5 Reasons to Have a Cell Booster for Summer Road Trips

As the seasons turn to summer, fresh air, sunshine and warm nights tempt motorists out to appreciate the scenery. It’s a great time to seek out fresh destinations, discover unfamiliar landscapes, and take road trips to discover historical sites, regional food, or the wonders of nature. When you’re planning your summer road trip, it’s also a good idea to plan on maintaining mobile cell signal.

Your smartphone can be an important tool for accessing everything from GPS navigation and WiFi hotspots to entertainment for the kids, important weather alerts, and emergency services. Having a weBoost vehicle cell signal booster helps keep your call quality, consistency, and ability to access apps and information reliable throughout your trip.

5 Key Benefits Mobile Devices Bring to Your Summer Road Trip

There’s no way around it, mobile devices are an increasingly necessary tool for everyday life. Everything from commerce to news to entertainment is more online than ever before. Here are five ways your mobile device can make any summer road trip easier, safer, and more fun.

1. Online Entertainment

Even the most beautiful scenery won’t hold your kids’ interest forever. In any road trip, having entertainment options at hand keeps that eternal question at bay. You know the one: “Are we there yet?”

Mobile devices deliver on the entertainment front more consistently now than ever before. Streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ compete to deliver a combined total of thousands of movies and television shows. Online games for mobile users, both paid and free-to-play, have multiplied in their selection and grown dramatically in their quality. Intuitive apps designed for mobile devices are often easier to use and more streamlined than their desktop computer counterparts.

All of this entertainment, of course, is dependent on steady access to data. Your device needs consistent downlink and uplink connections. Otherwise, it can drain power quickly while searching for connections and cause frustrating interruptions in service. With a cell signal booster on board, you can enjoy more confidence in the consistency of online entertainment on your trip.

2. GPS Navigation

One of the most powerful travel technologies provided by modern digital networks is a diverse range of options for accessing the satellite-based global positioning system (GPS).

Global positioning software is available through the app stores of both iPhone and Android devices. These apps offer everything from basic maps to enhanced navigation of backroads, location guides and reviews, waypoint management systems and trail recording, turn-by-turn directions, and up-to-date traffic data. GPS is, in short, an immensely useful tool for getting around and keeping your bearings.

Many GPS apps offer both on- and offline maps. Still, these apps are at their most powerful when they can pull and update up-to-the-minute data from online. That means they work best with a dependable cell signal.

3. WiFi Hotspots

Even those on the trip without cellular devices can still take advantage of mobile data using WiFi hotspots. They do so by turning one passenger’s smartphone or mobile device into a WiFi hotspot.

In general, a WiFi hotspot is simply a WiFi access point that allows computers and other devices to make broadband internet connections. Android and iPhone smartphones can also be turned into mobile hotspots using your cellular data to provide a stable WiFi connection for the devices in your vehicle. Alternatively, you can buy purpose-built mobile hotspots that offer this same functionality while leaving your personal smartphone entirely free for other things.

Having mobile WiFi access gives you a lot more device options for entertainment, news and information, communication, and other functions. Of course, like all the other items on this list, this tip depends ultimately on having a strong, high-quality cell phone signal.

4. WEA Alerts and Emergency Preparedness

Sometimes the unexpected can fall into the midst of even the most carefully planned road trip. Capricious weather and events such as wildfires, floods, or tornadoes can strike where you least expect them. Being forewarned is key to keeping your family safe.

Mobile devices offer a connection to the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system, which is a federally-run network that provides targeted regional alerts about threats to safety in your area. Monitoring the WEA system can provide much-needed warnings about unexpected weather events on your route, allowing you to take an alternate path or backtrack if need be. As anyone who’s ever found themselves driving through a wildfire can tell you, this information can be worth its weight in gold.

In addition to WEA, having a solid cell signal makes it easier to stay in touch with local authorities and emergency services in general. In the event of a breakdown or getting accidentally stranded somewhere along your route, your smartphone can make it possible to get the help you need. Whether you need to contact your motor club and request a tow or reach out to local police or hospitals, reliable cell signal can make all the difference.

5. Staying In Touch With Loved Ones

Mobile devices make it easy to keep in touch with loved ones and keep them up to date about your travels.

If you have friends waiting to meet you in a city along the way, mobile connectivity allows you to keep them informed about any delays. If you have friends or neighbors on the home front who are looking out for the house while your family is away, cell phone communication makes it easy to check in with them and enjoy peace of mind. If you have a smart home and security system, your smartphone can even let you check in directly on live video feeds to see for yourself that everything’s all right.

Of course, all of these things become harder to do if your network is dropping calls, delivering poor quality signal, or failing to deliver internet service at all. That’s where using a cell booster for your summer road trip comes in.

Cell Boosters for Your Summer Road Trip

weBoost cell signal boosters pick up the cellular signal on the outside of your vehicle using an antenna, conduct that signal inside, and then amplify and broadcast it so all passengers can enjoy stronger connections. Carrier-agnostic and easy to install, they work with all major providers including AT&T, US Cellular, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

Any number of factors along your route might obstruct your cell signal. Major offenders tend to be distance from the nearest cell phone tower, adverse weather conditions, rough or heavily-wooded terrain, and construction materials in heavily built-up areas or tunnels. In all these cases, if you’re able to get even a faint signal, a cell signal booster can generally amplify it.

weBoost provides cell signal boosters for a variety of vehicles, including RVs, overlanding or off-road rigs, and passenger cars. Whatever your family’s specific needs and the nature of your summer adventures, chances are we have a solution that’s right for you.

If you want to get the benefits of enhanced cell phone signal on your next summer road trip, contact us today. We’ll be happy to help you enjoy your journeys in comfort and safety with the best cell boosters on the market.