Best Cell Phone Booster for Rural Areas: The Complete Guide
Boost Cell Signal in Rural Areas
Rural communities face the most cellular signal challenges. Lacking cellular infrastructure results in weak outside cell reception and worse indoor cell coverage. With the help of a cell phone signal booster for rural living, you can leave dropped calls, failed texts, and slow data in the past.
We fix poor cell phone signal! Find the right signal booster for you:
In this Guide:
- Why is Cell Service so Bad in Rural Areas?
- How to Boost Cell Service in Remote Areas
- How to Choose the Right Booster for Rural Areas?
- What is the Best Cell Phone Signal Booster for Rural Areas?
- What are the Best Cellular Antennas to Use with Cell Phone Boosters in Rural Areas?
- Do Cell Phone Boosters Work in Rural Areas?
- FAQs
Why is Cell Service so Bad in Rural Areas?
There are many factors that contribute to poor cell phone service in rural areas. The most common are:
- Cell Tower Distance: The farther you are from your closest cell tower, the weaker your connection.
- Building Materials: Certain building materials, like metal and concrete, weaken or block incoming cellular signals.
- Geographical Features: Dense foliage, hills, and mountains interfere with cellular signals, affecting cellular reception.
In rural areas, a combination of two or all of these signal disruptors are all too common. Hence your slow, unreliable connection.
Unfortunately, carriers don’t want to improve their network in underserved markets because it’s too expensive. They can't justify the cost without multiple users. It’s unfortunate since mobile networks tend to be the main form of communication. Even a study by the National Association of Countries (NACo) confirms this.
How to Boost Cell Service in Remote Areas
Cell phone signal boosters are the best way to boost cell phone reception in rural areas. These devices are designed to capture available 4G and low-band 5G cell signals (even if weak) and deliver them even stronger indoors, boosting signal strength and coverage. See here for a full breakdown of how signal boosters work.
How to Choose the Right Booster for Rural Areas?
The specifications of cellular boosters are based on optimal conditions, making it a bit tricky to choose the right signal booster for areas with poor cell reception. Here’s what to keep in mind when making your decision depending on your application:
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What is the Best Cell Phone Booster for Rural Areas?
With over 200,000 signal boosters provided across every state and province in the USA and Canada, we’ve compiled a list using our expertise of the best rural cell phone boosters for:
- Rural Homes and Farms
- Remote Driving
- Rural RV Camping and Living
- Rental Cabins and Remote Job Sites
- Rural Businesses
Best Cell Phone Boosters for Rural Homes and Farms
Home signal boosters ensure reliable calls, texts, and data speeds in most rural locations. The right one for you depends on your existing signal strength and coverage needs.
If you live in a fringe area, don't consider any home booster less powerful than the weBoost Home MultiRoom. You’ll see minimal results. Featuring up to 65dB gain and high output powers, it can reach distant towers and cover several rooms. It’s a great option for spot coverage or small rural homes, cabins, cottages, and bungalows.
The weBoost Installed Home Complete is much stronger than the Home Multiroom. It’s our top recommendation for reliable reception in medium remote homes and barns. Including a free professional installation, you don’t have to worry about finding your closest cell tower or running cable. Coverage is likely to range from 2,000 to 5,000 sq ft with weak outside signal. For a non-professionally installed booster with equal power, opt for the standard weBoost Home Complete.
The weBoost for Business 100 should do the trick for those with large cabins or farm complexes. Unlike the Home MultiRoom and Home Complete, this is a commercial-grade signal booster. It’s the best option for a large home solution in extremely poor signal areas. There are many configurations available for this unit. We recommend the Yagi/Panel kit to optimize reach and coverage.
Best Cell Boosters for Remote Driving
You don’t have to put up with spotty cellular signals while on road trips or operating agricultural machinery. Vehicle boosters are designed to communicate with towers on the go and cover most of your vehicle's cabin. You’ll have a dependable connection on remote terrain for GPS, voice, and streaming.
The weBoost Drive Reach is our strongest vehicle booster. Featuring high uplink power, it does a great job of communicating with far cell towers. When compared to the Drive X, it has about 74% more reach. Featuring many antenna configurations, you can customize it to fit many vehicles. Cars, trucks, SUVs, tractors, animal transporters, and more. It's our top recommendation for reliable voice and data on the go in extremely fringe areas.
