wilson electronics 4G-X RV cellular signal booster

[bass_n_bob]

has anyone tried one of these signal boosters made for RV's? Wondering if I can stream HULU using this in combination with my Verizon MIFI? The company Rep said "maybe". Before spending $500 I would like to know if anyone has success with this or a similar unit.
THX

[ktmrfs]

what I have found is that in areas with poor signal that often means you only have one base station you can connect with. Now, if the area has limited users, once connected with a good booster you will likely get decent data rates for web, but often not for streaming.

The bad situation we experienced this week was a location with one distant base station, close enough to give marginal voice and a campground with 300+ sites......... unboosted signal level for verizon or ATT was around -125db. marginal for voice, not much use for any web access. So...... even with the booster and signal levels near -70db (very good) voice was now great, texting was great, messages with pictures fine, web access, well in the morning and near lunch or dinner very very very slow. Often slow enough for browser to time out. base station was overloaded. in between times web access was marginally adequate for most uses. No way to stream video. The base station also served a significant portion of the local town.

Turns out both Verizon and ATT had similar poor reception and with our verizon phones and web was virtually the same as friends with ATT phones when they used our trailer for phone/text/web hot spots.

My overall experience with the wilson RV unit, which I've used for several years, is that it very often will get you voice and adequate web access in remote location. But don't expect it to get you the ability to stream anything.

[JiminDenver]

It wasn't how far the laptop was from your internet device, it was how far the device was from the in door antenna. (unless your laptop used a sim card to be its own internet device)

In any event I hope that they improved on the design.

[Big_Katuna]

They must have improved the design. My new Weboost RV advertises 4-10’ range and it works fine 10’ away. My DW works on her laptop uploading and downloading pix all day 10’ away.

[JiminDenver]

I use a old Wilson Sleek cradle model with a directional antenna. I was asked to review the RV unit a few years back. What I found was that the further away from the indoor antenna the weaker the signal. You can get the same boost as the cradle, maybe a bit better but your device has to be right on the in door antenna. Even a 6 inch difference make a huge change. It is pretty decent for 3 to 4 feet but does not flood the RV like you think it would.

I did not keep it due to the much bulkier package and double the power requirements.

[ependydad]

Before you invest in that, consider this $30 MIMO antenna. This thing is worth its weight in gold in improvements in speed in MANY areas.

https://learntorv.com/netgear-hotspot-antenna/

It plugs directly into your hotspot.

My family and I fulltime and all of our TV content is streamed from Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube. I have both a Verizon Jetpack and an AT&T Hotspot device depending on which provider has better service.

There are cases when the booster can help, but for the most part- this antenna beats it.

[pianotuna]

If using data the design of the weboost rv unit may slow it down. If there is poor signal it may allow you to connect where this was not possible before and have some data capabilities.

I dislike the "broadcast" side antenna on mine. You have to be not closer than 15 inches--but not farther than 30 inches for best results.

The external antenna needs to be a long way from the internal antenna as well.

The external antenna needs to be on a metal plate to provide a ground plane. I use a pizza pan from a dollar store.

I have one phone I use mostly for data. I've had good success putting it in a plastic bag after activating the wifi hotspot feature and placing it as high as I can get it on a nearby tree.

[stevepk]

The thing to remember about these boosters is - no signal, no boost. Low signal, low boost

[pinesman]

I do not have any db numbers at the moment. What I do know is I had no signal at all and could not get a text or call at all in my shop (steel building) before. Now texts and calls come in fine. Data is a little slow but it is slow in the house with the other system also. If I can remember when I get home, I will try to get some numbers. It consists of a yagi antenna, and inside booster with attached antenna. Something like this

[Big_Katuna]

pinesman wrote:
I have a WeBoost system on my house which is in a very rural area and it drastically improves reception. I also have a steel shop where I had no reception. I did not want to spend $500 for another WeBoost so I took a chance on a $50 unit on ebay. I really can't tell much difference in the $500 unit in the house and the $50 unit in my shop. I am not saying the WeBoost is not better, just saying in my case there is not much difference. I just was not willing to accept that Wilson/WeBoost is the only company with the technology to boost a phone signal.

Could we get some before / after speed test or dB numbers?
Does it have an amp or is it an antenna?

[pinesman]

I have a WeBoost system on my house which is in a very rural area and it drastically improves reception. I also have a steel shop where I had no reception. I did not want to spend $500 for another WeBoost so I took a chance on a $50 unit on ebay. I really can't tell much difference in the $500 unit in the house and the $50 unit in my shop. I am not saying the WeBoost is not better, just saying in my case there is not much difference. I just was not willing to accept that Wilson/WeBoost is the only company with the technology to boost a phone signal.

[rdhetrick]

I've had one for about 3 years. I use it with both Verizon and AT&T hotspots and phones. My experience has been mixed:

In metropolitan areas, it usually increases signal strength but has minimal to no impact on data speed - and in many cases it has REDUCED speed. I suspect this is due to network congestion and the MIMO operation of modern hotspots.

In rural/remote areas, I have seen some good improvement in both signal and speed. It boosted a practically unusable signal to an acceptable level. As the carriers increase coverage, these situations are far less frequent today than several years ago.

If you're in a place with no signal at all, it won't help.

All in all, I would get one again since I need the connectivity for business. It's definitely nice to have on the few occasions when I needed it.

[Big_Katuna]

I bought one at the beginning our our three month trip. I would absolutely buy it again.

I have an ATT based WiFi puck and two Verizon iPhone 8’s.

To answer your question, I can give you a firm maybe.
There are many factors besides signal strength. Many “Unlimited” plans aren’t really unlimited; they will throttle you at certain data levels or cell tower traffic so strength isn’t always the challenge. Where I’m at now, I was seeing 15-20 mbs data rates then it slowed down until evening. It happened almost daily.

So I bought the OTR.com unlimited ATT puck. No throttling or caps or contract, $60/mo.

Back to the Weboost. It ALWAYS has improved data speed so far even when I have four bars. Where it REALLY shines is when you have a poor, weak slow connection.
I have several times had speeds so slow Facebook wouldn’t load. Setup the Weboost and get 5-10 MBs or better. Fast enough for streaming HD.
Totally repeatable. Plug it in and your good, unplug it and it’s .5 MBs.

I would totally buy again.