Cellular signal boosters use big antennas to improve coverage in your home and car. These are the top-performing boosters for large homes, small homes, apartments, and vehicles.
Now that many of us are working from home, cellular dead zones aren’t just annoying, they’re mission critical. If you have weak or no cellular signal in your home, a cellular signal booster can really help. The basic principle behind signal boosters is simple: A big antenna is better than a small one. Instead of relying on the tiny antenna in your phone, they capture cellular signal using a large antenna in your window or outside your house (or car), then pass that signal through a device that cleans and amplifies it, and out through a rebroadcaster inside your home. That’s the basic plan, at least. Booster makers have to add various tricks to detect the best signal from various surrounding towers, and then especially to amplify the signal without messing up the carriers‘ own systems. That’s why you need to stick with boosters from the big four companies: Cel-Fi, HiBoost, SureCall, and WeBoost. Cheaper boosters sold on Amazon often aren’t FCC-certified, which means they can cause trouble with surrounding cell sites and networks. We last tested signal boosters in July of 2020. This roundup was updated in March 2021 with additional background research. Do You Need a Cellular Booster? Boosters help the most when you have weak, but not absolutely no signal. Where your phone shows bars, wireless industry folks measure signal in -dBm. A number higher than about -90dBm (like -80 or -70) is a strong signal. Get down below -110dBm and it’s definitely a weak signal; below -120dBm and you’ll have trouble holding onto any signal at all. Apps like CellMapper can show you the signal you’re receiving on your phone. This chart shows the relationship between signal strength and LTE speed. There is one key trick you can try before investing in a home booster. All of the wireless carriers have Wi-Fi calling now, so you can hook your phone up to your home Wi-Fi network and make phone calls.
