Getting better Cellular Service through our Router

[Easto]

The Sprint service (signal) we get at our home is very bad. To the point of having to sometimes move to the front of the house in order to get a signal.

On my Android phone I'm using what Sprint calls "Calling Plus". Although I thought this was supposed to use our home network for calls when the regular signal is bad... I really don't see any change in signal strength or call quality. I've been looking at the services that my Asus RT-AC3200 offer and I do see USB Modem / USB Tethering and I was wondering if that is anything that we could incorporate in order to clean up our calls. We recently dropped our landline and we're trying to get this wireless/cellular service working better. Under that heading, the feature it will let you setup is stated as "Switch to USB mode to use a 3G/4G USB wireless dongle or Android phone as a USB modem". I was hoping I could setup my Samsung phone to assist with calls.

[Philip]

The wireless router's "USB Modem" option lets you use a USB 3g/4g modem dongle from your provider (Sprint?) to provide internet to all the client PCs on your LAN. You can think of it as a different type of WAN port for your internet browsing using 3g/4g data, it will not do anything for voice/cell service at home.

To improve your cell service with poor reception you have a couple of options:

1. Use your provider's Wi-Fi calling feature - this would utilize your home Wi-Fi internet to place calls, most major providers have it these days. It let's them reduce network utilization by offloading traffic to your internet provider... See: https://www.sprint.com/en/support/so...i-calling.html

2. Use some type of cell booster - this can get very expensive and doesn't do much, works by placing external antenna at your residence and repeating cell signals

3. Switch provider or phone to utilize a different LTE band/frequency - most providers use at least two bands, one in the 700-900MHz band (better obstacle penetration, lower bandwidth), and one in the 1700-2500MHz range (higher bandwidth, less wall penetration). You must research what LTE bands your phones support, what bands Sprint uses in your area, and make sure you have the lower frequency bands covered.

[Philip]

I've just updated the US LTE Frequencies FAQ here: https://www.speedguide.net/faq/commo...r-networks-415

Looks like Sprint's main frequency is LTE band 25 (1900 MHz), that would explain the low obstacle penetration. If your phones support band 26 (850MHz), and Sprint has that band in your area, you should get better indoors coverage.

[Easto]

Thanks for the info. I'll look into that and if I have any questions as to what they're talking about... I'll be back.