A cell signal booster is a sophisticated piece of electronic equipment designed to strengthen existing cellular signal.
They consist of three main components:
A signal booster is set up in a dry space with a power source and can dramatically boost all types of signal in an enclosed space. They work in homes, offices, vehicles, and any building. They are especially useful in weak signal areas and in situations where building material makes it difficult for cell signal to penetrate.
If you suffer from weak cellular signal, they are the most surefire way to improve it.
For more details, please check out this article.
There are several reasons you might have weak cell signal. Some of them are obvious – you might live far away from a cell tower, for example – while others are not as clear.
They are:
Cell phone boosters can help with the majority of these. For help dealing with the others, or for more information, check out this article.
Cellular signal is measured in dB gain. The most reliable way to get accurate dB readings is to put your smartphone in Field Test Mode.
For a step-by-step walkthrough on accessing Field Test Mode on either an iPhone or Android, please see this article.
Cell phone signal boosters work by taking existing signal across various cellular bands and amplifying it.
Some signal boosters only work on certain bands, and boosters always vary in power and price. However, our boosters are guaranteed to work across all carrier bandwidths.
For more detail on how a cell signal booster works, check out this article.
We offer a wide variety of FCC-approved signal boosters, but they can be broken down into three main categories:
No! A cell phone booster boosts existing cellular signal and has no interaction with the internet whatsoever.
Absolutely not. You buy it, it’s yours for life.
Unfortunately, no. Cell phone signal boosters do not boost WiFi signal, just all types of cellular (5G, 4G) across all major US and Canadian carriers.
Starting in 2013, the FCC began regulating the cell phone signal booster industry in order to improve performance across the board and to prevent unregulated signal boosters from interfering with cell towers. One of the stipulations is to sell cell phone boosters as complete kits with the amplifiers, antennas, cabling, and other necessary parts for all consumer and commercial products.
Check out this article for more information on this and other FCC regulations regarding signal boosters.
Yes, it's highly recommended to let your carrier know you are using a signal booster as a courtesy and in case of liability should your booster affect the carrier tower in any way. This is highly unlikely with today’s automatic gain control signal boosters but might happen if you own a legacy model.
How to register (links):
For other carriers, please contact your carrier customer support.
Cell phone boosters are made to work indoors where radio waves can bounce and reach their destination – in this case, your cellular device.
They're not made to work outdoors, as this leads to open air path loss. You'd have to be tethered to the indoor antenna in order to see any improvement, and the amplifier requires power, anyway.
Check out this article for more information on why a signal booster cannot work outdoors.
Yes and no. A home booster and car booster are made for their specific purpose. However, there exist accessory kits that allow mobile boosters to be used indoors (as a desktop range booster).
Some home boosters have been retrofitted for RV stationary use.
4G is generally talk, text, and basic internet. LTE increased the data speeds, and 4G increased them even further and incorporated Voice Over LTE (VoLTE). 5G, when fully implemented, will increase data speeds tenfold. Many carriers have moved beyond 4G and are on the road to 5G speeds (though they are claiming it is 5G already).
Our boosters mainly operate across the 4G and 5G spectrum, meaning they will work on all talk, text, and 4G data. Certain bandwidths (such as T-Mobile's 600 MHz) are only covered by special boosters. However, they do function perfectly well on any 5G phone – you just won’t be receiving boosted speeds on 5G data.
Check out this article if you want to learn more about the differences between 4G, 5G, and LTE.
A 75 Ohm system is generally a consumer unit that uses RG-6 or RG-11 coaxial cable with F-connectors, with a typical cable run up to 50 ft. This is the most common consumer grade coaxial cable and is found in every standard cable box or satellite setup.
A 50 Ohm system is generally a commercial unit that uses Wilson400 cable with N-connectors, with a typical cable run of around 100 feet.
As a rule of thumb, a typical house (2-4K sq ft) can use a 75 Ohm system and see good results. For anything over 7K sq ft coverage, it's best to go with a 50 Ohm system since 50 Ohm systems and cables are better than at handling signal loss with long cable runs.
Check out this article if you want to learn more about 50 Ohm vs. 75 Ohm systems.
A single-user unit is generally a cradle boost device. This means the cell phone has to be sitting in the cradle to get any signal boost.
A multi-user unit is a wireless booster for up to 4 devices. This allows for wider coverage within the vehicle.
Automatic gain allows the machine to constantly monitor incoming signal to avoid either oscillation or overloading the cell tower. Adjustable gain allows for manual tweaking of the incoming dB gain, which allows for greater control and flexibility, for instance, preference for one carrier over another.
Check out this article if you want to learn more.
While using your phone in dB mode is generally a good way to find signal for most people, if you're an installer, contractor, or pro who really wants to be accurate, then getting a signal meter is a no-brainer.
It's a handheld device that pinpoints all 4G & 5G frequencies & bands, displays signal strength in dB, and accurately gives cell tower direction within a 45 to 90-degree spread.
Get a Signal Meter.
An M2M booster is an electronic device that improves the 4G, 4G LTE, and 5G data transmission for any M2M or IoT device that uses cellular signal.
Cellular M2M applications are used for many purposes such as:
Essentially, with lots of moving parts internally and externally, monitoring real-time data is a crucial part of any businesses that depends on cellular M2M.
Check out this article if you want to learn more about M2M signal boosters.