Cell Phone Signal Booster/Amplifier

Does anybody have trouble with cell phone reception in their house? My house at the coast has a metal roof and I have to stand with my head practically out the window to get any reception. It was fine before I got the metal roof. Two of my friends have had the same problem when they got metal roofs. Soooo, I've been trying to figure out how to fix this problem. I just got this:
http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phone-...x300/4505-6448_7-32612743.html?tag=mncol;also
I got down here and set it up sometime after midnight so I'm not sure if I have it set up in the optimal location but it does seem to give me more bars.

Has anyone successfully addressed a poor reception problem?

I have a metal roof with not problems getting a cell phone call. My cell phone actually sounds better than my hard wired lines at least to me. I would say it is more to do with location, carrier etc than the metal roof. The only place I've seen no reception is at UK Hospital's Emergency rooms. This due to the lead lining in the walls so they can operate a portable X-Ray machines safely in the ER.

If you have Verizon, try this: *228, option 2. It upgrades/refreshes your roaming options (looks for new cell towers), or something like that. The guy at Verizon said I should do this about once a month. Duh.....I hadn't done it in about 3 years. My bars went up considerably.

You could try holding the phone differently, too.
I actually read the directions to one of my cell phones once... it said to NOT hold it with the index finger on the back of the phone, which is typical when pushing the phone against your ear. That is where the antenna was located. If I was getting poor reception and gripped the phone on the sides, reception improved.

Fisher's Mom said:

Does anybody have trouble with cell phone reception in their house? My house at the coast has a metal roof and I have to stand with my head practically out the window to get any reception. It was fine before I got the metal roof. Two of my friends have had the same problem when they got metal roofs. Soooo, I've been trying to figure out how to fix this problem. I just got this:
http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phone-...x300/4505-6448_7-32612743.html?tag=mncol;also
I got down here and set it up sometime after midnight so I'm not sure if I have it set up in the optimal location but it does seem to give me more bars.

Has anyone successfully addressed a poor reception problem?

Click to expand...

I'm afraid that for me, it does no good. Seems every time I try that, I get friggen ignored!

The problem that I have is with cell phone signaling in and around the Boston area. It is downright ridiculous!

And since AT&T, earlier this summer, started chaging an accessment fee of $1.00 for the FIRST call made or received every day, this is even more atrocious!

The least that they could do is improve the damn singaling in problem areas. So sad! They want the money, but they WON'T provide good coverage in problem areas!!

Sorry about the poor signal FM ....but I can't get past: "My house at the coast" Heck with the cell signal ....when's the party? I'd love to have a house on the coast ...any coast.

I'll 2nd what Chow said. How you hold the phone can hurt or help the signal. It's hard to keep that index finger out of the way but it will help. Maybe put on the speaker so you don't have to hold it up to your ear.

Terry, how many time do I have to tell you to take off your Playboy Bunny Ears before answering the cell phone. The wire in the ears messes up the signal. Sheesh

Thanks guys. I didn't know that how you hold your phone makes a big difference but you're right, Chow! It does make reception better! Thank you.

I do have Verizon, Cooksie, and I was lucky that when I first got it, the tech told me about *288. I do it on the first of every month. But my sons forget so every so often, I remind them and they are amazed at how much better their reception is.

It's always a party down at the coast, Doc. I ended up driving back home at 3:30 this morning because the party didn't wind down til then! But I'm thinking the house boat in your avatar is a party city on the water! Am I right? (We need stories.....)

Anyway, I played around with the signal booster and finally got it set up so that I can actually have a conversation in the middle of the house without any static or drop outs or lost calls! Yeah!!!! However, my neighbor also has Verizon and she got no improvement on her brand new phone. She can't take a call inside her house or mine - she still has to go outside.

But you know, with my new signal amplifier, I think the Playboy bunny ears are now acting as antennas, Lefty! I'm never taking them off!

You're welcome!

I used one of those boosters once, kept getting them for free whenever I was ordering cell phone accessories online. They sorta worked, a little. Used to be sometimes hard to get a signal in the house, but since I upgraded to our BlackBerries it has not been a problem at all.
Makes me wonder if the brand of cell phone matters as well? For us Nokia had the least bars, followed by LG.

I have a Samsung t639 from T Mobil which has the widest world wide connections doesn't quite cover all of Kentucky as it should. This phone does get bars when my son's higher end doesn't with both of us on T Mobil. So I'm kind of agreeing with Mav on this as it very well make a difference as to brand.

Oh, I know different brands and even different models make a difference. But my problem at the coast was lack of towers in the area and metal roof combined because nobody could get a signal in that house. It really was a Verizon Dead Zone.

I have a drawer full of those little adhesive-backed reception boosters, Mav. Like you, I seemed to get at least one every time I ordered an extended battery or a phone case. I never even thought about trying one of those, but I suspect they wouldn't have worked. The device I got is pretty amazing and it even boosted my wireless internet connection!

In your case Terry I agree it would not have solved your problem. Those little adhesive boosters only improve reception for when you go in a building or house but do have a tower close by.
The best I have ever seen it do was raise it a single bar. For awhile I considered getting my own cell antenna but when I switched to AT&T and got the BB's it was no longer as much a problem.
I did notice, strangely enough, that when I put a wireless antenna in for my wireless network it actually had an effect on my cell signal as well. It shouldn't have, but it did. Now I get all 5 bars in the house where before it was 3 or 4.
Weird.