After shelling out hundreds of dollars for the latest and greatest cell phone, there’s nothing more frustrating than not having an adequate signal to use all the features of the phone. What good are photos and videos if you can’t share them? An app is worthless if your phone cannot find and maintain a strong signal with the tower.
Common signs of poor signal strength include, poor call quality, dropped calls, spotty service, failed emails or text messages, and slow internet service. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to enhance the quality of your cell phone connection. Read on!
1. Use a Wi-Fi signal instead.
You can potentially get even more use out of your Wi-Fi signal. UMA or Unlicensed Mobile Access allows supported phones to make calls via the internet. All the major carriers support UMA to varying degrees with a suitable cell phone. Use every advantage you can get to enhance your cell phone signal.
2. Keep your phone charged.
When your battery is nearly drained, it’s more challenging for your phone to make a connection and to maintain it. Take every opportunity to plug in your cell phone and recharge the battery. A portable battery charger can be a great investment. Avoid using your battery more than necessary.
- Turn off Bluetooth if you’re not using it.
- Avoid extreme temperatures.
- Avoid keeping the screen brighter than necessary.
- Turn off any push notifications.
- Close apps that work in the background.
3. Avoid blocking your cell phone’s antenna.
Those that remember the old days of cell phones will remember the presence of external antennas. At one time, the antenna was attached to your automobile’s rear windshield. Then the antenna was sticking out of the phone itself. Modern phones still have antenna, only now they’re inside the phone.
It’s possible for your hand to interfere with the antenna on your cell phone if you’re holding it just the right way. Your phone has the best reception when it’s in a vertical position. Using your phone in a landscape position tends to be worse.
4. Find the closest cell phone tower.
It only makes sense that the closer your phone is to the tower, the better the reception will be. In some areas cell towers could be far apart, which is why an entire cell tower leasing industry exists. Fortunately, it isn’t necessary to drive around looking for cell phone towers. There are websites and apps that will tell you exactly where your cell phone towers are located.
Cellreception.com can show you the actual location of the cell towers for each of the four primary carriers – Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile. Just enter your zip code or city. Opensignal.com displays the signal strength for each of the four carriers on a map of your area. Opensignal is also available as an app for iPhone and Android. Two other popular apps for determining signal strength are Akvelon’s Signal Finder and RootMetrics’ Cell Phone Coverage Map. Both are available for iPhone and Android.
5. Avoid the crowds.
When too many people get together in a single location, the load on the cell phone tower can be too much for your phone to make a reliable connection. Any crowded public event can be a problem; for example, sports events, festivals, amusement parks, and concerts. Add the fact that many of those people are taking pictures and recording videos that they want to share with the world, and it doesn’t take long to create a problem. A quick trip away from the crowds can make a big difference in your cell reception. You already have the tools to find the nearest cell phone tower. It might be closer than you think!
Those tips may be a great help to improve your cell phone connection. Ensure that you’re getting the quality of service that you expect. Reliable 3G and 4G LTE signals are necessary to stay connected in today’s world. A few simple tips can make all the difference. Don’t allow your expensive cell phone to be little more than a fancy calculator.
