WeBoost questions/info thread

I don't have it mounted currently, but I was going to run it through a grommet under the cab right to that location. Given the orientation of yours, I would recommend this:

 

I have mine mounted this exact same way and it rattles like a mofo. Only having half the bracket on the prinsu bar doesnt make it very stable.

 

The bracket itself doesn’t rattle at all as long as the included screw is used, not just the pin. The two 1/4-20 carriage bolts are plenty of holding power.

I will need to remove the quick fist from the antenna shaft and add one to the antenna “can” though, as it does rattle a little.

 

Have you drove with it in the up right position?

 

FYI if at startup it blinks red and goes back to green, the antennas are too close to each other and the unit steps down the gain.
I've got it installed on the full boom at the end of the bedside railing and the internal at the handbrake where my cell cradle is and it still blinks with the feedback alert.
I'll try moving it down to the footwell but hope i don't have to mount my phone down there!

 

"you may start with a green light and see a blinking red light for roughly 7 seconds before it goes to either a solid green or solid red. If it ends up solid red, refer to the steps indicated above to resolve (unplug booster from power, separate antenna further apart from booster unit or create some shielding between the two units, then plug back in). If it ends up solid green, test your coverage - you may have enough for what you need!"

Ah, so it blinks red and green if you are testing it in an area with existing coverage.
Since the booster makes the gain decision as part of the power on self test, a person is going to find they get a certain amount of bonus range with it on but if they are traveling away from additional signals the booster will prematurely drop out.
The user will need to reboot the booster for it to recognize the need for high gain?

 

No. The quote in your post is referring to the external (the one that sends/receives signal from the cell towers) and internal antenna (the one that sends/receives data from your phone) of the WeBoost. If those two antennas (both physically connected to the WeBoost) are too close together, it won't work right.

 

my external is a few inches from the tailgate on full mast, the internal i moved all the way down to the passenger footwell.
i still get 7 seconds of blinking lights, so if thats too close together everyone with a tacoma and a weboost is running on low gain and not getting their money's worth

This is happening in my garage where i normally have signal and i'm just powering up the weboost. My understanding was that the self test and gain drop was only for the 2 antennas, but that text implies that the weboost will reduce power in areas with strong cell signals as well

 

I find that odd. On my Tundra CM, I have my external antenna in the middle of my canopy on my roof rack, and the internal antenna at the middle of my cab roof tucked in above my overhead console, box is under my rear passenger seat. I have no issues with any blinking lights saying they are too close.
I do have mine wired through a dash mounted switch rather than the ignition. That way I can turn it on/off when I am in the mountains or city and with the ignition turned off.

 

My external antenna is right behind the cab and the internal antenna is down by the cupholders. No issues. FWIW, mine is on a switch as well.

Maybe try out in the open instead of in your garage? If that doesn't help, I'd contact Wilson/WeBoost to troubleshoot.

 

The latest version includes a cig adapter with onboard switch, so i can turn it on and off easily. To clarify, when i say blinking it blinks green/red on power up for 7 seconds and then stays green the remaining time power is on.
My interpretation of the instructions are that it will be solid red if its a antenna distance issue, stays green if there is a stronger tower nearby. The blinking indicates the low gain mode switch by channel, 12/17/etc..
But say you get off the highway and gas up, likely a tower nearby, weboost goes low gain.. drive 100 miles and there is no tower, to trigger high gain, you have to reboot.

 

That seems counterintuitive. Are you asking or telling? I think you're telling. If so, can you back that up? I don't know where my manual is, so I can't refer to that. I went back and read your earlier post and that wasn't my take away. Not necessarily trying to challenge you, just wanting to make sure I understand.

 

I was asking and presenting my interpretation as context.
Finally got the time to contact weboost support about it.
The response was that the blinks indicate whether the booster was able to "priority cue" itself onto the closest tower, each blink is a different frequency check.
It drops the gain on red as a result of this but it(gain) is not the actual function of the blinking lights.

it will step up power to maintain acquisition with a cell site unless a stronger tower is found where it might drop to low gain again depending on how strong the signal is.
I've driven around with it for a couple months now and power consumption does fluctuate between 12-20 watts depending on where i'm at so it follows what they said.
For the remoteish areas i travel the weboost works for basic needs and the difference is on/off.. on, can send a text, off no signal, no text..
Just not enough for remote desktop (clutches stapler)

 

I’ve seen videos of the antenna self-destructing—especially during the fold-down process. Sounded like it was pretty quick and aggressive with the wear and tear.

 

probably because the springy part is only intended for 1 segment and many use the full length and that force is directed on to the tip which is a hollowed out C for the cable. its strongest in 1 direction only and weakest on 2 sides.
Also seems like the pole is a metal tube sleeved in some other material

 

Hey fellas, anyone have a weboost Home unit they use regularly? Thoughts or opinions on its performance vs price point? The Home Complete seems like the flagship version with the most range and broadcast power, but its $999.99. The Home Multiroom seems a bit more reasonable at $569.99

Im starting to research them for my folks. Their house has always been a dead zone with one bar, dropped calls, difficult sending text messages etc.

 

Hey ZacK, I actually set up the multiroom system for a friend of mine in her home. she was getting dropped calls all the time and even with her carrier, she was only getting about one bar out of five. I told her specifically that she could do calling over Wi-Fi to be able to help the situation, but she didn't want to do that due to privacy concerns. Setting up the system was actually fairly easy. It comes with an app that you can try to locate the nearest cell phone tower and have the outside antenna pointing to that general direction. It wasn't necessarily a "oh my gosh you have to get this right away and it fixed her entire problem" type of thing, but it definitely boosted her performance. She wasn't getting as many dropped calls at her home and it took that one little bar that she was getting and amplified it to the point where she could at least be in certain rooms of her house and speak on her phone. If there is absently no cell phone service at all where your parents are, a we boost is not going to help. There definitely needs to be some type of small amount of either 3G, 4G, 5G or one bar at a five for it to work.

 

Yup. Thats about what I expected. They typically have 1 bar of 4G, sometimes 2 bars, but sometimes it will drop data all together.

I think they would be a good candidate for it if we could get a mast on top of the house. Just enough to get over the knoll then it would be looking almost directly at a cell tower in the distance.

 

I have it in my home; internet and power can be a little intermittent where I'm at so it's essentially our back up (otherwise I typically rely on Wi-Fi calling)

In the winter, we can sometimes maybe get 1 bar of service inside (standing near a back corner window); but once spring arrives and foliage comes in, nada. Outside can usually find 1-2 bars.

Post we-boost install (home multiroom); service works perfectly fine throughout the entire house. Sure, the data speeds aren't blazing fast, but they are very useable. Just make sure to take your time pointing the external antenna towards your nearest tower; and high enough so there's not another home/structure in it's path

 

That's great feedback that the multiroom can cover the whole house. Assuming a 2 floor house, did you put the booster & interior antenna on the 1st or 2nd floor?