If you are wondering on ways on how to get better signal with Straight Talk, the good news is that there are ways for you to do that, and this is not a problem that you should be bothered with.
There are two ways to get a better and stronger signal on your Straight Talk cell phone–either get a new device or use a third-party device to boost the strength of your connection and perception.
These products may cost a bit of money, but if you get the right one (and not a fake one!), it should do a good job of giving you the boost that you need.
How To Get Better Signal With Straight Talk
If you are someone who depends a lot on phone signals and network connections, having a weak signal or connection can be one of the worst things, and no one wants to have to go through that.
Cable-based connections, such as broadband connections and fiber internet are a common thing nowadays.
Still a lot of households still rely on completely wireless mobile and internet connection.
This is why signal strength is very important for this kind of connection. Fortunately, helpful devices exist that can help solve this problem for you.
But first, it is important that you learn and understand what causes this problem, why this happens, and how devices can help you solve it.
The Problem: Why your Straight Talk Coverage is Weak?
Most people think that if you have weak signal and reception, the only reason is that you are in a “bad spot.”
However, most of the time, it is much more complicated than that.
Here are the top five factors that can affect the strength of your Straight Talk signal.
Signal Quality (SINR)
SINR is the measure of signal quality in 4G LTE devices.
Sometimes, if you are in an enclosed area such as a room or if your location has a lot of obstacles such as trees or larger buildings, LTE signal can be poor.
This is why using external antennas and boosters is one way on how to get a better signal with Straight Talk.
Number of Connected Bands
When your phone connects to your network, it does a process called “carrier aggregation.” This is when your device tries to connect to the tower with more than one band.
Basically, the more bands your phone can connect to, the better reception it can have. The lesser, naturally, the pooper the signal would be.
The Signal Strength (RSRP)
Signal quality is not to be confused as the same thing as signal strength. RSRP is what is used to talk about signal strength.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not the one mainly responsible for connection speed, although it plays a small role as well.
Is the Tower Congested?
Although the congestion in the users for a single tower is dependent on the type of band, the core idea is still the same.
The more users depend on one tower, the slower and poorer your signal and connection would be.
Is MIMO Support available?
In dealing with LTE connections, both the towers and your device are using multiple antennas in a special configuration called MIMO, short for “Multiple Input Multiple Output.”
This gives an organic boost of up to 30%. From comparison, signal boosters use SISO (one antenna outside and one antenna inside).
If this is enabled by your provider AND your device, then you should not have problems with your reception.
Throttling
Although very rare to be the cause of a poor signal, throttling is one of the most common causes that you get a poor internet connection all of a sudden.
Throttling happens when you have reached the set threshold by your provider when it comes to high speed internet usage.
For most plans, although your contract stipulates that it is unlimited, your allocation for high speed data is very much limited.
The Solution: Boost your Straight Talk 3G and 4G Signal
Now that you have a better understanding of the several possible causes of a weak and poor signal on Straight Talk, time to learn some DIY methods increase Straight Talk signal strength.
Here are some suggestions.
1. Buy a New Phone
Usually, the simplest answer may be because your phone may be too old already.
Older phones, even though they may also support 4G LTE signals, may only support limited and older bands.
On the other hand, newer phones support most of the newer LTE bands as well.
If your phone is able to connect to more types of LTE bands, then it can have a better and faster connection as opposed to an older phone that may not be able to do just that.
2. Use External Antennas
If you are using hotspots from major carriers like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile (as well as their sister-companies like Straight Talk), then you can use an external antenna that can serve as a signal booster.
On the other hand, if your service is only for a mobile phone.
Then you can use a signal booster with an outdoor antenna, since mobile phones do not have a way to connect to an external antenna.
3. Buy a Quality Signal Booster
Most signal boosters can be bought online for a cheap price and can be installed by yourself, although there are services that offer a more “premium” booster experience with installation included.
A signal booster amplifies your signal’s RSRP, or the strength. When a booster is used alongside an external antenna, you can expect the best and most optimal results.
Can Straight Talk Signal Boosters work for other Carriers?
Most signal boosters you can buy from Amazon and other stores are not carrier locked, and work on most, if not all, of the band that most carriers work with.
So, there is no need to worry if ever you switch networks. You can still use your current signal booster and external antennas.
Conclusion
There are several ways on how to get better signal with Straight Talk.
Although you would need to dish out cash and buy hardware, try to treat it as an investment for an added value service.
You can check out these recommended signal boosters and external antennas that are available on Amazon: the HiBoost 4K Plus Pro Signal Booster, Affanni Phone Signal Booster, and the Lintratek Cell Phone Amplifier.
These devices are very straightforward and very much a DIY set up, which means you would probably not need any external help in setting it up.
Read Next: Learn how to troubleshoot Straight Talk refill not working Issue.
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.