There’s never a good time to drop a call.

We have all dropped a video call at precisely the wrong time, sent a text 86% of the way, or experienced a complete flame-out with Google/Apple Maps while on a road trip. Yes, the maps thing happens. It’s unsafe and very uneconomical to drive to the wrong state because you chose a route with limited cell signal strength. 

Don’t even get started with the connectivity for users who play games competitively online. 

This article pinpoints nine different reasons you keep dropping calls. Some might surprise you. Most chalk it up to the carrier or maybe just their phone. While those things may contribute to your signal strength issues, there are many causes for your connection strength woes. 

1. Weak Signal Strength

If your signal strength is weak, and you’re wobbling back and forth between 1-2 bars, you’re a lot more prone to dropping calls. This could be due to the distance from the nearest cell tower or physical obstructions such as buildings or trees blocking the signal. When your signal is generally weak, any of the conditions below could decrease your usable cellular signal to almost zilch.

2. Network Congestion

Large venues and events are notoriously bad cell signal and WiFi experiences. 

“MaN, tHe sIgNaL hERe suCKz!!”

No. The signal may be okay but there are too many people in the building. When there are too many people using the same cell towers at the same time in a very concentrated area, it can prevent the towers from broadcasting enough quality signal, leading to dropped or lower-quality calls and non-existent data speeds. It doesn’t help that most large public venues are constructed of glass, steel, or super-thick concrete…sometimes all three. This leads to another major contributor to poor cell signal: building materials.

3. Building Materials

Most modern, commercial buildings are constructed with building codes that utilize materials that are great for blocking cellular signal: brick, concrete, glass, stone, and any number of elements that block cell signal. 

Radio frequencies can’t easily penetrate these materials which leads to dropped calls and unsent texts. In general, the more “eco-friendly” the construction, the worse your signal strength will be. 

4. Outdated Phone

If your phone is older or not up-to-date with the latest technology, it may not be able to handle the data and calls as efficiently, leading to dropped calls. Currently, at the time this post was published, the oldest phone supported by Apple is the iPhone 6S which was released in 2016. Apple doesn’t have an issue with devices older than that, except for when they do, but iOS updates are no longer available and this is where your signal strength decreases.

5. Weather Conditions

Rain and moisture including snow and humidity can put a huge damper on your cell signal strength. Water can absorb or reflect radio waves that are used to transmit signal. Water droplets from the rain can scatter these RF waves, which causes attenuation (weakening) of the signal. Attenuation leads to dropped calls, data speed reduction, or signal loss and in areas with poor coverage.

6. Distance From Cell Towers

Many of our customers live in or spend a lot of time in areas that are too far away from cell towers. If you’re one of these people, you will struggle to establish and maintain a stable cellular connections which leads to dropped calls. 

We have tested our signal boosters in areas located 10+ miles from the nearest cell tower and improved our cell signal from zero to video call/FaceTime ready. In RF-nerd terms, you can see a dbm gain of up to +72 for our home, office, and commercial kits, and on vehicle kits, up to +50 dbm gain. 

The most likely scenario for a home/office/commercial kit would be a signal reading of -115 that sees an improvement of ~30 to a reading of ~85. This would likely represent full bars and allow you to talk, text, and even play videos or FaceTime/Zoom with someone else.

When we see these levels of improvement, we have customers who leave five-star reviews. 

7. Battery Issues

If your phone's battery is low, damaged, or has diminished battery health,  it may not maintain a stable connection, leading to dropped calls. 

Similarly, if your cell signal is poor, it will run your device’s battery down faster than if you have strong signal or WiFi. Camping in remote areas will run your battery down quicker than spending time in strong-signal areas like your home.

8. Network Coverage

If you are in an area with limited or no network coverage, your phone will not be able to make or receive calls. If you want to know whether you live in one of those areas or not, you can check these out:

Verizon Wireless Coverage Map
AT&T Wireless Coverage Map
T-Mobile Wireless Coverage Map
Mint Mobile Coverage Map
Visible Wireless (by Verizon) Coverage Map
Xfinity Wireless Coverage Map

If you aren’t satisfied with your current phone service and cell signal, this detailed guide covering the pros and cons of the best wireless carriers can point you in the right direction for making a decision.

9. Carrier-specific Issues

Sometimes, the problem might be with your carrier's network like it was on 02/22/24 for AT&T customers.  This one was a doozy resulting in AT&T voluntarily crediting affected users a day’s worth of service, or $5 for the impacted customers. The response from the carrier with a no-questions-asked credit is a rarity, but unfortunately, outages, maintenance, or technical issues on the carrier's end are not.

To troubleshoot, you can try moving to an area with better signal strength, ensuring your phone's software is up to date, checking your SIM card and battery, and contacting your carrier to see if there are known issues or outages. If the problem persists, it might be a hardware issue with your phone, and you may need to consult a professional for repair or consider replacing the device.

How do I stop my phone from dropping calls?

When you run into issues with weak cellular signal, preventing dropped mobile calls can be mission critical, especially if you live in an area with poor reception and need work from home, home school, or travel in remote areas with terrible cellular service. 

Here are a few solutions to help enhance your mobile experience:

SureCall signal boosters for your home can be an effective way to boost weak cellular signal. These kits are easy to install and include an external antenna, an amplifier (a small black metal unit), and an internal antenna that looks like a doorbell or a smoke alarm. The external antenna harnesses weak signal from  nearby cell towers, the amplifier boosts the signal strength, and the internal antenna broadcasts the much-improved signal within your home, office, or vehicle. You can enjoy fewer dropped calls and better call quality. SureCall vehicle signal boosters work for all of the major North American wireless carriers and can cover different ranges, making them suitable for both urban and rural areas.

WiFi Calling enables calling through your WiFi network instead of relying solely on your wireless carrier. This can be a lifesaver when you live in an area where your cell signal is weak but Wi-Fi is available. Most new cell phones support this feature. You can easily enable Wi-Fi calling in the phone's settings. This option can give you clearer calls and fewer drops, especially indoors.

These aren’t the only reasons your phone may drop calls and these aren’t the only solutions for dropping calls, but if you have questions about specific conditions, give us a shout and we can help.