For off-roading enthusiasts, the weBoost Drive Reach Overland is the way to go. It features an all-terrain outdoor antenna and a folding mounting bracket. Camp, climb mountain ranges, and explore the backcountry all while remaining connected.
Best Cell Phone Boosters for Rural RV Camping and Living
The best RV booster will depend on whether you want enhanced signal while driving or camping.
If you tend to stay parked for long periods, we recommend the weBoost Destination RV. It’s like the Home Multiroom but optimized for stationary RVs, campers, and mobile homes. It uses a powerful Yagi antenna to capture weak signals and a panel antenna for maximum coverage. When you’re ready to move to a new location, the 25’ telescoping pole allows for quick setup and takedown.
On the other hand, if you’re constantly on the go, the weBoost Drive Reach RV is a much better choice. It can reach distant cell towers and keep you connected while driving or camping in remote locations. Since it’s designed for mobile use, you can set it and forget it.
In incredibly poor signal areas, the Destination RV will outperform the Drive Reach RV.
Best Portable Cell Phone Booster for Rental Cabins and Remote Job Sites
Many rely on vehicle boosters to reduce reception issues when staying in a secluded cabin or visiting remote job sites. However, it’s not feasible to constantly run to your vehicle to make a call or surf the web.
The Bolton Technical Portable Signal Unit (PSU - weBoost Edition) allows you to enjoy reliable cell signals and internet anywhere. In the woods, off-the-grid, on the mountains, and other fringe areas. It’s a portable, battery-powered box equipped with a signal booster, cellular router, yagi directional antenna, rechargeable batteries, cable, and a tripod. You and the family will be able to receive calls, send texts, livestream, or work without interruptions without electricity.
Best portable cell phone booster and router solution.
Buy Now at $3,999.99Best Cell Phone Signal Boosters for Rural Businesses
Businesses need robust repeaters designed to cover large spaces and handle more capacity. The weBoost for Business line ensures reliable connectivity for customers and employees alike.
The weBoost for Business Office 200 is perfect for small to medium rural business buildings. It’s built with high gain and high output powers to maximize signal strength and coverage in any signal environment. For the best results, it’s important to select the right configuration. We recommend the Yagi antenna bundle for remote areas. To maximize your coverage, additional antennas are needed.
Best for small to medium rural businesses.
Buy Now at $1,699.99There is also a professionally installed Office 200 version. Though, it comes with an omnidirectional outdoor antenna and two dome antennas. Depending on your signal environment, this configuration may not be ideal for you. Call us at 1-800-919-7442 to discuss which version will yield the best results for your small to medium remote business.
For commercial buildings over 15,000 sq ft, the WilsonPro line by Wilson Electronics is the way to go. Contact our signal experts at 1-800-887-1961 for a free consultation. These require a site survey and a professional installation.
What are the Best Cellular Antennas to Use with Cell Phone Boosters in Rural Areas?
You can maximize the performance of our best cell phone boosters for rural areas with the right outdoor cellar antenna.
The two types of outdoor signal booster antennas are omnidirectional and directional.
If you live in a rural area with faraway cell towers, don't bother with an omnidirectional antenna. Even though it’s easier to install, it will provide less gain for your home or business system. This is critical when you live far away from a cell tower.
There are two main types of directional antennas: Yagi and LPDA.
Best antenna for very rural areas. 50 Ohm.
Buy Now at $249.99LPDA antennas are more powerful than Yagis. They should be used in very rural areas to provide more powerful signal. However, they're expensive and harder to install. Yagi antennas, on the other hand, are easier to use and tend to work well if you live within 3 miles of a tower.
Common directional antenna. 50 or 75 ohm.
Buy Now at $63.18For vehicles, an omnidirectional antenna is usually the standard because it’s constantly on the move. The Wilson 12” Magnet Mount Antenna, offers higher gain than the standard antenna kitted with most vehicle boosters. It will facilitate a stronger connection in weaker signal areas.
Best vehicle exterior antenna for more power.
Starting at $22.95If you decide to upgrade your antenna, it’s important to keep impedance in mind. Antennas, cables, and signal boosters all have impedance ratings of 50 Ohm or 75 Ohm. Mixing and matching impedance can lead to signal loss. It’s best to stay consistent. In some cases, however, we need to connect a 50-Ohm antenna to a 75-Ohm system for the extra power. This can be done with an adapter.
Do Cell Phone Boosters Work in Rural Areas?
