Cellphone reception boost: Possible with a simple mod?

Kurt_ · Post by **Kurt_** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:18 pm

Well I just got a new cellphone. Nothing fancy (An LG 160), just something to use as a cellphone. I could go on and on about the horrors of not being able to play games, stream TV, or listen to 8 gigs of stored music (/sarcasm).

Anyways, inside my house I'm borderline no reception. In certain spots I get 0 Bars but service, and in other spots I get no service at all. Is there a simple way to boost this reception so that I can get texts, or, if possible, boost the signal to 1 bar to get calls indoors? Or is what I have as far as antennae or whatever as good as I'm going to get?

Bibin · Post by **Bibin** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:27 pm

Just a quick guess; you're using T-Mobile, correct? T-Mobile is slightly horrible. That might be related to your range issues, as my antennae-less LG gets full bars everywhere.

Dr. KillGood · Post by **Dr. KillGood** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:33 pm

Build a singnal boosting tower in your backyard?

Kurt_ · Post by **Kurt_** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:01 pm

Actually, I have Virgin Mobile. I live in Canada, so we don't have 5 million towers. My house happens to be near the edge of the broadcasting range of the local tower.

I did find an item on eBay that would work perfectly, if it was real.

It's a sticker that kinda looks like a Wifi antenna, but it just sticks behind the battery, not connected to anything. It promises a minimum 1 bar increase in range. I figure I'd make one out of tinfoil and tape or plastic or something.

But that got me thinking. If I was to take a Wifi antenna from an old laptop (donations?

) and connect it to the current antenna, would that do the job?

WhatULive4 · Post by **WhatULive4** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:11 pm

Kurt_ wrote: But that got me thinking. If I was to take a Wifi antenna from an old laptop (donations? ) and connect it to the current antenna, would that do the job?

And duct tape it to the side or what?

I know what it's like. I live in Canada too right on the border of a cell phone range, behind a large hill... To tell you the truth, my advice would be to just find a service provider who has a tower closest to you. That is what I had to do. In my basement I still have trouble sometimes, but other than that, its pretty good.

Also, you should look for a phone known for good reception. I exchanged 3 phones before I found one that I was happy with. I'm not sure what your providers exchange policy is, but I had 1 month to exchange, no questions asked.

I just got a Sanyo S1. It has absolutely no features. But I like the way it looks, and it has excellent reception and very clear speaker. It has no camera, mp3, or anything. I tried downloading a 100k game onto it and it ran out of memory lol. Other than that, I absolutely LOVE it.

Post by **Sparkfist** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:18 pm

If you have a cell phone that has an internal antenna, good luck with that. If however you have a model that has an external antenna, there in hope. I remember seeing an item that when mounted on top of something like a car's or radio's antenna it boosted the range. This item really looked simple being an inverted tear-drop shape, and what did the boosting as really just a cooper plate.

Do a google search see if they still make/sell them, they might even have a model that is meant for cell phones.

And for all of you, it's more the phone that has crappy signal then the carrier. The only exception to that rule is that Sprint/Nextel phones work in the Tech Center (at my school) where most other phones have no signal at all.

WhatULive4 · Post by **WhatULive4** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:06 pm

Sparkfist wrote: And for all of you, it's more the phone that has crappy signal then the carrier. The only exception to that rule is that Sprint/Nextel phones work in the Tech Center (at my school) where most other phones have no signal at all.

I agree partially. I am guessing you have never been to far outside a major Canadian city. We have service providers here who once you leave a city, you have zero service. No roaming, nothing. I work tech support for an insurance agency and when I am on the road in remote areas, the locals rely on the strong US signals coming across the border because our providers don't have very good coverage.

Kurt_ · Post by **Kurt_** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 5:47 pm

The problem is that I want to stick to Virgin because it'll cost m $8 monthly. I'm not a big talker.

Overnight, the outer LCD magically cracked. And while at work (The cell was lying untouched on my bed at home) the phone now shuts off after you turn it on. Time to replace it. The two options I'm willing to go for are another LG 160, OR some other LG at the booth in the mall. It's $100, and the buttons have no gaps in between.

Here are those thingies. Think they work?

link1

link2

teraflop122 · Post by **teraflop122** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:12 pm

I am not an expert, but common sense dictates that these will not work. An antenna will not broadcast a stronger signal unless more power is sent to the antenna.

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:13 pm

Why not get a cellular repeater? Only bad thing is that they cost $100+, but then any cell phone in range would benefit.

khaag · Post by **khaag** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 10:00 pm

Kurt_ wrote:The problem is that I want to stick to Virgin because it'll cost m $8 monthly. I'm not a big talker.

Overnight, the outer LCD magically cracked. And while at work (The cell was lying untouched on my bed at home) the phone now shuts off after you turn it on. Time to replace it. The two options I'm willing to go for are another LG 160, OR some other LG at the booth in the mall. It's $100, and the buttons have no gaps in between.

Here are those thingies. Think they work?

link1

link2

They don't work. You might not believe me, but my reception actually got worse after I stuck it on

Kurt_ · Post by **Kurt_** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 5:37 pm

http://www.andybrain.com/extras/cellpho ... d-test.htm

jperryss · Post by **jperryss** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 6:13 pm

Yep, those stick-on cellphone boosters are a waste of time.

Aguiluz · Post by **Aguiluz** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 9:45 pm

On a quite queer note, some of those "sticker things" have lights on them that flash when the phone is transmitting/receiving data. Strange thing is that they don't have a battery.

nitro2k01 · Post by **nitro2k01** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:12 am

Aguiluz wrote:On a quite queer note, some of those "sticker things" have lights on them that flash when the phone is transmitting/receiving data. Strange thing is that they don't have a battery.

Those things actually pick up enough energy from the radiation to drive a LED or two. Needless to say, such a sticker will reduce the signal because it's eating some of the energy.