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Cell Signal Booster

jbrack
Explorer
Explorer
Do cell signal booster work? As most RV'ers know, most RV park wifi is basically worthless. I also have a Verizon Mifi that works off cell service. With a good cell service it works pretty good, but good cell service can also be a problem. I'm looking at a cell signal booster but a decent one is around $400 - $500. Anyone have an opinion on these boosters?
16 REPLIES 16

pinesman
Explorer
Explorer
I have a Weboost on my house and a no name kit from Ebay on my shop. I can't really tell that much difference. I take the one out of my shop and use it in my trailer when I go out. It helps a lot

Dutch_12078
Explorer
Explorer
austinjenna wrote:
All of the ones I have read reviews on that have an internal and external antenna say that they needed to be very close to the internal antenna as in inches away for it to work. I would like one that amplifies it enough to be outside the rv

The inside signal from our Maximum Signal Max Amp RV is strong enough that we get a boosted signal outside in roughly the awning coverage area. Our inside antenna is located off center towards that side though, so the coverage is minimal anywhere else outside. Inside, our coverage is end to end with the weakest signal in the bathroom with the door closed.
Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F53 chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
Bigfoot Automatic Leveling System
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate

austinjenna
Explorer
Explorer
All of the ones I have read reviews on that have an internal and external antenna say that they needed to be very close to the internal antenna as in inches away for it to work. I would like one that amplifies it enough to be outside the rv

2010 F350 CC Lariat 4x4 Short Bed
2011 Crusader 298BDS 5th Wheel
Reese 16K

American_Booste
Explorer
Explorer
Cell phone signal booster improves signal strength and increases data speeds in the places with poor reception.

In order to decide if you need a booster, ask yourself these questions.

When I am inside the vehicle, home or office, do I have problems with dropped calls or lost connections, poor call audio quality, or texts, emails and voicemails that show up in my in-box hours after they were sent?
When I go outside, do I get better call quality and faster data speeds than when Iโ€™m indoors?
If you answered, โ€œyesโ€ to both questions, signal booster will improve the signal coverage in your vehicle, home or office.

American_Booste
Explorer
Explorer
Cell phone signal booster improves signal strength and increases data speeds in the places with poor reception.

In order to decide if you need a booster, ask yourself these questions.

When I am inside the vehicle, home or office, do I have problems with dropped calls or lost connections, poor call audio quality, or texts, emails and voicemails that show up in my in-box hours after they were sent?
When I go outside, do I get better call quality and faster data speeds than when Iโ€™m indoors?
If you answered, โ€œyesโ€ to both questions, signal booster will improve the signal coverage in your vehicle, home or office.

DrJJAnderson
Explorer
Explorer
jbrack wrote:
Do cell signal booster work? As most RV'ers know, most RV park wifi is basically worthless. I also have a Verizon Mifi that works off cell service. With a good cell service it works pretty good, but good cell service can also be a problem. I'm looking at a cell signal booster but a decent one is around $400 - $500. Anyone have an opinion on these boosters?


This is my take on things. Cell phone boosters and Wi-Fi boosters do work, but you need an existing signal for them to boost it. If you have absolutely no signal, it can't do any good. If you're looking for general information on cell phone boosters and Wi-Fi boosters, check this ***Link Removed***place out. They have a number of blogs on boosters of all sorts.

ktmrfs
Explorer
Explorer
mobeewan wrote:
A directional Wilson electronics directional antenna may also be necessary. You mounted on the mast and then you can turn the mast.

There's some YouTubers that boondock a lot and use them to get better reception for uploading and downloading videos.


when all else fails I dig out the yagi coupled to the weboost, but being a somewhat PITA to orient the yagi if you don't know where a tower is I go with an external omni on about a 15ft pole first.

If the yagi doesn't work I just turn on the garmin inreach and text or email whomever I want to contact and they can text back. As long as I can get to an iridium sat it gets through. And getting to an iridium sat is generally pretty much guaranteed.
2011 Keystone Outback 295RE
2004 14' bikehauler with full living quarters
2015.5 Denali 4x4 CC/SB Duramax/Allison
2004.5 Silverado 4x4 CC/SB Duramax/Allison passed on to our Son!

mobeewan
Explorer
Explorer
A Wilson electronics directional antenna may also be necessary along with the signal booster. You mount it on a mast and then you can turn the mast.

