Tech News and Commentary

Dave and the team discuss a Ring camera leak, a cross-country road trip by an autonomous vehicle, a new smart home standard, more people searching for heroes than villain in 2019, night mode and sleep patterns, and more.

Our guest this hour:

Laura Adams, Safety Analyst - DriversEd.com

Ken in Smyrna, Tennessee and asked: "I need to find something to boost the cell signal in a rural area where the signal is very spotty. My friend calls me and we have very difficult communication. Receiving is normally good on my end, but transmitting out to my friend is spotty. Is there anything that will boost the signal so we can communicate better. I am blind and I rely on this friend quite a bit."

http://www.intotomorrow.com/media/podcasts/2019/01-03-2020/01-03-2020-H3S1.mp3

Ken, if you don’t have a signal outside there’s not much you can do that will change that.

You can try repeaters, and those may work if they have large and powerful antennas, but typically unless there’s an ok signal somewhere, then there’s nothing to repeat in the first place.

WiFi is a viable solution for calls that happen within your home, most phones and carriers offer WiFi calling these days, so you should be able to just connect your phone to your home network and use it as if it was using a cellular connection.

If you’re on the go, WeBoost makes a repeater for cars but our guess is that doesn’t apply in your case since this is a friend you say you rely on, so it’s likely that he’s helping you with the driving more often than other people.

Unfortunately, your only other option may be switching carriers to one that offers better coverage around you, there’s not going to be much you can do about spotty coverage on your end.

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