LTE signal booster for remote phone/data service

[Fardringle]

We have a family cabin in a fairly remote area in the mountains in northern Utah. The location is inside Verizon's advertised coverage area, but not by very much on one side due to tall hills and deep valleys. (edit: The 'blocked' area is to one side about a mile away and not directly between the tower and the cabin). We can usually get a pretty decent LTE signal up there with speeds tested around 12-15mpbs by putting a cell phone in the window facing toward the nearest cell towers about 22 miles away in Evanston, Wyoming, and use the mobile hotspot on that cell phone to provide Internet access for laptops and other devices inside the cabin. It's not totally reliable, and sometimes there isn't a signal at all, but it's usually good enough to check in with email, texting, and maybe a bit of mobile gaming.

However, in the last few months the service quality has degraded significantly, to the point where we often can't get any signal at all, and a lot of the time when the phone in the window does show an LTE signal, it still doesn't have any actual Internet access. I've spent many hours waiting on hold and eventually talking to a few Tier 2 and Tier 3 Verizon techs who say that they agree that the signal may be intermittent depending on weather and other conditions, but that we definitely should be able to get a usable signal in that area, so they suspect that the tower we are using is simply overloaded with all of the people working from home.

The signal actually started working really well a few hours after my last round of repeated calls to Tier 2/3, so they might have done something to fix a problem on the tower, or it might have just been a coincidence. I'd still like to try to do something to make the signal more stable and reliable if possible.

Since Verizon no longer sells 4G/LTE signal boosters directly, they were not able to give me any recommendations for specific devices, or even that I should use one at all. So now I'm asking for help from people who don't have to directly represent Verizon.

The Verizon store in Evanston told me that they used to sell this model to rural users in the area so they recommended that I give it a try, but it's pretty expensive to just "give a try" so I'm hoping for personal experience with it - or a different signal booster - in a rural environment. https://www.weboost.com/products/home-multiroom The online reviews that I found do seem to be pretty good, but there aren't very many of them...

I don't really need the multiple room indoor coverage, but the increased range/signal boost from the tower over the single room model does seem worthwhile in my situation.

 

[Viper GTS]

IMO what you want is a dedicated mobile hot spot that can take an external antenna and then an outdoor mounted antenna. Directional would be nice as well, if such a thing exists (it likely does).

Focus on getting a dedicated, stationary device good coverage and do everything else via WiFi.

Viper GTS

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Per my former telecom experience and this info is 6+ years old. No cell booster works as advertised unless it is a solution direct from the carrier and it is professionally installed as in you have a large warehouse that needs coverage and you are okay paying for a microsite or booster or whatever. Solutions that work aren’t cheap.
Sorry to give you the bad news, I want to save you time and frustration.

**I am assuming WiFi calling is not an option at this cabin
***if you had 3G or 4G non LTE service per a dude I know at VZ they are taking some spectrum from those bands and putting them towards 5G. That may explain the decline in service. This is in MA, UT may be different
***regarding the $550 rural booster thing that *may* work but it comes with the warning it likely won’t work with 5G devices, bad time to be buying something like that because we are in between standards.

 

[Fardringle]

Yes, what I'm looking for is essentially a dedicated mobile hotspot with an outdoor antenna to amplify/rebroadcast the signal indoors. Rebroadcasting the the actual LTE signal or turning it into WIFI are both fine. I'm just looking for available options. Do you have any specific suggestions for a permanent hotspot? I have one of the little hockey puck sized MiFi Jetpacks and it works for short term use but definitely not for this situation, and it gets a significantly worse signal reception than phones even in the middle of a city.

Wifi calling is not an option as it is right now. There isn't a wired ISP available within 10+ miles, and satellite TV/Internet is REALLY far down on the list of desirable choices, both for price and for horrid delay in the connection. That's the main reason why I'm trying to get a more stable signal - for the LTE/4G internet access.

We do get LTE up there, when we are able to get a signal. So the recent connection issues might be related to changes/upgrades, but probably not the 3G to 5G band change specifically.

I have no care or interest in 5G devices any time soon as we only upgrade phones when an existing one dies/breaks, but the signal boosters I've looked at all say they are ready for 5G signals so I don't think that will be a problem. I found similar products from HiBoost and SureCall Fusion in the $380-$400 range (WeBoost has a $399 model as well) and the user reviews on all of them say that they do work for boosting weak signals in rural areas, as long as there is a signal so that there is something to be boosted.

I'm tempted to just order one before our next cabin trip and try it out before Amazon's 30 day return window expires. But I'd still like suggestions for specific devices to look at..

