Cell signal booster

[RKenward]

I’m looking for advice on how to best boost my cell phone signal while camping. I am only an occasional camper in north Florida and Georgia at state parks. I can usually get at least some signal to make phone calls and for texting but the signal is not always strong enough to surf the web or stream anything. I’ve looked at boosters and they seem like that may be the way to go for my needs rather than the commercial routers that use multiple simm cards. There are several boosters on the web but I’m confused by the advertisement hype. I have Verizon as a carrier and can HOTSPOT to my laptop or iPad and just need a stronger signal in some places. Any ideas or advice?

[Phreak480]

weboost

[GPs37FLH]

I too had the same questions when I was looking to do the same thing. The very best advice I received on this forum that I can pass along to you is to visit the Mobile Internet Resource Center (https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/).

I also highly recommend to visit the Mobile Internet Resource Center on YouTube to watch very informative video shorts on this and other topics. I learned so much from their videos on which configuration and setup to go with and the products that support them.

There are so many different ways to improve your cellular signals when camping for voice, text and Internet access, so I won't go into all the different possibilities. Everything depends on what your priority objectives are.

Also, please have a look at this post and discussion below, which may be helpful to your search for a perfect solution. Do a search of the forum and you'll find plenty of other similar posts on this subject.

https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...ng-248283.html

[Rich.M]

Weboost x2. We camped in Arches NP devil’s garden 18 miles from the entrance, further from town. No signal. Flipped on the weboost - 3 bars Verizon lte with data for the 3 of us.

[llr]

I recently bought https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1 and it seems ok for the money, i have it on a ladder mount pole a few feet above the roof

[GPs37FLH]

Originally Posted by Rich.M

Weboost x2. We camped in Arches NP devil’s garden 18 miles from the entrance, further from town. No signal. Flipped on the weboost - 3 bars Verizon lte with data for the 3 of us.

When I first started looking to boost my signal, I was dead set to get the $520.00, plus tax WeBoost Drive Reach RV. I ended up finding out that although they can provide you with a stronger signal, they won't provide the performance boost for Internet. In fact, Internet performance was quite surprisingly less than impressive when compared to other, less expensive solutions out there.

And, the number of bars you get with your cellular devices is not a good indicator of what you'll receive in performance (all according to the cellular experts at Mobile Internet Resource Center who test the performance of cellular boosting solutions on the market). You can have four bars, but poor performance while at other times, have two bars, but great performance.

All the more reason to do the research and educate yourself before making any investment into a solution. Nothing more frustrating than spending several hundreds of dollars on a solution and being disappointed with the outcome.

[Homebrew]

I understand some of the boosters don’t do 5G and Verizon has started removing the 3G & 4G antennas in some areas.
This could make many boosters worthless.
Do your research before spending a lot of money.

[Phreak480]

Originally Posted by Homebrew

I understand some of the boosters don’t do 5G and Verizon has started removing the 3G & 4G antennas in some areas.
This could make many boosters worthless.
Do your research before spending a lot of money.

They aren't removing 4g hardware.

The biggest performance problem with boosters is that they block the ability of devices to do MIMO (multi in multi out, basically it uses multiple data streams) which can really cut down bandwidth. Personally I'd ALWAYS advise folks to put together a dedicated data device with dedicated antennas for internet usage. Boosters are great for calls and txting though.

[Phreak480]

For folks who want to lean more about LTE (cellular) internet check a out a facebook group called "LTE 5G Hacks". Lot's of smart folks over there and none of the info is hidden behind a pay wall, it's all free.

[Homebrew]

Originally Posted by Phreak480

They aren't removing 4g hardware.



The biggest performance problem with boosters is that they block the ability of devices to do MIMO (multi in multi out, basically it uses multiple data streams) which can really cut down bandwidth. Personally I'd ALWAYS advise folks to put together a dedicated data device with dedicated antennas for internet usage. Boosters are great for calls and txting though.

In the mountains of West Virginia where people had cell coverage with older phones no longer have cell coverage. They were told they needed to upgrade to 5G phones .

[Rhumblefish]

3G is definitely being phased out currently. This is an inconvenience for 3g phone owners (who need to upgrade/swap a phone), but a REAL problem for anyone with 3g baked into a larger tech solution (like a home/office alarm, or data connectivity with a car/vehicle).

[Phreak480]

Originally Posted by Rhumblefish

3G is definitely being phased out currently. This is an inconvenience for 3g phone owners (who need to upgrade/swap a phone), but a REAL problem for anyone with 3g baked into a larger tech solution (like a home/office alarm, or data connectivity with a car/vehicle).

My home alarm system just needed a modem update to go to 4g from 3g.

[camper_Lucy]

Originally Posted by GPs37FLH

When I first started looking to boost my signal, I was dead set to get the $520.00, plus tax WeBoost Drive Reach RV. I ended up finding out that although they can provide you with a stronger signal, they won't provide the performance boost for Internet. In fact, Internet performance was quite surprisingly less than impressive when compared to other, less expensive solutions out there.

And, the number of bars you get with your cellular devices is not a good indicator of what you'll receive in performance (all according to the cellular experts at Mobile Internet Resource Center who test the performance of cellular boosting solutions on the market). You can have four bars, but poor performance while at other times, have two bars, but great performance.

All the more reason to do the research and educate yourself before making any investment into a solution. Nothing more frustrating than spending several hundreds of dollars on a solution and being disappointed with the outcome.

