How to Choose the Best Indoor Antenna to Improve Your Cellular Signal

If you have ever wondered how best to choose an indoor antenna to complement your cell phone signal booster kit for your office, apartment, or home, this post has your answer. Regardless of the phone booster manufacturer, these indoor antenna choice tips will help you choose the right one to suitably densify cellular coverage indoors.

In general terms, there're three types of indoor antenna to choose from, including whip antennas, dome antennas, and panel antennas. While all phone booster kits include both outdoor and indoor antennas to provide optimal signal coverage, there are times when customization may be required in order to provide a better solution. In fact, all cell phone booster kits sold in United States contain an indoor antenna, outdoor antenna, and the booster itself (base signal amplifying unit). All kits are approved following testing on individual cellular provider networks per FCC regulations to guarantee that cell tower interference will not occur following the installation of the booster kit.

All 4G indoor antennas provide full wide-band 4G LTE, 3G, and 2G coverage, with low profile ultra-thin dome antennas and standard indoor dome antennas also providing full WLAN system coverage. A 10-dB maximum gain can be achieved by an indoor antenna, with higher gains leading to greater power, and greater power creating a stronger signal over a much greater area. Individual gains can vary between antennas and between different frequencies, sometimes referred to as bands.

When choosing between the different indoor antennas available, consider the following:

Whip Antennas.

Whip antennas are best suited for small spaces like an RV, truck, car, or one or two rooms. They are the easiest to install of all the indoor antennas available. A small device, whip antennas attach directly to the booster and provide outward signal patterns in all directions. An appropriate solution for entry-level and mid-level boosting systems, the whip antenna can provide a gain of 2 dB on the 698 to 960-megahertz band and a gain of up to 5 dB on the 1700 to 2700-megahertz band.

Dome Antennas.

Dome antennas as discussed at the top are perfectly suited for square-shaped, single storey buildings. They do require access to an above ceiling attic or crawl space. Following installation on the ceiling, dome antennas put off a signal similar to a glow that provides coverage to a space 360 degrees around the antenna. There are two different dome indoor antennas as discussed at the top. Indoor standard dome antenna offers a gain of 2 dB on the 698 to 960-megahertz band, and a gain of up to 5 dB on the 1700 to 2700-megahertz band. On other hand, ultra-thin antenna offers a higher gain: up to 3.5 dB on the 698 to 960-megahertz band, and up to 7.5 dB on the 1700 to 2700-megahertz band.

Panel Antennas.

Panel antennas are ideally suited for long spaces like narrow rooms and hallways in addition to offices, homes, and apartments with multiple storeys. Panel antennas are relatively simple to install. Installation can effectively be performed on ceilings and walls without requiring access to the above-ceiling crawl-space or inner wall area. The signal emitted by a panel antenna is similar to that of a beam pattern, with approximately 45-degree coverage with slight variations. The panel antenna provides a gain of up to 7 dB on the 698 to 960-megahertz band and a gain of up to 10 dB on the 1700 to 2700-megahertz band.

Summary.

Cell phone signal amplification cannot be achieved by one device alone, but rather is the combined effort of the type and power of outdoor and indoor antennas, your signal booster's power, and the strength of the existing signal outside the building. Our cellular signal kits have improved cell phone signal quality to thousands of offices, apartments, buildings, and homes throughout North America. We provide free consultations so please to contact us any time for answers to your questions and to discuss your signal booster options.