subject: Cell Phones And Signal Strength Enhancement [print this page] What's a "good" signal? In cell phones, the signal strength indicator is a very subjective measure for call quality - on some cell phones you'll be able to make a call with just 1 reception bar, and although the phone will be using more battery power than it would with 4 bars, it will operate just fine.
The only measurement of strength or quality of signal to your cell phone is whether or not you can make or receive calls in normal to good quality.
Reception or signal strength for cell phones can be very unsteady. Although you can get a fair signal almost everywhere (unless you live in an area where there aren't any cell towers in range, or the landscape is not cellular-friendly) the strength and quality of the signal depends on many factors such as the weather, number of people making a phone call with your carrier in your area at this time, condition of your phone, etc. Checking a carrier's coverage map for dead-spots (areas with no reception at all) is a must before choosing one.
Cellular service providers offer you attractive plans and promotions, but are not honest enough about their "dead-zones" - some parts of west Manhattan, for instance, are problematic for users of few large cellular carriers: Phone works all right at home, but it is dead for 8 hours when you're at work in certain parts of New York City.
When far from the "hot" areas and having problems receiving a strong, high-quality signal, one way to avoid those dead spots is using an online service to find cell-phone signal by the cellular service providers - NOT the carrier's coverage maps! Try to find a user-generated website where you can read real people's comments and complaints about certain carriers in certain areas. That can help you with choosing your carrier, and recognize problematic parts of your town, and avoid these blank spots.
These sites allow you to search cellular reception reports by exact location and zip code, locate cell towers around you, and compare different cellular carriers to find the one with best service for your area.
When you're outside and having a hard time getting a good signal, here's something that might help:
If your phone has an INTERNAL antenna (like iPhone, Blackberry), look for the external antenna jack on the back or side of your phone. It should have a rubber flap on it. Take an office paper clip, bend the outside piece open and bend it 90 degrees about half an inch from the tip, using needle-nosed pliers. Insert this bended tip to the antenna jack and tape the clip to the back of your phone. That should help you get at least a bar or two more.
by: William Gold
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
