Digital Media Mom

It’s so frustrating: you find a cell carrier that offers great reception and signal strength when you’re at home, but the reception bars are sketchy when you’re at work. Or you find a carrier with great coverage around your workplace, but it’s a struggle to get three bars at home. What you need is a signal booster.

 

Yes, Cell Signal Boosters Are A Thing

Don’t be fooled by the ads for those worthless “signal enhancers” that stick on the back of your phone: there really is a type of device you can buy that will strengthen your cell signal at home, at work, or even in your car.

A signal booster is like an antenna that can automatically locate the strongest signal available in your area, amplify it, and keep it locked in for you. Less powerful boosters only cover a small range, like maybe an apartment or single floor of a mid-size house. Larger ones are available to cover bigger buildings, and mobile models can be used in the car.

When signal boosters first came out for the consumer market they were pretty expensive and very specific. You had to buy a certain model based on your specific use needs (e.g., to cover a small apartment vs. a large office, to use in a car vs. to set in a fixed location), the name of your cell service provider (e.g., AT&T, Verizon, etc.), AND the type of network you use (e.g., 4G, LTE, etc.). Nowadays, boosters aren’t quite so picky and they’ve become much more affordable.

As for what I mean by “affordable”, the The Wilson Electronics – DT model pictured above can boost signal strength by 15x, has a range of at least 2,000 square feet according to Amazon reviewers, and is currently priced between $195-$230, depending on where you buy it. That may sound like a pricey gadget, but remember: you don’t have to replace it every time you switch phones or carriers, it works with multiple carriers and networks, as most boosters do nowadays.

You can also get a booster that’s designed to attach to an existing aerial antenna on the roof of a building. The one pictured below, from Wireless Extenders, is currently priced at $59 on Amazon, but remember that it has to be attached to an existing aerial antenna so if you don’t have one of those, this type won’t work for you. It’s also not a good pick for people who live in apartments or condos, or for use at the office, because you may not be allowed or able to mount this type of antenna on those kinds of buildings.

 

How To Shop For A Signal Booster

Check the details before you buy. Make sure you’re buying the right booster for your needs.

Different models will have different ranges, with the more powerful / wider range models tending to cost more. There are models designed for installation in a fixed location (like your home), and mobile models that are designed to be installed in a car. Also, while most will support all the most popular cell carriers, it’s not unusual for each model to exclude support for some carriers. For example, the Wilson DT booster pictured at the top of this post doesn’t support Nextel Wireless.

Remember that while a fixed-location booster will boost the signal for every device within its range, mobile boosters are generally intended to be permanently installed in a specific vehicle and used with one cell phone at a time. If the product name or description specifies “single user”, or the booster employs a cradle, where you’re supposed to slip your phone inside and leave it there during use, it’s only going to be good for boosting signals for one device at a time.

Check the customer reviews and Q&A section on Amazon. The most expensive booster isn’t necessarily the highest-quality one, so don’t let the pricetag be your guide. Let people who’ve already bought one and reviewed it be your guide. The Wilson Electronics – DT model pictured at the start of this post currently has an average review rating of 4/5 stars across over 700 reviews, so you can tell people who’ve bought it are overwhelmingly happy with it. The aerial/roof mount model shown above also has an average review rating of 4/5 stars, so it’s probably a good pick for that type of booster.

On Amazon, customers can ask questions about specific products and people who’ve already bought the item will post answers. If any questions for a given product have been asked, they will appear in a Q&A section immediately above the Customer Reviews section on the booster’s product page. The Wilson DT model has over 90 questions and answers posted, so whatever details you’re wondering about for this model, they’re probably addressed somewhere in the Q&A section. If not, you can always post a question of your own.

 

Mobile Boosters: Can Be Costly For the Car

In general, I don’t recommend getting a mobile booster for the car unless it’s critically important for you to have maximum connectivity on the road at all times. There are a few reasons why.

First, when you’re driving around it’s not possible for a booster to stay permanently locked on a given cell signal: it can only pick up, lock onto and amplify signals within the range of its current location, which is constantly changing as you drive. So right off the bat, you know it can’t possibly be as effective or efficient as a fixed-location booster.

Secondly, the best mobile boosters designed for use in a vehicle involve mounting a roof antenna and running cables, so they’re best installed by a pro. For that reason it’s not at all unusual to pay considerably more for an installed mobile booster than for a fixed-location model. It’s true that you can get a magnet-mount, no-cables roof antenna with a wireless booster for the car’s interior, but reviews for that type of design are pretty consistently negative. In contrast, the one pictured below, which does involve running cable, has a 4/5 star rating.

Thirdly, a cradle-type booster like the one shown above isn’t going to be of much use for anything but a cell phone: you can’t fit other kinds of cell-enabled devices (like tablets) into the cradle.

Fourth, if the booster employs a cradle your phone must remain in the cradle to get the boosted signal. That means you’ll need to buy a wireless Bluetooth headset if you don’t already have one. If your car has a built-in cell phone connection/hands-free speaker setup, you may not be able to use it with this type of booster. In that case, you’re going to want to be sure to select a booster that doesn’t require a physical connection to your phone so all of its ports and cables will still be available for use with your car’s built-in system. If your car’s got a built-in system that’s totally wireless, you’re going to have to consult an installation professional to be sure you’re getting a booster that won’t have any conflicts with the pre-existing wireless system.

Finally, a booster that’s been installed in a car is obviously only going to work for that one car, and may not be easily removed if you ever decide to get a new car. If you frequently switch among household or business vehicles, having one booster in one vehicle won’t be much of a help.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: IF YOU INTEND TO USE A SIGNAL BOOSTER AT WORK, CLEAR IT WITH THE HIGHER-UPS FIRST. At large companies there are typically IT and/or security policies in place to govern the use of any device that can affect wireless signal strength, or that has the potential to interfere with pre-existing wireless signals in the building. Both possibilities are there for cell signal boosters, and you don’t want to find out the hard way you’ve broken some critical workplace rule.

IF YOU INTEND TO INSTALL A CAR BOOSTER IN A LEASED VEHICLE, CHECK YOUR LEASE CONTRACT TERMS FIRST. They may prohibit any kind of permanent vehicle alterations, and that would include booster installations that involve running cable.