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Yes, what I'm looking for is essentially a dedicated mobile hotspot with an outdoor antenna to amplify/rebroadcast the signal indoors. Rebroadcasting the the actual LTE signal or turning it into WIFI are both fine. I'm just looking for available options. Do you have any specific suggestions for a permanent hotspot? I have one of the little hockey puck sized MiFi Jetpacks and it works for short term use but definitely not for this situation, and it gets a significantly worse signal reception than phones even in the middle of a city.

Wifi calling is not an option as it is right now. There isn't a wired ISP available within 10+ miles, and satellite TV/Internet is REALLY far down on the list of desirable choices, both for price and for horrid delay in the connection. That's the main reason why I'm trying to get a more stable signal - for the LTE/4G internet access.

We do get LTE up there, when we are able to get a signal. So the recent connection issues might be related to changes/upgrades, but probably not the 3G to 5G band change specifically.

I have no care or interest in 5G devices any time soon as we only upgrade phones when an existing one dies/breaks, but the signal boosters I've looked at all say they are ready for 5G signals so I don't think that will be a problem. I found similar products from HiBoost and SureCall Fusion in the $380-$400 range (WeBoost has a $399 model as well) and the user reviews on all of them say that they do work for boosting weak signals in rural areas, as long as there is a signal so that there is something to be boosted.

I'm tempted to just order one before our next cabin trip and try it out before Amazon's 30 day return window expires. But I'd still like suggestions for specific devices to look at..

My earlier comment about the stuff not working was directed at the cheap sub $150 crap, I am confident if you have reasonable expectations and reasonable skill to install and $500ish solution it will improve your service. Just don't expect to get as advertised 10,000 foot coverage and 1 billion megabyte data speeds, expect some calls to fail and some incoming calls to go to voicemail plus some failed to send texts but not all you will be fine. Just check for restocking fees and return period. You will know instantly if it is working or not working.
Regarding 5G even if you have no interest remember spectrum and manufactured handset will all go 5G quickly. There will be a point in the near future where you won't be able to buy a non 5G device.

 

[Fardringle]

Thank you for the info. I'm definitely staying away from the super cheap "IT'S AMAZING" garbage. I've had to sift through that junk looking for a good TV antenna as well.

I don't have any problem with setting up and tuning the location and direction of the antenna. Already did that with the TV antenna, too, to get signals from TV transmitters about 75 miles and several tall mountains away in Salt Lake City... (Evanston TV stations are mostly pretty lame. )

I know it won't magically make everything perfectly stable. I just want the signal to be stronger and more stable than it is now. Not having to leave my phone sitting in the window where I can't use it, to be a hotspot for everyone else, will be a nice bonus.

Getting 5G compatibility is probably important for the future, and I appreciate the suggestion. I added it to my list of pros/cons to research.

 

[Fardringle]

I decided to go ahead and order the SureCall Fusion4Home kit. It has been around longer so more established equipment with a LOT more purchases and satisfied reviews, it has a 3 year warranty compared to 2 on the WeBoost, it claims better signal reception and gain than the other options, it has much larger coverage area for the rebroadcasted signal, it is officially (according to the manufacturer) 5G ready, and it has the ability to tune individual channels/frequencies, which could be helpful if a particular channel needs an extra boost or needs to be turned down so it doesn't cause interference.

It doesn't have the nice LCD display panel that the HiBoost model does, but everything else about it looks really good. I'll test it out next weekend and will post a follow-up then.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I decided to go ahead and order the SureCall Fusion4Home kit. It has been around longer so more established equipment with a LOT more purchases and satisfied reviews, it has a 3 year warranty compared to 2 on the WeBoost, it claims better signal reception and gain than the other options, it has much larger coverage area for the rebroadcasted signal, it is officially (according to the manufacturer) 5G ready, and it has the ability to tune individual channels/frequencies, which could be helpful if a particular channel needs an extra boost or needs to be turned down so it doesn't cause interference.

It doesn't have the nice LCD display panel that the HiBoost model does, but everything else about it looks really good. I'll test it out next weekend and will post a follow-up then.

Cool, please do. Even though I’m out of the industry this crap still interests me.

 

[Fardringle]

I installed the amplifier kit this last weekend. I started out by mounting the outdoor yagi on a pole roughly 25 feet above the ground and aimed the antenna directly at Evanston, Wyoming (compass direction of about 340º) and was really disappointed with the results. It did improve things, but only slightly, and definitely not enough to be worth the cost.

Out of frustration and a bit of boredom, I decided to try changing the direction of the antenna and found that if I point it almost exactly north (compass direction of about 5º), the signal is MUCH better. It gradually improved while moving in that direction and started decreasing again any farther east so I settled on that orientation. I suspect that it works better in that direction because of the signal bouncing off of some hills between the cabin and the city. The next closest tower is near I-80 and significantly farther east with some tall mountains in the way so I don't think we were getting a signal from that tower.

