- Every wireless carrier
brags about their amazing nationwide service.
So why is it that everyone experiences poor service
so much of the time, even me?
- In this video, we are going to tell you
about some hacks to improve your cell phone service
including how 5G may be making your service worse.
And by the end of this video,
we'll tell you about the number one thing we both do
to combat the bad service where we live.
Let's start with something
that sounds a bit counterintuitive,
turning off 5G to improve cell phone service.
If you have a cell phone that supports high-band 5G,
that's the fastest 5G,
you'll notice there's a little window
on the side of your phone.
That is how bad the range of high-band 5G is.
- 5G networks are still in their infancy
but fortunately for all of us,
there is a network that's built out
and provides great service.
LTE.
The reason this hack makes sense is that
if you don't have a great connection to a 5G network,
like we don't right here,
the phone will connect to the 5G when it sees it,
and then it'll disconnect and then go back to LTE,
and then it'll connect to the 5G and then, LTE.
And as it's doing that,
you're not gonna have any cellular connection.
So what I do is I turn off 5G
in my home
because I don't want it to try to connect to those networks,
which, because they have poor service,
are slower anyway than the 4G networks.
How do we turn off 5G?
- On an iPhone, open up Settings, tap Cellular.
Then tap Cellular Data Options, tap Voice and Data,
and then tap LTE.
You could try 5G Auto.
It says it'll connect to whatever network is strongest,
but in my experience, it just connects to 5G anyway
cause it thinks it's strong enough,
and it just isn't.
On an Android, swipe down from the top of the screen
and tap on that Settings gear.
Then tap Connections, tap Mobile Networks,
then tap Network Mode, select LTE, 3G or 2G.
That's the option you want.
- Can't stream YouTube with 2G, that's for sure.
- Like your cell phone,
you know what else has windows?
- Oh, I know this one. Microsoft.
(audience laughing)
- Nope. Not what I was thinking.
The building that you're currently in.
- And this is really bad news for all you hipsters out there
who bought a decommissioned nuclear silo to start an Airbnb.
- If you have a really important phone call to make,
try leaning out the window or maybe a little bit safer
would be to just walk outside.
Some cases are made with certain materials
that can interfere with your cell phone service,
especially if's got like some metal lining in it.
That antenna is already bad enough.
- If taking your phone out of its case solves this problem,
you have great service and great speeds,
then you gotta update your case.
Speaking of updating, the next thing you can do
to improve your cell service is...
- Update your cell phone.
Some software updates include modem firmware updates,
can improve your iPhone's connection
to your carrier's towers.
On an iPhone, let's go back to the main page of Settings.
Scroll down, tap General, tap Software Update.
If an update's available, tap Download and install.
On an Android, if we go back to the main page of Settings,
a little bit easier,
scroll down and look for the Software update option.
Then tap Download and install.
- But not all software updates are software updates.
Some software updates are carrier settings updates.
- On an iPhone, tap back to General.
One above Software Update is About.
Just hang out here 10 to 15 seconds.
While you're waiting,
hit that Subscribe button below this video
for more great videos.
If a pop-up doesn't appear in the first 10 to 15 seconds,
no update is available.
Bit trickier on Android.
Let's go back to the main page of the Settings app,
scroll up
and tap on Connections.
Then tap on Mobile networks
and look for an option that says
Carrier settings or Update profile.
You tap on that to install the carrier settings update.
If you don't see it here, one is not available.
- I've done all of this and my service still isn't great.
It's like when I was in Little League
and I never hit any home runs ever.
Is there a steroid or a PED or anything like that
that I can use to improve my cell phone service?
- You could get a cell phone signal booster.
Signal boosters capture a nearby cellular signal,
amplify it, then broadcast a signal
inside the space that needs a better cell phone signal.
Essentially what you do is
you get a couple different antennas and a wire
and you hang it up around your house
(laughs) and it amplifies a signal.
- A couple different antennas and a wire and you
hang it up around your house? - Yeah, you hang it up.
(laughs)
- But maybe you're not super handy.
You're looking for a short cut.
You're thinking, hey, is there a free app
that I can install?
- No.
(audience laughing)
- They don't work.
Some of the apps are kind of stupid though.
They'll point you in the direction
of the nearest cell tower. - Right.
Yesterday, we installed Open Signal.
Had really good reviews.
It's a neat app.
But, you go to the map.
- Follow the arrow, it says.
- Follow the arrow and you know,
walk half a mile to the nearest cell tower.
