I’ve been having trouble with poor signal strength in some locations. RSSI is giving me values below 40% strength and quality (sometimes as low as 20%) is some locations. The Taoglas antenna has been pretty solid for me in most locations, but the most critical locations for me have been spotty at best. I need to stick to the this antenna due to form factor (these have to fit in some tight spots. and the small and flexible nature of the Taoglas is great).
So with that being said, does anyone have any experience with cell boosters? I know the antenna runs on bands 2, 4, and 12. Would an LTE cell booster help me out here? I know LTE CAT-M1 is mostly just a software overlay on the existing cell towers, so I’m hoping I can just amplify the existing LTE signal. Thanks!
A LTE booster will probably work. An older 2G/3G booster will probably not work because AT&T LTE Cat M1 uses the 700, 1700, and 1900 MHz bands. The 700 MHz and 1700 MHz bands were not previously used for 2G/3G but were used for LTE Cat 1 (phone LTE).
Thanks for the reply! Are there any special considerations I should make when selecting an LTE booster? Like should the booster support all 3 bands? Or will just two of the bands works as well?
I would go for all bands. Carriers typically don’t have service on every band on every tower, so it’s hard to predict what band will be used where. However, in rural areas be sure you have 700 MHz because 700 MHz for LTE and 850 MHz for 2G/3G are common in the United States because the lower frequency signals travel long distances better than 1900 MHz, allowing the towers to be farther apart.
Hi—bit of a longshot here, 3+ years later, but wondering if you’ve had any success, @afast? I know this is closed/solved, but I’m looking into this same question myself and thought I’d start here before creating my own post. I work at a university and my lab windows don’t open, so outside antennas aren’t an option, but maybe I can get one of the weBoost antennas set up inside. I thought this one (https://www.amazon.com/weBoost-Drive-470154-Signal-Booster/dp/B07PDVTMM6?ref_=ast_sto_dp) looked decent. Thanks for any info you’re able to provide!