Mobile hotspot signal boost

[bigbearbear]

I travel to customer's office to give demonstrations frequently and once in a while, I'll encounter a customer who does not have guest wifi AND have very weak cell signal, making my mobile hotspot device either very slow or not work at all.

I'm using a Netgear 779S from AT&T and it has 2 ports for connecting external antennas (or a single MIMO antenna). Will using some thing this help?

http://www.alternativewireless.com/panorama-mimo-antenna-fme.html

It is a external MIMO antenna. Or is this a waste of money?

I can't bring antennas that are too big or bulky, these have to fit into my backpack for frequent air travels too.

Alternatively, I'm thinking of getting another mobile hotspot from Verizon. I wonder if a location with weak AT&T signal might have strong(er) Verizon signal? Or is this also a waste of money in that locations with weak AT&T signals means it'll also have weak Verizon signals?

Thanks.

[Brutmor]

You can try an antenna with higher directional gain. It'll have a larger dBi specification. You will need to point the antenna in different headings and angles until you find an optimum for signal strength.

A different wireless carrier may function better at certain locations. You may consider a backup or secondary hot spot from a different carrier.

Making your presentation function without an internet connection would be another option for reliability. Deploy the server software of your laptop in a demo setup or what not.

[rigorkrad]

If the antenna doesn't work then your only other choice besides switching carriers would be a cellular booster. And they sell for $159 to $500

[hermosabeach]

Wilson makes single and multiple phone amplifiers...

I know they work great for calls but I don;t know how they work on Data??

cell phones typically are 1/4 watt and their kits are 2 1/2 watts so you can reach more antenna towers, not drop calls, etc

I would give them a call

https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/vehicle-kits/

[mavericksun]

I travel to customer's office to give demonstrations frequently and once in a while, I'll encounter a customer who does not have guest wifi AND have very weak cell signal, making my mobile hotspot device either very slow or not work at all.

I'm using a Netgear 779S from AT&T and it has 2 ports for connecting external antennas (or a single MIMO antenna). Will using some thing this help?

http://www.alternativewireless.com/panorama-mimo-antenna-fme.html

It is a external MIMO antenna. Or is this a waste of money?

I can't bring antennas that are too big or bulky, these have to fit into my backpack for frequent air travels too.

Alternatively, I'm thinking of getting another mobile hotspot from Verizon. I wonder if a location with weak AT&T signal might have strong(er) Verizon signal? Or is this also a waste of money in that locations with weak AT&T signals means it'll also have weak Verizon signals?

Thanks.

cell amplifiers only work if there is a signal strong enough to amplify. Since it's job related, I would say get a verizon mhs. verizon is on a different cell tech, different frequency, and probably different cell tower locations so that will play a role in possibly getting a signal. There are places where signals just will not exist. Have you considered have a offline demo available for those locations.