How to Boost a Cell Phone Signal at Home

Bad reception?

Consumers can become frustrated when they have signed a one- or two-year contract with their cellular providers only to take their newly purchased phone home and notice they receive bad reception in their home. Bad reception can be the result of limited network coverage in your area, or it can be due to the structure of your home. You have simple options to increase your cell signal as well as options that may cost money.

Things You'll Need

• Twist tie and electrical tape
• or
• Cell phone booster kit

Instructions

Cell Phone Booster from Provider

1. Purchase a cell phone booster. Cellular providers like AT&T and Sprint now provide products that will connect to your router to increase the signal in your house significantly. Sprint's product, the Airave, is approximately $99 and you can either order from the Sprint website or at a local Sprint store.

2. Connect the cellphone booster to your broadband router by ethernet cord. Your router should have four or more ports to connect multiple computers or devices. Use the ethernet cord provided with your cell phone booster to connect the back of your booster to the back of your router.

3. Turn on the cell phone booster and check your cellular connection. You should notice a significant increase in cellular signal.

Tesla Coil Effect

1. To avoid the expense, locate a twist tie that comes with garbage or sandwich bags and carefully wrap it around the antenna of your cell phone.

2. Purchase electrical tape and carefully wrap the tape around the twist tie to ensure the twist tie stays secured.

3. Turn off your phone and turn it back on to determine whether you get a boost in signal strength.

Cell Phone Booster From Third Party

1. Purchase a third-party cellular phone booster. Determine your household's needed coverage area. The square-footage of your house will determine how much of a signal you need. Many standard cell phone boosters can cover roughly 2,500 feet.

2. Secure the antenna that comes with the kit as high as possible in your home keeping a considerable distance from any metal. Ensure the antenna is at the least 15 feet higher than your base unit that also comes with your cell booster kit.

3. Connect your base unit to the antenna via cable connection and plug the base antenna into a nearby outlet.

References

• Wisebread: No Signal? 5 Quick Ways to Boost Your Cell Phone Reception
• Engadget: Sprint's Airave Signal Booster Review

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Wi-Ex: zBoost YX510 for the Home & Office