The best cell phone booster for rural areas
If you live in a rural area, as I do, then you are probably dealing with the problem of how to get cell phone service to your home when there is none. There may be some sort of service in your rural area, but if your cellular line- of- sight is blocked by a tree or a mountain, or the neatest tower is just too far away, the only way to get good service is by boosting the cell signal strength in your home. In most cases, boosting the signal inyour home will be the only remedy for getting the best cell phone reception in a rural or underserved area. Please let me share my voyage of discovery with you, so that you too can find the best cell phone booster for your particular rural area. With the right cell phone booster, there’s no reason for your cabin or cottage in woods should be without the best cell phone reception.
I say “cabin in the woods” because that’s where we live: in the woods. At the end of the road past the end of the road. Our problem is that we have trees (lots of them) and hills (lots of those as well). But people who live on the wide open plains have the same problem: we are just not cost-effective enough for cellular companies to invest any money in us. The “grid” does not include us, and, even though there are legislative mandates about supplying cell phone service in remote areas, it just not going to happen. So your only real answer is a phone signal booster. This is a device that boosts the cellular signal once it reaches your home. The signal is out there, even though it is weak, so all you have to do is grab it and amplify it. A cell phone booster is really the only way to go. It works for us, and it will work for you.
We have a rather large house, not a cabin, so we needed a signal booster that would reach all three floors. After a lot of research, we went with a WilsonAmplifiers WeBoost Connect 4G (470103)because It had internal and external antennas.As it turned out, we did not need an off the grid phone antenna, so now we use a WilsonAmplifiers WeBoost Connect 4G-X (471104). It works best for our large house. But, if you only have a one-floor cabin or cottage, you may not need the same model. Or you may only need a repeater, because you may live on the top of a mountain where a cell-tower is close-ish. Here is a quick chart of good cell phone boosters, with a kind of cheat sheet so you can decide for yourself which would work best for you. I have also included some industrial cell phone boosters for those who have businesses in underserved areas.
weBoost Connect 4G
Most cell phone boosters are basically a 3-part system that pulls in weak outside signal into your home or business, amplifies the signal and then rebroadcasts that signal thorough your cabin or cottage – or business. It also sends a stronger signal back to the cell tower, so people will be able to hear YOU for a change. It’s a one-time purchase for the consumer that will result in in better service, fewer dropped callsand better internet. These boosters work for all carriers in North America (USA and Canada), and there are no monthly fees involved. Best of all, a cell phone booster can be used without broadband or a Wi-Fi connection.
Our Reviews Of The Best Cell Phone Signal Booster For Remote Areas
The Three Best Sellers
weBoost Connect 4G 470103
OUR TOP PICK
Price : $$$
Best booster available on the market.
WeBoost Connect 4G-X (471104)
RUNNER UP
Price : $$
Good second for boosting signal in the woods.
WilsonPro 70 Plus (463127).
GOOD THIRTH
Price : $$
Good alternative to the two Weboost products.
WeBoost Connect 4G (470103)
This model works the best if you have a nice cabin or cottage in a rural area. It can generally cover 3000 to 4000 sq. ft. in a city or open area, and will cover less (2000- 3000 sq. ft.) in a rural or remote area. Iit’s perfect for a cottage or a cabin. It is the bestselling model for WilsonAmplifiers and it boosts the signal power 65 db. It comes with everything you need to set it up, which includes a multi-band Amplifier/Repeater, and inside wall antenna, an outside directional antenna (so you can aim it between trees) , a power supply, 30’ of low-loss coax cable, and, of course, an installation manual. Which you may not need if your spouse understands how it all works. It is also backed by a two-year warranty and there is 24 hour U.S. based customer support. (Please note: customer service cannot fix the fact that your power goes out in windstorms because you live in the woods!).
The equipment really is easy to install, and you will notice the difference instantly. You will no longer have to stand on one particular spot on your back porch just to make a phone call.
