Why doesn’t the phone get reception?

In the mountains, at the stadium or in the basement often the phone doesn't catch on. Here are the main causes that block the signal of our smartphone

Understanding the quality of our phone's reception is not easy. One moment we can have a good reception and a second later, just by taking a few steps, we will have no signal. But why doesn't our smartphone sometimes get reception?

The phone's reception depends mostly on our distance from the nearest transmission tower. Simply put, the closer we are to a transmitter, the better the smartphone gets reception. According to vendor estimates, a cell phone is able to get a good signal if it is within 70 kilometers of the nearest transmission tower. But in some conditions, weather or geographical, the minimum limit to have field on the phone can be lowered up to 35 kilometers. In the city it is difficult to have such problems, while in the countryside or in the mountains it is very easy to find a point not covered by our Network.

Signal obstructions

Radio waves travel in a straight line from the cell phone to the transmitter. This means that if there is a mountain or any other impediment we won't get signal on the smartphone. Again, these are Network problems that affect rural areas more than cities. Although it should not be forgotten that large buildings can affect the quality of the signal.

Materials that block the signal

We said that buildings, especially large ones, can complicate our reception, why? Simple, some materials, such as concrete or steel, block the radio waves of the signal. For this reason, if we live in a basement, it is very likely that the reception is not optimal or that there is no reception at all.

The weather

Weather conditions can also affect the quality of the signal of our phone. Fog or thunderstorms for example will reduce the space needed between us and the transmission tower to get all the "notches" on the smartphone.

Overload

Transmission towers are only designed to handle a certain number of connections at the same time. If too many users are connected to the same tower at the same time, the signal is likely to have several disruptions. That's what happens when we're at the stadium and all the people are using their phones and we can't make a call or get on the Internet. Or that's why New Year's and Christmas messages always arrive late.