On July 29, 2020, PCMag.com - one of the biggest and most-visited tech product review sites in the world - released an article titled The Best Cell Phone Signal Boosters for 2020. SureCall Canada claimed nearly half the best cell signal boosters mentioned. A total of 9 devices were named across multiple categories. 4 of them were SureCall products. And one, in particular, was awarded "Editor's Choice for Best In-Home Cell Phone Booster": the SureCall Canada Flare 3.0.
What is it that lifts this booster above the competition in the minds of top industry experts? The release of this PCMag.com article gives us a reason to highlight this incredible product, reminding Canadians why it's considered the best of the best for in-home signal boosting.
SureCall Canada Flare 3.0
PCMag.com is far from the only source that has given a glowing review of the SureCall Flare 3.0. It gets high marks on a consistent basis and there are many reasons why.
At C$499.99, it's one of the most affordable signal boosters of its kind in Canada compared to its competitors. There's no getting around the fact that this is one of the major reasons for its popularity. And a great many users say that it undoubtedly performs far beyond its going rate.
There are many boosters out there that are captive devices, meaning they only support one single cellular carrier (Telus, Rogers, Bell, etc.). The Flare 3.0 is not a captive device. It doesn't matter which network you use. This booster is compatible with all major American networks. In fact, this is the case with all SureCall cell phone signal boosters.
Another convenient feature has to do with its antenna configuration. It uses an omnidirectional antenna inside and a directional antenna outside. This means that the inside antenna can be placed pretty much wherever you want while also giving you the freedom to tinker with the outside antenna as you try to achieve the best possible signal at your home. This level of customization is rare for home signal boosters and is a major selling point.
Installation Is Easy
The flexibility of the Flare 3.0 is matched by how easy it is to set up. In the PCMag article, the author points out that of all the home boosters they tried, the Flare 3.0 was the easiest to self-install. The fact that it only has 2 main components compared to 3 (which is common for in-home signal boosters) is a major reason why.
Because the inside antenna is omnidirectional, you can pretty much put it wherever is convenient. It doesn't matter what direction it faces. Then, mounting the outside antenna is simple using the included hardware. You just need to make sure that it's pointing in the direction of the appropriate cell tower. At that point, all you have to do is connect those two components by running a coax cable.
The end result speaks for itself. Stronger cell signal in your home and all the conveniences and necessities that come along with it. The referenced article even stated that the SureCall Canada Flare 3.0 achieved a stronger signal than one of its closest competitors after testing both.
PCMag.com ran multiple tests on the SureCall Flare 3.0 as well as other in-home boosters. They describe in detail how SureCall met or exceeded their expectations in every instance. See that information here.
What Else Should You Know?
Signal Boosters Are More Important Than Ever In The COVID-19 Era
Adequate cell reception has become more important than ever since the emergence of COVID-19. Finding yourself in a dead zone is even more frustrating now than it was prior to the worldwide coronavirus precautions. Limited mobility and (for many people) isolation has increased the need for internet and cell signal. And if you live in rural Canada where spotty reception and dropped calls are commonplace, your frustration is higher than most. Cell phone signal boosters like the Flare 3.0 solve this problem more thoroughly than any other consumer-available device. This is a reason why SureCall Canada's products have been playing an important role in people's lives, more so than ever before.
There are lots of signal booster brands out there with products similar to ours. PCMag knows this, of course, which is why they set out to learn which ones are the very best given the fact that the demand for signal boosters has gone up. For their in-home booster tests, they compared the Flare 3.0 with the Home MultiRoom booster from WeBoost. These two devices have lead the way in in-home boosters for some time, thereby being natural choices for head-to-head competition. PCMag found that though the design and installation process for both devices are similar, the SureCall Canada booster was simpler and more flexible.
