Which mobile reception is best

It's always recommended to make sure your operating system is up to date. More often than not, the purpose of software updates is to improve performance, patch security gaps, remove bugs, and sometimes they bring in new features. Unfortunately, when updating the software, you run the risk of the new version being worse than the old one and impacting your cell phone reception. Cell phones communicate with cell towers trough frequency bands. Your phone's hardware helps you connect to those frequencies, but the software guides the hardware and how it performs.

If the new updates boost that line of communication between the phone and the cell towers, then you will experience better reception. On the other hand, if the update prioritizes other features, like improved battery life, at the cost of your signal quality, your reception will suffer.

Unlocked phones are devices that are not tied to a specific carrier. Locked phones have a specific software code that prevents you from using them under a different network. Locked phones are specifically configured to work perfectly under their specific carrier's networks. You will be able to take advantage of their features like WiFi calling, HD voice, data speeds, and have a strong signal.

Unlocked phones are not configured to a specific network, meaning that they are not guaranteed good signal nor fast data speeds. The easiest way to find out if your phone is unlocked is to insert a different carrier sim card into your phone. If it works then the phone is unlocked, if it doesn't work then the phone is not unlocked. Regardless of your device and carrier, a cell phone signal booster from Wilson Amplifiers can get you the speed you need, everywhere you go.

Available for boats, buildings, and vehicles, there is a signal booster for every adventure. Android reception? Signal boosters make it easy to stay connected—at top-of-the-line speeds. Wilson Amplifiers is the leading provider of cell phone boosters, devices that amplify cellular signal for any phone with any carrier for home, office, or car. And that goes double if you're on a tight budget.

Compare our best Talkmobile SIM only deals. Compare our best Talkmobile mobile deals. So wherever O2 has signal, Sky Mobile does too. Get the measure of coverage in your area with Sky Mobile's coverage checker. Compare our best Sky mobile deals. Smarty uses Three's 4G network, which offers Take a look at Smarty's mobile phone coverage in your area with its postcode checker. Unique selling points: Smarty is a SIM-only network, which stands out for the simplicity of its plans.

Compare our best Smarty SIM only deals. If the quality of mobile phone coverage is your main criterion when choosing a network, it seems EE is probably the best. Both for speeds and the breadth of its 4G coverage.

That's underscored by data from Rootmetrics, which named EE the best provider in and took into account reliability, speed and data, as well as calls and texts. If you're considering a different carrier, take a look at our network-by-network guide and you can see which of the big-four networks provides the bedrock of their service. BT Mobile, for instance, uses EE. So if you opt for them, you'll get the same coverage as you would if you'd signed up for Rootmetrics's overall winner, EE.

By the same token, pick Smarty and you'll get exactly the same level of mobile phone coverage as Three. Ultimately, though, the most important thing is that coverage is good in your area.

Since that's where you'll be spending the most time. So the smartest thing to do is use the postcode checkers we've included in our snapshot of each major network's mobile phone coverage in the section above. It may be that coverage is good on a range of networks in your area. Lucky you. If that's the case, you can take your pick of carriers and may want to look more closely at perks to help make your mind up. If you travel abroad a lot, or even if you're just planning a holiday or two, it also makes sense to take into account the scale and quality of networks' roaming schemes.

If you need a bit of help with that, check our guide to the networks with the best roaming policies. Without a signal from the network, you cannot even make an emergency call, despite what various networks or handset guidebooks may tell you. The strength or quality of the mobile coverage is largely determined by proximity to a mobile phone network tower.

Want to check the mobile phone coverage across a range of networks? Your mobile phone should tell you how good the network coverage is using a set of bars on the display screen; the signal strength will change as you move around with your mobile phone. The best mobile phone coverage is generally in urban areas, although even really busy cities have 'dead zones' where there is no network coverage.

Signal 'dead zones' normally occur where signal between the mobile handset and the phone network cell antenna is blocked. Rural areas with a smaller population have less physical interference but often are too far away from a mast for good signal. This is constantly improving as more and more antennas are put up around the country to improve UK coverage. Decided on a network? If your Moto 3 works better in her hands, then either you or your sim are degrading the performance.

It might be worth getting a new sim. As you already know, using your phone on a selfie stick can improve performance. You may also get better reception by not touching the phone and using the built-in speakerphone. You could also try using a signal booster or repeater. However, check carefully because illegal signal boosters are still available. Otherwise, your best bet might be an EE Signal Box — which converts any broadband service into a local 3G mobile phone network — if you can get one.

EE does promote the Signal Box to business users , and you can buy them second hand on eBay. Alternatively, switch to Vodafone. Have you got a question? Email it to Ask. Jack theguardian. How can you tell if a mobile phone has good reception before you buy it? Why is it that some smartphones have better reception than others and is there any way to find out which ones are best before buying them?