Cellular Extender

[babadoctor]

I live in a deadzone, and I was wondering if there was some sort of satellite dish I could buy or make to amplify cellular reception on my phone.

 

I don't want to spend 1,000$ for an overpriced GSM chip with an ethernet cord (e.g internet extenders).

 

Is this possible?

[Lurick]

Who is your cell provider?

I know with T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon (not sure about Sprint) you can get a repeater that tunnels the 4G signal over your internet connection.

[Alex Atkin UK]

Also do not fall into the trap of thinking you can buy an unofficial cell repeater, using them is illegal.

[Daniel644]

we have a cell repeater at the office, do you have anywhere that has enough signal to make a call out? repeaters can only repeat what they can receive so if you have ZERO reception anywhere then they are useless, also the indoor range on them is pretty garbage (like ours only works in the one room it's installed in), you have to be careful about positioning of the indoor unit so as to prevent it from causing a "feedback loop" with the outdoor unit. honestly better off on spending the money on newer cell phones, all the modern flagships from the last like 3 years (going as far back as at least the S7 and I think even the S6 but not sure on that one) have a feature burried in the settings called Wifi Calling, once enabled it allows that phone to send/receive text messages and make phone calls strictly through the home wifi with no need for any kind of cell service, this will give you MUCH BETTER coverage within your house and if you already have newer phones won't cost you anything (assuming you have internet/wifi at you house.

[Alex Atkin UK]

1 hour ago, Daniel644 said:

we have a cell repeater at the office, do you have anywhere that has enough signal to make a call out? repeaters can only repeat what they can receive so if you have ZERO reception anywhere then they are useless, also the indoor range on them is pretty garbage (like ours only works in the one room it's installed in), you have to be careful about positioning of the indoor unit so as to prevent it from causing a "feedback loop" with the outdoor unit. honestly better off on spending the money on newer cell phones, all the modern flagships from the last like 3 years (going as far back as at least the S7 and I think even the S6 but not sure on that one) have a feature burried in the settings called Wifi Calling, once enabled it allows that phone to send/receive text messages and make phone calls strictly through the home wifi with no need for any kind of cell service, this will give you MUCH BETTER coverage within your house and if you already have newer phones won't cost you anything (assuming you have internet/wifi at you house.

Is that an official one?  The official ones usually use your Internet connection to link back to their network so do not need actual cell reception to function.

[Daniel644]

1 hour ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Is that an official one?  The official ones usually use your Internet connection to link back to their network so do not need actual cell reception to function.

the repeater we have is a Wilson, it has no monthly fee, it does NOT use the internet, which is specifically what the OP said he didn't want, those ones supplied by the network provider cost an arm and a leg and then have insane monthly fees tacked on, this Wilson is a multi-network capable repeater, like those ones you say are "illegal" but we are out in the country and it barely gives any level of service inside the building and the neighboring houses are far enough away there is no chance it can cause any kind of interference, it's like an older version of this unit https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/weboost-home-3g-cell-phone-signal-booster-kit-473105/

you leave the room you lose signal.

[Alex Atkin UK]

5 hours ago, Daniel644 said:

the repeater we have is a Wilson, it has no monthly fee, it does NOT use the internet, which is specifically what the OP said he didn't want, those ones supplied by the network provider cost an arm and a leg and then have insane monthly fees tacked on, this Wilson is a multi-network capable repeater, like those ones you say are "illegal" but we are out in the country and it barely gives any level of service inside the building and the neighboring houses are far enough away there is no chance it can cause any kind of interference, it's like an older version of this unit https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/weboost-home-3g-cell-phone-signal-booster-kit-473105/

you leave the room you lose signal.

I'm pretty sure recommending such a device is against the terms and conditions of this forum, plus like I said, you are connecting an unauthorised repeater to the network which could get you hefty fines.

[Donut417]

18 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

I'm pretty sure recommending such a device is against the terms and conditions of this forum, plus like I said, you are connecting an unauthorised repeater to the network which could get you hefty fines.

Its a US company, at least according to the site, address in Texas (5010 Wright Road, Suite 100
Stafford, TX, 77477) . So I doubt they are doing anything illegal. Well, at least nothing the orange guy in the White house gives a shit about. 

 

6 hours ago, Daniel644 said:

those ones supplied by the network provider cost an arm and a leg and then have insane monthly fees tacked on

T Mobile only charges for the device and they dont charge a monthly fee. Just saying. 

 

 

However if the OP is not getting any signal even outside, they will have to use a carrier provided box. Because you cant amplify something that doesn't exist. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

This seems to give more specifics of legal/illegal use.

https://cellphonesignalbooster.us/blog/are-cell-phone-signal-boosters-illegal-or-legal-in-usa-canada/

[Daniel644]

6 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Its a US company, at least according to the site, address in Texas (5010 Wright Road, Suite 100
Stafford, TX, 77477) . So I doubt they are doing anything illegal. Well, at least nothing the orange guy in the White house gives a shit about. 

 

T Mobile only charges for the device and they dont charge a monthly fee. Just saying. 