If there’s a sliver of cellular signal outside, cell boosters work wonders in rural areas.
Sometimes the signal may be too weak for your cellular devices to pick up, so you may think there is no signal. Thus, it’s important to measure your cellular signal strength to determine if cell signal is present and how weak it is.
With the use of powerful cellular antennas and an amplifier, cell phone boosters will amplify your signal strength and improve indoor cell coverage.
Don’t believe us? Watch this short video to view the results of a signal booster installation in a rural East Texas home.
For the full story, visit our weBoost Home Complete Review.
Choosing the right antennas is crucial for boosting cell phone signals in rural areas. Click here for our top rural area antenna recommendations.
Rural Area Signal Booster FAQs
1. Are Signal Boosters for Rural Areas Legal?
In the United States, FCC-approved signal boosters are 100% legal. You’re free to use them to improve cell coverage in your rural living spaces or vehicles.
2. How Well Do Cell Phone Booster Work in Rural Areas?
If you have a sliver of signal, they work well.
Cell boosters were made for people in low-service areas. You won't have to head into town or beg for a bar anymore. They reach to AND from the cell tower to deliver reliable reception.
3. How Do Signal Boosters Boost Cell Phone Reception in Remote Areas?
A cell phone signal booster works by doing 3 main things:
- The outside antenna pulls in existing 5G, 4G, and LTE signals.
- The amplifier boosts cell signals.
- The inside antenna broadcasts the boosted signal inside your cabin, office, or vehicle.
It's important to note that cell phone booster ENHANCES signal. They do not create it. Think of it as healing the injured and not raising the dead.
Usually, if you can get some signal near your home, a cell phone booster will work for you.
4. Is There a Way to Get Cell Service Anywhere?
Unfortunately, no. If there is absolutely zero cell signal, not even a signal booster can help improve connectivity. However, with the right antennas, a signal booster will enhance reception anywhere a sliver of cell signal is available.
5. Will Signal Boosters Work for My Farm Out in the Country?
Yes.
The best cell phone signal booster for farms depends on a few factors:
- How far away you are from your nearest cell tower.
- Where you need coverage (buildings or vehicles).
- The strength of your outside signal.
If your signal strength is very weak, you’ll need to invest in a strong booster to get decent results.
As a general rule, you should buy the strongest booster possible if you live far away from a cell tower. However, if you live pretty close to one, you can get away with a weaker booster.
Many farmers have opted for the Bolton Technical PSU. Portable, it allows them to get signal anywhere on the farm.
6. Does a Cell Phone Signal Booster Work for Camping?
Cell reception is often less than ideal when camping. If you have access to a power source, vehicle, and residential boosters work great when camping in environments with existing cell signals. They must be used in enclosed areas due to FCC regulations and for optimal results. If electricity isn’t available, the PSU would be a better option. It can keep you connected for up to 18 hours on pure battery power.
7. How to Get Cell Service in the Woods?
Reliable cellular reception is a bit tricky in the woods. With so many trees, cell signal is easily blocked.
Whether you live or camp in the woods, as long there is an ounce of signal, you’ll be able to get decent service with a signal booster. You may need to upgrade the included Yagi antenna for a stronger one. If you don’t have access to electricity, we recommend the Portable Signal Unit.
8. How to Get Cell Service in the Mountains?
If signal can reach the mountain or close enough to it, a booster can help you get better cell reception. That is unless you're on something like Mount Everest. If you don’t have access to electricity, consider the PSU.
9. What About 5G Service in Rural Areas?>
Signal boosters are 5G ready, meaning they work with 5G.
However, even though AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and other carriers have started deploying 5G, it’s not available everywhere. It’ll be a while for 5G to reach rural areas.
Contact Us to Get Cell Service in Remote Areas Today!
Wilson Amplifiers is the leading provider of cell phone signal boosters. We hate dropped calls and poor coverage. It’s our goal to eliminate spotty signal, especially in remote, rural areas. If you have questions about our products or need help choosing the right one, call us at 1-800-568-2723 or e-mail us at sales@wilsonamplifiers.com.
- Free consultations with our US-based customer support.
- Free shipping.
- Better signal or industry-leading 90-day money-back guaranteed. No questions asked.
- Lifetime technical support and a 2-year warranty for all products.
Ask us anything, we’re happy to help!
Ask us anything, we’re happy to help!
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