cell phone antenna capability?

I looked into Wilson's line of antenna repeaters but don't want to go there, just yet. Still trying to find out if one brand of cell phone or type of cell phone would make a difference in my marginal reception. Or if a contract versus no contract phone makes a difference. And if the no contract phone is subject to a lesser signal from the tower for example.?? Thanks

The discussion and question about what phone works better antenna wise is well done. I defer to the prior answers.
Bob

new to forum, and can't seem to find the "discussion and question about what phone works better antenna wise". posts. Help me out. Thanks

.....that everyone's experience depends on where they live more than the phone itself. Comes down to your proximity to the cellular towers and your local reception. I have used Samsung, Motorola, iPhones with all about the same reception. There is no magic phone that will give every user the best reception. Best suggestion is to speak with friends and/or family what works best for them.

I have a convoy 2. My grandson has a iphone. We're both on Verizon contract. He has one bar better in my house than I do. That suggest a better receiving capability or processing. My friend has an Iphone but AT&T. Hers is one bar better than my convoy as well. Matches my grandsons Iphone with Verizon so again that suggests Iphone has better receiving capability or processing than my Convoy 2. I tried the latest straight talk smartphone. No better than my convoy, which I noted before as 1 bar near a window. No bars interior of house. Iphones had one bar. It certainly seems, that for what ever reason the Iphones do better. Iphones and my convoy are contract--straight talk smart phone isnt'. Does that make a difference? If there are no other phones that will work, other than the Iphone, than I will consider an external antenna from someone, but before I jump to that I wanted to check. Don't want the $60.00 a month no contract with the Iphone. Might better buy the repeater with a one time cost and go with a 7 dollar a month tracfone. The question is are there any phones, other than the Iphone, that has the potential to be better at receiving and processing a weak signal in my house? Thanks

I have yet to find the phone is the big factor in this issue. As to the number of bars that's not a good measurement stick. It's something that software can be tinkered with to give "more bars" and let's dismiss that since we know it's just what it is and not a good measurement of the signal quality.

The recurring fix is to install those repeaters for homes and offices that poor indoor coverage.
Bob

Second thing you should consider is getting rid of the 'faraday cage' metal roof. That's not going to help you receive weak radio waves from outside.

Check out the other Wilson solutions that Bob posted. An up front cost of $300-500 that lets you choose from a wider range of (potentially money saving) prepaid cellular carriers might be worth the effort.

We live in hurricane country so don't want to get rid of metal roof. Shingled roof was damaged in three hurricanes so this last time went to metal with lots of screws.

Looking like the Wilson repeater may be the solution. Need to consider what type, omni directional or directional. Verizon towers around us but some distance away so probably Omni directional would give me the best chance of an improvement by picking up one of the towers that circle us. Thanks

I've seen the aftermath of hurricanes, as I often spend time around Miami & the keys. Yikes. Easy to see why you opted for such a roof.

I suggest you also first spend some time at howardforums.com, in addition to calling Verizon and/or ATT to see if you can ascertain where & how far away the closest cell sites are. The good thing is, if you end up with a simple 850/1900MHz amp/repeater, you can use most of the carriers, with T-Mobile perhaps left out since they use the 1700 MHz frequency band.

You always get more gain using a Yagi (directional) antenna. But I've had luck using simple omni-directional ones too, especially in suburban sites that had OK reception to begin with. There's some useful info here:

http://www.unwiredsignal.com/?view=Cell-Phone-Booster-Repeater-FAQ

hth,
Pedro

Good information. The link to unwireddsignal very helpful. Thanks

I agree with Pedro - One of our clients (i work for cel-fi.com) used a Cel-Fi cell phone signal booster during a hurricane in the Philippines (it is called Typhoon in that region) - Our client had to provide coverage for rescue operations during the typhoon in some regions in the Philippines (that was in 2010), and Cel-Fis (and other signal boosters) are usually able to keep a good connection even when only 1 bar is available.

The key, as always, is to find the best location for the window unit (or receiver unit).

...these forums. Probably skirting the rules by a hair though