How to Boost Cell Phone Signal?

Hi all,
This is not a blog post about boosting signal! I am actually trying to find DIY solution to boost my cell phone signal without any commercial Signal Booster(s) in the market. All I am trying is find out solution with tools and products which are usually available at any home.
Most of my work was to use a thin copper rod/cable believing it would receive Electromagnetic radiations from streets. But it is not easy as I believed. My 4 years of work in IT has never exposed me to antenna technology. I am suffocating much with amateur idea of boosting signal with copper wire. All I know far now is I can boost signal, bend signal using antenna which I gained through books which imparted some kind of basic mobile computing during my undergraduate programme on communication. But in reality, it is not as easy as something stated in the book. It mock me with difficulties. My idea is if I can pick up signal which I usually get in my smartphone when I am in street, then sure, I could bend or make it available in my office room which is not even 10 feet from the street. To be frank, I can see the street and house built in opposite plot. So It must be simple, expect for some practical knowledge which I lack due to no exposure in the field of communication.

IDEA FOR BOOSTER

Simple solutions:
It might work of most people out their searching for DIY solutions who like me, don't want to spent on those market boosted cell phone repeaters and boosters.

• Know where you service provider tower resides in your local area. Know where it is present from your house. In my case it is on north side of my house, but far away.
• Move near a glass window, preferably on the street side because we usually would not have any problem with cell phone signal if we step out of our house.
• Open the glass window which would face against the cell phone tower, make the window open until it is 45 degree so that you get atleast one or two bar boost in your phone.

It helped me a little when their is no signal at all in my phone. But it is just a trick where you can get boost only by a bar or two. Still it will lack signal quality. So it not dependable as we could depend on commercial signal boosters. So still I am trying to figure out how to make those copper cable act as a Passive Signal Repeaters. If it gonna work then it would save some serious bucks from those after market signal boosters. Yet, some people cry that boosting signal is against standards. But what could we do if you do not get due care from our service providers? 

BTW, I plan on trying to install a Radio Transmitter antenna to check it reception when it comes to mobile signals. If it would work. Then soon DIY simple passive repeater could be assembled at ease.

But all my efforts were fruitless. It ended up in vain. I miss something is very essential in the mobile phone signal processing. Like some electro magnetic absorption in the copper wire. I can't get it passed. Still my cell phone shows dumb zero bar signal.

One good thing about the cell phone tower signals is that old Nokia which was lying unattended in my room bailed me out of the zero bar situation. I wonder what made it pick up signal. It is a basic model phone nothing but a message and call function. Nothing more was added by the Nokia in its device. Surprising it worked better and picked up signal even in the dark corners where my Asus smartphone failed to pick up signal. Even a call made on availability of 'single bar mobile tower' worked perfect without any issues. The voice clarity was so good that I did not feel I was talking when single bar of the mobile tower showing up. With my limited technical knowledge, I cannot figure out what made my unattended Nokia phone to pick up signal so strong and what made my costly Asus zenfone to have zero bar and poor call quality if I drop from 4 bar to 3 bars tower! Only a technically sound guy could clarify the issue. 

I will come back when I find a way to boost signal using those copper wire. Please feel free to express any idea to boost signal with copper conductors alone.