Secrets to better mobile reception

There are a few different issues that can cause poor mobile reception in your home. It might be because your house is too far from a mobile tower; there are tall trees, hills, or high structures surrounding your home; your house is built with heavy materials; or there could be an interference caused by electronics, weather, or something metal in your home. If any of these sound like they could be your problem, then keep reading to find a solution.

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The higher you go, the less likely something will get in your way. “Every time I get bad reception, I tend to move up a floor. Signal tends to be better on higher floors, as you’re able to clear obstructions. If you are in a below-ground garage or basement, for example, then moving up to the ground floor can help immensely,” says Ahmed Ali, Content Marketing Executive at GigWorker.

If your phone service is bad but you have good Wi-Fi, you’re set. David Lynch, Content Lead for UpPhone, recommends turning on Wi-Fi calling to help you get better reception for phone calls in your house. “This uses your phone’s Wi-Fi connection to make calls, rather than your cellular connection. This feature isn’t included with every phone plan, so double-check with your carrier to see if you can use it,” says Lynch.

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If nothing else is working, simply try restarting your phone. “Sometimes, restarting your phone tends to get your service back because it clears glitches that occur in programming software when the antenna signal hops from one tower to another closer one,” says Ali.

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Thick walls or nearby structures can block your signal, so calling from deep inside a building or underground could be useless. “As simple as it sounds, taking your call towards a window can boost its signal. Obstructions like walls, metal, and brick block the connection between your cell phone and the nearest tower,” says Julia Campbell, Connectivity Expert at All Home Connections. Heading outside, or near an intersection if you’re already on the street, could improve the mobile reception.

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“Getting a phone signal booster is the most reliable way to increase the mobile network signal in your home,” says Ali. A signal booster will amplify the outside signal into your home for better reception. You will start getting faster data, better voice quality, and a stronger signal inside your house.

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If you’ve had the same provider for years, and you can never make a phone call in your house, it might be time to reevaluate. “If you have poor reception, I’d recommend checking your carrier’s coverage map to see if they actually have good service where you live. It’s possible [that] your carrier simply doesn’t have good service where you live, and that you could fix the problem by switching carriers,” says Lynch.

These are devices sold by your carrier that create a signal in your home through the Internet. “A network extender reroutes the signals in your home over your broadband Internet. This is an especially good option if your home has lots of obstructions or [a] poor signal outside,” says Campbell.

Don’t ignore messages to update your carrier software. Without the right updates, your phone might not know which tower to connect to, so downloading the new software could clue your phone in. “Auto updates frequently tweak and refine the back-and-forth between your phone and the closest signal tower, potentially improving the quality of your calls,” says Campbell.

“Your phone keeps on re-calibrating and checking for signals every time you move,” says Michael Miller, CEO of VPN Online. If you’re trying to get better reception in your home, sit down in one place while you’re using your phone.

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