Cell Phone Signal Booster Sticker Test: Does it Work?

Does A Signal Booster Sticker Really Fix Your Poor Cell Phone Reception?

We tested the Cell Antenna Booster Sticker by Generation X. These are inexpensive stickers that you place on your phone that supposedly improve your signal.

In this review, we are going to compare dBm (the best way of looking at cellular signal strength) and data speed before and after the sticker. We're not going to cross our fingers on this one, but as professional signal boosting experts, we're all about results no matter how high-brow or low-brow.

So let's begin:

The Cell Phone Signal Booster Sticker

The product itself is literally a sticker with some metal lining design. According to the back of the package, the Cell Antenna "captures stray radiation in the body of the phone to re-radiate the signal to improve the phone's performance."

In plain English: It's a signal strength diaper for your phone. No leakage here.

This particular sticker was designed for smartphones with removable batteries. There are now stickers designed for phones that don’t have removable batteries.

The Phone

We're using a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with AT&T service as our test phone.

Installing the Cell Phone Signal Booster Sticker

Fairly, simple instructions.

• Remove battery cover and find the manufacturer's sticker.
• Place it in the center of the battery slot of your phone.

Signal Strength & Speed Test Results

When testing dBm, we had a -84 dBm before and a -87 dBm after installing the sticker. Basically, the signal has weakened! Yikes. To learn more about dBm, check out our blog post on What Is dBm and How It Affects Your Cell Signal Strength.

If you’d like to test this yourself, here is a guide on smartphone apps made to find mobile signal strength.

For download speed tests we used Speetest by Ookla. Download speeds clocked in at 3.55 Mbps before the sticker and 4.25 Mbps after. The before upload speeds were much higher at 12.35 Mbps compared to 9.93 Mbps after.

And for those who prefer the bar talk, it was 4 bars of 4G LTE before and 3 bars of 4G LTE after.

The End Result

We know that cell phone signals fluctuate since there are almost a dozen factors that influence signal strength, which affects speed tests. Thus, we ran two more tests. The results were almost the same.

By our own estimation (based on the three tests and other data from testing signal boosters), we would say a variance of +/- 3 dB is normal even when the phone is at the same spot. Again, this happens because of many reasons:

• Number of users on the cell tower network,
• Better cell phone antenna tracking when phone is stationary,
• Time of day,
• Weather conditions,
• Etc.

So what does this all mean?

The cell phone booster sticker did not help nor harm our signal strength. Results are expected to be the same for stickers meant for smartphones that don’t have removable batteries.

Based on our tests, it's literally a sticker.

How To Actually Boost Cell Phone Signal?

Now that we know cell phone signal booster stickers don’t really work, we’ll introduce you to what does - cell signal boosters.

These are devices designed to amplify your existing cellular signal for improved reception. They work similar to a Wi-Fi extender - they amplify the signals already present in your area, ultimately extending the reach and strength of your cellular signal. To learn more, visit How Do Cell Phone Boosters Work.

Your phone will pick up this amplified signal, giving you clearer calls, faster data speeds, and a more reliable connection overall.

Our most popular signal boosters are:

Contact Us to Get Rid of Your Cell Signal Challenges!

Our thorough tests proved that boosting stickers don’t really do what they’re supposed to do. While they come at a low cost and are easy to install, they are ineffective at boosting signal strength.

However, our cell phone signal boosters can actually boost cell signal and solve your weak cellular reception challenges. They will help provide clearer calls and faster data speeds.

Call us at 1-800-568-2723, email us at sales@wilsonamplifiers.com, or chat with us to get started. Our signal experts are happy to help!

Interested in Learning More? Check Out Our Signal Boosting Info Center