X2, there is a lot of miss information floating around (including this site) and boosters are a buyer beware environment, do your research.

Signal improvement is a function of the Antenna you use, not the so called booster or router, but unfortunately you need something to connect the antenna to. Other things you need to keep in mind, if you have no signal (i.e. at least one bar) there is nothing to improve, these solutions can not create signal, second, if the issue is through put at the tower you will not see improvement even with a stronger signal, this relates more to internet and streaming performance then calls or texting. PM me if you want or need technical details or advice on a solution once you identify your needs.

[Captain Insaino]

I'm not sure if this is helpful or relevant, but I have a 5G iphone 12 with Verizon and a standalone 4G hotspot for another 10ish dollars a month. For whatever reason, I can have no cell service with the phone, but get a couple of bars with the hotspot. I suppose I could even set it up on the roof in a pinch. I enable wifi calling with the phone and have even streamed netflix on the Roku at places I would have never expected. So far is has impressed me.

[camper_Lucy]

Originally Posted by Captain Insaino

I'm not sure if this is helpful or relevant, but I have a 5G iphone 12 with Verizon and a standalone 4G hotspot for another 10ish dollars a month. For whatever reason, I can have no cell service with the phone, but get a couple of bars with the hotspot. I suppose I could even set it up on the roof in a pinch. I enable wifi calling with the phone and have even streamed netflix on the Roku at places I would have never expected. So far is has impressed me.

not surprised as campgrounds are usually in a more rural settings. Here is what most people do not understand, the primary difference between 4G and 5G is density and location of towers, 5G has to be much closer to you then a 4G tower, and 5G devices have lower power outputs then 4G devices.

Do not misunderstand what I am saying, 5G is a better technology but until and if it is built out to cover the required geography 4G will provide better connectivity in rural areas unfortunately you can not just add 5G to 4G towers and cover the same footprint, you have to add a significant number of new towers to cover that same 3G/4G footprint.

[GPs37FLH]

Originally Posted by camper_Lucy

not surprised as campgrounds are usually in a more rural settings. Here is what most people do not understand, the primary difference between 4G and 5G is density and location of towers, 5G has to be much closer to you then a 4G tower, and 5G devices have lower power outputs then 4G devices.

Do not misunderstand what I am saying, 5G is a better technology but until and if it is built out to cover the required geography 4G will provide better connectivity in rural areas unfortunately you can not just add 5G to 4G towers and cover the same footprint, you have to add a significant number of new towers to cover that same 3G/4G footprint.

....and it's VERY expensive and time consuming for the cellular providers to not only upgrade the equipment on their existing towers, but also build those additional towers needed for the new service. Not to mention the added time and enormous expense they incur to purchase the needed frequency bands from the FCC that the cellular channels reside on.

Have to say I'm impressed as hell at the rate at which they're all rolling it out to their subscribers.

[Captain Insaino]

I am seeing the overbuild locally in my area. Running fiber, installing antennae on street lights, etc. But back to the cell signal issue. Your 5G cellphone signal should automatically drop to 4G, then LTE seamlessly as signal degrades, right? A hotspot does not have the data overhead that a phone does. That would be my guess as to why I'm more successful with the hotspot? Or maybe just a better antennae? I work for a Telco landbased fiber competitor offering 1 and 2 gig. Still trying to understand cellular.

[GPs37FLH]

Originally Posted by Captain Insaino

I am seeing the overbuild locally in my area. Running fiber, installing antennae on street lights, etc. But back to the cell signal issue. Your 5G cellphone signal should automatically drop to 4G, then LTE seamlessly as signal degrades, right? A hotspot does not have the data overhead that a phone does. That would be my guess as to why I'm more successful with the hotspot? Or maybe just a better antennae? I work for a Telco landbased fiber competitor offering 1 and 2 gig. Still trying to understand cellular.

I'm about 20 miles east of Raleigh and lots of AT&T fiber is being buried out this way too, and very glad to see it.

You're correct that your 5G cellphone automatically adjusts to what cellular signal (and tower) it connects to, no matter if it's 5G, 4GLTE, or 4G.

You're also correct about the hotspot. The hotspot only has one job: Cellular Internet service and nothing more. Its optimized for this sole purpose. Your cell phone not only does this too, but uses the cellular service for voice and texting. But, the hotspot does not have apps installed that use Internet bandwidth while running in the background, as it does on your smartphone.

Performance is also dictated by the type of antenna on your phone, especially dependent on whether its a new, or older model. Most of today's newer phones have 4 x 4 MIMO antennas that are as good as those on the MIFI hotspots. An older generation smartphone may only have a 2 x 2 antenna, which won't provide the same, higher performance of one with a 4 x 4 configuration.

[Captain Insaino]

Thank you for the info!

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by Captain Insaino

I'm not sure if this is helpful or relevant, but I have a 5G iphone 12 with Verizon and a standalone 4G hotspot for another 10ish dollars a month. For whatever reason, I can have no cell service with the phone, but get a couple of bars with the hotspot. I suppose I could even set it up on the roof in a pinch. I enable wifi calling with the phone and have even streamed netflix on the Roku at places I would have never expected. So far is has impressed me.

Same results here. I have both AT&T and Verizon phone and hotspot data devices. Many, many times I've been in locations where the phone just won't work while both both hotspots are reliable. Even speeds as low as 4 mbps are sufficient on the hotspot (Netgear Nighthawk) to show Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+ with no problems.

The cell plans are both on the same phone but I'm not sure if performance would improve if I use separate phones.