FWIW Gord had previously posted that under the new FCC rules, these amplifiers only provide the boost necessary to get good reception and, as a result, might not appear to give the same kind of amplification we've all become accustomed to with older devices.
I'll be the first to admit that I don't know much about how LTE systems choose cells, etc, but I've been reading what I can find on the topic so I can better understand the behavior of my new Maximum Signal amp. From what I've read it appears that we're oversimplifying the problem if we focus entirely on absolute signal strength, a parameter often labeled RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power ). In selecting what cell to use the phone also evaluates RSRQ (Received Signal Reference Quality) which is a measure of signal to noise and other factors.
At my current site the RSPR is only ~-102dBm but the RSRQ is a rock solid -7dB which is representative of an excellent signal even though the absolute power is only marginal. Using SignalCheck Pro, the SNR ranges between ~17-22dB.
By way of contrast, we were downtown yesterday evening where the RSRP was -82dBm but the RSRQ was in the -10dB range and the SNR was down around 10dB. So the absolute power level of the signal was higher but the overall quality was lower.
If I understand this correctly, then these results would indicate why my Maximum Signal amp does not appear to be amplifying the signal at our site--it doesn't need to! If there's already an excellent RSRQ then, I would assume, there's simply no need to do anything.
If I have understood all of this correctly, it would also explain why SignalCheck often sees a neighboring cell with a higher RSPR than the cell I'm connected to. I assume that the RSRQ of that cell isn't as good so it's ignored even though it's signal is usually stronger.
OTOH if I've completely messed up this explanation of LTE signal parameters then I would welcome being corrected! I freely admit that this is pretty sophisticated stuff and my "training" is limited to what I can read on the internet which always is dangerous.