Another sticky iPhone cell signal strength booster

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.