Best cell phone signal boosters according to redditors

You can buy one on Amazon for 10 bucks and then fix it yourself in five minutes

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LG0QQSI/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_2-j-tb0F3JXY5

Missing bands 66 and 71. Not too bad, see if band 71 is in your area with this map: http://maps.spectrumgateway.com/t-mobile-600-mhz-band-71-deployment.html

I'd see if you can get your hands on another phone before spending hundreds on a signal booster. If you got any friends/family with tmobile or mint, time to invite them over.

You can boost cell signal with something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/SureCall-Flare-Signal-Booster-Carriers/dp/B01MS2KFS0/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=signal+booster+indoor&qid=1558834197&s=gateway&sr=8-9-spell
But you need an antenna outside, then a cable running inside to your indoor antenna.

weBoost Connect 4G-X Cell Phone Signal Booster for Home and Office – Enhance Your Signal up to 32x. Can Cover up to 7500 sq ft or Large Home. For Multiple Devices and Users. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RHMFSC4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_v9qJAbTYWP0WF

https://www.amazon.com/weBoost-470210-Signal-Booster-Trucker/dp/B01GDZLUJ0/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=cell+phone+booster+for+truck&qid=1567152568&s=gateway&sprefix=cell+phone+boos&sr=8-3


You'll see these on ALOT of work trucks. At least here in the Permian. And they work pretty well

Cell phone signal booster https://www.amazon.com/weBoost-Drive-Phone-Signal-Booster/dp/B00WMFXE5O/

First, go to Antenna Search and locate the tower you want to pull from. Then find the contact person for that tower by clicking on it. Email that person explaining your problem, and then you'll have a local expert helping you out.

When I ran in to this issue I got 2 yagi antenna, the proper low loss cabling, the adapters to connect to the antenna and to my hotspot, a mounting pole, and put them at a 45 degree angle pointed right at my tower. Then I set the band priority on the hotspot based on what the tower tech told me was the optimal band coming from that tower.

When you get in to the world trying to optimize your LTE connection, you will probably want to join up with the LTE Hacks group on facebook.

I'm over in Mobile, and yes, coverage is not good over there. It wasn't too good in West Mobile until a few months ago. I was at 2 bars (with Verizon and T-Mobile). Verizon continues to be at 2 bars, but T-Mobile is up to 4. They are making improvements, but timing is your issue.

I found this on Amazon.

SureCall Fusion4Home Omni/Whip, Cell Phone Signal Booster Kit for All Carriers 3G/4G LTE up to 2,000 Sq Ft https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AWGY4TE

The good thing about this is it supports both bands 2 and 4, according to the user manual and has an external antenna. In your area you are probably dealing with band 2.

There are a number of boosters that only support band 4 so you have to research.

If you install cellmapper on your phone, you can determine where the closest tower is and where you should place the antenna. I did the same thing for a friend's home but we used the T-Mobile booster. If you PM or tell me your general area, I'll see if I can locate some towers for you. Maybe that will help with your current booster? I'll give it my best shot.

http://www.amazon.com/ePartSolution-Samsung-Galaxy-Camera-Repair-Seller/dp/B00LG0QQSI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406240449&sr=8-1

Not sure about the waterproofing. I'd keep it out of water until Samsung releases an OE solution as the phone has a foam-like adhesive underneath the lens from the factory.

A metal roof will most definitely cause a problem. A point to point RF connection requires Line of Sight to the tower with 40% or less occlusion. At the frequencies most GSM/CDMA/LTE phones operate on a signal will penetrate most wooden structures with little signal loss. Metal is a whole other story. Metal is typically RF opaque. Metal will reflect almost all the RF, both from the tower and from the phone. (not sure about Aluminum, but steel or tin will reflect)

At this point, if you are completely sold on metal, you'll need some sort of repeater or micro-cell. A repeater would be an externally mounted antenna, attached to a powered amplifier in the house. They are not cheap. Some carriers should offer some sort of micro-cell that will work on their network. While they are not inexpensive either, they are usually cheaper than a repeater. Keep in mind, a micro-cell will require some sort of high speed internet.

Here's an example of one offered by ATT

EDIT: Verizon
Sprint

EDIT2: No love for T-Mobile. They currently don't offer booster or micro-cell.

Haven't seen one quite like that, but reminds me of a passive through window cell antenna, like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Cell-Phone-Antenna-External-Repeater/dp/B0053WE8VM

I've seen they sell this one specifically for trucks but it's really pricey
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GDZLUJ0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NTQPCbWN7DEAT

I use two of these if I have to connect to an antenna 4mi away: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XH92RQV/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

One of these to connect to the tower 1.5m away:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BJ61LDY/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Both improve my signal and speeds. Just gotta find that sweet spot for the best signal. It's not always near a window if you mount it indoors.

