We’ve all experienced it. You’re driving down the highway, deeply engaged in a phone conversation when suddenly the call disconnects. That dreaded dropped call can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you are in the middle of an important discussion. What causes calls to drop while we’re driving, and is there anything we can do to prevent it?
There are a few key reasons why we lose cell phone connectivity when we’re behind the wheel. Understanding the root causes can help guide us toward solutions, such as using the Best vehicle cell phone booster to improve service. The following are the most common factors in play.
Patchy Cell Tower Coverage
Spotty cell phone coverage leading to dropped calls is a frustrating problem many people face regularly. Areas with patchy cell tower coverage often see users plagued by choppy calls that cut in and out unpredictably. Eventually, these weak connections fail altogether, abruptly dropping the call.
There are a few key reasons why certain areas suffer from spotty coverage and dropped calls. Cell towers have limited ranges, especially when obstructions like hills or buildings interfere with signals. Rural locations may only have a single tower covering a large geographic zone. Networks can also become overloaded with too many users crammed onto a single tower, making dropped calls more likely during peak congestion times. Older network technology relies more on line-of-sight, meaning physical barriers readily block signals.
Bandwidth Overload
Bandwidth overload occurs when too many users are accessing a cellular network at the same time in a particular area. This overloads the available bandwidth that carries voice and data traffic. There is a limited amount of bandwidth available on cellular networks, and each wireless carrier tries to balance serving many customers while providing quality coverage.
However, during peak usage times or in crowded areas like concerts or sports stadiums, too many users can overwhelm a tower’s bandwidth capacity. This can lead to slower data speeds, lagging response times, garbled voice calls, and even dropped calls or disconnections. When a tower’s bandwidth is completely overloaded, new calls may not even go through.
Signal Interference
Cellular networks rely on radio frequency signals between cell towers and mobile devices to enable communication. Ideally, these signals travel in a straight path between the tower and the device without obstruction. However, physical barriers like buildings and geography as well as radio interference can disrupt and degrade signals, potentially leading to problems like choppy audio, slow data speeds, or even dropped calls.
Common sources of signal interference include other cell towers, wireless devices like WiFi routers, microwave ovens, cordless phones, and even electrical equipment. If too many devices are using the same frequency in an area, signals can crosstalk, collide, and create noise that corrupts data transmission. Additionally, weak signals from distance to towers or due to indoor/underground use can be too faint to maintain a consistent connection. As users move, handoffs between towers can also falter if new towers have heavy traffic or interference. The network must reroute and re-establish the connection, which could result in a dropped call in the interim. Careful cellular planning and engineering can minimize but not always entirely prevent such connectivity issues.
Limited Phone Power If our phone’s battery level drops critically low while we drive and talk, power savings settings kick in. Core functions like transmission get disabled to prolong basic operating time. However, it comes at the cost of losing connectivity mid-stream. You try to limit app usage, turn down screen brightness, and avoid watching videos, but inevitably the battery percentage keeps ticking down.
Just when you need to make an important call your phone starts flashing that dreaded low-battery warning, but you cross your fingers and hope for the best. However, the call cuts off halfway through the conversation. Not only did you lose the key info you needed, but you likely have some explaining to do for the abrupt hang-up. Next time you’re out and relying on your phone, bring a portable charger or extra battery pack. While higher-capacity batteries are the ultimate solution, a backup power source helps ward off those untimely dropped calls.
These elements explain why dropped calls occur. Luckily there are some smart ways we can help maximize in-drive cell coverage and call stability.
- Make Use of Signal Boosters
Special vehicular cell phone signal boosters physically interface with our phone’s antenna, pulling in weak signals and strengthening output. They counter patchy coverage and interference via amplification and improved transmission capabilities across 3G, 4G, and 5G.
- Activate WiFi Calling
If spotty cell service is an issue in areas you frequent, activate WiFi calling on your smartphone. When enabled, your device will route calls/texts via any available WiFi connection. While not in widespread use yet, next-gen 5G networks will expand WiFi calling functionality.
- Be Mindful of Congested Zones
We can’t always avoid bustling areas, but when possible choose alternative routes that bypass chronically congested locales during peak times. Less network traffic makes signal dropouts less likely. Also, disable bandwidth-hogging functions like streaming when driving through high-traffic zones.
- Check for Tower Outages
Cell carriers have network status sites we can monitor for real-time tower functionality. If you frequently lose calls across a particular stretch, check for ongoing infrastructure issues before your next drive.
- Upgrade Your Phone Plan
Top-tier unlimited plans offer premium data performance, with guaranteed minimum speeds and priority access even in crowded environments. While pricier, the connectivity boost and call quality gains may justify the monthly spend.
- Hard Reboot Your Smartphone
A quick power down and restart sequence can flush bugs and reset connection issues that may be interfering with stable calls. Hard rebooting our phone before a drive can preemptively strengthen transmission capabilities.
- Confirm Phone Software is Up-To-Date
Makers release regular OS patches addressing bugs that can complicate cell signal processing. Run updates or check settings to ensure your device runs the latest firmware. Updates sometimes include drivability improvements.
With billions of calls placed from moving vehicles daily, dropped connections from time to time are inevitable. Focusing on the preceding ways to bolster in-drive cell strength can help keep conversations flowing even when journeying to areas with trickier coverage. Getting stranded without access is frustrating, but a little planning goes a long way.
