Cell Phone Booster

[MikeG3Boat]

I am wondering if anyone has tried a cell phone signal booster to improve your cellphone hot spot performance.  I am going to have a Camper parked on some property and know that getting internet using my phone in this area is pretty slow and I don't think I will be able to use my phone as a hot spot to stream.  I have read about using a cell phone booster which makes the signal stronger and it improves download speed.  I will be located on the east side of lake vermilion on the west side of big bay.  One of the companies is "weboost".  Has anyone had any experience with this type of set up?  Any help would be appreciated.  Looking forward to my first summer staying on lake vermilion.

[BWpineisland]

Good morning! I am on the north side of Pine and installed a cell phone booster a couple years ago. It works great. I couldn’t even get a signal in the cabin and now I get 4 full bars. We use the hotspot so the grandkids can watch a Netflix movie on a rainy day!  I have Verizon as my carrier. 

[leech~~]

2 hours ago, BWpineisland said:

Good morning! I am on the north side of Pine and installed a cell phone booster a couple years ago. It works great. I couldn’t even get a signal in the cabin and now I get 4 full bars. We use the hotspot so the grandkids can watch a Netflix movie on a rainy day!  I have Verizon as my carrier. 

What was the name or brand you have?  

[SkunkedAgain]

My place is on the north side of a hill, so we never got any cell signal. I put the WeBoost on a mast above my cabin and it definitely helped. The only problems that I found are that:

 

1) You still need a clear line of site. If you can't get above the treeline or close to it, you still won't get much of a signal

2) The inside "booster" doesn't have great range if the receiver antennae (the outside part) isn't getting a strong signal. Therefore I can get 4 bars but only if my cell phone is literally inches away from the inside booster. A coworker with WeBoost has the same issue. I merely hang my cell phone from a lanyard an inch from the booster and then use bluetooth for everything. 

 

That said, Starlink has been a game-changer but it is expensive. If you want to stream it is the best option, but you still need a relatively clear view of the sky.

[smurfy]

dont take this the wrong way.......but i kinda like not having good cell phone reception at the cabin!!!!!!!!

[leech~~]

2 hours ago, smurfy said:

dont take this the wrong way.......but i kinda like not having good cell phone reception at the cabin!!!!!!!!

 

Yes, I suppose dying quietly alone could be peaceful.     You don't have to turn it on!! 

[smurfy]

1 hour ago, leech~~ said:

 

Yes, I suppose dying quietly alone could be peaceful.     You don't have to turn it on!! 

Ha, I have it on just in case, but I gotta put it in a certain window in a certain spot, especially in the summer to get service. we have a plan, everyone that we deem necessary has the phone number of the spring lake store near us, and has agreed if we need to get ahold of someone at the cabin to call them. 

 

I very rarely take it with me outside the cabin!!

[BWpineisland]

I bought it on Amazon. It was $219 and I think the company was Phonetone.  

[BWpineisland]

I bought it on Amazon. It was $219 and I think the company was Phonetone.  Having access is a luxury. I could care less about cell service. But the grandkids love the access and honestly that’s all that matters.  

[SkunkedAgain]

23 hours ago, smurfy said:

dont take this the wrong way.......but i kinda like not having good cell phone reception at the cabin!!!!!!!!

I thought the same way Smurfy. I used to love when my cell phone coverage dropped to "No Service" as I topped the divide north of Virginia. I put that cell phone away and enjoyed my time on Vermilion.

 

However, years later a good friend pointed out that despite my insistence on keeping technology away from the lake, if I had cell coverage and/or internet I could work up there. If that gets me more time up north then it's worth it. Now there are times where I can go up late on a Wednesday, work Thursday, and either work Friday or take the day off. Either way I get to avoid the Friday traffic jam and get extra time sprinkled in on the lake. I still treasure no technology time and often have my family turn off phones when we get here.

 

Two weeks ago when I was solo at the lake, my wife called to say that the shower wouldn't turn off. Without me reminding her where the water shut-off valve was located, she would have called an emergency plumber. Also Leech's comment about dying or needing medical assistance is spot on as well. The other year I couldn't get the A-arm to separate from the axle on my ATV. Luckily I had a strong enough cell signal to watch a youtube video, which basically told me to whack the &%^% out of it with a deadblow hammer. Voila! Thank you cell service/internet!

 

I still go happily on camping trips without GPS or satellite phones. I figure that if I die on those trips, it was while I was having fun. I go to the cabin more regularly and therefore prefer to minimize my risks but to each their own.

[smurfy]

Valid points skunked!! I'm retired so the only work I do up there is self inflicted!! and I never drive up during days or hours of the weekend warriors!!

 

I do have reception, just need to place and use my phone in strategic spots!! It's really wired, I get way better reception during fall and winter with no leaves on the trees then when they are??!

