7 Ways to Boost Cell Phone Signal Strength for Free

It's not always necessary to spend a lot of money to solve your cell phone signal problems. Sometimes it can be a simple fix to go from poor calls and slow data to a much better phone experience. We'll cover the 7 best ways that we've found on how to boost your cell phone signal strength for free (or at least very cheaply) and hopefully one will be the solution for you.

1. Check Your Phone for Damage Sometimes dropping a phone, even in a case, can cause the internal antenna to be damaged, which will significantly impact the quality of the cell service that you receive. It's worth taking the case off of your phone and inspect the phone for damage to the back or corners.You can also typically schedule a free appointment with Apple or your carrier, and they can run a diagnostic on your phone to confirm that all of the hardware is working properly for you. If it's not, then the phone can sometimes be fixed or replaced for free, as long as it's under warranty.
2. Make Sure the Software on Your Phone is Up to Date Many times it may not be convenient to update the software running the phone, so we end up behind by one version, and then a few. This can ultimately lead to your phone performing at a non-optimal level, since it doesn't have the newest bug fixes and optimizations for calling, data, and just normal operation. Before you do anything else, you should make sure your phone is updated to the newest version of it's operating system.
3. Use WiFi Calling When You're on a Reliable Internet Connection If you're experiencing bad cell phone reception but you have a good WiFi connection, then you may want to use WiFi calling (if your phone supports it) instead of placing your calls over the cellular network. This is a great, and free, way to quickly solve bad cell signal for your voice calls.
4. Disable LTE If Your Phone is Showing a Single Bar The bars on your phone taking into account multiple things, including signal strength, quality and the load on the nearby towers. If you're showing a single bar of LTE, then this may mean that the tower you're phone is communicating with is highly congested, the signal quality is very poor or the signal strength is very weak. No matter what, it may be worth disabling LTE and using the 3G network instead, which often times is less congested and has a stronger signal.
5. Upgrade to a Newer Phone If you have a very old phone, specifically one that only supports 3G and not LTE, then upgrading to a more modern phone is highly recommended. Even a model a version or two back can be very affordable and will greatly improve your voice calls and data speeds, because it will be able to take advantage of high speed data over LTE, voice over LTE (VoLTE), and WiFi calling, to name a few.
6. Ask Your Carrier About a MicroCell If you have absolutely zero cell signal outside your home, and you have a high quality broadband internet connection (not satellite), then you may be able to get a microcell (also known as a femtocell or network extender) from your carrier.A microcell will connect to your broadband and send all of the calls made in your home over the Internet, instead of the cell network. It's not a perfect solution, but if you don't have any outside cell signal, it may be your only option.
7. Change to a Different Carrier Last but not least, if there is a different carrier in the area that has great cell service, it may be worth switching carriers and solving your problem that way. Many carriers are now offering incentives or will pay your contract cancelation to switch.

Bonus Solution

If one of these options did not help with your cell problems, then it may be time to turn to a paid solution to solve your situation once and for all.

8. Install a Cell Phone Signal Booster A cell phone booster will take a weak outside cell signal, bring it inside the home, office or vehicle you're in, amplify it, and then broadcast the boosted signal to the area that needs it most. They're certified by the FCC and recommended by all of the major cell carriers as a preferred solution to weak cell signal or obstructions that prevent the signal from reaching the areas that you need. With millions of boosters operating throughout the United States every day, they're one of the best options for cell signal problems.

Hopefully one of these options put you on the path to better cell signal. Please feel free to contact us with any questions on how a signal booster can help to permanently fix your cell phone signal problems.