Quick Summary
Pros
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Cons
WilsonAmplifiers WeBoost Connect 4G-X (471104)
This is the most powerful home cell phone signal booster in America and the one we use now. It can cover homes and buildings up to 7500 sq. ft. We chose this system because, even though our “cabin” has a small foot print, it is a three – story house, and this system gave us the extra coverage that we needed. A 7000 sq. foot house (not in a heavily-wooded area) can expect to get 5 bars consistently. We almost always get 4 bars on our phones and the internet is great. This is the unit you want if you have something more than your average cabin-in-the –woods, or a farm house out in the middle of nowhere. It can also be used in condos, apartments and offices.
The WeBoost Connect 4G-X (471104) comes with everything you need for installation, which includes the Connect 4G-XAmplifier/Repeater, an inside wall antenna, an outside directional antenna, 75’ of low –loss coax, and the installation manual. But, once again, installation was really straight forward. This system really works well with areas that get very weak poor cell phone coverage. If you live in a rural area with extremely poor coverage (or lots of trees and mountains) the WeBoost Connect 4G-X is the best choice for better 3G & 4G LTE coverage. The average user can expect a +70 dB gain of power.
Quick Summary
Pros
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WilsonPro 70 Plus (463127)
This is a cell phone signal booster that you might want look at if you have a large farm, a rural business enterprise, or a ski resort on the top of a mountain. It’s really for people with commercial buildings up to 25,000 sq. ft. But it could be used for a rural school, for example, or a hospital or warehouse in a mountainous, rural or underserved area. It is the most popular commercial booster on the market. This system is also used in a lot of commercial and high-density residential building in urban areas because it boost the signal in buildings where the signal may be diminished by building materials that actually block the signal.
The WisonPro 70 Plus is recommend for: large multi-story buildings, industrial warehouses, schools, hospitals, hotels, and other large office spaces. And, of course, it could be used in any sort of large rural business, like a farm, dairy or mill. This system also has a geographical uplink & downlink meter and “self-optimizing design” to allow for easy installation. It works on any carrier in North America, and it works with any wireless cellular device. It is easy to install (though I think I would get help). The kit includes the Pro 70 Plus Amplifier/Repeater, and outside directional antenna, a lightning surge protector (for those of you on the top of mountains), an inside panel antenna, cable in 2’, 60’ and 75’ lengths, a power supply and the installation manual . Once installed, the consumer can expect up to +70 dB gain of power, which will make all the tenants in the condos at your ski-resort very happy.
Quick Summary
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SureCall Force5 2.0 3G & 4G
The SureCall system would be very useful for anyone who has any kind of business in a rural or remote area, or for people who might have a home-based business which relies on cell phone dependability. 1st signal booster that can be controlled by a mobile app, which could be a major asset to anyone who runs a rural or remote business. It can be configured for all indoor environments, which would come in handy on a large farm, for instance. And it is the first cell phone booster that has integrated remote access, so your system can be monitored by an off-site mobile app, or from your home computer! Pretty cool.
The SureCall Force 5 2.0 is for use in buildings with an area of between 25, 000 and 100,000 sq. ft. Each band in the system can be independently configured, and the system can accommodate up to 100 independent users simultaneously. The Built-in Sentry remote monitoring system that allows users to adjust the booster attenuation remotely. The system can be designed to fit in with any floor plan, so whether you have a vineyard, a ski resort, a saw mill, a hospital or a luxury vacation facility on the lake, the SureCall will work for you. The consumer must purchase the initial unit with the proper antenna, and the equipment that is include depends on the antenna and system that is purchased. So the system you buy will be dependent on the floor plan and the needs of the buyer. The system comes with a 3-year warranty that can be extended to 5 years.
Quick Summary
Pros
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Cons
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In the end, you will want to find out your needs and the barriers that you have to overcome in your rural or remote area, then chose the booster that will work best for you. You may need to go for an off the grid antenna because you are just too far away from the civilized world. Or a repeater might work best for you. But the bottom line is that an in-house cell phone booster is really the only thing that is going to improve your rural cell phone service- unless you can convince your local company to set up a tower on the edge of your property. Which ain’t gonna happen any time soon.
So if directions to your house are, “Go to the end of the paved road, then go to the end of the dirt road, turn right at the water tower” (which just happen to be the directions to our house) then you really need a signal booster.
