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Cell signal blockers

larboc

Limestone cowboy
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
237
Messages
819
Loc
Da yoop
How does it work and whats the work around? I've been to a few places now where my phone will connect to an "extended network" which doesn't allow you to make calls, texts, or use data. Specific examples are a doctors office in green bay (there are signs saying cell phone use isn't allowed in the waiting rooms), and the harbor freight in wausau (no idea why on this one, but I have to make sure and have the coupons saved before entering). 4 bars of 4G until I walk in (verizon).
 
How does it work and whats the work around? I've been to a few places now where my phone will connect to an "extended network" which doesn't allow you to make calls, texts, or use data. Specific examples are a doctors office in green bay (there are signs saying cell phone use isn't allowed in the waiting rooms), and the harbor freight in wausau (no idea why on this one, but I have to make sure and have the coupons saved before entering). 4 bars of 4G until I walk in (verizon).

Cell Blockers are WAY illegal.

Also, some office buildings and places get shitty reception and it's not some conspiracy out to get you.
 
Cell Blockers are WAY illegal.

Also, some office buildings and places get shitty reception and it's not some conspiracy out to get you.

Active blockers, otherwise known as jammers. Nothing illegal about a passive device like a Faraday cage. Incidentally metal buildings make pretty good Faraday cages.....
 
Marathon county has super poor Verizon service. Att sprint and cellcom uscellular are the good ones. Next time I’m in the Wausau harbor freight I’ll check my cell service.
 
Cell Blockers are WAY illegal.

Also, some office buildings and places get shitty reception and it's not some conspiracy out to get you.

I don't think it's a reception issue. I've got strong Verizon signal until the phone decides to connect to "extended network" which then has very strong signal. What it seems like is happening is there is a fake network extender setup and my phone chooses it. It's happened with two different phones of mine, months apart, in the same buildings which are basically single story strip malls.
 
I think the problem has something to do with the construction of the building. I'm pretty sure that it is illegal to intentionally interfere with the signal.
Metal buildings and, I've been told, ICF are not good.
 
I don't think it's a reception issue. I've got strong Verizon signal until the phone decides to connect to "extended network" which then has very strong signal. What it seems like is happening is there is a fake network extender setup and my phone chooses it. It's happened with two different phones of mine, months apart, in the same buildings which are basically single story strip malls.

You can disconnect from a network. My cell likes to auto connect to Time Warner when out and about for some reason but there is usually a password that I don't know. My cell will go stupid and I can't surf. Disco from the network and it goes back to my cell service and data plan.
 
If someone was going to do it legally, it would be a Faraday cage. Would be pretty expensive to implement, but it's a passive device that you aren't defeating short of leaving an antenna outside it and running hardline to your device. More likely as others have mentioned, metal building acting as one uninentionally.
 
extended network usually means you have a signal, but it's not from a verizon tower.

think of it like the old roaming.
 
QUOTE=grumpy356;n33354]

Cell Blockers are WAY illegal.

Also, some office buildings and places get shitty reception and it's not some conspiracy out to get you.[/QUOTE]

He’s from the up everything is a conspiracy lol. :flipoff2: If I had to guess that during the Rona scare of 2020 the stores up there ran out of tinfoil way before shitter paper :flipoff2:
 
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You can't assume the RF signal is the culprit, and it does not equate to usable backhaul. I'd bet those places have a DAS / BDA system installed that's causing the issues, systems that most likely were initially installed to overcome poor RF signal.
 
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