SuperBars Cell Phone Booster for Home - review

[NT2C]

So, we just bought one of these after being without internet or phone for 28 hours due to power being out in the area.  My wife works from home for the government and being out of touch that long is unacceptable for her.

I had to wait a few days for snow on the deck to melt to levels I could shovel but I've got the outside antenna up on the mast for the ham antenna I took down and the inside unit is mounted on the living room wall.  One of the two antennas is currently hiding behind a stuffed animal on our credenza.  It's ugly as hell, the cables are a mess, but I can at least function test it now (30-day free return period was dwindling) and pretty it up later.











Without any tuning at all (aimed the antenna in the approximate direction of the nearest tower) I went from 2-3 bars of 4G LTE (but only in some parts of the house - 0-1 in others) to 100%, full bars on 5G.  This shit is da bomb!  On 5G my phone is actually faster for data than it is on wifi!

I'll finish the install of this over the next month or so.  Cables will get cleaned up and trimmed to final lengths (advantages of being a ham and stocking all the needed tools and connectors), replace those straight antenna connections on the box with right-angle connections, hook the control box to its own UPS, and mount the second indoor antenna pointed to the garage area. For the ~$500 w/tax the unit cost I'm quite pleased with how it's performing.

[EBuff75]

I mentioned this to our CERT commander at the meeting last night.  He's been looking at options for our trailer and the mobile version could possibly work for that.  He went ahead and added it to our wish list, as we're going to start hitting up some businesses in the area to see if we can get some donations from them for equipment (we also are looking to get new radio batteries, generator, solar panels, first aid supplies, etc.).

[NapalmMan67]

Cool.  But that booster system costs twice as much as my cell phone did.       

[majorhavoc]

Cool.  But that booster system costs twice as much as my cell phone did.       

And it doesn't even play Freecell.

In all seriousness, cost relative to the cellphone itself is perhaps beside the point.  In an emergency, the key is having sufficient cellular connectivity. 

But just to clarify, NT2C.  What is the issue this booster is intended to address? I'm guessing it isn't to operate the cell phone as a cell phone so much as to gain sufficient signal strength to allow it to serve as an internet hotspot for you and your wife? 

Probably a dumb question to ask, but in my experience there's always at least a few people thankful I'm the guy willing to ask the dumb questions. 

[EBuff75]

Cool.  But that booster system costs twice as much as my cell phone did.       

Hope you don't have a flip phone, since most of those used 3G wireless, which is being shut off this year!  I guess there are some which use 4G, but a lot of them didn't and will have to be replaced.

Tech can be a pain to keep up with.  I had a very expensive middle-of-the-year last year when I bit the bullet and upgraded a bunch of my electronics: 

   
• New router (old one was about 4-5 years old and was failing)
• Laptop (almost 10 years old, reeeeeeeally slow, and wouldn't work on the new wi-fi)
• Cell phone (six years old and wouldn't run some apps which I needed for work and personal use)
• GPS (truck never had it and I was tired of using my cell phone only to have the signal go out in rural areas)
• Digital camera (old one was about 8-10 years old and had some dust in the lens/sensor which resulted in a blob in the middle of all my pictures)
• 4k Blu-ray player (my blu-ray player is still working, but is 7-8 years old and giving signs that it might be on the way out)

All of that was purchased within in about a 4 month period from last spring into early fall.  What made it worse was that all of the standards (or just sizes) had changed since I bought the previous versions, so I had to get new memory, cords, cases, etc. for all of it.

[NT2C]

Cool.  But that booster system costs twice as much as my cell phone did.       

Less than half what mine did. 

[NT2C]

Cool.  But that booster system costs twice as much as my cell phone did.       

And it doesn't even play Freecell.

In all seriousness, cost relative to the cellphone itself is perhaps beside the point.  In an emergency, the key is having sufficient cellular connectivity. 

But just to clarify, NT2C.  What is the issue this booster is intended to address? I'm guessing it isn't to operate the cell phone as a cell phone so much as to gain sufficient signal strength to allow it to serve as an internet hotspot for you and your wife? 

Probably a dumb question to ask, but in my experience there's always at least a few people thankful I'm the guy willing to ask the dumb questions. 

Primarily, to allow use of our phones as phones when we lose our power and cable, but also as a way to get internet during that same scenario.

With the recent snowstorm here in VA we lost power for a little over a day, and with it we also lost our cable internet.  (tree took out all the lines)  Normally a power outage doesn't kill internet for us and I can run our home network off our generator with no issues.  For that matter, our UPSs will run the system for a few hours.  But in this case we lost everything, and we're in a cell dead spot with little signal in the house.  This addresses that issue.  So long as there's a signal to be pulled in we can still have telephone and internet enough for my wife to work.  (her work cell is setup to act as a hotspot for her work laptop)

[NT2C]

Cool.  But that booster system costs twice as much as my cell phone did.       

Hope you don't have a flip phone, since most of those used 3G wireless, which is being shut off this year!  I guess there are some which use 4G, but a lot of them didn't and will have to be replaced.

