Knowledge Base

Why does my call drop when I walk into my building?

The most common reason for dropping cell phone calls when entering a commercial building is building materials: The concrete, stone, steel, and low-e glass that are use in many commercial buildings reduce—and sometimes totally block—radio frequency (RF) signals, including the wavelengths used by cellular devices.

Sometimes the building materials don’t completely block cell signal, but they reduce it enough that the signal strength drops below a usable level. For example, if the cell signal strength outside your building was weak, but still usable, the building walls might reduce the signal strength 30%, making the inside cell signal too weak for your cell phone to sustain a connection.