We are a bit remote and experience poor mobile phone signals. Vodafone gets through nearly everywhere around our (Stone) buildings, but rarely inside. The other providers are very marginal. However, you can just get a signal in the lane outside. I understand that you can get a booster from the mobile phone service providers, but they are dedicated to their own service, so you would need one for each. There are other boosters available which say that they improve any signal. Has anyone had experience of these?
Some of our guests enjoy being where there is no signal, but the majority want to keep in touch. Others have relatives and/or house-sitters at home that they really must be available for. Any help with this appreciated.
Boosting mobile phone signal
I'm afraid there's no (legal) magic bullet.
You can buy gadgets from a number of network providers ( e.g. Vodafone Sure Signal) but these are only usable for that specific network. How they work is that they connect to your broadband service - so, great for one network as long as you're close to the gadget.
You can buy things to attach to your phone, normally put under the battery cover. These allegedly boost the signal. They don't - they're a con.
You can buy boosters/repeaters which the sellers claim will work with many networks. Trouble is they're illegal to use without a licence (not illegal to sell, and the sellers won't tell you), you can't get a licence and if you're caught it's a criminal offence, a £5,000 fine and/or 12 months in prison.
You can buy gadgets from a number of network providers ( e.g. Vodafone Sure Signal) but these are only usable for that specific network. How they work is that they connect to your broadband service - so, great for one network as long as you're close to the gadget.
You can buy things to attach to your phone, normally put under the battery cover. These allegedly boost the signal. They don't - they're a con.
You can buy boosters/repeaters which the sellers claim will work with many networks. Trouble is they're illegal to use without a licence (not illegal to sell, and the sellers won't tell you), you can't get a licence and if you're caught it's a criminal offence, a £5,000 fine and/or 12 months in prison.
Is the signal so bad that text messages don't get through either? It is possible to receive texts inside my gites (which can signal emergencies), but the phone signal isn't strong enough for calls unless you go up into the attic. It would be better if there was a signal in the house, but it doesn't seem too much of a problem for guests to go outside and use the phone. I have free wifi and many people now have smartphones, and there are apps like Viber which can be used with wifi as well as 3G between smart phones to make free calls.
Thank you both for your valuable advice. I hadn't spotted the implications of mounting a device to re-broadcast the signals, so this has kept me out of trouble and maybe out of gaol!
BT tell us that they use the Vodafone network. However, Vodafone say that their dedicated unit won't work with BT account holders. So even if we got the dedicated Vodafone unit, it won't recognise our numbers, only those that are billed direct from Vodafone! Half the reason for getting a unit would be to get better reception for our own personal phones. So, we would just be doing it to benefit Vodafone customers who were also our customers.
The Vodafone signal can be alright for voice conversations within two of our barns. However, it is usually only one blob and means that the call is dropping out two or three times in a shortish call, especially if you try to move about. The other provider's signal is non-existent within any building and usually is only found in the lane outside.
The tips about smart phone apps, wi-fi and texts are also a help, as we can pass these on to the guests. A little help being worth more than a deal of sympathy!
BT tell us that they use the Vodafone network. However, Vodafone say that their dedicated unit won't work with BT account holders. So even if we got the dedicated Vodafone unit, it won't recognise our numbers, only those that are billed direct from Vodafone! Half the reason for getting a unit would be to get better reception for our own personal phones. So, we would just be doing it to benefit Vodafone customers who were also our customers.
The Vodafone signal can be alright for voice conversations within two of our barns. However, it is usually only one blob and means that the call is dropping out two or three times in a shortish call, especially if you try to move about. The other provider's signal is non-existent within any building and usually is only found in the lane outside.
The tips about smart phone apps, wi-fi and texts are also a help, as we can pass these on to the guests. A little help being worth more than a deal of sympathy!
Typical - never easy is itArffamo wrote: BT tell us that they use the Vodafone network. However, Vodafone say that their dedicated unit won't work with BT account holders.
I presume you're one of BTmobile's legacy customers as they stopped their cellular service for new customers 3 years ago. Maybe time to look at costs with a view to dropping them and move to Vodafone "proper"? Voda might offer you a deal and switching providers is very straightforward. You can keep your numbers and service is only down for 30 minutes or so on the day of changeover.
Should you move one day and decide to get VSS, shop around as I see the price for the unit is anywhere between £50 and £160.
Gam
Actually we are fairly recent converts to BT, as far as mobiles are concerned. We were with Vodafone for our mobiles until BT seduced us with their "One account" offer. This meant that you literally had one account for all your speech and data services, whether land-line or mobile. There were discounts, freebies and retrospective credits based on usage. The big trouble was that after we signed up, we realised that BT isn't a joined up organisation, and we had huge problems getting what had been promised. It seems to have been one of those wizz-bang marketing men's dreams that they forgot to tell the soldiers in the trenches about. It ended up with us squabbling with the call-centre staff nearly every day, having our service suspended and eventually having a dedicated member of the senior staff attached to our case. Rest assured, as soon as the contract has expired, we're off! However, that is all another story, I just threw it in in case you thought we had a cosy life with BT!!
Actually we are fairly recent converts to BT, as far as mobiles are concerned. We were with Vodafone for our mobiles until BT seduced us with their "One account" offer. This meant that you literally had one account for all your speech and data services, whether land-line or mobile. There were discounts, freebies and retrospective credits based on usage. The big trouble was that after we signed up, we realised that BT isn't a joined up organisation, and we had huge problems getting what had been promised. It seems to have been one of those wizz-bang marketing men's dreams that they forgot to tell the soldiers in the trenches about. It ended up with us squabbling with the call-centre staff nearly every day, having our service suspended and eventually having a dedicated member of the senior staff attached to our case. Rest assured, as soon as the contract has expired, we're off! However, that is all another story, I just threw it in in case you thought we had a cosy life with BT!!