I'm not talking about the stickers you put on the back of the phone, I know they don't work.  I'm talking about the boosters/amplifiers/repeaters you get to cover a dead zone.  I'm particularly looking for a whole house unit, something that will boost the signal, which is now no bars or maybe 1 bar and unreliable, up to say 3 and give me decent clarity and no dropped calls.
Any suggestions...other than moving?  I'd like to keep the cost below $300 if possible.  Or should I just wait for 4G service and see if that helps?  I've already got the best provider in the area, Verizon, so switching service doesn't help.  


 

They don't actually boost anything, they are just repeaters. If you have crappy service outside, you'll have crappy service inside with the repeater, but your phone will show 4 bars.

Installation is tricky, antennas have to be X linear distance apart, etc.

My coworker has zboost and swears by it. He ran the cable all the way up the old TV antenna tower so I think its line of sight to a cell tower at that point.

I just installed one of these In the man camp at work.  I went from having zero bars in my room to having two bars.  That may not sound like much but I will say I'm working on the outer fringes of Alaska's North Slope about 30 miles west of Prudhoe Bay.





Good signal boosters are not cheap.





http://www.wi-exstore.com/MyCart/ProductDetails/184/YX545.aspx





I can say this one does work however it does have a directional indoor antenna.


 

I have Sprint, and they just sent me the "AiRave" or "AirVana" or somthing like that to boost my signal due to dropped calls around the house.
It works great although it has to go through an internet connection to work. I'm not sure why.
Hell it even boosts the WiFi signals I pick up from my neighbors.
All I did was call and bitch about crappy service and go it for free, I dunno who your provider is but it might be worth a shot to see if they offer somthing like this.

My father has a wilson unit, it does work, the downside is that it fucks with his cordless phone.