We have you covered!
If you have questions about cell phone signal boosters or any of the other products we offer at Solid Signal, call the experts! We’re here for you during East Coast business hours. The number is 888-233-7563. If it’s after business hours, no problem! Fill out the form below. We’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.
