Why did the cell phone manufacturers eliminate external antennas?

Question

Absolutely no one makes an external antenna jack for a cell phone as far as I can tell. Is GSM really so good that antennas are now obsolete? I would have a real hard time believing this.

Answer 1

External antennas were actually more of a marketing gimmick than anything else. Remember how cell boosters were all the rage back then? In a few brands (Nokia, Kyocera) the antennas weren't even attached to the board inside. Just there for decoration.



Nowadays the trend is going to internal, not only because the general population doesn't notice but it's less costly for companies that have to replace the customer's phone. That's why you won't find many external antennas on newer phones from GSM or CDMA carriers.

Answer 2

There are two things you might mean by "external antennas" and I will try to cover both possibilities.



The first interpretation is that you mean stub antennas that can extend to be longer. These type of antennas still exist, but mostly on CDMA phones (Sprint and Verizon). The reason they are there is because they are needed for analogue roaming on these handsets. If you read the detailed specifications on Sprint and Verizon handsets without these extend-able stub antennas you will notice they have no analogue roaming capabilities.



GSM phones have never had antennas like these as far as I know. There were GSM handsets that also had analogue roaming capabilities at one point and these had extend-able antennas.



The "internal" antennas are used now because they take less space and cost less to produce. This allows for a smaller and less expensive phone.



If you are referring to a standalone antenna that can be mounted on top of a car or in an area of good reception and then have a cable stretched to your phone then this is something that every handset can still do. If you look closely at the back of your phone you will likely notice a small rubber grommet. If you pull it out you will see the jack to plug in an external antenna. Some phone have it under the battery door, or occasionally under a sticker, but it is always there.



This jack allows for RF testing at service centers and I have used it on many handsets myself.



I hope this answers your question.

Answer 3

The port you're speaking approximately isn't an antenna jack, yet an RF port for checking out applications. using an exterior antenna voids your guarantee, and on some telephones, only removing the plug voids the guaranty. extra, the exterior antenna plug can relatively injury the telephone. in case you're in rural factors, you will conflict with reception regardless because of the fact there probably isn't a lot sign available. cellular telephone coverage is in keeping with utilization. Low inhabitants ability low utilization. additionally, the massive use of exterior antennas became into with analog indicators in tri-mode telephones. As of February 18, 2008 the analog device could be decommissioned decrease than federal rules, and maximum important cellular telephone businesses have already introduced they're switching it off on that day because of the fact conserving the previous kit is expensive and for years no new towers have been built with analog. regrettably in case you're in very rural factors (I stay in one), you will locate some lifeless spots. it relatively is the fee paid for low inhabitants density.

Answer 4

well the reason they got rid of it was because of a lot of interference, gsm is really good now i dnt have any probs