[Fish Head]

Is there a monthly cost for a booster too?  Or is it just the cost of purchasing the item?

[BWpineisland]

No cost. It’s just boosting the signal you already have. 

[MikeG3Boat]

BWpineisland, do you have a clear shot from your antenna to the sky.  I am wondering if I may have issue with having a straight shot.  

[BWpineisland]

I put it up on the deck pointing towards Cook. I was going to put it up on the roof but it worked great on the deck so I never moved it. Doesn’t seem like it’s a clear shot to the west but I’m actually amazed how good it worked! 

[JerkinLips]

On 4/20/2022 at 9:20 AM, SkunkedAgain said:

Also Leech's comment about dying or needing medical assistance is spot on as well.

I don't use my cell phone very much up north but it did come in handy when I stuck a hook in my finger on Vermilion alone.  Drove to Hoodoo Point campground where my nephew's friend looked up the procedure to easily remove the hook.  I also spend a lot of time alone on the lake or in the woods, so cell coverage is important just in case.

 

We use to have Verizon, but when we changed to ATT 3 years ago we got much better reception.

[smurfy]

thats just it.......depends on where your at and/or the phone network you have depends on how good your reception is. i have verizon and its ok, my son has ATT and can get reception in differnt areas of out yard!!!!

[SkunkedAgain]

On 4/21/2022 at 10:55 AM, Fish Head said:

Is there a monthly cost for a booster too?  Or is it just the cost of purchasing the item?

No, just buy the booster and it amplifies the signal within your place. No monthly fee.

 

I had a cousin from Boston visit or place on the lake about 5 years back. This is before I even bought the booster. I had no signal in my cabin and she was pulling down 3 bars and doing social media stuff. We both had the same version of iphone at the time. Go figure. It annoyed me more just because she wouldn't put her phone down and just enjoy being in the wilderness. Even when I drove her along Hwy 1 and down the north shore, should would shoot 15 seconds of video to show everyone how beautiful it was and then spend the next 15 minutes sharing it online instead of noticing all of the beauty that was passing her by. To each their own.

 

[delcecchi]

Different carriers have different coverage.    Used to be ATT on the west and Verizon on the east  of the lake was best.    

[SkunkedAgain]

I should have mentioned that we both had AT&T. Virtually everything was the same except for the serial numbers on the phones.

[delcecchi]

19 hours ago, SkunkedAgain said:

I should have mentioned that we both had AT&T. Virtually everything was the same except for the serial numbers on the phones.

Then I'm stumped...

[CigarGuy]

Who was taller?. BTW, the ATT tower is still a go in the gravel pit by Spring Bay. Should be this summer, but I've heard that before.

[delcecchi]

19 hours ago, CigarGuy said:

Who was taller?. BTW, the ATT tower is still a go in the gravel pit by Spring Bay. Should be this summer, but I've heard that before.

Bill Gruska owns that pit, at least he did a few years ago.      Typically other carriers will also put facilities up once the tower is built.   Let's hope it really happens this time...

[CigarGuy]

Ya, he still owns it. I know ATT use to be the "go to" on this end of the lake, but the last 3-4 years a lot of people have been complaining about the service! Wonder if the 5g stuff has anything to do with it, seems to be about the same time it was being brought out. I switched from ATT to T-Mobile a couple years ago, they give you a free booster, it works pretty good until the internet goes down and I lose the cell signal. My wife has Verizon and it also works pretty good without a booster. T-Mobile is $120.00 a month for 3 lines, 2 lines would be $70.00, if you're over 55.

[delcecchi]

We have tmobile.   They used to use att roaming on west end.    Now I think they do their own.   Works good except for the hill between us and the tower makes it marginal inside.   

[SkunkedAgain]

A new tower on the west end would be great. I'll keep my fingers crossed

[SkunkedAgain]

On 4/28/2022 at 11:19 AM, delcecchi said:

Then I'm stumped...

 

Me too. I've seen it with guys at fishing opener. Same brand of phones, same model, same network and they get different levels of service standing shoulder to shoulder. It's odd but true

 

[Noyo]

I have a Weboost cellular amplifier at Wakemup Bay. It increases the signal from 1 bar or less to 3-4 bars BUT there is more to the story than bars. For data (like streaming video) I get faster data speeds WITHOUT using my booster. The reason as I understand it is that cellular data transmits and receives on multiple channels simultaneously (its called Multi-In-Multi-Out or MIMO.) Most boosters only amplify a single channel at a time. While the phone shows a good signal from the booster it can actually reduce the data speeds that are available with MIMO transmissions. A booster can improve your voice communications while diminishing your data speeds. You might want to look at the Mobile Internet Resource Center on YouTube for a better explanation.