Bad Cell Signal at Home, Any Solutions?

[testicle187]

I have really poor cellular signal at my house.  It's not just in my house but the whole area around it as well.  Is there any sort of powered antenna and amplifier system out there that could boost my signal inside the house?  The carrier I use is AT&T, but all phones people have brought over have the same reception levels no matter what the carrier is.

I have looked around and found this, but they seem to require a good signal outside to produce an equal signal inside.

Wi-Ex zBoost YX510 PCS/CEL White Dual-Band
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16875997033&Tpk=yx510

Anyone have any ideas or know of a good solution?

[ahofle]

LOL I have the same problem with AT&T.  They aren't kidding with that ridiculous map commercial, coverage is a joke.  What's worse is we tried to cancel our service when we found out how bad the reception was before our 30 days were up and they told us that we had used up more than 30 minutes of call time so we couldn't cancel (apparently somewhere in the fine print).  So now I'm locked in to 2 years of useless reception. 

On a side note, I switched my home service to Ooma so I don't need the cell at home anymore.

[protokatie]

Dunno about the booster, but whatever one you get make sure you can return it if it doesn't work as expected.

As per me, I had an AT&T cell for 2 years after contract (I made sure to keep the same phone so I could cancel in a heart beat). Last month I canceled and bought a tracfone w/ double minutes and a one year card. I hardly ever make phone calls, so the 400*2 + 200 bonus minutes (1000) is far more than I will use in a year, and it only cost me 10 dollars for the phone and 100 a year for service. For those not making too many calls prepay is a good way to go, also with some of them (like Tracfone) they will use many different companies towers so I can get signal when others may not.

As per home phone, I looked into Ooma, but ended up just going with MagicJack as I have 2 computers that are on 24/7 so it makes sense cost wise.

OP: Do you own your own land? And if so, is it rather large? In that case cell companies will pay a lease to put a tower on your land. You would get pretty good reception then.

[leapinlew]

I have looked around and found this, but they seem to require a good signal outside to produce an equal signal inside.

Wi-Ex zBoost YX510 PCS/CEL White Dual-Band
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16875997033&Tpk=yx510

Anyone have any ideas or know of a good solution?

I just installed the zboost dual band in my house. What an ordeal! The biggest thing to consider is the antenna placement. In my case, I installed it in the attic. I had a decent reception up there (3 bars). Otherwise, you can install it outside on the roof, on a pole, etc. I then had to run a cable to the 1st floor. It's necessary to have 15 vertical feet from the antenna to the base station. I luckily found a way to run it, but you should look to see how difficult the installation will be.

The next thing you need to consider is your cell signal. If you can't place the antenna in a location with a steady/reliable connection, don't bother boosting it. You need a good connection to begin with, before you consider boosting it.

Another option is for you to get a phone that switches over to wifi while your in the house. I use a Blackberry pearl and it works over wifi, but my wife uses an iphone and hers benefits from the booster (as well as any guests)

Good luck.

[SavannahLion]

OP: Do you own your own land? And if so, is it rather large? In that case cell companies will pay a lease to put a tower on your land. You would get pretty good reception then.

That's only worth it if the cell company is willing to deal with permits and whatnot.

[Avinitlarge]

I have the same problem with Vodafone where I live in the UK. I threatened to cancel my contract. The halved the price of my line rental and gave me a new phone. I know its not a solution but It is better on my pocket

[testicle187]

OP: Do you own your own land? And if so, is it rather large? In that case cell companies will pay a lease to put a tower on your land. You would get pretty good reception then.

That's only worth it if the cell company is willing to deal with permits and whatnot.

I do own the land, but unfortunately it is 1 acre and a wooded area behind my house.  Would a more powerful YAGI directional antenna would possibly be able to get a good signal (if aimed in the direction of the tower properly)?

[jamesjones626]

i know someone with a ATT phone that has reception problems in my house, i use to have sprint and i had the same issue.  I switched over to cricket and im fine now

[testicle187]

i know someone with a ATT phone that has reception problems in my house, i use to have sprint and i had the same issue.  I switched over to cricket and im fine now

Well that's the crummy part about my house.  I have people come by with Sprint, Verizon, and a local area phone company, Bluegrass, and they all get bad reception.