Existing users, 
Another sticky iPhone cell signal strength booster
Posted 20 February 2008 @ 12pm in Guides/How-Tos
We recently reported that attaching a small piece of scotch tape to the outer side of the iPhone’s SIM card (the side that does not have metal contacts) or the inside of the SIM slot (again, on the contact-less side) can provide a surprisingly dramatic boost in signal strength. Despite the naysayers, several readers have new reported success with this workaround.
For those too squeamish to attempt this procedure, which we can’t recommend and which might void your iPhone’s warranty, iPhone Atlas reader Tony Ramirez suggests a solution that we might otherwise consider informercial-type snake oil, the “Super Internal Antenna Booster”: a small sticker consisting of metal slivers that purportedly boost mobile phones’ antenna strength. Tony writes:
“For two dollars I bought a ‘Super Internal Antenna Booster.’ I found the best way to use it with the iPhone is to apply the sticker 1 and 1/4 inch below the Apple icon on the back. The first time I did this, the thin metallic lines were worn down over time and signals faded, so now I cover it with a piece of 3m magic tape. This works great! Sometimes I get a signal where no one else can.”
Reading a few other reviews of this and similar devices on various sites, the consensus is ambivalent. Some users report genuine boosts in signal strength, others scream hogwash on a technical basis. If you’ve had any experience one way or another, please let us know.
Note that there are a number of other procedures for boosting signal strength, including resetting the iPhone, dangling a USB cable off the device and buying a signal booster. Also, if your iPhone’s SIM card is not seated properly, signal strength can suffer. As such, re-seating the SIM by pushing a straightened paper clip into the small hole on the top of the device to open the SIM tray, making sure the SIM Card is properly in place, then re-inserting the SIM tray can prove effective or boosting signal strength. You should also check for debris inside the tray or SIM card slot, removing it by blowing into the slot or using compressed air.
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3 Comments
Posted by GregP3
20 February 2008 @ 3pm
Another Idea …
I tried the Scotch tape and got no increase.
So, I took the SIM card back out to remove the piece of tape and noticed that the contacts on the card were just slightly tarnished. I used a pencil eraser to gently clean the contacts, made sure that there were no eraser bits hanging on, reinstalled the card and got a good (1 bar) increase in signal strength.
That seems to make more sense than the “brute force” method of the Scotch tape that just increases the pressure on the contacts. Wish I could clean the spring contacts as well.
Posted by flurffmeister
22 February 2008 @ 2pm
I ordered a batch of the super boosters as well as the regular ones that it said were 59 cents each with the order of the super antenna boosters.
I wonder if the regular boosters are small enough to stick on the back of the SIM tray, and if that would introduce any shorting risks. Having a regular booster inside it as well as the super boosters on the back might actually let me make phone calls inside the building where I work.
I will report back when I have received them.
Posted by flurffmeister
29 February 2008 @ 8pm
It didn’t go so well for me. I’m not sure if I did it wrong or what, but the instructions said place as close to the antenna as possible…I placed one of the regular boosters on the left side of the back, half of it on the antenna and the other half just above it, and the super booster on the right side just across from it.
I tried with my Razr as well, and got fluctuating results.
Here’s my video showing it as I experienced it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjXA8Sscrws