If you get a better signal immediately outside of your house and especially from on top of the roof, they also make boosters that allow you to put an antenna outside of your house that can catch that good signal and pipe it into your house via coax, boost it and then distribute it via the internal antenna. See here

1. 3G isn't very fast. Try to get a 4G device.
   
2. First, you should get a mobile hotspot so you have a local wifi signal to connect to.
   
3. Second, you should get a cell signal booster designed for RVs. Personally I use a WeBoost Drive 4G-X.
   
4. Third, consider upgrading the antenna for that booster. I have a Yagi directional antenna that connects to the WeBoost through a few adapters.
   
5. A directional antenna requires you point it at the tower, but provides a much better signal than other kinds of antennae. Downside you need to know where the tower is. There are mobile apps and websites to look those up.
   
6. Try to camp near a decent sized town or highway, because that's where the cell towers are.
   
7. You should be using Verizon. They have the best rural coverage, bar none. AT\&T would be a close second. Don't even bother with any other network.
   
8. If you still can't find a decent signal, you might be stuck with satellite options. They are high-latency, and very expensive.

Thanks! It's a cellphone signal booster. The exterior antenna takes in a weak cellular signal and feeds it to an amplifier that's mounted in the cabinets and powered by the auxiliary battery. Then the amplified signal is sent to an interior antenna and broadcasted in a 3-5ft radius. I've had it boost a 2X to 3G and even 4G.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GDZLUJ0

Hello - I have a WeBoost and so far it's been a great product. If you know of Nomadic Fanatic, Eric just was given a solution by a Canadian company called SolidRF. This might be a similar productto the WeBoost I have..? Check out the reviews for yourself.

They actually do - you can buy a cell repeater where you put an antenna on the roof and point it at the closest tower, and then it has an internal antenna to rebroadcast / receive with your phone at a lower wattage.

Here is a lower cost one that is good for a smaller to medium sized space in a home, such as a basement.

SureCall Fusion4Home Omni/Whip, Cell Phone Signal Booster Kit for All Carriers 3G/4G LTE up to 2,000 Sq Ft - SC-PolyH-72-ORA-Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AWGY4TE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_yDD7CbW4T5QYY

There are much larger ones made for offices and such as well if you have a huge house or something.

It actually works with most if not all carriers because 3G and LTE service all happens on known RF bands. Enjoy!

I'm using this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WMFXE5O

I haven't tried any others though, so I can't comment on relative strengths/weaknesses

<$100 is going to give you a hard time.

I've used a few over the years when adventuring to play Ingress. They work exactly like they're supposed to, and will give your phone's connection and reliability a major boost. I've used a friend's weBoost cradle which worked nicely (though was only 3G), and I'm planning on getting a weBoost Drive 4G-X hopefully soon.

Correct positioning of the external antenna is pretty critical, so I'd make sure to find out what direction the cell tower is you're connecting to. Cellmapper can definitely help you with that.

If you're a T-Mobile customer, they've got a neat booster available for customers that has one unit you put in the house wherever you get the best signal, and then another unit that acts as the transmitter that your phone connects to. It's limited on what LTE bands it supports though, so depending on what the coverage is (and what band the signal's on) in your area it may or may not be useful. I've got one at home and it works great, also acts as a nice way to confirm if the tower's having an issue (booster shows no signal either). If you call them up, they might be able to hook you up for free, or ask for a small deposit ($100 or less, IIRC) before shipping it out to you.

I use these pipe mounts for Wilson antennas. Nice and small but still look nice and are aluminum so they won’t rust. $17 apiece on Amazon

Yes, Are you using a Yagi antenna 3g Booster?

http://www.amazon.com/Phonetone-Booster-Repeater-Amplifier-Antenna/dp/B00SIUHG42?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

I am not trying to sell anything here but use the above as an example of a product booster. Seems from the review somebody with cricket wireless like you had the same issue and is getting 5 bars of 4g :) Hope it all works out!

let me know how it goes.

Also you might want to look at into a 3g booster that does both 800Mhz and 1900Mhz, So you can always use it if in other areas where its only 1900Mhz. :)

you're not going to have any luck with cellphones out there, but if you can get DSL, you may be able to use one of these: Microtel Cellular Signal Booster. We have some property in the Federal Quiet Zone (near White Sulphur Springs), and this has worked for us around our cabin.

