Do cell phone signal repeaters actually work?

http://support.vzw.com/information/network_extender.html

If you have ATT, you might want to get their http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/why/3gmicrocell/. It uses your home broadband connection. They'll often come way down on the equipment price (they sent me a letter saying I could get one for $50) but the bad news is it is $20/mth. But for that fee, you get unlimited calls to anywhere in the US and it doesn't go against your monthly minutes. It doesn't do data but if your phone has wifi you can use that. About a week after they sent me a letter my signal suddenly improved to full bars because they added a tower nearby so I no longer need it.

I haven't used that exact unit, but have set up similar devices and seen a marked improvement in signal strength. To avoid strife and heartache, make sure the one you buy supports all the frequencies used by cell phone owners in your house. If you're in an area where it's available and are only interested in boosting your own signal (and that of other AT&T customers who live with you) http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/why/3gmicrocell/ might be a better option. Note that it only supports 10 handsets, and each of those handsets has to be specifically registered with the device so your friends are out of luck unless you add them. (On preview, what birdherder, except that I didn't know they charged a monthly fee. How utterly lame, since the entire purpose of the device you're buying from them is to compensate for their poor network coverage in the first place.)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000E14G7S/metafilter-20/ref=nosim/'s the one I've installed and can vouch for. 2500 square feet is optimistic based on my experience, but then again my main experience was with a massive poured concrete modernist house that didn't let any sort of RF signal get very far.

Yes, they work, but i'm not sure i'd buy one from Radio Shack. There are specialty vendors out there that have a variety of devices for various needs. They require some fiddling (knowing what direction your nearest cell site is in either directly or by trial and error), so be prepared for that.

AT&Ts Microcell doesn't have a monthly fee unless you sign up for the Microcell unlimited talk add-on plan which is $20/month. If you're willing to cough up $150 for the device and have the minutes you use come out of your regular plan, there's no additional monthly fee. AT&T tries very hard to keep this a little-known option.

Just got an ATT microcell and after two days am still befuddled by it. Intermittent service, spotty reception and a lot of problems with my iPhone in general. But my roomate with a regular old 3G phone things it works great. It is 150 bucks but it was pretty much the only option for me. And no, you dint have to get the monthly contract. I actually signed up for ATT Internet and the unlimited microcell calling plan and got a rebate of almost 130 bucks in the microcell. If I'm feeling frisky, I think I'll justcancel the unlimited plan after my rebate comes through and that takes the total cost down to just 30 or so bucks.

Not exactly an answer, but it's worth noticing that these devices are a way for the cell phone companies to off-load infrastructure costs onto end consumers, in a very piecemeal way... There's no way in hell I would pay a monthly cost for a device like this. I do have a similar device for boosting wireless signals (a repeater) that works very well, and is likely an almost identical technology; $20 on new egg three years ago, and still works great. It wouldn't work for a cell phone, of course, but I would keep that price point in mind as you look around.

I live in a hilly area where pretty much all carriers provide spotty service, not just AT&T; it's been that way for the 10+ years I've lived here and doesn't appear to be improving. I'm not thrilled about paying extra for acceptable service, but realistically I don't see another option. When I heard about the MicroCell I went out and bought one immediately, choosing the $150/no monthly charge option. You've got 30 days to return it if you're not satisfied. Setup's easy--you just plug it into your internet router and let it sit for an hour or two. My service now is not perfect, but it's orders of magnitude better than what I had before. I've got four or five bars throughout my house on my iPhone 3GS. The people I'm talking to can always hear me, loud and clear. If I get too far away from the unit while I'm on the phone, sometimes I hear their voices break up a bit. It doesn't seem to like my habit of wandering around the house while I talk--my reception stays perfect if I stay in one spot. All in all, it's a huge improvement for me and I'll be keeping it. http://forums.wireless.att.com/t5/AT-T-3G-MicroCell/bd-p/3gmicrocell a forum where people complain about it if you want more perspectives.