Have a cell phone booster? Tell me about it.

We have T-Mobile with mediocre reception in our house. We've tried other cell phone providers with similar results. We have Comcast cable with a landline, which we rarely use and we never watch live TV anymore. I want to get rid of the landline and cable TV, and just have internet. Comcast bill for all 3 is obscene. My other half likes a landline as a backup because of the spotty cell reception in the house (currently 2 bars but will drop out in certain areas of the house). Looking at a cell tower finder map I can see several of them within a mile of my house.

So, my idea is to install a cell phone antenna on the roof to boost reception inside, then get rid of the landline. Does anyone have experience with one, and what do you think about it?

$139 Cell Phone Booster for Home | Up to 5500 sq ft | Boost 5G 4G LTE & 3G Signals on Band 2 4 5 12 13 17 | Compatible with All US&CA Carriers - Verizon,ATT, T-Mobile & More | FCC Approved

Amazon.com

 

T-Mobile doesn’t offer calls over WiFi? I have Cricket and also have poor reception but use WiFi to make/receive calls at home without issue.

 

I have the WeBoost on my truck. It seems to add about 1 bar of service in areas where there is really poor service. But if you’re in an area where there is absolutely no service it doesn’t do anything.

I don’t have any experience with one attached to a home though. What about starlink?

 

As long as you have cell service, any sort of booster should be ample enough to give you what you want. I think your only concern would be positioning it in the best place to get the best signal. But I'd assume any little bit should help your cause from the sounds of it.

My partner lived in rural WA for a while with a similar situation. Only 1 cell provider actually provided service to her house. Using a booster, she was able to strengthen it and make it actually usable in all spots around the house.

 

I’m moving to a place that doesn’t have copper phone lines or cell service for about 10 miles in any direction. It does have fiber though so I’m zeroing in in what streaming services we’re going to transition to. Will be doing a lot of wifi calling first sure…

I’d be interested in hearing how the cell booster works out if you go that route.


I got a couple of Garmin In Reach minis for emergency communication when traveling about in the dead zone. It’s satellite based and seemed the best choice for us.

Good luck

 

The internet says -

'No, you cannot directly use a T-Mobile phone with Comcast (Xfinity) Internet to make calls. Xfinity Mobile uses Verizon's network, not T-Mobile.You cannot simply switch a phone from T-Mobile to Xfinity Mobile by using your Comcast internet connection'.

 

Starlink would be expensive. More than what we are paying for Comcast now.

 

Same issue. T-Mobile has cell boosters. Plug into a modem and you’re good to go. Walk into any local T-Mobile store and pick one up.

 

In the long term, start researching fiber and how to get it to your community a few years ago. People we’re buying the place from were instrumental in getting fiber to their community. We wouldn’t be buying it without it. Right now my current town is being set up with it. It’s a game changer.

 

I'll have to call them. Searched their website and found mention that it was discontinued.

 

wifi calling doesn't matter what the ISP is

https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/wi-fi-calling-from-t-mobile

I gave up on boosters a long time ago and have been using wifi calling for years. Most of the big cell providers support it these days.

 

Im in a similar boat where I live. I did a lot of research on it last year but never pulled the trigger due to time and $$ constraints. Damn house projects...

Based on my research a directional antenna installed as high as you can is the way to go. Of course that requires aiming the antenna - a somewhat lengthy trial and error process.

I want to say there are a few folks on here in the WeBoost thread that have boosters for their home so they may chime in with real world experience