Hiboost Cell Booster

LarryinCt

Advanced Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
33
Background

For sometime now we have been using a Solis Lite hotspot to provide wifi internet access while we camp. We have also used this device several times on our annual trips to Florida. The park where we usually stay only gets about a bar and a half of cell service so sometimes the hotspot doesnt work very well. Started searching the web for cell boosters for RV’s that support hotspots, enter HiBoost.

Settled on a HiBoost Travel 4G RV Cell Booster for $299. According to their website this unit “amplifies 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, and 5G signals for any cellular device on all US and Canadian carriers: AT&T,T-Mobile,Verizon,Rogers, and more. Best for RVs and campers.” Did a “dry” install (hooking everything up in approximate locations) to ensure everything worked and it seemed to. Mounted the external antenna on the roof ladder and ran the coax inside through the slider gap. Mounter the booster unit on a wall panel and placed the inside antenna.

Fired up the Solis lite, connected ipad and ran SpeedTest for a baseline. Fired up the Hiboost, rebooted the Solis so it could “find” the Hiboost. Ran SpeedTest to compare, no difference! Hmmm . . . Tried various things suggested in the manual under troubleshooting, nothing. Contacted Hiboost tech support via the Chat program embedded in the management app you need to download to configure/monitor the booster.

Review

It took perhaps 5 minutes for a tech to respond and each succeeding response was 5 minutes or longer, at one point I asked if he gave up on me after waiting 10 minutes for a response. He finally did answer with the information that their device didn’t work with hotspots but “have you tried using your phone?” I typed in that I had specifically purchased this device to provide a boosted signal for my hotspot, which supposedly was supported, and that I saw no difference in the number of bars on my iphone. Waited another 10 to 15 minutes in chat and was then told that the iphone “doesn’t really show any difference in bars” when using their device. Was asked to try several things and respond back. Never got any further responses from him and after a while the chat session closed.

During all this I had contacted Solis tech support via their embedded chat, what a world of difference!! Got answered right away, fast response/back and forth however the news was not good. Solis does not connect to any cell booster, period. At this point I determined that I would uninstall everything from the Hiboost, pack it up and return it.

I called their support number 4 different times over the next several hours simply looking to return this unit. Phone rang and was auto attendant transferred to tech support where the phone rang for anywhere from two minutes to four minutes each time ending in “please leave a message . . “ On their website they list support@hiboost.com as the contact for returns and/or support so I emailed support. Got a response back pretty quick but because I had said in my email to support that I had been in contact with support previously via chat I would have to contact that particular person and he would “deal with me”. Over the course of 6 or 7 emails back and forth with this person maning the support@hiboost.com email I got no where, each time being told I had to go back to the original support person!

No way to directly contact the original support person other than by initiating another support chat and hoping he would see it/pick up on it. Eventually there must have been a shift change because I got a reponse telling me that they forwarded my phone number and email to the original support person and he would contact me. I now have the address to return the product to.

Product. - Design. 9/10
Packaging. 10/10
Ease of setup. 8/10
Monitoring. 5/10

Support. - 2/10
Need to have someone answering the phones! Better support personnel training to allow ownership of calls. Having worked in Technology (System Administrator) for over 20 years I have had many, many experiences of working with different company tech support services. This was likely the worst experience I have ever had!
 
I don’t have a hot spot unit but I pay extra to use my phone as a hotspot.
I bought a refurbished WeBoost OTR for $100 savings over new. It gives me 1+ bars with the supplied Omni antenna. I bought a compatible directional antenna and get 2+ bars on my phone when properly aimed.
For my all in costs including extra cable, adapters and pole, it would cover the mini Starlink gear purchase price. Starting new today, I’d just go Starlink for the RV like I do at home.
 
Are these aftermarket devices even worth it? Sure seems like a lot of carriers have unlimited data nowadays and coverage is almost nationwide. I have not looked into it yet though as my data was only slowed down once years ago.

I am still using an Aircard 791L hotspot(Verizon) that became obsolete in 2018. I have only been at one campsite where there was no coverage. Some mountains in the middle of Missouri and the folks there said ATT was the only one with coverage in that area. Sparse population.

I have a cheap phone that does not get great coverage but I have connected to my hotspot to get better reception a few times. The hotspot seems to get at least one bar better all the time.

Retired so I do not need coverage for work anymore. That was the main reason for getting a hotspot.
 
been looking at boosters ... some reviews have stated that the phone or device has to be almost underneath the boosts indoor antenna
 
FYI, HiBoost tech support says that their boosters WILL NOT work with ANY hotspots.

Solis, the maker of the hotspot we use, tech support says that NONE of their devices with connect to or work with ANY cell boosters.


Pretty funny considering that HiBoost says on the website that their devices work with any cell device, including hotspots.


Oh well, lesson learned (again?) not to trust marketing! Shipped it back to them for a cost of $54. I did look at StarLink but not a fan of how much it costs.

YMMV
John
 
Cell coverage in PA state parks and county parks I’ve stayed at, 20 or so, is almost non existent. ONE, Pymatuning, has great cell AND TV coverage being fairly close to population centers. Even camped near hilltops.
 
Cell boosters have a couple of issues, first one is, as Aussieguy stated, you have to be no more than couple feet away from the transmit antenna. Second most work by re transmitting the cell signal as a none MIMO which may increase signal strength but not really improve actual throughput speed.
Based on my research they are not worth the money and I agree Starlink is rather expensive for a weekend camper like myself. After we retire will look at Starlink again.
 
We bought the Starlink hardware as a backup to our Verizon unlimited phone hotspot. Set it up and used it for the free two week period, then turned it off prior to the next billing cycle. It worked great, and is now our alternative if Verizon is weak or nonexistent.

If you use one byte of data during your billing period, you pay for the entire month. So, powered down there is no monthly charge. The hardware wasn’t cheap, but I now have a reliable alternative.
 

New posts

Try RV LIFE Pro Free for 7 Days

  • New Ad-Free experience on this RV LIFE Community.
  • Plan the best RV Safe travel with RV LIFE Trip Wizard.
  • Navigate with our RV Safe GPS mobile app.
  • and much more...
Try RV LIFE Pro Today
Back
Top Bottom