Few of us have a landline in our homes anymore. With cell phones everywhere, it’s easier to just have your mobile on hand at all times, but what happens when you move into a new home or apartment and your cell phone signal suddenly drops? Instead of a full signal, you find yourself staring at one bar or no bars at all!
Now, what? If you just bought a house or signed a lease, you can’t very well get up and move somewhere else, and who wants to go through the hassle of putting in a landline and telling all your friends a new number? It’s the 21st century–we shouldn’t have to rely on an old clunky landline to get in touch with people!
The Causes
What causes a bad cell signal? Usually, it comes down to one or two things.
- Distance From a Tower – Cell phone towers are being put up all the time, but it’s still possible to find yourself in a place that isn’t close to a tower. This can easily cause your signal to drop.
- Obstructions – This can be particularly nasty, especially if you live in a lower level of an apartment building. Outside objects like trees and elevation changes affect the signal, and concrete and other building materials can soak up your precious signal.
What To Do
We’ve identified the two biggest causes of bad/non-existent signals, and there really isn’t much you can do to prevent these obstacles. Fortunately, there are some ways to relieve this issue.
- Wi-Fi – If you have WiFi in your home, you may be able to harness it to boost your signal, but right now, only T-Mobile has a system in place for WiFi calling for Androids and iPhones. Sprint has a similar system only for select Android phones, so you’d have to check with them to see if your phone is supported. AT&T and Verizon were both expected to bring in WiFi calling in 2015, but have missed targeted implementation dates so it may be pushed into 2016.
- Signal Booster – For the time being, the WiFi solution only applies to a few select carriers and customers, but there is another option. A cell phone signal booster is a small antenna you can mount on a roof or outdoor location where you receive a signal. This gets passed via cable to an amplifier inside which, in turn, boosts the signal on your phone. Most major providers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, etc.) offer cell phone signal boosters for their products. Keep in mind, if you have phones from more than one provider in the house, you may want to look into getting an “omnidirectional” booster that gets signals from multiple cell towers and provides boosting for multiple network types.
Until the time comes when WiFi calling is ubiquitous, a cell phone signal booster is the easiest and most cost effective way to get better cell reception in a home or apartment.
Bio –
This guest post was contributed by Mighty Skins, an American owned, operated and manufactured company based in Florida that makes custom skins for electronics including otterbox skins, phone skins and lifeproof skins.
