Reddit reviews weBoost Connect 4G (470103) Indoor Cell Phone Signal Booster for Home and Office - Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint - Supports 5,000 Square Foot Area

I did this for a living. We do boosters for drilling rigs and other oilfield sites.

Wilson changed their name to WeBoost a while back. You can also look at SmoothTalker. But in the sub $1000 range most "boosters" will do the same thing, they will "repeat" whatever signal they get. If you only have one bar outside then then they will only give you one bar inside. The reason is they are meant to counteract the effects of walls that are dampening signal. They have to have good signal outside for them to do anything useful, and it sounds like you don't. One bar is not good signal because.....

The equipment on cell towers put out a lot of power. Lots of watts. Your phone on the other hand puts out less than 1 watt. So even though your phone can "hear" the tower, it may not have enough power to "yell" back. Think of a rock concert. Everybody can hear the lead singer, but he can't hear anybody from the audience past the first couple rows. So a low end consumer repeater will take your phones signal and drop it on the ground outside. If you can't hold a stable call while walking around outside, these little boosters won't do anything for you.

Also, as other have stated, these little boosters will only put out enough signal to "light up" a room. Say an office or a classroom. They will not push signal through more walls into the adjoining rooms.

Now for the real solutions.

You need height and a directional antenna. How tall is this structure? Is there a way to safely mount and secure a mast on the roof with a tripod, or on a wall with brackets. You'll need a mast tall enough to do some good. You'll also want 3 point guy wire to stabilize it. Is there a way to run the antenna cable inside to some where with power?
The booster needs to be put somewhere that it won't get messed with but also can have the dust blown off it regularly.


I'm gonna guess the answer is no. It's a historical building so alteration is likely unacceptable. That's ok, a popup monopole would probably be too short anyway.

So your next solution is to put up a free standing Trylon tower. It has to be tall enough to that the top antenna (called the 'donor antenna') can shoot over the trees. And remember, trees grow, so think 20 years ahead. There's also something called Fresnel Zone which will give you a headache.

You might need a 60', 90', or even a 120' tower. Anything more and you have to talk with local airports and put a clearance light at the top. Also taller towers will need to be secured with guy wires, and need to be painted orange and white to code.

If you're lucky, you can put the tower right beside the building which means you can run the top antenna cable inside to a utility room. If not you'll want to put it off in some corner somewhere. Remember the longer the cable run the more signal loss you'll have. Call before you dig!!

Putting up a tower is fairly straightforward depending on your soil. We usually have a pile driving company drive three 60' piles (metal poles) into the ground about three feet apart in a triangle. Drive them in as far as possible. You'll want about two feet above surface. Unfortunately sometimes the pile hits something half way down and that's as far as it will go. Sad but true. Also Call before you dig!!! You can't be near power lines or gas lines or phone lines. But if your soil is different you will want to check how other towers are secured. Again, find someone like a ham radio guy who has done it before and get professional advice. A tower falling over is no joke.


Once the pilings are in, a welder can cut off the tops and make them even. Leave about two feet sticking out of the ground. it needs to be high enough that your welder can work while lying on the ground. He'll appreciate if you have some cardboard or a tarp he can lay on.

You can either weld on a triangle plate or two pieces of I-beam forming a T. The plate is better as it gives you more wiggle room to position the tower. There will be a set of brackets for the bottom section of the tower that will need to be welded to the plate. Don't guess with these. Attach them to the bottom section of the tower and stand the one section on the plate. That way you ensure they are welded where they need to be.

There's two ways to put the tower it self up. If you know a climber with a j-pole, the tower can be lifted and assembled piece by piece. Or you can assemble it on the ground in two sections and have a picker truck lift it. Either way you need a few hands on the ground and one guy climbing. If you are putting it near the building then you have to be very careful not to hit the building!

If the tower is a ways away from the building, you'll need to run some power to it. Standard AC 120 is fine, but we're talking about trenching in a burial safe cable and have an electrician install a weather proof outlet at the base of the tower. NO! Do not run an extension cord. Do it right. You may also need the coverage antennae cable trenched back to the building.


Have i lost you yet?


Products: This kit from WeBoost isn't horrible. It has a directional Yagi antenna for the top and fairly functional antenna that you can mount either at the bottom of the antenna or trench a cable back to the building and mount the antenna inside where it will do the most good. You can even buy a splitter and install two antennae.

But that won't give you what you really want: Full coverage. A booster that size will put out enough power to cover a classroom or two, but not a high school gymnasium.

The antenna it come with for the top are actually quite good. We've used them lots. You have to climb the tower and make sure they are aimed at the nearest Verizon tower that you have line of sight to. But if you don't have good LOS then might consider getting a 4 foot sector antenna. Much more forgiving.

