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Planning on a steel roof here in the next few month or so. I was told it blocks or reduces cell phone service, but my all metal pole building has an insulated room inside and I get great reception in there. My mother in law is about 2 to 3 miles down the road and gets no service in the house with a steel roof. Is it really the roof or more the location ? -Thanks
Re: steel roofs and cell phones ?
[Re: kyron4]
#6741924 01/24/2005:01 AM01/24/2005:01 AM
My daughter had a steel roof put on and then had hardly any service. You bought a cell phone booster and had it installed in her home and then great reception.
A long hair country boy can survive
Re: steel roofs and cell phones ?
[Re: kyron4]
#6741941 01/24/2006:04 AM01/24/2006:04 AM
Never thought about this much. Guy in the video makes a couple good points. I've been inside buildings with metal roofs like Walmart's , grocery stores , restaurants etc. Never had an issue. Plus in a Walmart or Costco large building there is few windows and you can be far from outside walls at times.
NRA benefactor member
Re: steel roofs and cell phones ?
[Re: kyron4]
#6741988 01/24/2007:39 AM01/24/2007:39 AM
My brother had a house that was too far from a cell tower to get a signal. He put up a tower and installed a cell booster at the top of the tower. If I understood it correctly, the cell phone sent it's signal to the booster and the booster re-transmitted the signal to the tower far away. I think he spent less than $200 on the booster and it worked well. If you have cell service now, you wouldn't need the tower. I would think you could just install a booster on the outside of the building and for $200 you've solved your problem.
Last edited by maintenanceguy; 01/24/2007:51 AM.
-Ryan
Re: steel roofs and cell phones ?
[Re: kyron4]
#6742001 01/24/2008:00 AM01/24/2008:00 AM
Reception is weak on my farm. None at all in the metal barns down the hill, none at all in my garage (metal roof and metal inside and outside walls), and limited in the house with a metal roof. Reception is OK on the front porch and in the front area of the house. I'd say the metal hurts your reception but it may or may not matter based on how strong your signal is to begin with.
Re: steel roofs and cell phones ?
[Re: kyron4]
#6742080 01/24/2009:10 AM01/24/2009:10 AM
I agree with the fella in the video and a couple other posters as well. Phone, cell service strength in your area and the load on your carriers system all make a difference in how well the phone works. I have a double whammy in that I have a metal rook and the house is sided with aluminum. Even with older phones before I had the metal roof, I had better cell reception than I have with the latest phone technology. And something everyone may not be aware of, text and voice do not require as strong a signal as data. And voicemail as well as text with pictures attached is handled as data.
I have had Verizon for years with not great but decent service for the most part (LTE with one or two bars) but in the last couple of years, I usually have to go outside to connect to my voicemail box. I also have to be careful about how I hold the phone so folks can hear me. I am in an area of rapid population growth, and I believe some of the service level I get is due to Verizon over loading their hardware with users more than it is about the metal roof/aluminum siding. They have tried to blame it on my phone but swapping the phone out did not help. Otherwise, Verizon has no answer other than they do not understand why I am having an issue.
It sure does screw up the signal where im at . My barn has a metal roof and I sometimes get a signal marginal at best . On the rare times my cell phone rings while im inside, I have to go outside just 2 feet to talk . Most times i cant even receive a text inside and when I walk out the door they come through. No problems in the house just 80 feet away. So i can say with confidence it DOES screw with my cell service
Re: steel roofs and cell phones ?
[Re: kyron4]
#6742090 01/24/2009:17 AM01/24/2009:17 AM
We built my brothers house in the wood, cleared trees 50' from the house hoping that would be enough for the phones to work. The metal roof on his house we think is what prevents him from getting any phone reception. The cell tower is only 3mi down the road. He only had a 2'x3' area inside the house where he can use his phone consistently, next to a window. The rest of the time, he steps out on the porch.
Re: steel roofs and cell phones ?
[Re: kyron4]
#6742097 01/24/2009:21 AM01/24/2009:21 AM
I'd say location is a factor. I've installed steel on many houses here but we have a tower less than two miles from town. Phones still work. The only time they don't is when we install a metal roof and steel siding or foil faced foam on the exterior of the house before siding. The foil faced foam with the steel roof is the worst though.
Re: steel roofs and cell phones ?
[Re: kyron4]
#6742136 01/24/2009:43 AM01/24/2009:43 AM
Steel roof and steel wall sheeting for sure makes a difference.. I been working in our Dive garage building now for the last 3 years.. it's a steel frame building with sheet steel roof and sheet steel walls. We have a contractor in there that is just about finished up with a remodel. They replaced the Steel roof and added 6 inches insulation. The also ran steel channels horizontal on the steel walls add 4 inches of insulation and sheet steel on inside. So we are now in a nice insulated steel box. Before they added the sheet steel on inside walls. I could use my cell phone anywhere in the build just fine.. Now if I get a signal at all it cuts in and out or drops.. Even the regular radio I had to set but a window to get a station to come in decent. So I can for sure say yes steel roof or buildings can change things.
Mac
"Never Forget Which Way Is Up"
Re: steel roofs and cell phones ?
[Re: kyron4]
#6742197 01/24/2010:25 AM01/24/2010:25 AM
I bought a phonelex cell phone booster on ebay for $120 about 1.5 yrs ago solved my poor reception went from 1 bar to 4!!! Just bought another a few weeks ago same model 4G 700Mhz for $60 shipped... Installed for a neighbor... The signal is even better w/ a metal roof as it helps isolate the two antennas from each other, so I was told. All I know is I have great cell service now... The days of walking outside for a signal are over! I will get 1-2 bars outside and 4 inside