Cell signal boosters for faster download speeds?

[Hummer]

For those who know or have them, what do you like for a signal booster and how well does it work? There was a thread on this a few years ago but I'll start anew thinking the tech and devices have changed.

We get 1-2 bars on our Verizon phones but are among the lucky few to have cell service in the mountains of Boulder County. The tower is about 16' off the ground in a horse corral an eighth mile away but it's pointed 90 degrees away from us. We get 4G but will likely never see 5G here. Still, we can stream with our hotspots.

We've also been using Viasat for two years and are happy with it but it's pricey at ~$168/month. It's unlimited data but with a 100GB cap of high speed. I had to buy a new phone and got the new Verizon Internet Gateway which offers unlimited high speed data with no cap for the $25/mo, the cost of another line. So, I want to drop Viasat and save.

The folks at the Verizon store said I would be getting download speeds around 50+mbps, about 5-10 times as fast as satellite. That might be true in the GJ area where we have 5G but not here in the mountains. Speed tests I have done show Viasat around twice as fast as the Verizon Internet Gateway, and less for the hotspots. What should I buy to boost signal strength and faster download speeds?


I am looking here for boosters: https://www.verizon.com/products/signal-boosters/?sort=best-sellers

And this seems to have good reviews: https://www.verizon.com/products/netgear-wifi-6-mesh-extender/

[battlemidget]

Call Verizon tech support, ask them to send you one for free.

[Hummer]

Call Verizon tech support, ask them to send you one for free.

Hmmm, I'll try. What's your experience with that, do you work for Verizon?

[Ah Pook]

I always had the best cell signal, in the mountains, with ATT. All I got.

[def90]

I install audio video systems in homes and I've done a few SureCall cell booster systems over the years. My experience has been this:

If you live in a place with bad service outside the home all you will be doing is amplifying that same bad service inside the home, waste of money.

If you live in a place where you have good service outside the home but the construction materials of your home cut down the signal reception inside the home then yes, a booster system will work good. You run in to this a lot in commercial buildings where the concrete and steel construction act as a faraday cage, putting a system in those buildings does wonders. For homes a lot of the big Cherry Creek homes with the stone and stucco exteriors suffer from a lot of the same problems.

It is such a crap shoot of whether or not it will work that I refuse to even entertain the idea of doing themanymore.

[Bailey Guns]

I'm no expert but what def90 says mirrors our experience with a cell booster.

[eddiememphis]

If you live in a place with bad service outside the home all you will be doing is amplifying that same bad service inside the home, waste of money.

Exactly.

Boosters only boost what the receiver receives. If you get a two, the two will be spread farther, but they will not turn a two into a three.

You need to look into an antenna.

[00tec]

If you're just after data, look into starlink if you have enough sky.
You can use their app without even signing up to survey

[battlemidget]

Hmmm, I'll try. What's your experience with that, do you work for Verizon?

I do not work for Verizon, but I used to have a job where I got setup for failure alot. I found the cell company tech departments to be very helpful. You're in a poorly served area, ask if there's any equipment they can send you that will improve your experience with their service, particularly data. I have been sent 'boosters' that, in my opinion were cheap compared to better ones like Wilson, but there was improvement.
And +1 starlink, but for $25 a month, Verizon is worth a good try.

[def90]

For those who know or have them, what do you like for a signal booster and how well does it work? There was a thread on this a few years ago but I'll start anew thinking the tech and devices have changed.

We get 1-2 bars on our Verizon phones but are among the lucky few to have cell service in the mountains of Boulder County. The tower is about 16' off the ground in a horse corral an eighth mile away but it's pointed 90 degrees away from us. We get 4G but will likely never see 5G here. Still, we can stream with our hotspots.

We've also been using Viasat for two years and are happy with it but it's pricey at ~$168/month. It's unlimited data but with a 100GB cap of high speed. I had to buy a new phone and got the new Verizon Internet Gateway which offers unlimited high speed data with no cap for the $25/mo, the cost of another line. So, I want to drop Viasat and save.

The folks at the Verizon store said I would be getting download speeds around 50+mbps, about 5-10 times as fast as satellite. That might be true in the GJ area where we have 5G but not here in the mountains. Speed tests I have done show Viasat around twice as fast as the Verizon Internet Gateway, and less for the hotspots. What should I buy to boost signal strength and faster download speeds?


I am looking here for boosters: https://www.verizon.com/products/signal-boosters/?sort=best-sellers

And this seems to have good reviews: https://www.verizon.com/products/netgear-wifi-6-mesh-extender/

Just looked at your two links and none of that stuff will do what you are asking. You are asking to improve the signal coming in to your house, all of those devices are designed to provide better wifi coverage within your house assuming you have a good signal coming in in the first place.

[Wulf202]

If you want more speed get a jet pack and mimo antenna if you have more than one tower you're accessible to. This combines all signals (Multiple In Multiple Out)

The best unit I've found is $500 to boost a single signal to a phone.



Using a phone you are rigging something wireless to an antenna and back to wireless. It has conversion loss.

[Delfuego]

Boosters are for range, not speed.


If you're just after data, look into starlink if you have enough sky. Don't bother. I have been on the waitlist for almost 2 years w/o progress. They are sitting on my $100 still. Fuckers.

[00tec]

Boosters are for range, not speed.

Don't bother. I have been on the waitlist for almost 2 years w/o progress. They are sitting on my $100 still. Fuckers.

Too bad your zone is waitlisted. Mine isn't, but you can get the rv version without a wait list anywhere

[mjzman]

I personally know nothing about the subject but happened to watch a YouTube video this past weekend by a guy who installed a MoFi Network router with a Waveform external MIMO antenna and said that it enormously increased his cell data. He apparently had line of sight to cell towers just a few miles away. Think he said it cost him about $700-$800 and a day's labor.