Well yeah something like this, which is pretty much a monopole - coax - dipole setup: https://www.amazon.com/Cell-Phone-Antenna-External-Repeater/dp/B0053WE8VM
The car does to some degree act as a Faraday cage, so the monopole is placed outside, transmitting the incident waves through the the coaxial cable to the dipole on the inside, which emits the electromagnetic waves for the phone to sense. It of course also works the other way around, with the phone transmitting.
Again, you don't see the passive models very often, as they just aren't that good.

Edit: I just noticed there isn't a coax connecting the two antennas! They must rely on some coupling instead, which I can't imagine working very well

While I'm not sure about transmission on 868MHz, check out some cell antennas you can easily get antennas designed to do what you want for the same price.

It would work fine as a UHF directional antenna. UHF television frequencies span from 470 to 890mhz, so this antenna should be reasonably well suited to receiving frequencies in that range. You would want to mount it vertically. Unlike horizontally polarized television signals, most terrestrial radio signals are vertically polarized. The signal loss from a polarization mismatch is not inconsequential.

That antenna will have an F connector coming off its matching transformer, the SO-239 to BNC adapter you linked is probably not what you want. For scanning use, regular old RG-6 coax works great as a feed line, and you'd want an F to BNC adapter.

If you're mainly trying to dig out 800mhz public safety frequencies, I'd go with an antenna like this.

1. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009UNGTCQ/ should take care of any signal issues
   
   
2. I assume right now you do not unplug your Home Fusion broadband router and carry it with you every time you leave? Same concept. You will dedicate a new phone as your router. I dedicate a Nexus 4 now as a router for unlimited data with T-Mobile. Just keep it plugged in. That's all there is to it.
   
   
3. When you're buying a plan from someone you will do something called "AOL" or Assumption of Liability which will transfer their line/plan/contract(if it exists) over to you. Many have done it, and Verizon has no problem with it.
   
   Just trying to save you money and get you unlimited data. Verizon are assholes so I try to help in any way to stick it to them. ;)

Signal Booster Verizon AT&T T-Mobile Cell Phone Signal Booster Subroad 4G LTE - Dual 700Mhz Band 12/13/17 Mobile Cellular Amplifier Repeater Kit for Home, Office Signal Coverage Up to 5,000 Sq Ft https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VC5RR3M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_9wRTDbBEWTX6Y

The router has a few other devices connected to it like a mini cell tower - both this and my parents' computer use ethernet. So if I were to move the router I'd need a switch in their room.

Omni-directional antennas radiate in all directions. Since you know where the tower is, using a directional antenna will focus all the radiation towards the tower, which is more efficient. An example of the antenna you would want: https://www.amazon.com/Tupavco-TP545-Directional-Antenna-Adapter/dp/B078W787GR/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3HCAZXW9E9VVG&keywords=ts-9+antenna+lte+band+3&qid=1556910785&s=gateway&sprefix=ts-9+%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-3


The screenshot from your modem shows you are in band 3 LTE, which means your antenna needs to be able to transmit between 1700-1900MHz, or 1.7 - 1.9GHz. You want an antenna that ends in a TS-9 connector as that is what your modem accepts. Since my example is not a MIMO antenna, you want to connect this to the MAIN antenna port on your modem (the one closest to the USB port).


The antenna on your serving cell can be of two different polarities: vertical or horizontal. Try mounting the antenna both "tall" and "flat" to see which configuration gives you the best results.


Your download signal levels (what you see in the modem) are excellent. However, it is still possible that your upload signal levels (from your modem to the tower) are poor, which can affect your throughput. You cannot directly see what your upload levels are since those are visible only on the tower side of the connection. The antenna may help if this is the issue, but I will caution you that given those download signal levels, you may find the antenna will not help. I understand the desire for faster internet though so I don't blame you if you still want to try. Good luck!

I'm wondering if manual band selection is going to help me? Looking at Cellmapper.net, the closest tower is about 13mi away, and has bands 2 and 4. there are two more only a couple miles further that have bands 4, 12, 17, and 30. I don't really know much about any of this, as far as what bands are better, etc.

What yagi antenna's would you recommend? was looking at this one, but sounds like there's issues with it's cable/connection...https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078W787GR/ref=emc_b_5_t

thanks for your reply. I've seen your posts in some other threads.

Check the map first to see what kind of data you have available.

https://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp?serviceType=data&covType=lteplus&language=EN?INTNAV=NetworkP:coverage

Get the Ultra modem, see if it works as-is.

https://freedata.io/shop/ultra-membership-bundle

If not, then get an external LTE antenna, you'll have to do your own research on them but they are fairly cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XH92RQV/

Yes, that's a good damn way to look at the crash dumps, and you have to activate? Check this item out https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XH92RQV/. I looked at the right thing so I think that it's a driver issue, you can try are to do it is to say. There are multiple free programs to help you and read up on how to use sytemlinks to fix some of the stuff.

