How can I fix My Boost Mobile Signal (10 Free Ways to Try)

Poor cellular reception on your Boost Mobile phone can be so frustrating. It will render the phone unusable or unreliable when you need it most. But does this mean you start looking for another carrier straight away? And if not yet, how can I fix my Boost Mobile signal without incurring any cost?

Well, Boost is one of the best cell phone providers in the country, in particular, if looking for a cheap service. “Cheap” means not just the $10/ month rate plan with unlimited talk and 1GB of high-speed data. But it’s also possible to get a free cell phone without paying anything through the ongoing ACP benefit.

Freebie or not, though, your Boost Mobile phone should have a good signal if you’re to make the most of it. And if your phone had a good signal but suddenly start having connectivity issues, you should try to fix it before deciding to switch to another carrier.

First! Know Your Boost Mobile

In this guide, we’ll be covering various ways how to fix Boost Mobile signal for free. But before we come that, you should first take time to know your operator. It will make it easier to identify the problems you may be having, which helps understand the causes, then later offer a viable fix.

The various crucial details you should know about Boost Mobile are:

• Boost Mobile is an MVNO: as an MVNO (or mobile virtual network operator), this means it doesn’t have cell towers of its own. It has made a network deal with a Major Carrier to resell its network.
• Boost Mobile work best on AT&T: unfortunately, AT&T is the tower Boost Mobile use to deliver full-service perks. If still on Boost Mobile with the T-Mobile network, you won’t have access to features like WiFi calling and eSIM.
• Boost still behaves like CDMA: the reason I’m saying this is that you need to authenticate your phone with the SIM to use the service. The rule applies even when you Put My Boost Mobile SIM Card in another Boost Mobile Phone.
• Boost Mobile suffers deprioritization: sadly, this means your phone will have a significant drop in data speeds when the Carrier Network of Boost, either AT&T or T-Mobile, is experiencing congestion.
• Boost Mobile throttles Data on all Plans: all this means your phone will drop on data speeds after reaching the high-speed cap of the monthly allowance. It applies even to the Unlimited plan, which has 35GB of 5G/ 4G LTE data before dropping to 512kbps speeds.
• Boost Mobile offers a domestic roaming feature: it makes sure your phone remains functional when outside the native coverage areas. However, the operator has limited the roaming allowance only to 50 talk minutes a month.
• Boost Mobile only works on Whitelisted phones: in a nutshell, AT&T has blacklisted phones made for the international market. You’ll have to get the US variants of the phone model you wish to use with your Boost service.
• Boost Mobile only has carrier-locked cell phones: it only unlocks the phones after twelve (12) months, unless you’re an active military personnel.

Important Notes:

 AT&T, the main carrier network of Boost Mobile operates on frequency bands 2, 4, 5, 12*, 17*, 29, 30*, and 66 on LTE. Then low-band 5G on bands N2, N5, & N66 and mmWave on N77 (C-Band), N258, & N260.

T-Mobile, the second carrier network of Boost Mobile (with orange SIM card) uses bands 2, 4*, 5, 12*, 66, & 71* for LTE. Then bands n71 for low-band 5G and n41 (b-band), n258, n260, & n261 for mmWave coverage.

* Marks the Primary LTE bands with extended coverage, where the signal travels far and penetrates through walls. Your phone for Boost Mobile should have at least one primary band.

The low-band 5G frequencies also usually offer extended-range signals that you can access even indoors. However, the C-band 5G has relatively faster data speeds, albeit not accessible everywhere.

Second! The Boost Mobile Signal Can Be Poor for Many Reasons

Indeed. There are over a dozen reasons you may be experiencing signal issues with your Boost Mobile right now. They include:

1. Network congestion in your current location. In the deal Boost Mobile has made with AT&T (and T-Mobile), the Major Carriers will prioritize their customers first.
2. Outdated SIM card. Happens if you’re using a SIM card with an old network setting. It’s the reason carriers often recommend their latest cards. But now with eSIM, the settings will be updated automatically.
3. Outdated APN configuration. The issue happens most when your phone fails to update the APN information automatically. You can also experience signal issues if you manually update the APN with incorrect details.
4. Inferior cellular modem on phone. In other words, if your phone only has secondary LTE bands, you won’t get a Boost signal in most parts of the country or inside the house. It’s the reason you should focus on the primary frequency bands when looking for phones compatible with the Boost Mobile SIM card you’re using (on AT&T or T-Mobile).
5. Outside the native coverage zone. The signal issue here simply occurs when the place you’re at doesn’t have Boost Mobile service.
6. Outside the roaming partners area. If you’re outside the native coverage and roaming partners of Boost Mobile, your phone will also have signal issues.
7. Boost Mobile has throttled your data. If this happens, the browsing capability of your phone will drop to 2G (128kbps) or 3G (512kbps) speeds. So, the problem, in this case, is mostly with data issues: Calls & text messages should still work.
8. You’ve not authenticated your phone. As I’ve mentioned earlier, Boost Mobile requires you to configure your phone with the SIM. In some cases, you can just swap the SIM and have signal bars. But since the phone is not on the Boost database, it may lose access to most or all network settings.
9. You’re using a blacklisted cell phone. In most cases, the blacklisted phones (international models) will be tricky to activate with the Boost Mobile service. But other times they can accept the SIM card, albeit you lose some crucial features, such as stable connectivity.
10. An abrupt change of the SIM card on dual-SIM phones. It mostly happens when you disable either the SIM or a particular network setting.
11. There’s significant signal interference. The interference can be from other external wireless devices, such as Bluetooth stereo, WiFi routers, Microwave ovens, et cetera. It can also occur from built-in features of the phone, like WiFi, NFC, and Bluetooth.
12. The phone has firmware issues. It can either be from operating on outdated software or the current one is buggy.
13. The phone has hardware damage affecting network performance. A perfect example of such issues is damage to the SIM card contacts, cellular modem, or phone antenna.