Bob Wells interviews a guy in this YouTube video that uses one. He does consulting work for designing solar systems and uses to keep in contact with his customers.

Bob Wells also has some other YouTube videos interviewing him one of which covers the solar system he has for his trailer. He's got 1185 watts of solar and he can run 2, 5000 BTU air conditioners during the day using only about 800 watts. One he has mounted permanently in the upper curbside wall of his trailer. The other one is mounted so he can quickly install and remove it from the front curbside bedroom window.

MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Explorer
I chose the ALFA 2000 and their 12 db whip antenna.

Multiple times with a laptop 2 bars slow response
The the Alfa 2000 max bars and decent speed.
with the Alfa 2000 + 20 db yagi antenna which is highly directional about 3" diameter and 20" long. Multiple times I picked up 40+ addresses over flat terrain, Distance 2+ miles, pegged the bar meter but the ISP repeater sucked. Impossible to watch streaming.

The 2 watts output dramatically improved transmitter response time.

USB connected. Simple installation CD ROM

ktmrfs
Explorer
Explorer
2oldman wrote:
Iraqvet05 wrote:
He said a weak signal at 1 bar could be amplified to bring his phone up to 5 bars... The one he had was made be WeBoost and ran around $400.
I have a weboost and I would take that story with a grain of salt. I've managed maybe 1 or 2 more bars.


Bars are NOT a good indicator of actual signal strength. One phone could go from 1 to 5, another 1 to 2 and if you go and check actual signal level they end up being the same.

Now with that said, I have the weboost in both my trailers. I've been in many places with no reception and gone to very good voice and ok internet. Gone from -120db signal levels to -80db. -120 is virtually no signal. -80 is a decent signal for voice and data, about the same signal level I get at home and it is plenty adequate.

at other places I've gone from a -100db signal down to -80 or -70. At least with verizon to keep the system at max capacity they won't let the phone transmit with a higher power than needed to meet a minimum BER.

How much improvement you get depends on not only distance to the tower but how MANY users are connected to it. I've been in places where the booster will give a very strong signal but very slow data at times. during breakfast or lunch or evening data rate is very slow. In between very high data rate. Reason is a large number of users near the single tower at peak times.

On most phones in the setup or info screen you can see actual signal strength. And there are apps that will also do the same.

In any case, there must be enough signal for the booster to receive from the tower and then transmit with enough power back to the tower with a decent BER (bit error rate)

And I've found at times that no luck with an ATT phone, but strong Verizon, other places just the opposite.
2011 Keystone Outback 295RE
2004 14' bikehauler with full living quarters
2015.5 Denali 4x4 CC/SB Duramax/Allison
2004.5 Silverado 4x4 CC/SB Duramax/Allison passed on to our Son!

Dutch_12078
Explorer
Explorer
We have a Maximum Signal Max Amp RV that has worked well for us in a number of deep fringe areas where we otherwise had no signal. The Max Amp inside antenna transmits the boosted signal throughout our motorhome, so there's no need to be close to the antenna or use a cradle.
Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F53 chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
Bigfoot Automatic Leveling System
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate

rhagfo
Explorer
Explorer
We have a We Boost and the sight we in right now my phone doesnโ€™t work out side the 5er, inside I can get there to four bars of LTE.
Russ & Paula the Beagle Belle.
2016 Ram Laramie 3500 Aisin DRW 4X4 Long bed.
2005 Copper Canyon 293 FWSLS, 32' GVWR 12,360#

"Visit and Enjoy Oregon State Parks"

rdhetrick
Explorer
Explorer
2oldman wrote:
Iraqvet05 wrote:
He said a weak signal at 1 bar could be amplified to bring his phone up to 5 bars... The one he had was made be WeBoost and ran around $400.
I have a weboost and I would take that story with a grain of salt. I've managed maybe 1 or 2 more bars.


Same here, it will help some, but I've never had it improve that much.
Rob - Solo Full Timer
2017 Winnebago Travato 59G
Former 2006 Mandalay 40E

2oldman
Explorer
Explorer
Iraqvet05 wrote:
He said a weak signal at 1 bar could be amplified to bring his phone up to 5 bars... The one he had was made be WeBoost and ran around $400.
I have a weboost and I would take that story with a grain of salt. I've managed maybe 1 or 2 more bars.
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman