topic Re: Signal booster/repeater? in Get Support

Signal booster/repeater?

Pawprints1986 — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 17:56:52 GMT

Just was looking up a few different posts here about this... Has anyone tried one that works well? I'd like to try one to get better cell reception within concrete walls. LTE I get between 1 and 3 bars usually 1, and wcdma hangs out around 3 bars... I'm on a Samsung Galaxy s7 and it is compatible and there is coverage, it's just weakened between the structures of my building and likely the one close by nextdoor too. Wcdma has painfully slow texting for whatever reason.

Anyway I just wondered if anyone has actually purchased and used one or if you've just been dealing with weaker/slower signal. Would rather not kill my devices battery either, the lower the signal the quicker the drain

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

gpixel — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 02:47:30 GMT

@Pawprints1986 yes I bought the cheapest one for my parents, they live in Hope. you're from BC right? and it's made a big difference from 0-1 bars to 2-3. which is pretty good for them since there are trees surrounding the area. I assume you're looking to improve both signals?

look for the cheapest LTE/3g booster on Amazon and if you don't like it, just return it.

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

Daps — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 02:47:35 GMT

@Pawprints1986 Here are some sites to browse and get more information

https://wilsonamplifiers.ca/blog/telus-best-cell-phone-signal-booster/

https://www.amazon.ca/pcr/Top-Rated-Cell-Phone-Signal-Boosters-Reviews/3379578011

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/category/cell-phone-boosters-accessories/492490

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

will13am — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 03:59:59 GMT

@Pawprints1986 , the signal strengths you allude to are plenty capable. At home my signal strength ranges between a bar and x from time to time. I have no issues with phone calls, text and the occasional mobile data. My neighborhood is totally single family dwellings with little options for tower densification. I think the signal boosters are a waste of money. It might feel better to see more bars, but at the end the day, there won't anything difference in the service quality.

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

Pawprints1986 — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 04:16:15 GMT

@gpixel I'm in Ontario actually, but yes looking to ideally improve both signals but especially LTE as it's weakest. Can you share which one you bought, so I can check if it's compatible? The cheaper the better lol but since I'm here long term it seems worth the investment. If I should happen to move I can sell or bring it with, but moving is such a big hassle I don't want to ever move again lol

@will13am how's your battery life though? With that low of bars consistently your device would be working that much harder. I bought mine outright so would like it to last a very long time. Less of a big deal if batteries were still user removable. I wish they still were but they opted for water resistance instead. Which I'm still not about to dunk it in water, my luck I'd have the one with the defective seal lol

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

gpixel — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 18:22:03 GMT

@Pawprints1986 type "cell phone booster" in the search field its $99.89 it only works for band 5(850mhz) for both LTE and HSPA+

Is this the one you bought? It only says 3g so I had looked past this one. It strengthens LTE as well ?

yes that's the one. yes it will strengthen 850mhz frequency for lte also. as @sheytoon mentioned, you won't see much benefit on the LTE side if the band isn't in the vicinity. check the nearest towers with that frequency and maybe that will give you an idea if it will help boost your LTE signal. i think you can also dial *#*#4636#*#* to get some info on your current connection to towers

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

Pawprints1986 — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 05:54:21 GMT

@gpixel interesting, I didn't know till just now that 850mhz carried both types of signal! And with that signal being the best if this works well, my phone would probably just automatically pick that frequency? Is that what happened for your parents?

Is this the one you bought? It only says 3g so I had looked past this one. It strengthens LTE as well ?

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

sheytoon — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 10:27:25 GMT

The frequency is really what's important. A booster will work on any technology on that frequency.

A note of caution about B5 (850 MHz). It's fine for 3G, but not available everywhere for LTE.

