This is another frequent question from our email in-box. We can all understand why people want a cell signal booster app or a Wifi booster app for their devices.

Everyone, at least occasionally, needs a stronger cell or Wifi signal. It would be so awesome if you could just put an app on your phone that amplifies your cell signal and/or Wifi signal whenever you need it!

We’d all want that app. Most of us would pay for it.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t exist. There is no app for your phone or tablet that can amplify the cellular or Wifi signal.

“But wait,” say some people. “I’ve seen booster apps in the app store.”

That’s true. If you go to your preferred app store and search ‘cell phone signal booster’ you’ll get screens and screens and screens and more screens of apps that call themselves ‘booster apps,’ like in the screen grab at the top of this page.

You might even recognize one or two of these apps, or even have one on your phone. Most of them perform useful functions.

But what they DON’T do, is amplify your cell or Wifi signal.

These ‘signal booster’ apps are actually ‘performance-booster apps. They make your device operate more efficiently, and therefore faster.

These ‘booster’ apps fall into two broad categories:

Performance-enhancer apps will clear various caches on your phone and within other apps, and free up RAM and storage space. Some may also manage background apps and processes or even allow you to overclock your phone’s processor. Result: your phone operates faster.

Signal monitor apps, as the name suggests, monitor your cellular and Wifi signals, provide info on signal strength and location of origin, refresh mobile network and/or Wifi connections, and direct you to the strongest signal when multiple sources are available. Some of the Wifi apps will even show you the best place to locate your router for optimal signal coverage.

But none of these apps can amplify cellular nor Wifi signal.

To their credit, some of the apps state in their description that they cannot boost signal strength, and correctly point out than no app can boost cell, Wifi signal, or Wifi calling.

As I said before, these apps serve useful functions. But despite what the results of your app store search may imply, they don’t boost signal.

Why can’t I just put an app on my phone that boosts my cell or Wifi coverage?

The short answer is, because apps on your phone or tablet can only work with and affect the resources that are available on your device.

Think about it.

You install apps on your device to customize your user experience with useful processes and services. But your device can’t do anything to change the ambient cellular and Wifi signals, which are completely independent of your device.

The cell signal exists because your service provider’s towers produce and distribute it, allowing everyone’s phones or other devices to use the signal for mobile communication.

A Wifi signal is produced and distributed by a nearby Wifi access point allowing anyone, or maybe only those who enter the network password, to log on.

Both of these signals are independent of your phone. Your phone or tablet cannot affect the strength of these signal by boosting them nor by diminishing them – not even with an app.

Bottom Line: Apps customize your mobile communications experience. But they can’t affect the cell signal originating from your carrier’s tower, nor the Wifi from a close-by access point.

So-called Wifi and cell booster apps worth exploring

Having said all that, some of the apps mentioned above may be worth exploring. While they won’t boost your signal, they may provide useful services or help you find a stronger signal. They’re easy to find. Just go to your app store and search ‘cell phone signal booster.’

The only way to actually amplify cellular signal is to get a cell signal booster system. You can learn about them by clicking the button below.

For Wifi, you can get a Wifi extender, sometimes called a Wifi repeater, that will expand your signal coverage over a larger area. These are typically inexpensive, super simple to set up (just plug it into a wall outlet!) and work well. I’ve owned a $20 Linksys model for a couple of years and it works great, extending the Wifi signal from my office to the kids’ bedrooms at the other end of the house. A definite winner!

Click below to learn more about signal boosters that really do amplify cell signal.