The frustration of finding a 'good' phone.
For ham radio operators the idea of evaluating the antenna, the front end receiver specs and the goodness of the internal build makes us think there might be one better than another. On the other hand the whole network and the towers and the controlling software sort of expects all phones to behave the same, so a lot of that is taken out of the equation.
I live where Verizon is behind a hill. Some neighbors put up external antennas and then a 'repeater' inside their homes, with mixed but generally good results. I've even seen commercial contractors who have a similar mobile setup inside some of their pickups to make connection much more reliable while going down the road in weak signal areas. The problem is they are, as mentioned, expensive and not easily tried before you buy.
I've found using the WiFi calling in my home (where I have multiple access points set up to help) is of benefit, but not perfect.
I did, out of frustration, buy one of the Verizon in-home 'mini-cell tower' boxes. It plugs into internet, has to get a gps signal to work, and lets you have a somewhat better coverage for maybe 50 to 60 feet. Pretty pathetic but I guess they didn't want to have people next to each other in their houses having competition from the various signals from boxes and goofing things up .
I think that the device alone helped in the room of the house I was using for phone meetings during the pandemic, but it sure didn't cover the house with a bulletproof signal. WiFi calling has done that better for me.
We need some sort of reliable signal strength or quality meter. Are there any good aps for phones that look at the signals?