The short and simple answer is: no! Metal roofs do not cause poor cell phone reception. Despite the common myth, there is simply no evidence to support the idea that a metal roof interrupts cell phone reception. So whether you are thinking about having a metal roof installed for an outhouse at home, or in a place of business, you won’t need to worry about this at all.
In fact, the research shows that metal roofs are no more likely to cause any problems with a cell phone than any other kind of roof, so it’s just not something you need to worry about. That’s great news if you have been thinking about having a metal roof installed at home or at work.
What Does Cause Poor Cell Phone Reception?
However, if you are in a situation where you already have poor cell phone reception, then a metal roof isn’t going to help you either. You need to actually get to the bottom of what’s causing your poor cell phone reception in order to figure out how to overcome the problem, and that might be easier than you think. Actually there are quite a few factors that do cause a poor cell phone reception which you might want to be aware of.
The Surrounding Landscape
This is the main thing that will potentially cause issues with a cell phone’s reception. If you happen to be based somewhere that has a poor view of the cell tower, then that can be problematic – and a metal roof won’t help things there. Likewise, you might be in a valley which does not receive a good signal. This is an example of where the landscape itself has affected the likelihood of getting reception on your cell phone.
Building Materials
While a metal roof is not going to interrupt your cell phone reception, the materials that make up the house or building may well do, depending on what they are. For instance, you might find that certain material types, but especially a certain thickness, can make it harder to get a good reception. So it is still something that you will need to think about when you are building or renovating, as it can affect it considerably.
Poor Coverage
Finally, it might just be that the local area has poor coverage, in which case there is little you can do about it. And in such an instance, how you approach building your home is not going to affect this at all, or will affect it only very little. So if you are somewhere with poor coverage, you are going to need to be aware of this and make sure that you are either moving somewhere with better coverage, or finding alternative solutions.
What Is The Cause Of The Myth?
So where does the idea come from that a metal roof causes problems with your cell phone reception? Well, while this is a myth, there is something of a relationship between metal roofs and cell phone reception, and that is something that is worth knowing about. Actually, the relationship is quite interesting, and worth looking into on its own accord.
Essentially, while a metal roof will itself not cause problems, it can be that it exacerbates an existing one. This happens in a very specific situation where the tower sits very close to a building with a metal roof. However in such a case, the problem is actually with the tower, not the metal roof itself.
Nonetheless, that is something to be aware of, and it might be that it affects your own situation, so that is certainly something to think about here.
Boosting Your Phone Signal
If you want to boost your cell phone’s reception and still hold on to your metal roof, you have plenty of options for doing so. In fact, there are a number of great ways to boost your phone signal, so it’s something that you might want to think about for sure. Let’s look at a couple of them right now to help you out.
Use A Signal Booster
You may decide that you need to install a signal booster. These are used in situations where you have a particularly bad signal, and it can be a great way to get a sudden and real boost to the signal around the home. A lot of homes can benefit from having one or even two of these in place, so it’s something to consider at least.
Change Providers
It might even be that you just need to change providers. It could be that your current network is not available in your area, but another one is, or has a better overall coverage. So changing providers is sometimes the simplest and clearest solution for improving your cell phone reception across the board.
Switch To Thinner Walls
If you think the walls might be the problem, then it will be due to their thickness, in which case switching to thinner walls could help. Of course, this is an expensive solution and not something to do lightly, but it might help you out a lot.