Simple Hack Boosts Your iPhone Signal Wherever You Are

We've all been there, someplace where our iPhone signal really needs a boost because the person on the other end of the conversation keeps saying they can't hear us. Whether you're making that call from the middle of a desert or you are somewhere on the Basin Bridge on I-10 being able to communicate with your phone is important.

Fortunately, your device has a built-in "hack" to help alleviate the problems associated with a weak signal. Those problems usually manifest themselves in the forms of "I can't hear you", "you're breaking up", or the call just dropping and going dead. No matter how the problem shows itself, it's still pretty infuriating.

Those weak signals and dropped calls are usually the result of your device locking on to a cell tower that doesn't provide adequate signal strength. That problem could be caused by distance, atmospheric conditions, or structures that could be blocking the signal's path. The simple solution is to "move your call from one tower to another".

The way you accomplish that can best be explained by tech guru and Tik Tok contributor Scott Polderman.

Did you guys see what Scott did there? He basically disconnected the iPhone from its current tower by switching the device to "Airplane Mode". Toggling back to regular service makes the device search for a stronger signal. Chances are that signal will be stronger than the one you were having an issue with earlier.

But What About Those Bars on my Phone, What Do They Mean?

Unless you're sitting in the tv lounge of a frat house and someone asks you about "how many bars you have" you can bet that question is related to your phone's service. However, those "bars" are very misleading as most of us don't understand what they really mean.

Sure, a lot of bars usually mean a strong signal but the "bars or dots" depending on your phone, only reflect the "relative strength of the available signal". Sure two bars are better than one bar and three are better than two but in each case, a "bar" is a measurement of signal strength as it relates from one bar to the next.

So if one bar is bad then two bars are only a little better than bad and three bars are just a little bit better than a little bit bad. There is no industry standard for what "the bars" mean or how much signal strength they indicate. It's just a ploy to keep you from thinking your phone doesn't have any signal at all.

Make sense?

So, now you know that if you're in an area where cell service is sketchy you can at least get your device to hunt for the best signal. You also know the strength of the best signal may not be reflected by the number of bars you see on your phone.

It's funny all the trouble we go to just to have phone service on a device that we don't want to use to talk to people. It's just so much easier to text or send a message.

Did you know your iPhone can be used as a hammer? Well, it can, but only once so don't try that, but do try these ideas.