The booster I linked probably won't give you what you need. For that you are going to have to look into something like an Andrew booster, Digimini, JD Teck, or SureCall. But these are thousands of dollars just for the booster. You will still need antennae, LMR 400 cable for the antennae, proper mounting hardware, and professional installation.

Depending where you are, there may be companies that specialize in this. If not, find a ham radio guy and pick his brain.

Since this is an older building, is the power to it stable and clean? Or is it older wiring with flickering lights. I highly suggest getting a UPS with good surge and brown out protection.

As long as you are going to the trouble to mount an antenna and run cables, contact a local WISP and see about getting internet to the location. WISP guys probably know all about the tower stuff as well.

There's lots more to consider. I can try to answer any questions you have here.

The WeBoost units are great. We install about 1 a month for folks.
The product we normally order: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RHMFQTO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

weBoost Connect 4G (470103) Indoor Cell Phone Signal Booster for Home and Office - Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint - Supports 5,000 Square Foot Area https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RHMFQTO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Zj5BDbXM5CX29

I know it's expensive but that may be your best bet. I have a Cel-Fi and honestly I don't see a difference but likewise it only supports 4 bands. It is an older unit. The unit says it's working but when I check my signal strength with it on or off the numbers don't change on any of my AT&T devices. I did buy it used tho so maybe it's defective. But the Weboost seems to get a lot of good reviews and supports all carriers so that may be your best bet. It is expensive too tho but if you plan on staying there awhile you can think of it as a long term investment

weBoost Connect 4G 470103 Indoor Cell Phone Signal Booster for Home and Office - Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint - Supports 5,000 Square Foot Area https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RHMFQTO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_kinuDbF7ZTKBC (US cell, uses band 12, this will work)

It’s $550 (but I would buy the used one for $432) so again it’s a gamble. You might be able to get a useable cell signal into your house. If it doesn’t work, it’s amazon, just return it.

So best case it you get good signal and can use one of those enterprise hot spots. Plus you get usable cell service in your house. (Canceling hughesnet).

2nd case, you get a useable cell service in your house. Maybe with low ping, so you could hotspot your phone and game that way. But video etc over hughesnet. Gaming take very little data.

3rd case. It’s crap and you return it.

If you commit to a tech solution, you're going to have it a long time. Ever seen older homes with whole-house intercom? It was awesome at the time, but now they're hard to maintain and service.

I'd focus on infrastructure that you can adapt to a variety of uses.

1. Establish an "IT" closet near the middle of the house. It doesn't have to take up the whole closet, but this is your hub for coax, ethernet and Wifi.
   
   
2. Wire CAT6 power-over-ethernet and buy the appropriate switch. Then you can attach commercial grade wifi access points. (Like these) and when wifi tech changes, they can be upgraded. But either way, you will have terrific wifi access in your home. Also, many IP security cameras can run off PoE, so it's a stable technology. It's possible that CAT6 won't be state of the art forever, of course, but I think that's a risk worth taking.
   
   
3. I don't know if you care, but a 4G cell signal repeater might be helpful if you don't get perfect cell reception inside the house. They're not free, but they're under $1,000 and with a directional antenna on the outside of the house (or in the attic) you and your guests will have five bars of signal regardless of which carrier you use.
   
   
4. In my personal opinion, buy great appliances that will last a very long time and build them in. Panel-ready if you can get it, so they match the cabinets. Yes, this fridge costs a fortune. But it's distinctive and if you keep it repaired it'll last practically forever. Also, go with two dishwashers (because who ever has enough space in the dishwasher after a dinner party?), dual wall ovens, cooktop and microwave or swanky microwave drawer. (EDIT: Wine chiller? Under cabinet ice maker? These aren't expensive items to buy, but they're expensive to install after the house is built. Think ahead!)
   
   
5. Kind-of odd, but wire for more electrical service than you think you need, and make sure 80 - 100A is available in the garage. Why? You're buying this house for the long haul and some modern cars need to be plugged in periodically. The odds are in the next 10 - 20 years, yours will be, too.

Both moto z play and e 2015 doesn't have band 17. But I still doubt getting a new phone may help. Your area may not even support band 17.

Oh, I'm sorry for some reason when you mentioned staggered sign up I thought you were switching phones each 60 day. I guess you could look into the weboost.

well, keep this in mind. i use my wifi calling in numerous places, so assigning an address to the wifi calling option is kind of pointless and just something i looked at as an annoying step. i personally wouldn't hesitate to use a fake address. in fact, that address carries over from phone to phone so my address might not even be current.

we need to get a booster for our cabin. if i could pick your brain, what booster did you get? if we go outside there are a couple very small spots that have enough service to get calls and such. we were looking at this one

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RHMFQTO/?coliid=I19R2YKJHBH2K5&colid=QHKTR36X6BT3&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

sucks cause its an area that we are unable to get internet. no dsl, no cable, nothing. which sucks cause having wifi would make our lives so much easier up there. wifi thermostat, snow/security cam...