Anyone know about cell signal boosters?

[mofugly13]

They seem pretty straightforward. I would like to put one at my hunting cabin. At the cabin itself i can get one bar of "1x". Thats what it shows. However if i hike about 70 yards up the hill we are on, I can get a bar or sometimes two of 4G. There are areas on the ranch where I can get a solid 2 bars of 4G.

Now, if i got a cell signal booster, like a Wilson weBoost Connect 4G-X, could that turn my 1x signal at the cabin into a 4G signal? What I'm reading seems to say no....

Is there such a thing as a consumer based repeater tower, that I could place on a hill 1/4 mile away, where there is a 3-4bar 4G signal, and with line of sight, use directional antennas to shoot that signal to a cell signal booster at the cabin to get 4G?

I'm sure this would be pretty expensive, but I'm wondering about the possibilities...

I do not have line of sight from the cabin itself to any cell towers, that i know of.


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[Misterclick]

Yeah booster will only take what signal is there and boost the handshake between your phone and what signal is present. Femto Cell mimicks 3 and 4g and converts the traffic to ISP. No obsolete due to WiFi calling. You scenario would involve equipment that I have not dealt with.

[the86d]

Just get something 5G, and melt your sphincter... too... ...
OR NOT...

https://youtu.be/Du8yQeQdMBk

[ldsnet]

May be easier to get a WiFi HotSpot (that has an external wifi antenna), put the hotspot UP in a good 4G spot, and a directional wifi antenna pointed back to the cabin to give you the data your phone needs (provided you have wifi calling).
Even though it is a 2nd device, you will only be using cell data through 1 device at a time.

[the86d]

WiFi calling is why I left Verizon, Sprint, AND Virgin for T-Mobile, the were the 1st that I know that offered it, and I wan't missing 12 calls a day from a back Orafice.

[Epaphroditus]

I got terrible cell service.

I put a SureCall system in. Mounted the directional antenna up on a mast up on the roof- maybe 40' off the ground.

Gets pretty good signal now but have to be fairly close to the interior antenna.

A hotspot that sits right by the antenna works pretty good for most of the house.

There's a thread here with more details.

[mofugly13]

I wonder what the maximum distance the directional antenna could be from the signal booster. 100 yards?

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[Leonidimus]

We live in Santa Cruz mountains with pretty bad Verizon signal and I installed Connect 4G-X last year - that helps a lot, we get solid signal in the house now and if the base tower is not too busy, around 20 Mbps over LTE. 5G coverage is non-existent yet.

One tip I can share - install app "Network Cell Info" (has to be Android, IOS doesn't allow enough hardware access) and walk around everywhere to measure signal and what bands you get. I thought we had a good spot 40y from the house, but found a similar reception on a redwood tree next to the house 25 ft in the air. No, I didn't climb all the way just to measure - just attached the phone to a long stick and looked at the "PLOT 2" tab to see what the graphs show. The Map tab is super useful too - it shows to which towers you typically connect so it will help orient your "donor" antenna.

[Leonidimus]

I wonder what the maximum distance the directional antenna could be from the signal booster. 100 yards?

No way, it's too long - signal attenuates in a coax cable, and it's already pretty weak to start with. The best way is to have as short of a cable between directional "donor" antenna and the amplifier(booster) as possible, and the "out" cable can be pretty long because it carries amplified signal. If you don't have power there, maybe you could install a solar panel and a 12V battery next to the booster; Connect 4G works from 12V plug 5.5x2.5mm and draws ~1A.

[Marauder2003]

We live in Santa Cruz mountains with pretty bad Verizon signal and I installed Connect 4G-X last year - that helps a lot, we get solid signal in the house now and if the base tower is not too busy, around 20 Mbps over LTE. 5G coverage is non-existent yet.

One tip I can share - install app "Network Cell Info" (has to be Android, IOS doesn't allow enough hardware access) and walk around everywhere to measure signal and what bands you get. I thought we had a good spot 40y from the house, but found a similar reception on a redwood tree next to the house 25 ft in the air. No, I didn't climb all the way just to measure - just attached the phone to a long stick and looked at the "PLOT 2" tab to see what the graphs show. The Map tab is super useful too - it shows to which towers you typically connect so it will help orient your "donor" antenna.

[local_nobody]

unlikely, but alternately, drop a few bucks on prepaids that run on the other carriers. mint mobile comes to mind for tmobile.

[PaperTarget]

I have had great success with Wilson. Nice people too.
I use an exterior antenna on a mast to get better line-of-sight to the cell tower. Coax runs from the antenna to the powered amplifier/repeater in the attic.

[Mac Attack]

Yes and the one that Verizon gave us works well. Background - I live in a semi rural area where cell reception is 1 bar and the fastest internet I can get is 10 mb DSL. We do not have a landline phone and depend on our cell phones for our calling needs. Our reception is so bad that it would drop out completely and had zero bars and there was only one place in our entire home where we have marginally acceptable reception. I called Verizon and told them my problem and they sent me a cell reception extender aka cell booster. It connects to our WiFi and improves connectivity. I now have 5 bars and can call anywhere in my home. It was free and it works for us.

[heyjerr]

I live in the Santa Cruz mountains and have fluctuating reception with Verizon, usually one bar. I do have Comcast so Verizon sent me a booster that plugged into my network. Strong signal all throughout the house and even out to the street.

[mofugly13]

Good info. Thanks guys. If I could come up with a 50' pole to put the antenna on i think i could grab a 4g signal. Otherwise i can pull a 1x signal. Doing some research, Verizon was supposed to decommission their 1x antennas back in January or something. But im still getting a 1x signal. I also read on an faq that they would be upgrading them to 4G. I'm hoping that actually happens. I dont know though, this one antenna serves a very rural area.

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