Do you have experience with cell phone boosters?

[MN_Ben]

I live in a dead zone, or nearly dead. One block in any direction and the signal jumps up. Just not in my little community.
Are any of you familiar with cell phone boosters? My carrier is Straight talk and I am not going to change carriers. Currently doing some research on what may be available for me, what works, and what doesn't.
Ben

[MN_Ben]

I jumped off the fence and got the weboost 3g Home unit. Satisfied customer.

[markchengr]

We got the Verizon network extender for free but there's a strategy to do it. You have to call Verizon's "Customer Retention" number and tell them you are dropping them if they don't do something to improve your service. You can get the number at a Verizon store. Now we can get good service in our home. -Mark.

[MN_Ben]

Thank you for the reply. I am still on the fence.

[N7SJN]

We also use a Wilson with a truckers antenna. Has worked well for us doing our coast to coast tour.

[Jagtech]

I bought a Phonetone booster on Amazon recently. Very pleased with it. We live almost 16 miles from the nearest cell tower, in a bit of a valley. Without the booster, reception was quite spotty. Now I never lose a call, always have good signal strength.

[crcr]

Wilson Sleek, works very good for us. If you get one, throw out the stubby antenna that came with it, call Wilson, and upgrade to the model of better antenna they recommend for your model of Sleek. They'll give you the model #, and you can usually buy it cheaper on Amazon than direct from Wilson.

When we set up camping, I have a painter's extendable pole with a 4" dia pc of sheet metal at the top (magnet antenna supposed to be attached to same per instructions) stuck 4' in the air above our RV. The pole fits nicely in a flagpole holder attached to the RV rear bumper.

[7ofus]

2oldman wrote:
Many people claim benefit from the Wilson Sleek. I have one, along with all manner of antennas and amps from years past, and none of them every did much of anything for me.

Same for me. I thought I was the only one who saw no improvement.

[Chrisatthebeach]

magic43 wrote:
I have a Wilson booster here at home, at the cabin, (with omni-directional antennas) and another in the truck. Yes, they will boost the signal from virtually nothing to several bars.

I did the same before we moved into the house. I was at a campground that did not get strong Verizon reception. The Wilson booster took care of the issue and also helped my mi-fi get better data connection as well.
When I upgraded to the 4G Motorola Droid I used it for a wireless hotspot and it worked flawlessly with the booster. I still take it with us when we travel in the event there is a weak signal we can power up and be connected.

[magic43]

I have a Wilson booster here at home, at the cabin, (with omni-directional antennas) and another in the truck. Yes, they will boost the signal from virtually nothing to several bars.

[allenm]

I tried one about 3 years ago. I forget the model, but it was one of best available at that time and expensive.

Don't know if they still work this way, but it kind of stayed in a standby mode watching for a cellular call being placed or being received. Then when it detected a call, it would start relaying an amplified signal. It took a few seconds for that to happen.

That was not a problem making a call. I just waited for the boost. But it was a big problem receiving a call. Most of the time the incoming call would drop due to a weak signal before the booster kicked in.

Afters days talking to their support and trying things, I took it back for a refund. Too bad, because it really could boost a 1 bar signal up to 5 bars. I never did understand why it had a delay on boost. Maybe something to do with the FCC.

[Executive45]

We use a Wilson Amp and a trucker antenna mounted on a 10' PVC pole that I bungee to the ladder. Run the cable thru the engine compartment to the inside antenna. Boosts a one bar signal to usually 4-5. Data is a different matter, but for phone usage, it works well.....Dennis

[MrWizard]

Net work extender
It uses your home internet to provide a connection to the Verizon network
Essentially it's Voip , only better quality
Wi-Fi from your cell phone to the extender, extender to Verizon via internet, the call is then handled as IF it originated at the cell tower
Same thing for incoming
Verizon r receives a call for your number, sends out via internet to the extender, which sends it to your phone via Wi-Fi

Works well if you have good home internet

I have the Wilson sleek, but would suggest a different device for home use
Something with a wider area coverage

[RoyF]

http://cell-phone-booster-review.toptenreviews.com is a good source of information.

I used to use a Smooth Talker, and found that it added two bars to a weak signal, which meant that some "no signals" could be boosted to a usable two bars. (I don't know much about phones; my phone showed up to five bars for signal strength, and two bars were needed to have a decent connection.)

That was an analog phone. My Smooth Talker would not work with a digital phone. I never upgraded to a digital-compatible Smooth Talker, so my information may be somewhat dated.

[the_bear_II]

One of the sites I work at has two buildings. One building has no cell phone booster and I get no cell phone signal. The other building has a cell phone booster and I get a strong signal. The buildings are only 25 ft apart.

The booster works well.