How Does a Cell Phone Signal Booster Work?

How cell phone boosters work is pretty simple. All the complexity operates behind the scenes to make them operate transparently and efficiently.

Your cell phone - at least the communications function - is essentially a two-way radio operating behind a very modern user interface. Your mobile phone communicates with the cell tower by means of radio frequency (RF) signals.

A cellular signal booster works like this:

• detecting and collecting very faint signals (much fainter than your phone can detect)
• helping those faint signal bypass various obstructions
• amplifying the faint signals to a useable level
• broadcasting the amplified signals to an interior space so they can be used by your phone or other cellular device

When your phone transmits a signal back to the tower, the process is repeated in reverse order.

A cell signal booster system is comprised by just three basic components, and coax cables to connect those components.

1) First is the outside antenna. This antenna, mounted on the roof or an exterior wall, communicates with the cell tower. Signals are passed along coax cable to the second component . . .

2) The booster unit is normally mounted in a utility closet or storage space. This unit amplifies the signal and passes it along another length of coax cable to . . .

3) . . . the inside antenna mounted on an interior wall or on the ceiling which distributes the amplified signal to the interior space where cellular devices can use it.