Cellular reception and transmission occurs each time you use your cell phone. The cellular tower sends out a signal to your cell phone and your cell phone sends out a signal to the tower. All of this depends on the signal in both directions being strong enough that both the tower and the cell phone can 'hear' each other.  Anything that gets in the way of the direct path between the 2 can reduce the strength of the signal. Your home is made out of various materials that can absorb and reflect the signal.  Sometimes the color of the brick can have a factor as some colors have metal pigments, and having a metal roof doesn't help either. We estimate that you have 1/64th of the signal inside the house as compared to outside. It is no wonder that people have problems inside compared to outside.

I have almost full "Bars' on my cell phone but I can't make a call?

The signal strength meter on your cell phone does not always work well and cannot be trusted to give you an accurate reading. However, it only measures the strength of the tower at your cell phone but does not measure the strength of your cell phone at the tower.  The tower has many times the power of your cell phone. Chances are your signal isn't making its way to the tower due to the lack of power that your cell phone has.

How can I improve the signal in my home or office so that I can make and receive calls?

We have a few ways  improve your signal. You can place an external antenna like our Yagi's or Land Base Fiberglass antennas. You can also combine it with one of our Signal Booster Amplifiers. Some people even use our magnetic mount antennas indoors.

I want to mount an internal antenna in my home and connect it to a Yagi antenna pointed at the tower. Will this work?

We call this a passive repeater. It probably not work.. For this to work you would need to be extremely close to the tower. IF that were the case, you wouldn't need the antenna to start off with. The only real way to increase signal strength in a home is using a repeater.

Wilson sells antennas with gains 15 even 25. Why don't your antennas have the same gain as theirs?

They lie. There is no way that the real gain of any piece of metal sticking up in the air can be as high as they claim. They are not measuring gain by the same standard the entire industry measures it. They are measuring the accumulated gain. Here's an example of this. IF your cell phone has a negative gain figure say -7, and you have a 6 dB gain outside the car compared to inside,  and the antenna is a 3 dB gain, then you are 16 dB Wilson Gain.  IN effect, you only have a 3dB antenna. Telecommunication Engineers worldwide measure gain the same way we do. 

Is it true that the higher the antenna, the further the transmission and the better the reception?

Yes, in general, that can be one of the factors influencing performance.  However, for most uses, mounting the antenna in the usual locations is acceptable.

Does the gain of the antenna really matter?

Yes, it does. The gain of an antenna translates to greater distance for transmission and reception. A gain of 6db usually results in a performance increase of four times the radio's power output and eight times with a 9dB gain.  However, other factors can be equally important, including the tuned frequency of the antenna and its SWR. 
 

Note that by increasing the ground system efficiency, useful RF power is actually directed closer to the water surface where it is needed. Most well designed 5/8 wavelength 6dB antennas will transmit the same distance in the sky; however, the ground efficiency determines the actual communication range at sea level.

Yes, it will. As long as you are getting some signal, the antenna will increase the reception and transmission of your cellular phone.
 

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