Cell boosters

Richard

Richard

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I'm considering buying a cell booster for my Jeep, and maybe use it in the house, as my phone has poor reception. It needs to work with both Rogers and Bell. Any recommendations?

Terry, which one do you have?
 
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2Greys

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YJ_Driver said:
I'm considering buying a cell booster for my Jeep, and maybe use it in the house, as my phone has poor reception. It needs to work with both Rogers and Bell. Any recommendations?

Terry, which one do you have?
Click to expand...
Terry and I have talked about this off and on as I am looking at doing it as well. With the longer camping trips, aging parents and dog and work seeming to calling me at different times, I don't necessarily want to be as out of touch as much as I have been. He has a multi-unit model (I think Weboost specifically this one) that allows more than one phone to connect. I am looking at more of one that I can bring it along but not permanently mounted so probably cradle mounted instead. I don't know if there is one that can be brought from vehicle to home but as long as provided a 12v with enough amperage I couldn't see why not.
He basically said:
- get one that handles your phone (IOW if your phone does LTE get the LTE model not a 3G or 4G)
- they suck your battery dry so don't leave it on too long
@Twinkie, did I forget anything?
 
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Richard

Richard

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My phone is 3G. A cradle would be more convenient to bring into the home (I have plenty of 12V supplies) but it needs to perform well enough to justify it. It would be a plus if it was a QI charger too.
 
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Supposedly they work as long as there is some kind of signal to be picked up. I would expect spotty performance would be sufficient to work, also there are bigger antennas or getting a Yagi may make it more effective where an omnidirectional one wouldn't
 
Richard

Richard

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I was just looking at the Wilson website and their cradle units have 23-26dB gain while the bigger units have 50dB, that is a huge difference.
 
trixter192

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Be sure to check which band your phone and provider operate on. For example, wind operates on AWS 1700/2100mhz. "LTE" wouldn't describe the technology correctly. GSM band 2 and 5 are North American, but its best to verify if you're going the eBay route.
 
Twinkie

Twinkie

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Mine is a Wilson 3G model, around 6ish years old now. It works well, when you are in a low signal area. When you move to a fringe area it helps some, but doesn't automatically bring you back to full strength, if you get what I mean. As for the model with an internal antenna (like mine) compared to a cradle, basically my internal antenna is a POS and I pretty much have to set the hone on the antenna anyway, so it may as well be a cradle.

So, are they worth the money? I guess it depends on how much a person wants to be connected. To me, at the time I bought it, yes it was. Would I run out today and buy one? Probably not, I'm not attached to my phone as much as I used to be. :)
 
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YJ_Driver said:
I was just looking at the Wilson website and their cradle units have 23-26dB gain while the bigger units have 50dB, that is a huge difference.
Click to expand...

The price reflects it as well. The nice thing though about Wilson is they have a no questions asked 30 day return policy (EDIT: WeBoost has the same guarantee as well). I was planning on picking up a cradle right before spring fever and see how it performs there on the trail. If it sucked then go bigger, if not save a couple bucks. Also on Wilson's FAQ they mention having mains power adapters for their mobile units. I would expect WeBoost would be the same

trixter192 said:
Be sure to check which band your phone and provider operate on. For example, wind operates on AWS 1700/2100mhz. "LTE" wouldn't describe the technology correctly. GSM band 2 and 5 are North American, but its best to verify if you're going the eBay route.
Click to expand...

Pretty much the big names in the business are Weboost and Wilson and both support the big players (Bell, Rogers, Telus). Wind has always been the odd one out. I also wouldn't necessarily go ebay route as I was planning on potentially returning for a bigger unit and the prices on ebay are not that much better especially with the exchange rate where it is now. I figured I would probably go local with Crappy Tire or Best Buy.
 
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2Greys

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That's a good price. Tempting, I have the one at CT on sale alert and am hoping it does go on sale again around mid May
 
Twinkie

Twinkie

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Awesome price, and if you use a BT headset you are golden. I'd buy that for a dollar! LoL You did say you are on Wind, right?
  • Boosts all 3G and 4G services on the AWS 1700/2100 MHz band
Click to expand...
 
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2Greys

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I would snatch it if my usage was spotty normally but since I only need it when wheeling I figure I will wait until May when the season starts up
 
Richard

Richard

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I don't want to spend extra for an in house unit as it's really just my phone which is known for poor reception. My old Nokia and Barb's iPhone work OK, so if I'm going to spend $400+ I might as well just get a new phone.
 
Richard

Richard

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I'm supposed to receive it this week, and if we ever get around to go visit your new house I'll bring it.
 
Richard

Richard

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I did some testing in the house and even with the antenna in the middle of the room rather than next to a window I get 2 extra bars and can access the web. The phone needs to be on or very close to the cradle though, and only supports one phone at a time. It also didn't work when I had my phone on the Qi wireless charger, I guess there's too much interference.

I think they just added this one which is a step up, more gain and supports up to 4 phones:
https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/weboost-drive-3g-flex-cell-phone-signal-booster-kit-470113/

Thinking of getting a 12" antenna for the Jeep to get that bit of extra signal reach.
 
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