Ask Engadget: phone boosters

It may be a little later into the evening, but our pal Nick B's got what seems like an increasingly timeless question he wanted to ask Engadget:

I get really crappy cell reception in my apartment, but if I step outside the door, it's fine! I've held a cellphone party, and it seems to be a problem for every carrier! Does the Engadget world have any suggestions to increase cell reception in my apartment?

There are plenty -- and we do meany plenty -- of cell-signal booster devices out there, but what would you recommend to ensure Nick's pals can hear him now?

[Ian @ Mar 3rd 2006 1:25AM]

http://ecitywireless.zoovy.com/product/ASOT_ANT_BOOST?META=froogle-ASOT_ANT_BOOST

right there, baby. works like a charm.

[Lenny @ Mar 3rd 2006 1:31AM]

those don't really work do they? I bought one like 5 years ago, and it looked like the "metallic strip" was just painted on with gold paint. Don't think it worked much. Just kinda made you psychologically think you were getting better reception.

[7of7 @ Mar 3rd 2006 1:36AM]

http://www.short-media.com/review.php?r=301

right there, baby. works like a charm

[Anno @ Mar 3rd 2006 1:36AM]

Well you could save some money by just ripping your roof open all you need to buy is a hammer and you'll even get a nice view of the stars

[Andy @ Mar 3rd 2006 1:37AM]

I live in Malibu, CA. With the Santa Monica Mountains on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other, the reception is extremely poor. I bought Digital Antenna's DA4000MR Cellular Amplifier / Repeater. It works very well. I'll probably get cancer even sooner using it, but it gets the reception I need.

http://www.digitalantenna.com/cellamprep_DA4000MR.html

[eric @ Mar 3rd 2006 1:38AM]

cell phone party??? So wheres the booze?

[jCsickZ @ Mar 3rd 2006 1:42AM]

if antenna boosting strips REALLY worked and they were REALLY that cheap to produce, don't you think it would be in the phone producer's and service provider's best interest to force these to be built into phones they sell?

[Jordan @ Mar 3rd 2006 1:44AM]

What is a cell phone party? LOL. Good to see someone else is going to have a crappy day at work tomorrow due to staying up too late.. ;)

Honestly, I just replaced my SLVR with a Nokia 6682 and I went from no service or 1 bar to 4 bars solid and up. It's that much of a difference. The SLVR wasn't even bad, the 6682 is just that good.

That's the only advice I have, if you use GSM, try the 6682. If you use CDMA, try the Motorola V710 or the E815 if you want EV-DO and don't use AMPS.

Short of that, Wilson makes external antennas for most phones, but that is a pain, why plug in if you have a cell phone? Not so portable after that.. :)

There are actually signal boosters out there - wireless ones at that. I see them advertised on Phonescoop a lot, but can't remember the name.. :(

[mr. suspicious @ Mar 3rd 2006 1:45AM]

I wonder what percentage of posters in these kind of discussions are plants?

hmmm...

[Jordan @ Mar 3rd 2006 1:45AM]

Okay, scratch that, Andy posted the name of them, and now I remember! :)

[Jeremy @ Mar 3rd 2006 1:58AM]

Ummm, what's your wall made of, if it's concrete, then there's really nothing you can do for cheap, if you have a window, you can buy the signal booster kit like the ones they used to have for cars and attach it on a window. This would allow you to make calls from the room with the window more easily.

[mark @ Mar 3rd 2006 2:07AM]

I have to agree with post #1. Not a bad price too :D

[Digi @ Mar 3rd 2006 2:16AM]

Those metallic strips do work, not sure how. But 2 - 4+ Bars in the nevada desert, roaming, on cingular. Mmmm, i'd say it works just fine. Plus i stopped dropping calls. Grab one, they're 5$, why not?

[SMG3er @ Mar 3rd 2006 2:21AM]

Well, if you have 1 part of your home that gets better reception than others, you can always leave the phone in that spot and use a Bluetooth headset to keep mobile around your home.

[karmaghost @ Mar 3rd 2006 2:22AM]

if it's an option, take down your metal bug-screens from the windows; they're like one side of a Faraday's cage and block signals. The worst reception I get is by the windows, which seems weird until you take this into consideration.

[Jake @ Mar 3rd 2006 2:22AM]

Wrap it in tin-foil and put it next to an turned on radio for a while.

[Blazzing @ Mar 3rd 2006 2:35AM]

http://www.jdteck.com/
I have their booster, and it works perfectly. Support service (questions, returns, etc) are also friendly and fast.

[Garybaldy @ Mar 3rd 2006 2:36AM]

As an amateur radio operator (kf6fjq) let tell you something about those cell phone boosters that you stick under your battery or on the back of your phone. Unless the wire trace is in physical contact with your existing antenna. It does NOTHING. Except possibly block signals, 'thats just a guess though'

[unityblue @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:20AM]

Some basic wireless concepts:
- All antennas are not created equal
- Antenna placement is key

The antennas that come with most cell phones are crap. Buy a better, external one, and an adapter for for specific phone - yes, you can still get them for almost *every* phone. One such vendor is: http://www.cellantenna.com/Antennas/magneticmount.htm Even itty bitty antennas can easily boost 3dB (that's 2x power/sensitivity folks!)

Get that antenna outside! Or at least near a wall or window closest to your cell provider's tower. Walls, concrete, even windows can *dramatically* cut signal power - put the antenna where the signal is! If you live in Canada, one awesome provider equipment map site is: http://www.geckobeach.com/cellular/maps/

[beemer @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:31AM]

It's simply:
Buy two cellular car antennas and connect one to another.
Then put one outside your apartment and the other inside.
This is what is called a "passive repeater"

[Kohana @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:42AM]

Most of the things mentioned here aren't even real suggestions. Buy one of those little boosters, they say, and it'll help. I stuck one on one of my phones and it did nothing - but I also understand that some are bunk and some really do help.

The only real suggestion is the two mobile antennas, but could that really honestly help?

Engadget, I clicked on this link hoping you'd have a few suggestions yourself. What can YOU tell us? :)

[Richard @ Mar 3rd 2006 4:28AM]

My dad bought one of the little metal strips to put under the battery place for his rubbishy phone, it only put the bar up one, it works , but not very well..

[Vanessa @ Mar 3rd 2006 5:17AM]

If you sign in here and buy a signal booster, you will get a free gift (laptop, mobile phone, tv... even a Nokia 770!). Checkout; it's a Spanish page, but it ships worldwide...
http://www.misregalosgratis.com

[Ben @ Mar 3rd 2006 5:23AM]

Hi,

Simple: use wifi! More and more phones come with Wifi, among them the Nokia N91, N92, 6186, 9500... the other brands too...
You'll also save money, isn't it nice?
By the way there's a nice way of saving on text messaging too (crickee.com)

Cheers
Ben

[nexcomlink @ Mar 3rd 2006 5:55AM]

Well I use a nextel and it has a screw on antenna, I know that a larger antenna will always give you better signal so if you can unscrew your old antenna and get one that's bigger or more sensitive go for it.

[Gideon @ Mar 3rd 2006 6:03AM]

You could try to make your own passive repeater. A Yagi-Uda antenna on your roof or window pointed to the nearest cell site, and a broadside antenna inside.

[TZK @ Mar 3rd 2006 6:32AM]

There is no such thing as a cost effective way to boost your cell phone signal. Those who run this blog should know that.

Those stickers are a scam. Those cell watt boosters arent cost effective, not will they ever be. You either just have to live with it, or user something eles in your apartment, like skype out, or vonage. Providing you have a broadband connection. Vonage=500 monthly minutes anywhere in the US and Canada, $15.

Go nuts.

[MrGibbage @ Mar 3rd 2006 7:13AM]

In all seriousness, what you need is an honest cell phone amplifier. The truth is, the cell phones today are such low poer, that it is a miracle that they work at all. There are wired ones that will connect directly to your phone, but an increasingly popular choice is a wireless repeater. You can install one of these, then everyone near the repeater will reap the benefit. Just google for "cellular repeater". Wilson makes the best ones.
http://www.wpsantennas.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=2

[ken @ Mar 3rd 2006 8:22AM]

I too have the same situtation. Doing a reading, it appears that come April we all may have a "cheap" (at $399) answer. Spotwave, a maker of commerical wireless repeaters is coming to the consumer market with a product called ZEN. You can check it out at http://www.spotwave.com/zen/

[Doug Gaede @ Mar 3rd 2006 8:57AM]

The solutions on http://www.criterioncellular.com or http://www.cellantenna.com are the only real solutions. Those sticker-type boosters are snake oil. Read up on antenna theory in a copy of a ARRL book (http://www.arrl.org) at your local library to see.

