weboost......doesn't boost.

[Vladimir]

We are leaving for Alaska in a couple of days. I purchased a weboost Drive 4G-M booster from Wilson Electronics.

 

All four lights light up.

 

I used it at my cabin which is a very marginal site. Generally, a 1X connection. No bars showing. No boost showed up. I was not concerned since the signal is so marginal there and probably a reflection from the tower.

 

However, I at our sticks and bricks house we have three bars service on my wife's IPHONE 6 and -102 db on the metering program on my IPHONE 5s without the eboost. When I turn it on, NOTHING HAPPENS, the three bars service remains at three bars and the -102 db reading on my IPHONE remains right there. That number did fluctuate down to -104 as I moved around the truck, but I suspect that is just measurement error.

 

Anybody have any ideas that I can fix today!! Wilson has had good customer service previously, but now we have run out of time for swaps and those type of solutions. Looks like a long trip to Alaska with no service!!

 

Thanks.

[TXiceman]

have you talked to Wilson about the issues? They are pretty helpful.

 

Ken

[Vladimir]

No today is a holiday. Yes, I have been impressed with their service.

[Al F]

We never used our cell phone amp coming from Sumas, WA to Dawson Creek, BC and then on the AK Hwy to Tok, AK. We had a pretty good signal in every large town, such as Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Fort Nelson, Watson Lake, Whitehorse, etc. One thing though we didn't get the signal until we were within about 5 miles of each town. We use Verizon for our carrier. Our MiFi usually showed GSM service.

Edited July 4, 2016 by Al Florida

[Max Signal]

We are leaving for Alaska in a couple of days. I purchased a weboost Drive 4G-M booster from Wilson Electronics.

 

All four lights light up.

 

I used it at my cabin which is a very marginal site. Generally, a 1X connection. No bars showing. No boost showed up. I was not concerned since the signal is so marginal there and probably a reflection from the tower.

 

However, I at our sticks and bricks house we have three bars service on my wife's IPHONE 6 and -102 db on the metering program on my IPHONE 5s without the eboost. When I turn it on, NOTHING HAPPENS, the three bars service remains at three bars and the -102 db reading on my IPHONE remains right there. That number did fluctuate down to -104 as I moved around the truck, but I suspect that is just measurement error.

 

Anybody have any ideas that I can fix today!! Wilson has had good customer service previously, but now we have run out of time for swaps and those type of solutions. Looks like a long trip to Alaska with no service!!

 

Thanks.

Wilson / Weboost boosters need a donor signal of at least -104 to function according to their website . I would try tweaking the outside antenna location for a sweet spot to make sure it is operating properly.

[Vladimir]

Thanks....I had a -102 but that could easily be the measuring error.

 

Any hints on finding the sweet spot?? How much boost in dB should I expect on the meter if it is functioning correctly.

[Max Signal]

Thanks....I had a -102 but that could easily be the measuring error.

 

Any hints on finding the sweet spot?? How much boost in dB should I expect on the meter if it is functioning correctly.

Just take your smart phone up there and look for best signal . Here are some apps you can use . Open Signal , Network Signal Info , Real signal . I believe they are free in the App store

[Vladimir]

I did download an app for the phone or maybe it was just the IPHONE to reflect signal instead of bars....that was it.

 

I guess I should download an app.....which one is simple, and basic for those without networking backgrounds?

[Max Signal]

I did download an app for the phone or maybe it was just the IPHONE to reflect signal instead of bars....that was it.

 

I guess I should download an app.....which one is simple, and basic for those without networking backgrounds?

I can't remember . There is only 1 Iphone app as far as I know . Samsung user myself . Perhaps some in Apple forums might know of more RF signal strength apps. Sorry I could not be more help.

[Technomadia]

To view the signal strength in dBs instead of bars on an iOS device (such as an iPhone), you have to force the device into 'field test' mode.

 

We have that procedure documented here:

Field Test Mode: db Signal Strength vs Bars

[docj]

FWIW Gord had previously posted that under the new FCC rules, these amplifiers only provide the boost necessary to get good reception and, as a result, might not appear to give the same kind of amplification we've all become accustomed to with older devices.

 

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know much about how LTE systems choose cells, etc, but I've been reading what I can find on the topic so I can better understand the behavior of my new Maximum Signal amp. From what I've read it appears that we're oversimplifying the problem if we focus entirely on absolute signal strength, a parameter often labeled RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power ). In selecting what cell to use the phone also evaluates RSRQ (Received Signal Reference Quality) which is a measure of signal to noise and other factors.

