Cell phone reception boosters

[355spider]

I've seen a few but heard very few reports of them working. I am looking for a 3G booster in particular. I want to be able to use it on my boat which gets a poor signal.

 

[novox77]

I've seen a few but heard very few reports of them working. I am looking for a 3G booster in particular. I want to be able to use it on my boat which gets a poor signal.

The thing is, a booster is just an amplifier, and if your source signal is bad, the booster is only going to magnify the bad signal. If you're on a boat and far away from a tower, you're going to have a very noisy signal (or low signal/noise ratio). I don't think any booster is going to make you content with its performance.

Typically a booster is helpful if you're in a building that shields a fairly decent signal coming from outside. You can put it by a window, boost the signal, and aim it indoors. Kind of like a repeater for wifi access points.

 

[con40]

Look into an airave from sprint if you are having bad connection at your home location.

 

[novox77]

Look into an airave from sprint if you are having bad connection at your home location.

apparently you never made it to the OP's final sentence.

 

[lamboh]

apparently you never made it to the OP's final sentence.

what if he lives on a boat???? jus saying..lol....and if all else fails...do like the big ships and get satellite internet

 

[355spider]

The thing is, a booster is just an amplifier, and if your source signal is bad, the booster is only going to magnify the bad signal. If you're on a boat and far away from a tower, you're going to have a very noisy signal (or low signal/noise ratio). I don't think any booster is going to make you content with its performance.

Typically a booster is helpful if you're in a building that shields a fairly decent signal coming from outside. You can put it by a window, boost the signal, and aim it indoors. Kind of like a repeater for wifi access points.

Well t-mobiles was excellent on my boat. Thats what irks me. I gave up my HTC HD2 for this phone. I was streaming movies on netflix over the built in hotpsot in the phone. It wouldn't even pause once with tmobile. Now I can barely connect.

 

[Vincent Law]

Generally covering water is not on the list of priority areas to blanket with signal

 

[novox77]

Well t-mobiles was excellent on my boat. Thats what irks me. I gave up my HTC HD2 for this phone. I was streaming movies on netflix over the built in hotpsot in the phone. It wouldn't even pause once with tmobile. Now I can barely connect.

sucks. well what i said originally still applies. the signal from your current carrier is weak by the time it reaches your boat, so boosting a weak signal won't give you better data speeds.

 

[ThatNewAndroidGuy]

Cellphone antenna booster sticker test and analysis

the conclusion:

"Conclusions I'll make this very simple:

Based on my testing, and the antenna theory as presented by the experts, cellphone antenna booster stickers do not work as advertised.​

Based on their marketing techniques, including the imaginary or unverifiable "experts" stating they work, it's my belief antenna booster stickers are a scam.
​

It's these pervasive small scams that really get me upset. They sneak in under the radar. They're cheap and unobtrusive enough to insinuate themselves everywhere. Having a society where one can sell almost anything (without any proper verification of claims) gives an undeserved level of legitimacy.
In this case, the claims are far too good to be true. But the sad fact is that enough people are buying these types of products to keep companies successful for years.
Save your money."

Google is your friend. They have many sites out there talking about the bogus antenna boosters.

 

[novox77]

Cellphone antenna booster sticker test and analysis

the conclusion:

"Conclusions I'll make this very simple:

Based on my testing, and the antenna theory as presented by the experts, cellphone antenna booster stickers do not work as advertised.​

We're not talking about those sticker boosters. We're talking about boosting 3G signal with hardware. But you're right. Those things are totally worthless.

 

[ThatNewAndroidGuy]

We're not talking about those sticker boosters. We're talking about boosting 3G signal with hardware. But you're right. Those things are totally worthless.

Ahh my bad, it wasn't mentioned which type of booster .

 

[Vincent Law]

sucks. well what i said originally still applies. the signal from your current carrier is weak by the time it reaches your boat, so boosting a weak signal won't give you better data speeds.

Not necessarily true.

A signal booster could employ a much larger, and powered antenna. Thus, a signal that might be weak to the EVO could be far more usable for the booster to boost.

I used to do this with my 3G card. I bought an aftermarket antenna for it that was much larger, and on average it raised the signal ~15dB.

 

[355spider]

Not necessarily true.

A signal booster could employ a much larger, and powered antenna. Thus, a signal that might be weak to the EVO could be far more usable for the booster to boost.

I used to do this with my 3G card. I bought an aftermarket antenna for it that was much larger, and on average it raised the signal ~15dB.

So there is a way to boost 3G signals? I wonder if there are 3G signal boosters.

 

[tommy_ed]

it's my understanding that most signal boosters work off of an existing landline internet connection, so i don't think it would work on a boat unless you are tethered to shore with a cat5 cable lol