Can Apps Really Boost Cell Signal? (The Truth)

Posted by Greg Knell on 18th Feb 2022

Type cell signal booster into the iTunes Store or Google Play and you’ll see dozens of apps claiming the ability to boost your cell signal. Do they really work? If so, how well? At SureCall, we get asked about signal boosting apps a lot. We’ll address everything you need to know about these apps here and answer a few related questions as well.

Before we get into it, there’s one thing to know up front. As you may already know, your cell signal originates from a cell tower near your location. Mobile apps that you download to your smart phone have nothing to do with these towers. They can’t generate a new signal out of thin air. That being said, there are things that some apps can actually do that might help you depending on your situation. Let’s talk about it.

Cell Signal Boosting Apps: What Are They?

Despite making claims they boost your cell signal, what these apps really do is provide various performance enhancements for your smart phone. Mobile app software can’t do what a real cell phone signal booster can, despite what the descriptions of some of these apps may say.

That being said, in some circumstances, some of these apps could be helpful for people with poor cell signal. There are essentially three different variations of “cell phone signal boosting apps”. Let’s get into these categories and explain what each one actually does.

Cleaner Apps

As you read the descriptions for these apps in the app store, you’ll notice that some of them focus on cleaning your phone. This means the app is designed to do things like get rid of digital junk, such as unused files and cached data that take up space on your phone. They work in the background typically without requiring you to open it up every time you want to do some decluttering. It just does it on its own.

What does this have to do with cell signal strength? The more free space your phone has, the better it performs in general. If your phone’s storage space is maxed out, it can bog it down. A decluttered smart phone performs better overall than a cluttered one. Though the amount of available space your phone has doesn’t directly influence whatever cellular signal you’re connected to, it is possible it could have a positive impact in indirect ways.

Speed-Up Apps

These apps often perform similar digital decluttering services like the clean-up apps mentioned previously, but with an added feature. In addition to cleaning your cache, getting rid of unused files, and managing your data, speed-up apps reduce the amount of RAM your phone uses. They do this primarily by closing apps that you have open in the background after a certain amount of time. You can usually customize how the app goes about performing these functions.

Some users have reported that certain speed-up apps allow you to overclock the processor in your phone. That’s a term that refers to bypassing the processor’s intended functionality to make it faster. Though some may feel that this is a tricky and clever way to enhance your phone, the possible negative side effects of this outweigh any perceived benefit. We advise not to do this. It could ruin your phone.

The moral of the story of speed-up apps is that they really do nothing for your cell signal. You will not have less dropped calls after using one of these apps. But decluttering your phone improves your phone’s overall performance. So take from that what you will.

Security and Anti-Malware Apps

If you’re familiar with anti-malware programs for desktop and laptop computers, these are essentially the smart phone versions of those programs. They run scheduled scans designed to protect your device from malware, viruses, and the like. They work in real time, as well. Like when you click to download something from the internet, the app will scan it first and tell you if the file is questionable or harmful. These apps also give you security reports regularly.

Many of these security apps also have features that help you manage all your login information (usernames and passwords). Some even have enhanced find your phone features that give you more options than what your phone’s factory settings provide. We’ve even seen some that find the nearest cell tower for you, which is certainly helpful.

Do these apps improve your cell signal? No, they don’t. Some of them will claim to, but they can’t. Preventing viruses and malware from infecting your phone is definitely important. But these apps will not do anything to stop dropped calls or anything like that.

If Most Of Them Don’t Actually Boost Cell Signal, Why Do They Say That They Do?

In some instances, they’re clearly being misleading. But some apps are described and presented truthfully and don’t promise any result with certainty. The main thing for you to remember when checking out apps like the ones we’ve described is that cell signal isn’t something that happens in your phone. Your phone is accessing an external signal emanating from some distance away. The strength or weakness of that signal is determined by things that have nothing to do with your smart phone or any apps that you have downloaded. Therefore, a mobile app can do very little (if anything) to affect it any way whatsoever.

So How Can You Improve Your Cell Signal?

Other than changing your physical location, the only way to truly enhance cellular signal is to install a cell phone signal booster at your location. This device is not a mobile app. It’s a piece of hardware built specifically to boost the nearest signal and broadcast it into the device’s immediate surrounding area. There are various kinds available on the market. SureCall has different models designed for specific spaces (small home, large home, office, commuter vehicles, RVs, etc.).

Other Things That Are Working Against You That A Mobile App Can’t Influence

Adding slightly more detail to the paragraph above, here is some additional, simple information to know about cell signal:

The cell signal you receive depends largely on the distance between you and the nearest cell tower. If you’re close, chances are you’ll have a better signal. If you’re far away, it’ll be worse.
Just because you live close to a cell tower doesn’t guarantee a powerful signal. Barriers between you and the tower can decrease the signal quality you receive. Land masses like trees, mountains, and hills that block the line of sight between you and the tower degrade the signal. Buildings and walls in the way affect the signal, as well.
Other signals nearby generated by electronic devices can negatively affect your signal. Certain pieces of machinery and technology can muddy your cellular signal.

If any (or all) of these apply to your situation, it’s hard to say what kind of signal you’ll get at your location. It might be strong enough to make a call, but still too weak for the call to be clear. Your smart phone might be able to open a web page, but it could be so slow that it’s not worth it.

Are Cell Phone Signal Boosters Guaranteed To Work?

There has to be at least a weak signal in order for the signal booster to work. It can’t amplify a nonexistent signal. But, as long as there’s something there, you will benefit from a device like this. The only time a cell signal booster won’t work is if there is no signal whatsoever at your location, which is extremely rare nowadays. Check out all of your options here.