 

At my current site the RSPR is only ~-102dBm but the RSRQ is a rock solid -7dB which is representative of an excellent signal even though the absolute power is only marginal. Using SignalCheck Pro, the SNR ranges between ~17-22dB.

 

By way of contrast, we were downtown yesterday evening where the RSRP was -82dBm but the RSRQ was in the -10dB range and the SNR was down around 10dB. So the absolute power level of the signal was higher but the overall quality was lower.

 

If I understand this correctly, then these results would indicate why my Maximum Signal amp does not appear to be amplifying the signal at our site--it doesn't need to! If there's already an excellent RSRQ then, I would assume, there's simply no need to do anything.

 

If I have understood all of this correctly, it would also explain why SignalCheck often sees a neighboring cell with a higher RSPR than the cell I'm connected to. I assume that the RSRQ of that cell isn't as good so it's ignored even though it's signal is usually stronger.

 

OTOH if I've completely messed up this explanation of LTE signal parameters then I would welcome being corrected! I freely admit that this is pretty sophisticated stuff and my "training" is limited to what I can read on the internet which always is dangerous.

Edited July 6, 2016 by docj

[JRP]

Vladimir,

 

just to clarify... the WeBoost Drive Booster is intended for a specific use, inside the small confines of a vehicle. Its user guide states that the cell device using the boosted signal, must be no less than 18" away from the interior antenna and no more than 36" away; that's not a very large area of coverage. Also, if you're using the mini mag outside antenna that came with the kit, it requires mounting on a metal surface. That antenna needs a metallic "ground plane" , so if the vehicle roof isn't metal, you must provide a metal mounting plate at least 12" x 12". There are other optional Wilson antenna that do not require a ground plane if that's an issue. Personally I've never had very good results with that mini mag antenna, and I much prefer the Truckers antenna.

How much signal improvement should you see? that's completely dependent on the specific location conditions. That booster is rated for max 50 db but that's under optimum/perfect conditions only found in a lab. In reality you might get half that 20-25db improvement under the right conditions or you might only get 10db improvement under less than good conditions. Since your raw signal is near the minimum for this unit to function, its not surprising you get very little improvement at that first location. at the other location you may have an installation issue or a defect. WeBoost/Wilson has a good tech support group.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Jim2

[Dale P]

The biggest problem, most of the roads you will be on - DO NOT HAVE CELL TOWERS.

Only the mayor cities do, and I mean Mayor. On the Cassiar Highway there are NO cell towers.

We purchase a burner SIM card. Not once did we use it.

[Vladimir]

Thanks to Gord, Jim2, and others for their comments.

 

After THREE tech support people and TWO days of time this is what I learned from the experience. Please correct me or ask for clarification if you don't understand my comments....English is my fourth language!

 

The problem appears to be limited to IPhones according to Wilson Tech Support. They said their amplifier worked fine....it is a IPhone issue. As such, they do not plan to address or fix the problem.

 

I do have thirty days to decide if I want to return the eboost to Amazon. BTW...Amazon was great in getting a replacement booster to us in one day so we could leave for Alaska.

 

Basically it appears the eboost is quickly shifting from 4g to 3g and then gives up on boosting the signal. On the advice of tech support we went into settings and forced LTE to OFF or DATA ONLY for enabling LTE. In that mode, the Voice "boost" held and did NOT flicker as previously. It looks like the Voice boost works fine.

 

Tech support did think that I was NOT getting 4G with DATA ONLY. I did do a speed test and got 20 Mbps. Not sure if that was 3G or 4G.

 

All this was on one IPhone only and now I have to see if it works on MINE.

 

I did learn that the manual is poorly written. The 18-36 inch distance standard for the transmitting antenna is bogus. Both tech support guys had me "GLUE" the transmitting antenna to the back of the phone. I pointed out to them that this made it operate as a cradle!! and not a wireless connection

 

I have been pleased with Wilson service in the past, but this was NOT a pleasant experience particularly given our time frames for leaving. At this point I think I am heading north with the eboost and will decide on later on sending it back to Amazon.

 

Good luck.

 

Please comment or ask questions. Really I do not have that good of a tech background so it would be helpful for me to better understand the situation.

 

ps...Dale...thanks. I suspected that was the case. I have had great success with Wilson amplifiers in the past in mountain and rural areas. I was just wishin and hoping.