Wi-Fi Calling Often Isn't Sufficient
The advent of Wi-Fi calling presented a very convenient way of making calls under circumstances where reception is poor. But in order for Wi-Fi calling to work properly, you need to have a reliable internet connection. In rural Canada, people who have poor cellular reception almost always have poor internet speeds as well. In these situations, Wi-Fi calling usually doesn't present itself as a very helpful alternative.
Setting up a signal booster in your home is a much better answer for another important reason. Cell towers prioritize actual cellular voice calls over all other types of traffic. This means that when you're able to make a real call from your mobile phone, the service quality will be more reliable compared to other ways of making a voice call. Also, internet networks prioritize things like online gaming and Netflix over making calls via the internet. It's also worth noting that picture and text messages are notoriously problematic over Wi-Fi. The moral of the story is that a cell phone signal booster is the better way to go in virtually every circumstance involving unreliable cell signal, whether it's an in-home dead zone or generally poor signal all around.
The Flare 3.0 Increases Your Phone's Battery Life
Your phone works twice as hard when it's experiencing low (or no) signal. The amount of effort that your phone exerts is directly related to the quality of your reception at any given moment. Good reception means smooth sailing where battery usage is concerned. Poor reception tells your phone that it needs to perpetually search for a stronger signal until one is reached. This uses a lot more juice. More juice than Zoom, FaceTime, live streaming, or even downloading a movie. So the longer you're connected to an adequate cell signal, the longer your phone's battery will last. Poor signal drains your battery.
The Flare 3.0 (as well as any signal booster from SureCall) optimizes phone battery life by providing your home or cottage with an increased cell signal. Not only will your data speeds and reception get a life, but so will your battery. Honestly, when customers ask us why their phone battery is dying so fast, this is the first thing we recommend. It works like a charm for so many.
How Do You Know This Is the Best In-Home Cell Phone Booster for You?
The SureCall Canada Flare 3.0 is designed to cover a maximum area of approximately 3,500 square feet. If the space you intend the boosted signal to cover is 3,500 square feet or less, the Flare 3.0 is the booster for you. But make sure that you ask two key questions first before you make a purchase:
- Do you want boosted signal in only one room or throughout the entire home?
- If you want signal all throughout the home, how many square feet is that?
Answering these questions will set you on the right path, whether that's toward the Flare 3.0 or something else that covers more space. SureCall Canada calculates very carefully the coverage range and signal quality of each individual booster. But the potential of each device is dependent on one very important thing: the existence of at least a weak signal outside your home. The stronger the outside signal is, the more your booster will be able to do for you. Adversely, if the signal outside is weak or there are lots of tall, thick trees outside your home, the booster will certainly still work. It just may not be able to reach it's maximum numbers as stated on the product packaging and on our website. This is worth mentioning so that your expectations remain realistic if your home or property happens to have things that hinder the ability of the signal booster.
To give a quick example, let's say your cottage has aluminum doors, solid wood walls, and many shelves of metal cans in the pantry. In a cottage like this, it's likely that the square footage your booster will end up covering will be less than the maximum. In the the case of the Flare 3.0, you'll probably have less than 3,500 square feet of boosted coverage in this scenario. We recommend giving us a call - no matter your situation - before buying a signal booster from us. We want to make sure you get the perfect booster that's custom-designed for your location. Especially if you suspect your home is unique in ways that might hinder a boosted signal, definitely reach out to us first.
Does this Canadian signal booster work in other countries?
It depends. In some countries, SureCall boosters work just fine. But they don't work in every country. The reason for this has to do with the cellular frequency that Canadian (and American) boosters operate on. They operate on GSM 850/1900 MHz. Every country that operates within these frequencies is compatible with our signal boosters. The next most common frequency - GSM 900/1800 MHz - is used in many countries. Canadian boosters will not work in them. If you're wondering about bringing your SureCall device to a particular country, give us a call and we'll let you know if it'll work there or not.
Conclusion
We thank PCMag.com for featuring our products and giving the Flare 3.0 such high praise. Again, here's the link to the official product page where you can purchase it, view detailed specifications, and more.