ok this might sound dumb, but hey the results don't lie. the office i'm in lots of times has a really shitty cell signal. i do have a huge window next to me (the entire exterior wall is solid windows). because of this we often close the blinds and pull them all the way down so the sun doesn't shine really bright in and make it hot. i just realized that these aluminum blinds being shut were what was blocking the cell signal. if the blinds are shut completely, 0-barely a bar, open, 3-4 bars. anyhow i thought this info might be useful to someone.