Edited July 9, 2016 by Vladimir

[Biker56]

I have had a Wilson DT4G(home office) $367.69 for 1 1/2 years now. It has the rectangle outside antenna that I mounted on my Batwing braces.

I really wanted to get a Max AMP but they wasn't available at the time. And would be much more $$$

 

It has always given some boost at most places. Where i am now it is really not needed.

Inside the MH with boost on I get a -99 and outside away from the MH a -108 on my iPhone 6 Plus on Sprint.

Edited July 9, 2016 by Biker56

[Technomadia]

The problem appears to be limited to IPhones according to Wilson Tech Support. They said their amplifier worked fine....it is a IPhone issue. As such, they do not plan to address or fix the problem.

 

I'm a bit confused as to what possible issue weBoost support might be referring to. We use our iPhones very successfully with boosters all the time, and have never had any problems unique to an iPhone before.

 

Just last night we started gathering data for our next round of booster and antenna testing for RVMobileInternet.com - among other tests, we'll be putting the Max-Amp Mobile and the weBoost Drive 4G-X head-to-head.

 

Here's just one example data point showing the sort of impact we were seeing with our iPhone 6S on AT&T:

 

With no booster:

-119dB LTE Band 12 - 1 bar displayed - 4.57Mbps download speed, 0.04Mbps upload speed. Very unreliable connection.

 

Turning on the weBoost Drive 4G-X:

-67dB LTE Band 12 - 5 bars displayed - 35.73Mbps download speed, 12.70Mbps upload speed. Rock solid connection.

 

 

In this particular test scenario we had the iPhone right on top of the indoor patch antenna, but we've also been testing at various distances from the indoor antenna too.

 

Overall - without a booster and/or external antenna AT&T was borderline unusable where we are at. And with a booster, the connection was fast and glorious.

 

If you are not seeing any impact at all, I can only guess that you must have gotten a defective device. Don't let weBoost support pin the blame on your phone!

 

Cheers,

- Chris

[Vladimir]

 

If you are not seeing any impact at all, I can only guess that you must have gotten a defective device. Don't let weBoost support pin the blame on your phone!

 

Cheers,

- Chris

 

Yeah, that is what I told them. Are you going to walk away from 80% of the smartphone market?? The answer was yes....not our problem. But those are the folks "working" for the company I suspect management might feel different about walking away from the IPHONE market.

 

We are finally leaving tomorrow....so we shall see.

[Vladimir]

First night on the road update.

 

Camped at my spring/fall fly fishing lake. Cell phone previously showed no service. Period. In twenty years....never had a signal.

 

With eboost....had a voice connection and actually completed a phone call. I tried sending a text message with photo attached that failed. It did download my inbox, but I could not connect to the internet.

 

Right now, it appears data is NOT getting a boost. I am impressed with the voice boost.

 

Tomorrow Canada.

[Vladimir]

Just north of 100 mile house in BC.

 

Looks like everything is working fine with eboost including data.

[Vladimir]

Came back from Alaska a couple of weeks ago.

 

Eboost worked great on the trip. It was really impressive on flat ground. Similar to the data bast Chris was reporting.

 

The boost mode did not work in several cases UNTIL I went ahead and dialed a number. Then the boost would kick in....anybody have an idea of why that happens?? I am beginning to suspect that was the problem with the units when I was testing in my driveway.

[Max Signal]

Came back from Alaska a couple of weeks ago.

 

Eboost worked great on the trip. It was really impressive on flat ground. Similar to the data bast Chris was reporting.

 

The boost mode did not work in several cases UNTIL I went ahead and dialed a number. Then the boost would kick in....anybody have an idea of why that happens?? I am beginning to suspect that was the problem with the units when I was testing in my driveway.

Sounds like outgoing side of amp is malfunctioning.

[Vladimir]

So why was it random??

 

I was always on the edge of any reception.. Could that be the cause??

[Max Signal]

So why was it random??

 

I was always on the edge of any reception.. Could that be the cause??

I f you don't have the problem using phone in good reception are . I feel the amplifier is not functioning properly

[BenRiley]

Guys, you must check out the new one they have called, "weBoost Reach" which apparently "reaches" out farther because it is more powerful than all their previous versions of car cell phone boosters:

https://www.signalbooster.com/collections/weboost-drive-reach-470154-and-drive-reach-fleet-470254
 

[Kirk W]

Just checked it out and they sure are proud of them!