Does anyone have any experience with 4G Signal Boosters?

Wing126

Hi All,

I live on a road in the country side that is unable to get fibre broadband and is under the NBP for FTTH by the government. I'm trying to get Imagine installed but it's not looking likely as my neighbours were told they were out of coverage after the high site went live. Plus they've been telling me for two weeks now that the scheduling team will be out to me to do a proper test with the equipment, but no word yet.

In the mean time I'm trying to sort something out for better internet in my house. One option I'm considering is getting a 4G signal booster and a 4G enabled sim card router. I can pick up 4G in my house as it is, but it's not very stable so I was thinking a signal booster would make it more stable.

Just wondering if anybody has any experience with these? How do they work? How do they work?

Thanks!

mass_debater

With mobile signal and speeds are not related, you could have full signal and no speed or a weak signal and great speeds. You need to be sure before you invest.

ED E

Put up a Yagi/Similar and a decent 4G modem - Yes

Deploy an illegal repeater - No

Only Telcos have licence to TX on their allocations, in theory COMREG could fine you €10,000 for using a repeater (yet to happen, but want to be the guinea pig?).

Wing126

mass_debater wrote: »

With mobile signal and speeds are not related, you could have full signal and no speed or a weak signal and great speeds. You need to be sure before you invest.

The 4G speeds on my phone can be pretty good. Faster than my eir broadband at the minute.

ED E wrote: »

Put up a Yagi/Similar and a decent 4G modem - Yes

Deploy an illegal repeater - No

Only Telcos have licence to TX on their allocations, in theory COMREG could fine you €10,000 for using a repeater (yet to happen, but want to be the guinea pig?).

I was thinking of one of these - http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Antenna-H4G-15dBi-LTE-UMTS-HSPA-1-8-2-1GHz-4G-3G-/291800076476?hash=item43f0a3d0bc:g:ni8AAOSwOVpXav9~

That's just an antenna correct? Not a repeater?

ED E

Yep, thats exactly the kind of thing you want. The title of "Booster" usually refers to a repeater.


The B593 or its bigger brother the E5186 are what you want at the other end. Those + a 3 AYCE sim at €20 mo is pretty nice.

NB: That antenna is for the higher bands, 800Mhz LTE is common rurally and it won't work for that.

sennah

I asked here in the past for antenna recommendations for 4G and it seems slightly more complex than I had imagined (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057526403)

4G requires 2 antennas apparently... one in horizontal polarity and one in vertical polarity. I believe many of Huawei's 4G boxes include two auxiliary antenna ports for this reason. That said, the antenna you linked above states that it's a "circularly polarized antenna". Might this negate the need for two?

I never found the time to go dabbling since so I never progressed past my own thread but I'd be keen to hear how you get on OP

Wing126

ED E wrote: »

Yep, thats exactly the kind of thing you want. The title of "Booster" usually refers to a repeater.


The B593 or its bigger brother the E5186 are what you want at the other end. Those + a 3 AYCE sim at €20 mo is pretty nice.

NB: That antenna is for the higher bands, 800Mhz LTE is common rurally and it won't work for that.

Ah I get ya. Nah, I don't intend on anything like that.

Thanks for those router recommendations and thanks for making me aware of the band issue, I'll find out what band my phone connects using.

The nearest 4G mast to me is this one - http://siteviewer.comreg.ie/#site/3_MT0013/53.6790479905/-6.2398466937/2/Site%203_MT0013

Does this show me what band the mast would use?

sennah wrote: »

I asked here in the past for antenna recommendations for 4G and it seems slightly more complex than I had imagined (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057526403)

4G requires 2 antennas apparently... one in horizontal polarity and one in vertical polarity. I believe many of Huawei's 4G boxes include two auxiliary antenna ports for this reason. That said, the antenna you linked above states that it's a "circularly polarized antenna". Might this negate the need for two?

I never found the time to go dabbling since so I never progressed past my own thread but I'd be keen to hear how you get on OP

Thanks for that thread, I'll have a read through.

It could negate that, but it might not work as it doesn't support the 4G band my area uses.

I'll keep you updated if I go ahead with it, but this is just a fallback if I can't get the Imagine service installed.

The Cush

Wing126 wrote: »

Just wondering if anybody has any experience with these? How do they work? How do they work?

Lots of dodgy Chinese stuff out there, this is an Irish manufacturer of such equipment - http://www.stelladoradus.com/.

