It is estimated that over 10 million people in the United States are experiencing poor or very poor cell phone reception at home.

With more of us working from home than ever during the coronavirus crisis, what was once an annoyance is now stopping us from doing our jobs.

If you are one of the people suffering from poor cell phone reception, a signal booster may be for you. We take a look at what they are and how to use them.

Signal Boosters

A cell phone signal booster comprises of an internal and an external antenna, which receive and transmit signals. They also have the crucial component, an amplifier. This boosts or amplifies the signals to make them stronger.

Different signal boosters will have different benefits or uses. For example, amplifiers will have different levels of effectiveness depending on their coverage area and strength gain.

You need to make sure the coverage area is big enough to cover the whole of your house, or wherever you want or need the signal to be made stronger. If you have a big house or large area to cover, make sure you pick a signal booster that can accommodate the square footage.

But what is a good signal strength for a cell phone? Signal strength can be as little as -110dBm and up to -30dBm. Generally speaking the closer to 0 you go, the better the signal, and anything above -85dBm is considered good.

For a home amplifier, you should look for around +60dB gain but you can get some that go up to +70dB. If you’re looking to boost the signal in your car, you should go for at least +25dB.

It really depends on the signal you can currently receive. There are tons of apps and websites out there to help you figure out your cell phone reception strength and do cell phone signal strength comparisons.

Interference

So what can interfere with a cell phone signal? According to experts like these Cell Tower Consultants, there are a number of reasons your cell phone reception can suddenly disappear or may be consistently bad in certain places.

The distance from the nearest cell phone tower, the type of building materials used in your home, heavy cellular traffic, and even a low or faulty cell battery.

It might sound silly but just holding your phone in a certain way could block the internal antenna too. If you’re out and about, tall trees and leaf canopies can affect your cell signal along with hills and valleys. This is the reason why businesses that depend on this form of communication running smoothly will actually hire a firm that can provide antenna positioner assistance.

There are a lot of things that can ruin your phone cell reception, but a signal booster is a great way to combat them and there are companies that specialize in installation to make it hassle-free. View here for more information.

Cell Phone Reception

Now you know some of the reasons your cell phone reception might not be as good as you want it to be. You also know how to check your signal, tell if it’s any good and how to improve it, so what’s stopping you?

Find more great articles and advice by exploring our website.