Cellphone Booster

[EldoMike]

I have Verizon 4G service but have a poor signal inside my metal sided shop...anybody have any experience with signal boosters?

[nc43bsa]

I installed a micro cell at my mom's house.  Before then, neither she or I could get a reliable signal except at the end of the driveway.

[kingoffleece]

Yes.  We installed one at my wife's work years ago.  A good sized antenna on a three legged base designed for cell service.
Worked a treat.  Can't recall where we got it but I do remember doing a google search to find it.  Was a tad pricey IIRC but solved her issue 100%.

[Kev m]

We bought one from Verizon three years ago when we bought this house because Jenn couldn't risk missing a call when "on call" and we've never had a problem.

[EldoMike]

We bought one from Verizon three years ago when we bought this house because Jenn couldn't risk missing a call when "on call" and we've never had a problem.

Do you remember the model number?

[Kev m]

Do you remember the model number?

It's right here in my office.  Samsung SCS-2U01

Photo coming on edit.

[EldoMike]

It's right here in my office.  Samsung SCS-2U01

Photo coming on edit.

Looks like those type require a broadband connection also....I don't have broadband in the shop.

[Kev m]

https://www.verizonwireless.com/accessories/signal-boosters/


Wow, I don't remember it being that pricey, but it might have been. Didn't matter to us since like I said it was for Jenn's job which is the only reason we moved to this state (and this nice remote home on a lake).

Anyway, looks like it can be had at Wal-Fart for only $100 with free shipping:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Samsung-SCS-2U01-3G-Verizon-Wireless-Network-Extender-Indoor-CDMA-EVDO-Cellular/670591342?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=3113&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=42423897272&wl4=pla-51320962143&wl5=9003815&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=114220851&wl11=online&wl12=670591342&wl13=&veh=sem

I wonder if that's true for the newer 4G version as well?



EDIT - oh crap, no broadband, sorry....

[Wayne Orwig]

It's right here in my office.  Samsung SCS-2U01

Photo coming on edit.

That may be called a 'booster', but it is a miniature cell tower. It requires a network wire.

Basically, you end up paying your cell phone provider to do nothing but sit back and make money, since you are even providing your own cell tower.

[Kev m]

That may be called a 'booster', but it is a miniature cell tower. It requires a network wire.

Basically, you end up paying your cell phone provider to do nothing but sit back and make money, since you are even providing your own cell tower.

OK, thanks for the education.

Though for the record, Jenn doesn't "pay" for her cell phone (not the phone, not the service etc.), so it's her employer that's paying for that.

And FWIW we CAN get service on our property, it's just not "Doc you're needed in the hospital STAT" reliable. It absolutely cannot bounce to voice mail in a moment of low signal and we don't have a house phone.

[Wayne Orwig]

OK, thanks for the education.

Though for the record, Jenn doesn't "pay" for her cell phone (not the phone, not the service etc.), so it's her employer that's paying for that.

And FWIW we CAN get service on our property, it's just not "Doc you're needed in the hospital STAT" reliable. It absolutely cannot bounce to voice mail in a moment of low signal and we don't have a house phone.

I understand your situation. So it makes a lot of sense.

But the cell phone companies should almost give those things away. In fact, from what I understand, if you get ahold of the right person at support, Then whine and complain nicely, and mention switching providers, you may get one for free.

[Kev m]

I hear ya.

Noted, thanks for the tip!

[Vagrant]

I just called verizon because I only have 1-2 bars service in the hole I live in. they want $250 for one.
I did notice the $100 . Walmart unit is for 3G and is refurbished.

[charlie b]

So, when no internet service at all how do you boost a cell signal?

In the RV we use one of the MiFi units with a remote antenna.  The extra ant and proper positioning will get us an extra bar of reception vs a cell phone inside the RV.  The MiFi does not provide boosted cell, rather boosted data connection for computers and tablets.

[jcctx]

Weboost by Wilson Electronics; about $400. Only way I can get reliable data speeds (LTE) at my lakeside, buried in the trees, home. Works for all carriers and "G" levels.

[Lannis]

So, when no internet service at all how do you boost a cell signal?

I've been keeping up with this thread to see if there's an answer to this question.   Maybe there already has been, but I didn't know enough to recognize it as such.

One of the reasons that Fay and I don't have a cell phone is that we get no signal at our house (people who visit are always shaking their phones and staring at them in disbelief).

So we have a landline (Verizon) which has gone up from $29/mo to $55/mo over the last few years for the same service, and doesn't include long distance, which we get from Pioneer.   I'd love to dump the landline but:

1) Have no cell signal

2) Internet access is through a satellite dish which goes out whenever there's a storm cloud between the satellite and the dish (common in summer), and it goes down when the power goes out.  I could solve the power problem with a UPS, but there's no fixing the satellite signal and I don't want to be without a phone as often as it goes out.

