You+ poor mobile signal= silent suffering

We’re mobile creatures. We talk, text, surf the internet, use apps, plays games, and take photos all on the go. 95% of all Americans own a cellphone and with our mobile lifestyle we demand mobile essentials.

And nothing is more essential to smartphones than cellular service.

See what happens when you get spotty to no service:

Dropped calls
Poor voice quality
Sluggish internet
Stuck text messages & email
Still-connecting social media
Raise your hand if you’ve ever clinged to one bar of service, praying, pleading, and promising to be a new person just for the connection to hold on.

And absolutely nothing is more FRUSTRATING than waiting…and waiting… for something to send or load but the progress bar sticks at 99% then just fails.

Not acceptable. Not in today’s always on, always connected world.

You’re paying for these high monthly cell phone bills. You deserve to get what you’re paying for. Because without reliable 3G & 4G LTE (and soon to be 5G) signals, your cell phone is basically a glorified calculator that takes photos.

However, there are a few easy tips and tricks you can use to help boost your cell phone strength.Today we look at a few free & paid options

1) CLEAR OUT OBSTRUCTIONS

Your cell phone and cell phone tower play a game of Marco Polo every time you use your phone. One yells “Marco” and the other shouts back “Polo.”

When there’s a clear line of sight between them, it’s easy for the two to hear each other. But when there are objects and obstructions in between, it gets a little harder for the two to communicate.

When you see people raising their phones or moving to a window, they are basically trying to reduce the interference between the cell phone and cell tower.

That’s because there are about 5 main causes of poor cellular signal:

Cell tower distance (of course)
External interference (trees, hills, mountains, valleys, metal structures & high buildings)
Building material & construction (metal, concrete, thick walls, energy-efficient installations, etc.)
Internal interference (electronics, metal objects, anything magnetic or electronic can interfere with cell waves)
Weather (yup)
Some simple tips that help:

Move outside or get near a window.
Avoid standing under or near tall structures
Reduce interior clutter
Get higher. Usually the second floor of the home gets better signal.
All these tips should help get you better reception.

As mentioned, weather may also affect service, too, like rain, snow and thunderstorms. Sometimes the wind can literally carry signal to or away from you.

Just remember this, less things between your cell phone and the cell tower, the easier the two can keep communicating. Cellular signals are very fickle by nature. Sometimes, a slight move here or there can drastically change reception.

2) LOCATE YOUR NEAREST CELL PHONE TOWER(S)

Knowing the closest cell phone tower locations helps tremendously when it comes to getting the best reception: the closer your phone is to the tower, the better the signal strength.

It looks old and takes a bit of time to load, but the amount of data it provides is best-in-class. You’ll need a little patience to mine out the data.

Cell Reception:
Put in your zip code or city and state and the magic happens.

Find cell tower locations by the major carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, & T-Mobile). And read reviews and ratings by users like yourself.

Open Signal:
Open Signal ranks the top 4 carriers and their signal with a cell phone coverage map and then further compares your area cell phone signal nationwide and even worldwide.

You can also refine the type of cell phone signal by 2G, 3G, and 4G.

OpenSignal: For iPhone | For Android
RootMetrics’ Cell Phone Coverage Map: For iPhone | For Android

These are our recommended apps to help find cell tower locations and coverage quality.

Your smartphone is a great way to find signal strength.