I personally have used several antennas from criteron, but if your current phone does not have an antenna port (usually behind a rubber plug at the base of the internal antenna), you need to make sure your next phone does.

[Gord @ Mar 3rd 2006 9:04AM]

The best cellular amplifiers on the market are Cyfre and Inteligains . They are the only amplifiers that are major carrier and Motorola approved . You can get them at www.maximumSignal.com

[chip @ Mar 3rd 2006 9:22AM]

hey, i work for a small electronic store and we sell cell boosters.. they boost incoming & outgoing to three watts (typical cell phones put out around .6 watts) they work WONDERS. i live in a small town where service is spotty (even like.. 200 feet from the tower ;P) so we sell TONS of these.. There are two manufacturers that we carry. Smoothtalker (www.smoothtalker.com) (they're based out of Ontario, I believe.. Somewhere in canada, anyway) and they're the most affordable. They retail for $199. We also carry wilson electronics' line of boosters (www.wilsonelectronics.com) They have direct connect models (where you physically plug your phone into them) and repeater systems (where it works wirelessly) The direct connect wilsons retail for $249-259 (depending on frequency) and the repeaters retail for $349. They're designed for vehicle use, but can be adapted for home use. We haven't had any reliability issues with either of these brands (we sell well over 50/month and have had less than 1/month come back because the amp was bad.) Hope this helps you! Oh and by the way, if you're interested, I could sell you one.. I'll even ship for free! :) If you're interested, message me on my gmail account. Username is chipt4.

-chip

[Bill Grove @ Mar 3rd 2006 9:50AM]

Chip is correct. The Wilsons are the best. Just like the gentleman before his had said without saying a brand, it places a Yagi outside that points toward the tower, and then runs through the booster, and the booster runs to an internal antenna that radiates the signal throughout the building. Most likely all of your neighbors will thank you, because it's like putting your own cell tower on the building! The larger ones radiate 8,000 ft, but that is unblocked radiation. Inside your building, you'll still get a few floors thanking you!

Bill

[Victor Perez @ Mar 3rd 2006 10:01AM]

Either buy a better phone or switch carriers!

[Andre Alforque @ Mar 3rd 2006 10:17AM]

I wish I had $200-$400 to throw around like the suggestions here are making. For that money, I can buy quite a few layers of clothes at the Gap to bear out the winter cold to make a call.

I agree with Kohana. Does anyone know of a cost-effective way to do this? Hell, we're mostly tech-heads here; I'm sure we don't mind breaking out the soldering iron and pulling parts and slapping together if we have to. C'mon... sub $100 would be decent, sub $50 would be a godsend!

[E*Master @ Mar 3rd 2006 10:25AM]

Those stickers you put on the back of your phone???? Up here in Canada a TV consumer show called "Street Sense" tested thema nd found them t be nothig but a plastiuc sticker with a piece of aluminum foil. They even had an engineer look at it and examine it and found it also to be nothing but a piece of tape with tin foil and even said your can make that thing yourself.

[David @ Mar 3rd 2006 11:57AM]

Do you have Lead paint on your walls by chance?

[David @ Mar 3rd 2006 12:01PM]

Oh, I know!

Get a bluetooth headset and leave your phone in the hall. Maybe you can stash it behind the fire extinguisher or something.

[Guse @ Mar 3rd 2006 12:03PM]

move

[theSAWzall @ Mar 3rd 2006 12:15PM]

If you get good enough reception by a window you could try one of these:
http://www.phonelabs.com/prd05.asp

You dock your cellphone to it (or use the bluetooth option), and then you can use your cellphone through regular old wired phones.

[Gerry Brown @ Mar 3rd 2006 12:26PM]

I;ve used the RadioShack #17-345 universal antenna ($32) plus a cable ($10) with great success.

[Kipp @ Mar 3rd 2006 2:04PM]

I had the exact same problem. This is a very affordable repeater, and Solid signal sells them on eBay for $180. It works great!

http://www.wirelessextenders.com/

[Greg Shukov @ Mar 3rd 2006 2:04PM]

We've experimented with the products available from wirelessextenders.com and have had great success. In our showroom our SprintPCS signal went from 1 signal bar to 3 or 4 signal bars, depending on where you are in relation to the repeater.