I think there are far better models - I was trying to go a little on the cheap.


SureCall Flare Cell Phone Signal Booster for Home Omni Antenna Configuration | Integrated indoor antenna for easier install | Covers up to 2500 sq ft | Boosts Voice, data for 4G, LTE, 3G https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MS2KFS0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_yC1PDb05AG834

That being said, I got the $299 flare model and it definitely solved the problem - for Fi anyway.

Before I decided on Fi, I tried my AT&T sim and Verizon and both sucked. YMMV depending on your cell towers. Use an app or website to determine what cell towers are near you and look at your topography — my problem is high trees and a hill blocking the tower’s line of sight, although I am no expert and not sure if that really is important.

All I know is that now I have functioning cell service for $35 for 2 lines plus $10/gigabyte and I can live with that rate.

So mad that I paid for AT&T all these years for crap service and I could have switched to T-Mobile — a company I had zero faith in — and have had great service.

I have paid for a DSL backup line because I have to have internet for work and the cable has gone down before. If I had a good data connection I would have saved $75/month!!

Sorry if I came off as crude in the first reply. I did escalations so often I'd see some really odd cases where people just wanted to game the system.

The high rise might be a big source of the problem. Antenna positions are tricky and what might work amazingly with one carrier might not work with another. If you want to try getting a signal booster; something like this gadget would definitely help; may possibly solve the problem. (It's the best rated in terms of cost-effectiveness on Amazon Canada from what I could see).

The store usually isn't as well equipped as the phone agents (albeit the front line ones aren't the most helpful; the managers are exponentially better and more experienced). The phone option is usually to swap them (but they'll swap them for refurbished ones most likely, and I don't think it's the source of the problem).

Try changing the SIM. It sounds crazy, but I've seen it work in multiple cases for reasons unknown to me. Check the settings as well to make sure it's all on the default ones (settings -> backup and reset -> reset network settings)

In terms of fairness; if you do shell out the cost for the signal booster or even the SIM cards, call the customer service line and escalate the issue to a manager. Explain the 26th floor reality to them and how, while they aren't obligated to provide service inside buildings (it's written in the terms, but common sense ought to prevail of course), it would be nice to use your phone indoors and not have to pay out of pocket for poor antenna positions.

(Silly side note; are you able to get a good data connection nonetheless?)

Finally, if all of the above fails. Only option you really have is to make a deal to return the phone or see if they want to split the cost of the issue with you - the "Bell Escalation Team" is probably the highest department you can speak to within the company - 1-866-317-3382 is the direct number.

That's all I've got. Good luck to ya!

I was actually looking at this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GDZLUJ0/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_10?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Same company!

I bought this. It is only good for 4G/Data Only. But took me from no bars to full bars. I have it placed on my desk.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009UNGTCQ/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes same as truckers, will see if I can get it mounted tomorrow.

weBoost Drive 4G-X OTR Cell Phone Signal Booster Trucker kit, for up to 4 devices https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GDZLUJ0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_KntLxb7MSZWVF

You could just use a retractable plug-in FM antenna instead of headphones.

eBay
Amazon

If someone is interested by the "actual antenna" part, this is the first result I got on Google: https://www.amazon.com/SODIAL-3-5mm-Retractable-Antenna-Mobile/dp/B00LHKUFK2

Probably gives significantly better reception than normal headphones.

The are cheaper models it all depends on the size of the area you are trying to cover indoors

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RHMFSC4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_dyDaAbP0NDQX8

>It doesn’t matter how good your antenna is if the signal is shit.

The signal is shit because he's trying to pick it up on the antenna in his smartphone. If he was trying to pick it up with something like this it wouldn't be shit. I'm guessing you're too young to remember picking up TV channels over the air because it's the same concept.

Yeah I'm not a pic snapping kind of person. So it's not my go-to behavior in life.
Several brands are pretty much the same thing with a different sticker on the outside. There are a couple of designs.
They look like this or similar and affordable. Or they look like this or they change the color of the outside.

These are LED light shows. They have a circuit inside that powers two LEDs and a small color changer taking input from the antenna. If cell signal strikes the antenna the led changes red to green. Nothing inside that could be an amplifier for a transmitter or even a transmitter at all. One device even had a small contact point where the heat from resistors will bleed off to the shell of the device to make it feel warm but nothing connecting to the output antenna connection. It's hot so it works right? Smooth. Thanks for not burning down my RV.

Anyway I'm not saying all of these generic design brands are bad. Dive at your own risk.