I have been curious how well this thing would work for actually
boosting a weak signal. Out at my dad's place it's a cellular black hole, you might get one bar if the planets are aligned right, but if you plan on actually making a call from a cell phone, plan on walking or driving a half mile to the top of the nearest hill. I thought about recommending this thing to him but wasn't sure it would work, and after reading your post I think I won't mention it to him. I would hate for him to spend $400 on something that won't work.
That sucks! I don't know how well the one I got would work outside of a 30x30 metal box but I am pretty sure it would be better than that. Maybe you need a better indoor antenna?
There are three third-party apps mentioned in the manual which can tell you where the towers are. They are OpenSignal, Cell Mapper, and Network Cell Info Light. I just picked the first one and it worked fine.
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I pointed the antenna exactly along that line the app suggested and got strong signal from the tower that I can't even see. Maybe using one of these apps could help you better align your outdoor antenna and get better results.
That's odd. Does Apple have its own app for wifi calling? On my android I just turn on wifi calling (it's a setting, not an app, on my phone) and then I can call or text anyone I want.