 

 

However if the OP is not getting any signal even outside, they will have to use a carrier provided box. Because you cant amplify something that doesn't exist. 

can't speak for the OP, but NO ONE uses T-mobile around here and like I already said, the Wifi Calling feature of modern phones has pretty much eliminated the need for BOTH the traditional booster AND those Boosters that connect to the internet, I try to enable any phones that come into our office so they can then use the public wifi SSID so we can finally shut that thing off.

 

7 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

I'm pretty sure recommending such a device is against the terms and conditions of this forum, plus like I said, you are connecting an unauthorised repeater to the network which could get you hefty fines.

how so, it's a legally sold, legally acquired device that can easily be found on Amazon, so how that can be against the terms of this site I don't know, there is NOTHING ILLEGAL going on here otherwise the US company that makes these things would have been shut down.

 

5 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

This seems to give more specifics of legal/illegal use.

https://cellphonesignalbooster.us/blog/are-cell-phone-signal-boosters-illegal-or-legal-in-usa-canada/

DIRECTLY from that page:

Quote

" As long as you use an FCC approved signal booster such as Wilson Electronics or weBoost booster, boosting a signal in your home or car will not cause problems to the network. "

 

like I said ours IS A WILSON, we've had for like 5-10 years now, we didn't even have 4G in the county when we first set that thing up and 4G came into the county while I had my Droid Razr Maxx back in like 2012. the only thing stopping the use of Wilson units per that article is that you need to register them so they can tell you to shut them off if the network is having an issue in your area. they are not inherently illegal.

 

also from that article:

Quote

"At this time, the FCC likely will not pursue enforcement against current or prospective signal booster users unless it involves an instance of unresolved interference. If a wireless licensee or the FCC asks you to turn off your signal booster because it is causing interference to a wireless network, however, you must turn off your booster and leave it off until the interference problem can be resolved."

so per these two quotes, the Wilson units won't cause interference and the FCC won't enforce the requirement to register them since they don't cause interference, you should still register them of course but there is absolutely nothing illegal about using the Wilson units, at least not in the USA, can't speak for your laws in your country.

[babadoctor]

On 10/10/2018 at 10:39 PM, Alex Atkin UK said:

Also do not fall into the trap of thinking you can buy an unofficial cell repeater, using them is illegal.

Isn't it impossible for the FCC to detect it if it doesn't go farther than my house?

 

So why would it matter anyways?

[babadoctor]

On 10/11/2018 at 10:10 AM, Daniel644 said:

we have a cell repeater at the office, do you have anywhere that has enough signal to make a call out? repeaters can only repeat what they can receive so if you have ZERO reception anywhere then they are useless, also the indoor range on them is pretty garbage (like ours only works in the one room it's installed in), you have to be careful about positioning of the indoor unit so as to prevent it from causing a "feedback loop" with the outdoor unit. honestly better off on spending the money on newer cell phones, all the modern flagships from the last like 3 years (going as far back as at least the S7 and I think even the S6 but not sure on that one) have a feature burried in the settings called Wifi Calling, once enabled it allows that phone to send/receive text messages and make phone calls strictly through the home wifi with no need for any kind of cell service, this will give you MUCH BETTER coverage within your house and if you already have newer phones won't cost you anything (assuming you have internet/wifi at you house.

I have reception in certain parts of my house. The downstairs is where the issue is.

On 10/12/2018 at 2:11 AM, Daniel644 said:

can't speak for the OP, but NO ONE uses T-mobile around here and like I already said, the Wifi Calling feature of modern phones has pretty much eliminated the need for BOTH the traditional booster AND those Boosters that connect to the internet, I try to enable any phones that come into our office so they can then use the public wifi SSID so we can finally shut that thing off.

 

how so, it's a legally sold, legally acquired device that can easily be found on Amazon, so how that can be against the terms of this site I don't know, there is NOTHING ILLEGAL going on here otherwise the US company that makes these things would have been shut down.

 

DIRECTLY from that page:

 

like I said ours IS A WILSON, we've had for like 5-10 years now, we didn't even have 4G in the county when we first set that thing up and 4G came into the county while I had my Droid Razr Maxx back in like 2012. the only thing stopping the use of Wilson units per that article is that you need to register them so they can tell you to shut them off if the network is having an issue in your area. they are not inherently illegal.

 

also from that article:

so per these two quotes, the Wilson units won't cause interference and the FCC won't enforce the requirement to register them since they don't cause interference, you should still register them of course but there is absolutely nothing illegal about using the Wilson units, at least not in the USA, can't speak for your laws in your country.

In the US I think this is perfectly legal.

 

I don't think there is a good solution to this problem, so I think I will just give up.

 

Thanks anyways!

[Alex Atkin UK]

I'm confused, as we have ascertained they are indeed legal, is there something specific about the network that prevents you using one as suggested?  Sounds like exactly what you were looking for.

[Donut417]

2 hours ago, babadoctor said:

Isn't it impossible for the FCC to detect it if it doesn't go farther than my house?

 

So why would it matter anyways?

Nope. The FCC has its way. A guy in Florida a few years back got a $30K fine for a cellular jammer in his car. Another guy got in trouble because one of his coin miners was interfering with T Mobile's network in NYC.  

[Alex Atkin UK]

Yeah but as pointed out above, if its a verified device its legal.  I was working on out-of-date information, plus I think they are still illegal over here in the UK.