Poor Signal Areas

[PaulC59]

I have spent a lot of time in remote areas and in some cases it's not possible to get a good signal, or it's very weak, which drains the phones battery

I was wondering if it would be feasible to make it possible to add an external antenna to the phone as an accessory to boost the phones signal?

This could either be achieved via the USB c slot or an additional patch of bare metal which an accessory or a booster phone case could connect to if and when needed

Might be a daft idea but thought I'd suggest it as it's a real pain when in signal black spots and it would make 5g etc much better if possible

I am using an S23 Ultra 512mb version but it could apply to any phone but would be most useful for business phones when people work outdoors or on the go

[BandOfBrothers]

I think any idea that's viable yo help when in a fringe coverage area is a good one @PaulC59  👍 

You could speak with one of the accessories manufacturers. 

Personally as my phone is Dual Sim I have two different Network Sim Cards in my phone to better help keep me connected. 

[RXM]

I live in the Scottish Highlands and my house is located just inside a blackspot for 4g indoor coverage but gets a little bit of 2g/3g coverage but not a lot. Combined with thicc walls this leaves me in a situation where most of the time I will be on 0 bars or 1 bar of signal (or 2+ bars if I tape my phone to a specific window upstairs and use mobile hotspot for another device). I also utilise dual Sims so two Sims with very little to no signal is a serious drain on the battery so when im home I use airplane mode and then turn on WIFI calling. WIFI calling is essential for me so I make sure both Sims have WIFI calling capabilities. EE's WIFI calling is zero hassle in my experience, I just popped my Sim into my S23 Ultra when I got it and it worked perfectly, whilst Lebara to be honest was a struggle to get working but now works most of the time. EE provides the fastest speeds by a long shot in my area, I get 4g+ in most locations and have done speed tests which have maxed out at over 130mbps download. My other SIM is just whatever is the cheapest SIM that utilises either an o2 or Vodafone network with WIFI calling. This for me is currently Lebara which piggybacks off of Vodafone which uses the low frequency 900MHz band that is better at travelling further than high frequency bands and also better at penetrating walls and providing better indoor signal too, so I have that for the times when i'm indoors with no access to Wifi but also during power cuts which are quite common here during storms, o2 is similarly good in this respect. Also, specific phone networks can be down for days on end or longer here so having that backup is crucial for me at least to stay connected. This is the way ive best dealt with rural living and staying connected most of the time.

Just curious as to where rurally you are catching any 5g signal at all from? If you are able to get a poor 5g signal, you should be able to get faster 4g or 4g+ signal. I don't think 5g will have much benefit to such locations as it cant travel nearly as far anyway.

[PaulC59]

Hi thanks for your comments. My interactions with rural areas have mainly been when touring with a caravan and most recently I have a static caravan and for caravans good WiFi is hard to find. I got the idea for an external antenna mainly by using the caravan i.e you can get a 4g/5g router many of which have antennas attached. These antennas can be replaced with external antennas which can improve your range and network speeds considerably and your signal can jump from no signal or 1 bar to 4 or 5 bars. Where there is a 5g mast within range a lot of people have switched to 5g routers with an external antenna such for their home broadband as it can be cheaper and faster. Companies such as poynting do some excellent outdoor antennas and there are a variety of manufacturers who do them for fixed locations such as a static or house and others who do mobile options for tourers and motorhomes etc.

My comments about 5g were more general because the principle is the higher the g, the shorter the range i.e 3g is slow but has a long range, 4g is faster but a shorter range, 5g is even faster but even shorter range. My point was if the range of the phone could be extended via an external antenna or booster then it would improve the quality and strength of connection to 5g, 4g and 3g so it would make say 5g stronger or in some cases enable access where it wasn't possible before.

I personally am happy with 4g as it's quite fast and I don't do anything that needs a super fast connection but I can see the value of a 5g or 4g router in the home as an alternative for home broadband which can be a good option in some areas where choice is limited for fixed broadband.

I agree the S23 is one of the best for getting a signal, I often get 2 or 3 bars when others can't even get a signal. My main issue with the S23 is the frequency it drops signal i.e stops and starts again, which is most noticeable when streaming. My suspicion is it is due to apps or background activity as opposed to the phones hardware