neohic Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 My cell service sucks! Just about anyone that I've talked to... or not talked to I suppose... on my cell since I've moved can attest to this. I go through Sprint and have for years. I know that my problem isn't with them though as anyone who has been out to my house has fallen off of the cell signal map. I can get service when I go out to the end of my driveway but that seems to be an annoyance with the cold weather. So, I'm looking into signal boosters and I figured I'd reach out to the real pros around here! I'm finding a few types ranging from $180-$400. Has anyone run anything that they know works well? Thanks dudes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 If your not getting any signal at all a booster won't help. You will need a translator or a repeater. A translator picks up a signal and rebroadcasts it at a different frequency. A repeater picks up a signal and resends it on the same frequency. That may be what your referring to as a booster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinkrun Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 We just moved into a new house and had almost no signal 40% of the time. The phone would show 1 bar at best the other 60%. The phone would ring at the house off and on but could never talk on it. Also the wifes long drive to work is about the same for most of the trip. I just bought a wilson cradle booster for the car we now get 4-6 bars in the drive way and all the way to her work. For us this thing is amazing should have got her one years ago. This is the one I bought and the actual seller I bought it from, http://www.ebay.com/itm/170739588345 Now this one requires the phone be in the cradle they do have home kits for it so you can plug it into the wall it comes with a usb cord to for power. The reviews on this wilson stuff sold me and its made in the USA. Wish I would have bought this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wilson-Mobile-P ... 45ff6769ad. It dosent require it to be in the cradle. I was a skeptic at first just as you are and tried the lowest one first before getting a large house one to prove they work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankTheDog Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 That sounds like what I need. I'm in the same boat, the phone will ring but you can't answer it without dropping the call. With that I can drop my land line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidoo_j Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 For your scenario a repeater would probably be best. It will take some work to set one up properly. I used a WiEx zbooster repeater. It allows you to mount an antenna where you actually get signal then rebroadcasts it where ever you place the base. Best part is the antenna connection is typical sat-coax i think rg6. So you could put your antenna near end of your drive on a tree or ??? then run the coax under ground to the house. Biggest thing i learned while using this type is that if the antenna was 15' in height above the base it worked alot better. I'm sure if it were 50' horizontally it would be equivalent. Their product allows also you to go really hard core and install a yagi directional antenna at as high a dB increase you want. http://www.wi-ex.com/homeOffice.aspx the disappointing thing i had with them was it only repeated edge band, but I went from no bar/no service in house to 3 bar rarely ever dropping calls. My receiving antenna was 10' above my roof. Keep in mind your cell service from this style will only be as good as the reception at the antenna. But with their system and a yagi antenna you can pretty much get signal from no where. When i sold my old unit on ebay i sold it for the same price i paid new. I've since moved again and now I've purchased a microcell for att. It plugs into your broadband connection and actually generates a 3g signal. It works very well when the phone actually connects. I think sprint has them too. another option for sprint if i remember right depending on your phone you can set it up to use your current wifi as a hotspot call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 AT&T has a "micro Cell" it hooks up to your internet and it basically becomes a micro cell tower in your house. I don't know if other carrier has something similar but would be another option for your house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnuck Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 AT&T has a "micro Cell" it hooks up to your internet and it basically becomes a micro cell tower in your house. I don't know if other carrier has something similar but would be another option for your house. I looked into the ATT unit. It's $250 to outright buy it, but they charge a $40 monthly fee for service! I think I'm going to try the cradle booster. Where I live near Seattle is a dead hole because of the mall between us and the best signal. It got worse when a 6 story Hotel with wifi was put in on the other side of that. Top that off with someone else's cell tower within rock throwing distance and me living in a metal roof, metal sided home and I have a great Faraday box! I'm trying to find one like Ebay item 350132813523 but it's wired through the wall. I recently replaced all my windows with triple pane thermoglass and lost all signal in the process (which is why I checked out the mini cell) I found out it won't work where my cabin is unless I get high $peed internet. $3,000 to install plus $100 a month (and I don't even have power hooked up there yet!). I may as well get two way satellite service (which I can install) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidoo_j Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I looked into the ATT unit. It's $250 to outright buy it, but they charge a $40 monthly fee for service! The microcell does not require a service plan. What the service plan with the microcell does is allows any call that starts while connected to the microcell is unlimited. You can pick up a microcell for 100 used. I have two of them. they work great, when you can get the phone to connect. sometimes the phones struggle where I'm at because they catch edge service from a different carrier's tower that att doesn't like to pay lease on i guess. So I somtimes have to power my phones off a few times before they connect to the microcell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnuck Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I called ATT back and they reiterated no monthly fee = no cell service. I let them know in no uncertain terms I was unhappy with having to pay for the service twice PLUS pay for the wired in internet service from Comcast. I was basically told tough cookies. That's they way it is. (and I'm pissed!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidoo_j Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I called ATT back and they reiterated no monthly fee = no cell service. I let them know in no uncertain terms I was unhappy with having to pay for the service twice PLUS pay for the wired in internet service from Comcast. I was basically told tough cookies. That's they way it is. (and I'm pissed!) Well I have two of them currently in use. One at my house, one at parents. I bought one new from the store and the other used. I have never paid them a monthly fee for the use of the microcells. Sounds to me like the person you spoke with was mis-informed. All you have to do is go to the "microcell website" once you have one. you will sign into your online phone account and then enter in the micrcell mac addy and they your physical address (for 911). and 90 minutes later you're connected. Oh and here's info from their site: http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/device ... q#features on the right side of their screen : Improved coverage for voice and 3G data* – more bars in your home or office No monthly fees – use the minutes and data from your existing wireless plan Device is secure – cannot be accessed by unauthorized users Online management of device settings – simple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnkyboy Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I have Sprint and had no service at my house,no carriers service works where I live. The wife called sprint,they punched in my address and confirmed that there is no service there so they sent out a Sprint Airave unit for free. It hooks to my Dsl Modem and transmits over the internet,now my sprint phones work pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 I have Sprint and had no service at my house,no carriers service works where I live. The wife called sprint,they punched in my address and confirmed that there is no service there so they sent out a Sprint Airave unit for free. It hooks to my Dsl Modem and transmits over the internet,now my sprint phones work pretty good. That was my final result. I was told that I supposedly had service at my house and I insisted that they come out to see for themselves that my house is in some sort of black hole. After talking to several representatives and working my way up the manager chain, Sprint ended up shooting my a deal on an Airave. Plenty of service now but if I'm talking to someone between the boosted signal and the signal at the end of my driveway I'll still drop the call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnuck Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I called them back and told them that I shouldn't be paying as others weren't. Woman on the phone flipped out and demanded to know who was "stealing" their service. I just hung up (I was calling from a landline so good luck to them tracking me down!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidoo_j Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 I called them back and told them that I shouldn't be paying as others weren't. Woman on the phone flipped out and demanded to know who was "stealing" their service. I just hung up (I was calling from a landline so good luck to them tracking me down!) How do you get these people on the phone with you? They only way they require their microcell subscription is if you don't buy it out right. Their Microcell only works with ATT plans. The part that makes me want to reach through the phone and slap that lady for you is you can add anyone to your microcell list as long as they have ATT. They don't suddenly subscribe to the microcell service. I have family visit from Hawaii who have ATT not with my plan and they use my microcell the week they're here. If you don't have service I'd really just get one off ebay... I saw one end the other day for 95 dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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