How frustrating is a dropped call? You make sure to have the best cell phone, but it still doesn’t work everywhere you go. Even with the best technology, you might experience the most common causes of dropped calls. Check out what might be preventing your cell phone from working.
Too Far From Cell Towers
You may notice that you can’t place a call when you’re in a remote area. If you live on the outskirts of town or in the middle of nowhere, your phone might not pick up a signal if you aren’t near any towers. The same could happen if you’re on a road trip driving through fields and small towns.
Obstacles Blocking Cell Tower
Cell phone frequencies can’t penetrate most objects; they must go around them. As such, you may find that buildings or trees obstruct cell signals from reaching your device. You might experience drops or zero bars while in dense cityscapes or while you’re inside of a building. Building materials that cause poor cell reception include:
- Brick
- Wood
- Concrete
- Metal
- Drywall
Cell Tower Is Crowded
When too many devices are trying to access the same cell tower, they can overwhelm that tower. For instance, if you are at a sporting event or concert, your cell phone may not work as well because everyone is using the same tower.
Signal Interference
Many modern phones hop between different types of signals to ensure that you always have the best coverage available. Faster networks run on shorter frequencies. The shorter the length of a frequency, the more likely you are to experience interference. Since multiple frequencies use the same space, your phone may drop your call when it tries to switch frequencies.
The most common causes of dropped calls are obstacles blocking your signal, crowded cell towers and signal interference. Further, you might be too far from a tower to receive a signal. Some ways to help boost your signal strength are to charge your battery, restart your phone or switch carriers.