So, IS there such a thing as a unit where I can mount an antenna on my housetop, a big one that's not just inside a cell phone, that runs the signal to an amplifier or repeater that my phone can then pick up, without using any sort of Internet connection?

With the price the landline has gotten to, it would be worth it ....

Lannis

[Vagrant]

I almost died laughing at this one. sorry! I have the problem at the house and at the hunting camp. Sounds like it's time to reinvent the CB radio. Maybe smoke signals.

[twowings]

Wouldn't it be cheaper just to run a extension of your landline out to the workshop?
Landline phone wiring is NOT rocket science...
Then just forward your mobile calls to your home number when you are out there working...

[Kev m]

Come to think of it we used to have a phone which attached to a land line but Bluetoothed to the cells when you where home. It would take over and ring for the cell phone or the land line, but I'm not sure if the range.

[Markcarovilli]

Lannis

Search is your friend - one of many......

https://www.repeaterstore.com/collections/frontpage/products/surecall-fusion5s?variant=3011093953

Mark

[Lannis]

Lannis

Search is your friend - one of many......

https://www.repeaterstore.com/collections/frontpage/products/surecall-fusion5s?variant=3011093953

Mark

Mark -

Thanks! but my question came after quite a bit of searching.   The problem is that even when I search on something like "Cell Phone Signal Booster", I get:

The SureCall Fusion 5s is a 5-Band 72dB signal booster system designed especially for small office and home users. It works on all major carriers. The Fusion5s is built to combine PCS and Cellular dual bands with both LTE and 4G AWS frequencies for Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile voice and data reception. It covers an area of up to 6,000 square feet, 5 to 10 simultaneous users and includes a 3-year warranty.

All carrier frequencies are independently balanced with easy to use adjustable control dials. The SureCall Fusion 5s is approved by all major carriers and equipped with built in safeguards to completely eliminate interference to cell towers.

Features
Highest 4G data rate in the industry
Simple Plug and Play operation
Fully compliant with new FCC certification standards and approved by all major US carriers
Dual Embedded CPU
Eight RSSI detectors for all inputs and outputs
Configurable for all indoor environments

So the problem is that even when I read the stuff, it refers to things that I don't know if it's even getting at what I want, which is simply to be able to talk on a cell-phone at my house.   I don't care about "data rates" or "4G" (I don't think, but maybe I need 4 of them and not just 3 like some old has-been) and I wouldn't know an RSSI detector if it fell on me.

Sort of hoping for "Yep, I'm the same way, but I bought one of these, hung the antenna on the chimney, plugged it into the wall, and my cell phone works now ...."   But maybe world is beyond all that now and I'll just hang with what I've got.   It's a First World problem anyway .... !

Lannis

[RinkRat II]

 First things first, go here and see if coverage is provided in your areahttps://vzwmap.verizonwireless.com/dotcom/coveragelocator/
  If not try other providers that may cover your area. They should all have maps similar to this.  If you are on the fringe of coverage then a booster will help pull the cell signal in. Good as any place to start.

      Paul B

[Markcarovilli]

The site I threw up has a directional outdoor Yagi antenna that pulls a signal from cell tower 30 miles away.

Guess it depends on how far away your nearest tower is....

Mar

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Wouldn't it be cheaper just to run a extension of your landline out to the workshop?
Landline phone wiring is NOT rocket science...
Then just forward your mobile calls to your home number when you are out there working...

If you're responding to Eldomike, I don't think his shop is close to his house. So an "extension" from his (home) landline to the shop could be several miles long... 

[EldoMike]

Yes my shop is 5 miles from my house...there is NO internet service at the shop....just looking for some boost to the cell signal...without spending a small fortune to do it.

[Lannis]

First things first, go here and see if coverage is provided in your areahttps://vzwmap.verizonwireless.com/dotcom/coveragelocator/
  If not try other providers that may cover your area. They should all have maps similar to this.  If you are on the fringe of coverage then a booster will help pull the cell signal in. Good as any place to start.

      Paul B

Paul -

Thanks!  I checked the map of cell towers for my area, and I'm in a funny spot, sort of like a hill in the middle of a crater I suppose.    There are 4 cell towers within 10 miles, one within 3 miles, but none of them are "line of sight" with me.    I can't even get broadcast TV reception here, neither under the old "analog" broadcasts nor the new digital ones.

Maybe instead of trying to order something and make it work myself and get disappointed or do it wrong, I'll get a local installer to do it, and make the deal that if it doesn't work, I don't pay for it.   Probably be more expensive, but at some point it will be worth it ....

Lannis

[RinkRat II]

 Lannis
  I too live in an area that I need a land line . Cell service is iffy and  while traveling, it works a whole lot better than at home. It's all a compromise. Your idea of money back guarantee seems the best bet. Course if you got too much money there's always a satellite phone, I hear their coming down in price!

  Paul B