[Jason Golden @ Mar 3rd 2006 3:29PM]

Anything over $100 sure seems like a lot of money to me. I would probably second the Vonage thing; forward your cell phone calls to it while at home.

[D14BL0 @ Mar 3rd 2006 6:27PM]

I've never noticed a difference with these things at all. I've had a VERY slight increase with one brand, but other than that, they've made no difference at all to me.

[alienshards @ Mar 4th 2006 12:20AM]

i have no idea if this will work, but it's worth throwing out there.

step 1- buy a cheap metal TV antenna at a garage sale or something. you know, the ones with a center pole and a bunch of tines on it.

step 2- buy some copper pipe.

step 3- buy a lot of wire.

step 4- make a solinoid around the copper pipe. connect the wire to the TV antenna on the outside.

step 5- curse at it if it doesn't work and stick a pringles can on it.


hey, it might work.

[Joey @ Mar 4th 2006 12:39AM]

I'm kinda late, but I'd saw that the Wilson line of amplifliers/direct connects would work well. The company that I work for sells quite a few Wilson products. If you don't mind being tethered, then I'd recommend a direct connect, and if you have a bluetooth headset, then you have a range of 20-30 feet usually (Bluetooth 1.2 is a whole lot better than 1.1). If you feel like spending quite a bit of money (Our systems that we sell usually run at least $800, but they work quite well), an amplifier/repeater system would work well.

In a nutshell:
The Wilson Direct Connect amplifies the signal while the amplifier/repeater just repeats the signal that it has outside, so a Direct Connect system would work the best in a place with pretty much no reception.

Oh, and a shameless plug for the company I work at as well as more info on the Wilson Direct Connect and Wilson Amplifier/repeater.

http://www.alternativewireless.com/cellular-antennas/wilson-antennas/wilson_cellular_amplifiers/index.html
http://www.alternativewireless.com/cellular-antennas/wilson-antennas/wilson_cellular_amplifiers/direct-connect-amplifier.html

I hope that the info that I've provided is good (despite the fact that the website can be a bit confusing).

[Dr John @ Mar 4th 2006 3:17AM]

This one's cool. www.signalwide.com

[Deviant @ Mar 5th 2006 10:03AM]

About the simplest and most cost effective way I've found of getting a better signal is an antenna.

Step 1: Go to a big truckstop. You know the ones. Usually out in the middle of nowhere.

Step 2: Walk past all the CB radios and 20' tall fiberglass antennas.

Step 3: Start looking for Cell Phone Antennas. They'll be anywhere from 1' to 4' in length, depending on the gain you want, and from $10 to $50.

Step 4: Find the adaptor specific to your cell phone. Newer phones may not have an adaptor out yet, but since cell phones only use about 5 different types of antenna hookups, you should be able to find one for yours.

Step 5: Pry off the small cover on the back of your cell phone, typically right next to the antenna. This is where the antenna adaptor hooks in. This will enable you to see what adaptor you need.

Step 6: Walk past the truck nutz and naked lady mudflaps to the counter. Pay for your new toy.

With this simple hookup, I've been able to travel all through western nebraska, and not drop a call. In fact, I've had issues with the phone trying to stay on a tower TOO long, when I know I'm looking at the one it should be on.

[rob @ Mar 6th 2006 9:48PM]

Cell phone boosters don't work if you follow their instructions. If think you're going to collect any extra signal by placing what's basically a second antenna behind a brick of metals, you're in for disappointment. I used to have the Kyocera Slider through Virgin Mobile (CDMA). I trimmed the sticker and stuck it on the back side of the front plate. This way the sticker would be behind the antenna with the phone open. My guess is that it turned the omni-directional antenna into a directional one but I'm not sure. Either way I went from no reception to two bars. I put a couple on some flip phones (CDMA & GSM) later on and got positive feedback. (Put it under the face plate so it looks nice and stick it so that it's upside down when the phone is closed.) They're 2 buck. What do you have to lose?

Yes Canadian, they are essentially tape and a metal compound that�s like what your car uses for the defroster. But it�s the length of the strips that makes it work. Kinda like the security tags that electronic stores use.

This picture might help you as well:
http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/cellbear.jpg