Cell phone signal booster

[cofficer21]

My wife works in rural areas and has trouble with stable cell phone reception. We are looking for a reliable cell phone signal booster. I found some but they specifically say they work with bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, and 15. Her band is 66 on her phone. Does anyone know of a reliable cell phone booster that works with band 66?

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[Left Field]

My wife works in rural areas and has trouble with stable cell phone reception. We are looking for a reliable cell phone signal booster. I found some but they specifically say they work with bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, and 15. Her band is 66 on her phone. Does anyone know of a reliable cell phone booster that works with band 66?

I have a couple of cell boosters in stationary applications. Although band 66 is widely used in my area, I've not found a booster for this band either. That's not been an issue. Cell phones are generally capable of receiving many different bands and move seamlessly from band to band based on signal availability. What's most important is getting a full list of bands available in your area (not necessarily the one your phone might be using at the moment) and then seeing if one or more of them is covered by the booster. The boosters are designed to use bands common to most of major carriers.

Its pretty straightforward to identify the bands your carrier uses in your area and to check if some of them are covered by a booster. The same maps can also give an indication of signal strength along area roads which can be helpful. My carrier is T-Mo and in my immediate area they use bands 2, 12, 41, 66, 71. My booster does bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 13 which gives me good phone coverage on two different bands. If checking that out is of interest let me know.

The alternative might be to get one and try it. At least one of the major brands has a 30 day 'try it' policy.

LF

 

[cofficer21]

I have a couple of cell boosters in stationary applications. Although band 66 is widely used in my area, I've not found a booster for this band either. That's not been an issue. Cell phones are generally capable of receiving many different bands and move seamlessly from band to band based on signal availability. What's most important is getting a full list of bands available in your area (not necessarily the one your phone might be using at the moment) and then seeing if one or more of them is covered by the booster. The boosters are designed to use bands common to most of major carriers.

Its pretty straightforward to identify the bands your carrier uses in your area and to check if some of them are covered by a booster. The same maps can also give an indication of signal strength along area roads which can be helpful. My carrier is T-Mo and in my immediate area they use bands 2, 12, 41, 66, 71. My booster does bands 2, 4, 5, 12, 13 which gives me good phone coverage on two different bands. If checking that out is of interest let me know.

The alternative might be to get one and try it. At least one of the major brands has a 30 day 'try it' policy.

LF

Yes that would be helpful. How can I lookup or see what my area uses. We have Verizon phones.

 

[agentdr8]

I just picked up a HiBoost during BF to add to my JLU. It covers most of the bands for 4G LTE & 5G (NR) for my AT&T and Verizon phones. Should work great depending on where I find myself.

You can use cell tower mapping sites to determine which bands are offered on which towers.

 

[Left Field]

Yes that would be helpful. How can I lookup or see what my area uses. We have Verizon phones.

To find out what bands your phone will cover, use GSMArena.com. Find your phone, go to the 'Network' section and click 'Expand'.

To find out what bands Verizon uses in your area, @agentdr8 has the answer that I use: cellmapper.net

This brings up a map of the world. For some reason it starts out for me in the middle of the ocean, so I zoom out and move the map to where I live.

On the Menu, go to the 'Provider' tab. From there, scroll down to United States of America and then find Verizon.

On the 'Network' tab I usually select 4G as it is still more widely available.

You should now see your local cell tower locations on the map including a list of which bands the tower supports. The other bit of information is some crowdsourced signal strength data. This is shown by bright green, dark green and red dots.

It can be interesting to check the other carriers for the area too, just to see where their towers are and how well they provide coverage.

LF

 

[flick2614]

It seems that WeBoost is the standard currently. Not sure what band and all that technical sorcery but I see the damn antennas on everyone's rig. If you absolutely have to have service go Starlink.

 

[agentdr8]

It seems that WeBoost is the standard currently. Not sure what band and all that technical sorcery but I see the damn antennas on everyone's rig. If you absolutely have to have service go Starlink.

I bought a WeBoost repeater a few years back, and it wasn't working right OOTB. Their support left much to be desired. Ended up returning the unit. Was odd, since Wilson Electronics owns them, and they were the very first consumer cell repeaters on the market.

That's when I found HiBoost, and added one to my house. Their support is top-notch, and almost on the verge of too friendly/helpful/communicative. Made the choice easy when looking for a Jeep one (and the BF discount was quite nice too).

But I also carry my Starlink Mini with me too, just in case I find myself in the middle of nowhere and there are no cell towers.

 

[Jad4275]

Yes that would be helpful. How can I lookup or see what my area uses. We have Verizon phones.

You can buy a signal booster from Verizon. It’s actually not a booster. It’s a mini cell site that requires a hardwired Internet connection. They do not make any of that are portable.

 

[wanderer]

i have a we boost its ok but looking back i would have gone with a star link? now what sbout t-mobile and their “ satalight net work

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