Cellphone Boosters

Why do you have poor cellular signal?

There are three main causes of signal problems: distance from your carrier's cell tower, large obstructions, like trees, buildings, hills and mountains, and local obstructions, typically the construction material of your new home, such as brick, block, metal, wire mesh, radiant barrier, and window coatings. These issues can also work together to compound the problem.

The first main cause of signal problems, distance from the tower, is going to be most often experienced if you're moving to a new home in a very rural area. Typically, in this situation, there may only be one cell tower in the general vicinity that your carrier is using to service the area, so the further you are from that tower, the worse your signal is.

It's also important to note that communication between your phone and the tower goes both ways, so if your phone isn't able to broadcast its cell signal all of the way back to the cell tower, you won't be able to make and receive calls.

The second main cause of cell phone signal problems are large obstructions between you and the tower. These large obstructions typically take the form of trees and buildings, although hills and mountains can also play a significant role, depending on your geographic location.

Trees, or any other plant life, are comprised of a large amount of water, which can hinder cellular signals as they pass through the branches and leaves, so during the summer especially, you'll find that your signal is worse than the fall and winter, when the leaves are off the trees. In this case, a stronger cell signal is needed to penetrate through the trees and plant life to the tower.

Buildings, mountains and hills, as well as if you're in a canyon, all present the same type of problem, which are obstacles that prohibit a direct line of sight from the tower to the cell phone, and thus require the signal to bounce off of something before it can be received. In this situation, you typically experience erratic signal that fluctuates up and down, since the signal is bouncing around in order to reach you.

Finally, the last cause of poor cell phone signal is the material that your new home is constructed with. Solid materials, like brick, block or metal (especially for a roof), block most of the signal coming into the home, so even if you have strong signal outside, it may not penetrate into the centre of the house. In addition, building materials like radiant barrier and energy saving window coatings will also severely impede the signal coming in, causing weak signal and dead spots inside of the home.