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Cell Phone Range Extender Apps/Gizmos

Started by Uncle Duke, June 28, 2016, 12:07:16 PM

Uncle Duke

Do any of the available apps that claim to allow a cell phone to extend the range at which it can receive data/WiFi work? How about the cheesy looking metallic, patch-like antennas you are suppose to attach to the back of a cell phone?

My daughter just bought a home in the middle BF nowhere, I basically have spotty-to-no connectivity for about 15 minutes between the interstate and their house to connect to WiFi.  Suggestions appreciated.

starrmtn001

Quote from: Uncle Duke on June 28, 2016, 12:07:16 PM
Do any of the available apps that claim to allow a cell phone to extend the range at which it can receive data/WiFi work? How about the cheesy looking metallic, patch-like antennas you are suppose to attach to the back of a cell phone?

My daughter just bought a home in the middle BF nowhere, I basically have spotty-to-no connectivity for about 15 minutes between the interstate and their house to connect to WiFi.  Suggestions appreciated.

triola

Quote from: Uncle Duke on June 28, 2016, 12:07:16 PM
Do any of the available apps that claim to allow a cell phone to extend the range at which it can receive data/WiFi work? How about the cheesy looking metallic, patch-like antennas you are suppose to attach to the back of a cell phone?
My kids went through some of this when they were in the Kalispell area: AT&T monopoly, all other providers were 'roaming', derth of cell towers, mountainous terrain, low population density so not worth it to providers to invest in better coverage/data speeds.

Short answer: No, the cellphone printed antenna add-ons won't do it, but you might consider some of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Cell-Phones-Accessories-Phone-Signal-Boosters/zgbs/wireless/2407782011

The apps still depend on your connection, so no magic bullet there.

The kids ended up moving back after a few months so we didn't persue it any further, but the above is what I would have tried if they had stayed.

Uncle Duke

Quote from: triola on June 28, 2016, 05:02:30 PM
My kids went through some of this when they were in the Kalispell area: AT&T monopoly, all other providers were 'roaming', derth of cell towers, mountainous terrain, low population density so not worth it to providers to invest in better coverage/data speeds.

Short answer: No, the cellphone printed antenna add-ons won't do it, but you might consider some of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Cell-Phones-Accessories-Phone-Signal-Boosters/zgbs/wireless/2407782011

The apps still depend on your connection, so no magic bullet there.

The kids ended up moving back after a few months so we didn't persue it any further, but the above is what I would have tried if they had stayed.

Thanks for the advice.

albrecht

Quote from: Uncle Duke on June 28, 2016, 12:07:16 PM
Do any of the available apps that claim to allow a cell phone to extend the range at which it can receive data/WiFi work? How about the cheesy looking metallic, patch-like antennas you are suppose to attach to the back of a cell phone?

My daughter just bought a home in the middle BF nowhere, I basically have spotty-to-no connectivity for about 15 minutes between the interstate and their house to connect to WiFi.  Suggestions appreciated.
Might be totally different situation, but, my old condo was on a golf course that was between some hills, not big ones, but maybe a 100ft or so of limestone in the Hill Country. But close to town, actually was annexed. But cell signals were awful. AT&T finally gave 'mini-tower' boosters* to some people (I had moved by then.) But I recently went back to visit some friends and cell phone still sucked. I wasn't staying long so didn't bother but she said that I could get on her 'tower' by logging in and then would have cell via, I guess, the WiFi and then the internet to AT&T and then cell tower via internet (I guess?) Basically, AT&T told me, at the time, that the issue was several. The elevation, the high-tension power line, and an "unique" situation were we were between 3 towers almost precisely equidistant from each (so your cell phone would try to connect to 'best' signal but constantly be switching.) I semi-confirmed it with an old Nokia that showed you the name of the cell tower you were connected with.

*http://www.att.com/att/microcell/

cweb

There was a period of hype over "femtocells," which are basically cell phone towers that hook up to an internet connection and can serve a small amount of phones. Not sure if it would have the range you're looking for.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femtocell

It's hard to think of a software solution to a largely hardware problem. In using a software solution, you're betting that your cell phone antenna can be either made more efficient or have its Tx/Rx power turned up. The former is tough because wouldn't your device's manufacturer already have optimized it off the assembly line? The latter is hard because there may be a balance between antenna power in the context of the phone's stability and FCC Tx/Rx power regulation.

Those are the issues as I see them. Hopefully there's a flaw somewhere which you can exploit to solve your problem. There are a wide range of cell phone signal boosters (from snake oil to enterprise level- so $50-$400-$3000+) but if the cell signal is struggling to get to the booster you may already be at a disadvantage. Good luck!

Delphi

I use this following technique and is the only working way.. Root the phone ď use custom radio and apn signals

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