It's still not perfect, but I wouldn't expect it to be when we're about 23 miles away from the nearest cell towers and there are some hills in the way. The signal gets erratic during the warmer afternoon hours, but the rest of the day and night it works almost as if we were in the middle of a large city instead of in the middle of nowhere.

In the late evening and early morning I was seeing PING times consistently around 150-180ms with a rare high PING spike now and then, and download speeds around 20mbps, with signal strength usually in the -90 to -100dBm range (occasionally in the high 80s and low 100s).

edit: Next trip to the cabin I'm going to replace the 50 foot coax cable between the outdoor antenna and the indoor amplifier with a 20-25 cable as that is all that is really needed, to see if that helps a little bit more since 25+ feet of wasted cable can result in some signal loss between the antenna and the amp.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I installed the amplifier kit this last weekend. I started out by mounting the outdoor yagi on a pole roughly 25 feet above the ground and aimed the antenna directly at Evanston, Wyoming (compass direction of about 340º) and was really disappointed with the results. It did improve things, but only slightly, and definitely not enough to be worth the cost.

Out of frustration and a bit of boredom, I decided to try changing the direction of the antenna and found that if I point it almost exactly north (compass direction of about 5º), the signal is MUCH better. It gradually improved while moving in that direction and started decreasing again any farther east so I settled on that orientation. I suspect that it works better in that direction because of the signal bouncing off of some hills between the cabin and the city. The next closest tower is near I-80 and significantly farther east with some tall mountains in the way so I don't think we were getting a signal from that tower.

It's still not perfect, but I wouldn't expect it to be when we're about 23 miles away from the nearest cell towers and there are some hills in the way. The signal gets erratic during the warmer afternoon hours, but the rest of the day and night it works almost as if we were in the middle of a large city instead of in the middle of nowhere.

In the late evening and early morning I was seeing PING times consistently around 150-180ms with a rare high PING spike now and then, and download speeds around 20mbps, with signal strength usually in the -90 to -100dBm range (occasionally in the high 80s and low 100s).

edit: Next trip to the cabin I'm going to replace the 50 foot coax cable between the outdoor antenna and the indoor amplifier with a 20-25 cable as that is all that is really needed, to see if that helps a little bit more since 25+ feet of wasted cable can result in some signal loss between the antenna and the amp.

Good follow up and good work, I don't know your needs but 20mbps should be good for most stuff. We all tend to way overestimate our speed needs. 180(ish) ping isn't great but it isn't that bad either.

 

[Fardringle]

20mbps download is plenty for up there (and really it's plenty for most people anywhere), and while 180ms ping is a bit high for FPS games, we don't play any of those and it's more than adequate for pretty much everything else. And a lot better than the 1000-3000ms that we'd get with the only other realistic option up there (satellite).

 

[DaaQ]

I installed the amplifier kit this last weekend. I started out by mounting the outdoor yagi on a pole roughly 25 feet above the ground and aimed the antenna directly at Evanston, Wyoming (compass direction of about 340º) and was really disappointed with the results. It did improve things, but only slightly, and definitely not enough to be worth the cost.

Out of frustration and a bit of boredom, I decided to try changing the direction of the antenna and found that if I point it almost exactly north (compass direction of about 5º), the signal is MUCH better. It gradually improved while moving in that direction and started decreasing again any farther east so I settled on that orientation. I suspect that it works better in that direction because of the signal bouncing off of some hills between the cabin and the city. The next closest tower is near I-80 and significantly farther east with some tall mountains in the way so I don't think we were getting a signal from that tower.

It's still not perfect, but I wouldn't expect it to be when we're about 23 miles away from the nearest cell towers and there are some hills in the way. The signal gets erratic during the warmer afternoon hours, but the rest of the day and night it works almost as if we were in the middle of a large city instead of in the middle of nowhere.

In the late evening and early morning I was seeing PING times consistently around 150-180ms with a rare high PING spike now and then, and download speeds around 20mbps, with signal strength usually in the -90 to -100dBm range (occasionally in the high 80s and low 100s).

edit: Next trip to the cabin I'm going to replace the 50 foot coax cable between the outdoor antenna and the indoor amplifier with a 20-25 cable as that is all that is really needed, to see if that helps a little bit more since 25+ feet of wasted cable can result in some signal loss between the antenna and the amp.

Remember that cell towers "breathe" meaning the more users on them the radius or diameter they covers shrink, when less users, the radius, or diameter will increase.
Just food for thought.