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

will13am — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 11:37:29 GMT

@Pawprints1986 wrote:
@gpixel I'm in Ontario actually, but yes looking to ideally improve both signals but especially LTE as it's weakest. Can you share which one you bought, so I can check if it's compatible? The cheaper the better lol but since I'm here long term it seems worth the investment. If I should happen to move I can sell or bring it with, but moving is such a big hassle I don't want to ever move again lol

@will13am how's your battery life though? With that low of bars consistently your device would be working that much harder. I bought mine outright so would like it to last a very long time. Less of a big deal if batteries were still user removable. I wish they still were but they opted for water resistance instead. Which I'm still not about to dunk it in water, my luck I'd have the one with the defective seal lol

Battery life is fantastic. With light usage, I charge the phone once a week. The phone is never turned off. To limit battery wear, I only charge to 80%. The phone is dual SIM, so I have two cellular connections both with weak signals.

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

Pawprints1986 — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 04:28:14 GMT

Just for comparison, at the door vs inside my unit

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

computergeek541 — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 04:32:47 GMT

@Pawprints1986 wrote:
Just for comparison, at the door vs inside my unit

This itself only means that you had slightly different signal readings when you compared. It doesn't mean that this is the result of a signal booster or even because you went inside or outside. Your phone could have been on different frequencies, so it's actually possible for that phone menu to show a weaker reading outside.

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

gpixel — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 04:50:18 GMT

@Pawprints1986 wow! that's pretty bad. 4 bars outside, then all the way to 1 inside your place. I would buy the booster its most likely going to help

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

Pawprints1986 — Sat, 12 Sep 2020 09:22:13 GMT

@gpixel I decided to bite the bullet today and purchase this 🙂 I do get the 850mz service locally, however poorly while inside, on my device. I gave it an extra bit to see if it was just weird timing with the move and things would improve or shift but no such luck in over 2 weeks. Think there's just so much other structure around blocking so much signal. Hopefully this little guy helps me get inside the same signal I can get just outside my patio door 🙂

I'll let you know how it works out, thanks so much for the recommendation !

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

Pawprints1986 — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 05:11:33 GMT

Need device help from someone nerdier than me.

So I got my antenna. I used the advanced settings to set my device (Samsung galaxy s7) to lte band 5 only, as that is what the antenna is for. Aimed it at the right place, set it all up. But my phone is having a weird issue...

Despite the signal being so much better now with band 5 only, when I set my phone to auto select, it's picking further away bands with crappier reception. Problem is if I go in and pick lte5 only, reception is great but calls don't work.

Without recommending TextNow as that's not why I bought this antenna... What *else* can I do ? Going into the advanced menu (my device it's *#2263#) and picking automatic with lte5 preferred acts the same as full on automatic. I don't want to set it to wcdma only as it's painfully slower to text

Anyone have any advice other than what I've tried ? Can I tell it to connect to my antenna specifically ?

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

gpixel — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 05:49:07 GMT

@Pawprints1986 is there somewhere in the settings to set it for 3g? you need to point the antenna towards a 3g tower

public only uses 3g for calls

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

darlicious — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 05:54:49 GMT

@Pawprints1986

I think its time for the bat signal....... @sheytoon your expertise is needed!

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

Pawprints1986 — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 07:26:17 GMT

Oh, I did forget to mention that I have root access... In case that matters or makes anything easier or something lol. It likely doesn't but just in case

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

sheytoon — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 12:05:46 GMT

When you band lock LTE to B5, and keep WCDMA enabled, what happens?

Go into *#0011# menu and check which band and technology you are connected to.

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

Pawprints1986 — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 23:46:04 GMT

@sheytoon thing is it won't let me do both. I can only say LTE band 5 preferred with wcdma enabled, but it doesn't stick to band 5. Band 13 was one of the others I noticed last night using the LTE discovery app. But only 2 bars where band 5 gets 5 bars now with the antenna on. I don't understand why it would pick a -117 ish or worse signal when it can get a -98 or better signal on the antenna

If I go in and say LTE 5 only. It sticks to LTE 5 and with great signal, but can't make or receive and calls that way

May end up taking it back if I'm still forced on using wcdma only, or killing my battery on 1 bar LTE further away

Wish I could tell it to treat the antenna as a closest tower, almost like connecting to a specific WiFi router

Re: Signal booster/repeater?

gpixel — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 23:52:15 GMT

@Pawprints1986 call their customer support team

https://proutoneup.com/faq/