You really don't wanna be walking, you know,
"Oh, I gotta make a phone call.
I gotta go for a walk through the woods, to a cell tower."
- [David P.] To that point.
- While cell phone signal boosting apps
are a shortcut that doesn't really work,
There is one that does work.
It's called Wi-Fi Calling.
- Wi-Fi Calling is a lifesaver.
And it's the number one thing we do
to combat our weak service.
What it does is it uses your internet connection
instead of the cell towers to establish a connection
to your carrier's network.
So you can make phone calls with WiFi,
and you can send text messages with WiFi.
It's great when you're on vacation, up in the mountains
where there isn't great cell servi- signals, service.
- [Narrator] Easy for you to say.
(laughing)
- On your iPhone to turn on Wi-Fi Calling,
go back to the main page of Settings,
scroll down and tap on Phone.
Then underneath the Calls heading,
tap on Wi-Fi Calling.
Turn on that switch.
When you turn this on for the first time,
you may need to enter your address.
- [David P.] Right.
- So emergency services know where to go to find you
if you have to call 911.
- This address only kicks in
if your cell phone doesn't have GPS,
otherwise it'll send a location of your phone
to emergency services.
- On an Android, open the Phone app
and tap on the more button.
Upper right hand corner
of the screen is the three vertical dots.
Then tap on settings and look for a Wi-Fi Calling option.
If you don't see a Wi-Fi Calling option
on your Android or your iPhone,
one of two things could be happening.
One, you might need to enable it on your account first.
So log into your carrier account,
see if you have that option.
Or, it just might not be included with your cell phone plan.
- WiFi calling has another benefit.
It saves battery life.
When your iPhone or Android phone has a bad connection
to the cellular network, it has to put out
a lot more power to maintain its crappy connection.
Wi-Fi Calling eases the burden on your phone.
- Maybe you're sitting there right now, thinking,
"I don't have Wi-Fi Calling.
I want that.
And my service is bad."
- It's my money and I need it now!
- Maybe it's time to switch cell phone carriers.
- Does your carrier actually have good coverage
where you live?
Sounds like a sales pitch, but it's a good question.
If you haven't switched in a while,
you might want to because you'll probably be able
to save money and get a new...
- Cell phone.
Upgrading your phone can also help improve your service.
- I have an iPhone 12 Pro, David has an iPhone 13 Pro.
We're gonna compare signal strengths.
So on iPhone, there's this secret app
that you can open to see
exactly what your single strength is,
and it's in the Phone app.
So let's open that up,
and then dial
*3001#12345#*
and hit call.
Bang. Serving Cell Info.
Tap on that at the top.
Look for a number with dBm,
which stands for decibels per milli watt,
which is how signal strength is measured.
The closer to zero, the better.
I'm gonna open the same app on my phone.
My number is -112.
What's yours, David?
- I've got negative 111.
- David wins!
- [David L.] A bit easier to check for this on Android.
If you go back to the Settings app,
scroll down and tap on About phone.
Then, tap on Status information,
then tap on SIM card status at the very top of the screen.
Here, you'll see signal strength -108.
- Wow. It won. It's all the same.
- Yeah. T-Mobile, slightly better, but not really.
If you're having really big issues
with your cell phone signal,
there could be something that's actually wrong
with your cell phone.
We can't get into every single troubleshooting
step for every phone right now,
but there are a couple universal tips we can share.
First, eject the SIM Card.
Reseat the SIM card.
See if that fixes the problem.
- [David P.] Just gonna find the little hole,
it's either on the left or right side of your iPhone,
and press down.
- [David] Yeah. The SIM card is like your phone's ID card.
It's what distinguishes your phone
from every other phone on your carrier's network.
- Right.
And so now, you wanna have a new service,
and just pop it back in.
We'll reconnect to the network
and hopefully you'll get some better numbers
if that's what the problem was.
- Or maybe, something that's happening more often now,
is that people are getting replacement SIM card trays
that aren't a perfect fit for their phone.
So if your service used to be good
and then it just stopped being good one day,
SIM card could be to blame.
Reach out to your wireless carrier.
They'll send you a new one.
If your phone has no service,
check out our other video.
Link below the subscribe button, check it out.
- Yeah. And next to the subscribe button,
above the link, is the Join button,
which you should also check out.
Great way to support our channel and to help us out.
Help us grow.
We're almost to a million subs and a hundred joiners.
- Thanks for watching. (laughs)