Not available for sale here for the reasons ED E points out above but the issue of allowing the use of domestic repeaters is being looked at by both Comreg and Ofcom.

editorsean

I suggest getting the router and SIM first before getting an outdoor antenna.

These is a vast difference between what a dedicated 4G router picks up and what a 4G phone, dongle or MiFi can get. Most mains operated 4G routers have a far higher gain antenna than the tiny antennas present in phones and routers. If you have power in the loft, try it up there. This will generally get a much stronger signal particularly in homes with 'E' coated windows.

If you have or can get a lend of a 4G capable Samsung phone on the Three network, make sure its on the Three 4G network and dial *#0011#. The LTE band number it shows will indicate what type of antenna you need, i.e. LTE band 3 = 1800MHz and LTE band 20 = 800MHz.

funnyname

editorsean wrote: »

If you have or can get a lend of a 4G capable Samsung phone on the Three network, make sure its on the Three 4G network and dial *#0011#. The LTE band number it shows will indicate what type of antenna you need, i.e. LTE band 3 = 1800MHz and LTE band 20 = 800MHz.

I chanced that code on a moto g on Vodafone and no result, which i suspected given how specific your instructions were.

Anyone have the codes required for other networks/phone combiations?

ED E

Install this: LTE Discovery

Wing126

editorsean wrote: »

I suggest getting the router and SIM first before getting an outdoor antenna.

These is a vast difference between what a dedicated 4G router picks up and what a 4G phone, dongle or MiFi can get. Most mains operated 4G routers have a far higher gain antenna than the tiny antennas present in phones and routers. If you have power in the loft, try it up there. This will generally get a much stronger signal particularly in homes with 'E' coated windows.

If you have or can get a lend of a 4G capable Samsung phone on the Three network, make sure its on the Three 4G network and dial *#0011#. The LTE band number it shows will indicate what type of antenna you need, i.e. LTE band 3 = 1800MHz and LTE band 20 = 800MHz.

Thanks, I shall try a modem before getting the antenna. No need to waste the money on it If it's not needed!

I'll try that aswell, Sony must block that kind of access to the radio on their phones because it's blocked for me. My dad has an S6 so I'll user that.

ED E wrote: »

Install this: LTE Discovery

Tried that last night, doesn't show me the bands on my Sony phone. Thanks though!

funnyname

Wing126 wrote: »

Tried that last night, doesn't show me the bands on my Sony phone. Thanks though!

Same as that for me

ED E

Only works on rooted devices w/ the full cellular API exposed.

irishgeo

I'll just jump in here. Is this legal in Ireland?


http://www.mobileboosterie.com/Signal_Visible_3G_2100_3_Mobile_Phone_Signal_Booster100m2/p2086943_12214069.aspx

mass_debater

irishgeo wrote: »

I'll just jump in here. Is this legal in Ireland?


http://www.mobileboosterie.com/Signal_Visible_3G_2100_3_Mobile_Phone_Signal_Booster100m2/p2086943_12214069.aspx

Only if installed by one of the providers as they have licenses to use those frequencies

irishgeo

mass_debater wrote: »

Only if installed by one of the providers as they have licenses to use those frequencies

So a DIY job is illegal.

mass_debater

irishgeo wrote: »

So a DIY job is illegal.

Yes

old boy

ED E wrote: »

Install this: LTE Discovery

not worth downloading, i did, i am two mile from a mast, it told me that i was gerring a signal from a field two miles from the mast, unless someone had a repeater in the middle of a field

old boy

can the ubiquiti air router 802.11n work with an lte signal

marno21

The Cush wrote: »

Lots of dodgy Chinese stuff out there, this is an Irish manufacturer of such equipment - http://www.stelladoradus.com/.

Not available for sale here for the reasons ED E points out above but the issue of allowing the use of domestic repeaters is being looked at by both Comreg and Ofcom.

Not advocating breaking the law but *cough* ParcelMotel *cough*

The Cush

marno21 wrote: »

Not advocating breaking the law but *cough* ParcelMotel *cough*

http://www.officeeasy.fr/telephonie-mobile/repeteurs-gsm.html

editorsean

They have a nice page about field testing on a Samsung Galaxy or iPhone:
http://www.stelladoradus.com/know-frequencies-phone-connects-home/

Their Samsung field test example shows what a 4G+ field test looks using band 3 & 20 aggregation on the Irish Three network. :cool: