A cell phone signal booster, also known as a cell phone signal amplifier or repeater, is a device to strengthen the mobile signal. It amplifies outside weak signals and rebroadcasts the amplified signal to the desired areas that need cell reception for smartphones, tablets, hot-spots, and other cellular devices. With a strengthened signal, a cell phone signal booster will enable fewer dropped and missed calls, better voice quality, and faster data speed.
Nowadays, people rely on quality networks and fast data transmission heavily. Inconstant calls, texts, and browsing, even known it’s temporary, can be frustrating, especially in some emergency cases. No matter which carriers service you’re subscribing to, you must have met familiar cases with weak cell signal reception.
There are two things you must know before purchasing and installing a cell phone signal amplifier.
1. Check out your building outside signal.
A cellular signal booster is to booster an existing weak signal rather than create. It works when the outside antenna captures and transmits a signal from a nearby cell tower. The booster amplifies the signal from the outside antenna and rebroadcasts it via the inside antenna throughout the area with poor reception. The result is a booster cellular signal that allows you to receive a better signal with more bars on your cellular devices.
Therefore, to settle out whether a cell phone signal booster will be a solution to your reception issue, check out the signal strength outside your building. Below are some instructions.
- Walk out of your building
- If there are two or more bars on your phone, then a cell phone signal booster will help. And the stronger the outside signal, the larger area the cellular signal booster will be to cover.
- If there is no signal at all outside your building, a cellular amplifier will not be the best solution to boost your weak signal reception.
2. Locate a nearby cell tower
Besides an existing outside signal, you will also need to locate the direction of the nearest cell tower of your carrier before you install the booster correctly and benefits from the booster cellular signal. Then, how to find out a nearby cell tower? Below are some helpful, easy-to-use, and free methods for your reference.
- Use cell tower locator map like CellMapper.net
Note: Be assured that you’ve chosen your service provider in your country.
For Verizon, enter“311” while entering “310” for AT&T、Sprint and T-Mobile
- Use Specialized Application such as OpenSignal, Network Cell Info Lite, or Cellular Network Signal Finder
- Use a smartphone to locate the cell tower by checking the outside signal strength.
You can also check out the signal strength by using a smartphone, to be exact, using the antenna inside the smartphone. But you’ve better get some understanding of dBm.
Cellular signal strength can be read in dBm, which is a more helpful and accurate method to determine the signal strength than calculating bars on your phone. dBm is the standard unit of measurement, which is usually expressed in negatives numbers on cell signal meters such as -80 dBm. The closer the number is to 0, the stronger the existing signal strength. Signal strength read as -80dBm is stronger than that read as -90 dBm.
Here are the instructions to measure signal strength by putting the iPhone and Android in field test mode.
For iPhone,
Note: this may not work for iPhones running iOS 11 and above.
For AT&T and T-Mobile
- Tap “*3001#12345#* and press call to enter iOS Field Check mode
- Choose “LTE” from the menu
- Select Serving Cell Meas
- dBm reading is marked as RSRP0
For Sprint and Verizon(or any iPhone using Qualcomm chip)
- For all iPhone models excluding iPhone X, go to settings-->cellular-->cellular data options to turn off LTE
- Tap 1x EV-DO
- dBm reading is defined as Rx AGCO
For Android
- Go to setting
- Tap About Phone
- Select Status or Network
- Tap SIM Status
- Your Signal Strength is expressed in dBm
Note: Exact steps may vary by phone types and network service providers.
Now, you’ve already learned how to read the signal strength. Walk outside your building and find out the place with the best outside signal strength. The location with the best signal strength on the phone is the indication of where the cell tower is situated. Above are three resources to find the nearest cell tower. It’s recommended to use an app or website, which is easier and more accurate.
The installation of the outdoor antenna is the most essential part of a signal booster installation. The outside antenna should be mounted in a place where you should have at least two bars and faced towards the direction of your carriers’ cell tower.
If your building’s inside signal is weak but the outside signal is strong, at least two bars, -90 dBm to be exact, you can purchase and install a cell phone signal booster kit to boost your indoor signal, staying away from poor reception.
Generally, a cellular signal booster can be categorized into a cellular signal booster for home and office and a cellular signal booster for vehicles.
At Hiboost, residential cellular boosters will be able to boost the signal for a home or office with different coverage areas, up to 1,000 to 12,000 sq feet. They are all FCC certified and support all North American carriers, multiple users, and cellular devices simultaneously. Learn more about Home cell signal boosters
If you are intended to cover a larger place such as commercial buildings, please contact us and we will provide an exclusive solution for you. Visit commercial signal booster
Vehicle cellular signal booster is designed to improve cell signal reception throughout the vehicles. Hiboost offers boosters for cars, sedans, truck,s and RV, which work with all North American, multiple users, and cellular devices at the same time, especially in remote areas. Learn more about vehicles signal booster
For More information about mobile signal boosters, please visit: https://www.hiboost.com/shop/
If you have any questions or need any assistance, feel free to contact our tech experts at 972- 870-5666