Thirdly! How Can I Fix My Boost Mobile Signal

The best way how to fix your Boost Mobile signal issue is to address the cause of the problem. And the various ways you can do this include:

• Get a phone with the proper cellular modem:

In particular, get a phone that has the latest LTE technology, including a mix of both primary and secondary frequency bands. The primary LTE bands will make sure you have at least a signal to call, text, or browse at low-to-fair speeds. Then the secondary LTE bands offer high-capacity spectrums that bring the fastest LTE data speeds (mostly accessible outdoors).

• Invest in a 5G-enabled cell phone:

In a recent speed test with iPhone 12, Boost Mobile peaked at up to 500Mbps, whereas other parts will record around 200Mbps. However, this is much better than LTE as the service will still have usable speeds during network congestion.

Tip: during congestion, the small carriers on deprioritized data often experience up to a 60% drop in the regular data speeds

• Get a cell phone signal booster:

The hack will surely cost you a few bucks. But on the plus side, it can help amplify the signal outside your house, then distribute it inside your home, business place, or vehicle.

A nice example of a booster you can use to improve your Boost Mobile signal is the HiBoost or WeBoost Drive Reach OTR.

• Update your Boost Mobile SIM card:

When you hear Boost Mobile claim they’re rolling out new SIM cards for higher speeds, don’t take it for granted. You should also change your SIM card if the contact plate is too dirty or worn out, as this could also affect the network performance.

Alternatively, get a phone with eSIM, as the SIM technology will be updating wirelessly and automatically here.

• Update the APN settings of your Boost phone:

The fifth way how to fix the boost Mobile signal is to update your phone with the latest APN settings. You can set your phone to do this automatically using the configuration message the carrier sends to your phone. (If Boost doesn’t send the configuration message, try to factory reset the network setting).

Alternatively, you can adjust the APN settings of Boost Mobile on your phone manually as follows:

Name	Boost
APN:	boost.data
MMSC:	http://sprboost.mmsmvno.com/mms/wapenc
MCC:	310
MNC:	240
APN Type:	default,supl,mms
APN Protocol:	IPv6
APN Roaming Protocol:	IPv4
APN enable/ disable	Enabled

• Configure your cell phone service accordingly:

In a nutshell, this simply means making sure you activate the Boost Mobile phone in the right way, i.e. linking it with the SIM card. It can help solve your network issues, plus the Boost Mobile customer care will be able to help when you’re experiencing issues.

• Make sure you use only the whitelisted phones:

Again, local. carriers are blacklisting phones intended for the international market. Make sure the device you want to use with Boost Mobile, particularly on BYOD (bring your own device) program is made for the U.S.

• Temporarily enable the Airplane mode feature:

Another trick you can use to fix your Boost Mobile signal is to turn on the “Airplane” mode for about 3 seconds, then turn it off. In doing this, you’re forcing the device to reconnect to the towers nearby.

• Turn off wireless services currently not in use:

When turned on, wireless features like WiFi, Bluetooth, and NFC are always looking for a connection to pair with. You should disable them when not in use as their roaming-about could affect your Boost Mobile signal.

• Change your current position:

Your issue with Boost Mobile connectivity could be related to the signal from the carrier tower failing to reach your current position. So, try moving around, perhaps closer to a window or on higher ground with less obstruction.

• Restart your cell phone:

Similar to computers, restarting your phone can help resolve network issues that occur after the system CPU fails to start up correctly. Usually, this kind of issue is common when you use your phone continuously for many hours.

• Update the firmware/ software of the phone:

In general, updating your phone to the latest firmware helps improve performance, which then enhances things like the network. An update will also protect your device from some malware, which sometimes can have bugs that affect network performance.

• Check your phone for any physical damages:

If your Boost Mobile phone started having issues after dropping on a hard floor or into the water, have a technician check it. The technician should be able to identify with his gadgets if the problem is from a faulty antenna, modem, or SIM card contact.

Now! If Symptoms Persist…

As you can see, there are many reasons your phone can lose reception. But in our case, that’s how you can fix Boost Mobile signal for free (except where you buy a booster or repair). Almost all the fixes are straightforward to do on your own and require no special tools.

If the symptoms persist after trying all the free hacks, you can do a full factory reset. And when that fails to resolve the issue as well, activate your Boost service on a different phone to see if the issue is particular to your device or all devices.

If the issue is only with your phone, then you can take it to the repair shop or replace it with a brand-new one. But when the test shows the issue is only inside the house and for all devices, get a signal booster.

Alternatively, you can also switch to another carrier with a strong signal that even gets inside the building.