Tech can be a pain to keep up with.  I had a very expensive middle-of-the-year last year when I bit the bullet and upgraded a bunch of my electronics: 

   
• New router (old one was about 4-5 years old and was failing)
• Laptop (almost 10 years old, reeeeeeeally slow, and wouldn't work on the new wi-fi)
• Cell phone (six years old and wouldn't run some apps which I needed for work and personal use)
• GPS (truck never had it and I was tired of using my cell phone only to have the signal go out in rural areas)
• Digital camera (old one was about 8-10 years old and had some dust in the lens/sensor which resulted in a blob in the middle of all my pictures)
• 4k Blu-ray player (my blu-ray player is still working, but is 7-8 years old and giving signs that it might be on the way out)

All of that was purchased within in about a 4 month period from last spring into early fall.  What made it worse was that all of the standards (or just sizes) had changed since I bought the previous versions, so I had to get new memory, cords, cases, etc. for all of it.

We just replaced the flip phone we'd purchased several years ago for my MIL, for this very reason.  Her new flip phone (yes, they still make them) is 4G and a bit fancier than her old one, but still simple enough for her to use.

[NapalmMan67]

No flip phone, but it is probably at least 5 years old, an LG Stylo 2.  I need an upgrade because it's started acting flaky the last month or so.

Dad just got rid of his flip phone a couple weeks ago, only because the key pad stopped working.  I've been helping him get used to the new one, and we both agree "smart" phone is quite humorous.

[Raptor]

While not exactly on topic it is close enough.

I have been watching Tesla's Starlink for a while and hoped I could use at my farm. Alas we are too far south. They keep promising it in the Fall...Fall of 2020 then Fall of 2021 now Fall of 2022.
https://www.whistleout.com/Internet/Guides/starlink-satellite-internet

That said if you can get it and people have set it and used it albeit not in the south US.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOMbJAXzGfs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spD4FLfi2a4
It does not have the lag times of Hughesnet and Viasat. It appears to be a great deal better than cell phone data plans due to the speed and higher data caps.

There is a new version of it coming out soon Starlin 2.0 with a smaller antenna and more availability.

You can see if you can get here:
https://www.starlink.com/

On topic:
I have used cell boosters for years on my boat. I have had mixed results with data but they do work well with voice.

I have a Netgear Nighthawk MR1100 mobile hotspot router that works well alone in the harbor or at my farm without an external antenna. When I plug it into the We-Boost amplifier and external antenna on the boat it will work within a few miles of the coast. However even over open water you need a cell tower for it to work.

IMO the simplest back up would be this hotspot. It runs on battery power. You could actually put it outside and up high on a ladder or on the roof and the wifi signal should be better. If you are worried about weather put it in a plastic tupperware container. The nighthawk can also have a cat 5 cable plugged into so you can mount it someplace high and run the cat 5 cable to an ethernet switch if it is too far away for wifi.   


That said no cell data it will not work.

That brings me to my final point. In a disaster you cannot count on cell tower functionality. in fact after Hurricane Ida cell service did exist but it was prioritized to emergency/official  phones. Cell service was basically out for the average user.

However I did figure out quickly that Hotspots like my Nighthawk were still functional even when my smart phone said no data or simply no service. The network permitted the hotspots while denying my smart phone.

Still If you can get Starlink that would be an ideal backup or even primary data service.     

[NT2C]

Because of the nature of her work, there's rules my wife has to follow regarding through what means she connects to the internet and what devices she's allowed to connect to her laptop, especially wireless devices.  If she's not connecting via a hardline to our router the only other permitted connection is via her government-issued phone. Since her job is what pays the bills we're kinda scrupulous about following their rules. 

If we did not have such firm rules on this site regarding political content and illegal acts I likely would never have created it, or been a member of ZS due to her job.

[Moab]

While not exactly on topic it is close enough.

I have been watching Tesla's Starlink for a while and hoped I could use at my farm. Alas we are too far south. They keep promising it in the Fall...Fall of 2020 then Fall of 2021 now Fall of 2022.
https://www.whistleout.com/Internet/Guides/starlink-satellite-internet

That said if you can get it and people have set it and used it albeit not in the south US.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOMbJAXzGfs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spD4FLfi2a4
It does not have the lag times of Hughesnet and Viasat. It appears to be a great deal better than cell phone data plans due to the speed and higher data caps.

There is a new version of it coming out soon Starlin 2.0 with a smaller antenna and more availability.

You can see if you can get here:
https://www.starlink.com/

On topic:
I have used cell boosters for years on my boat. I have had mixed results with data but they do work well with voice.

I have a Netgear Nighthawk MR1100 mobile hotspot router that works well alone in the harbor or at my farm without an external antenna. When I plug it into the We-Boost amplifier and external antenna on the boat it will work within a few miles of the coast. However even over open water you need a cell tower for it to work.

IMO the simplest back up would be this hotspot. It runs on battery power. You could actually put it outside and up high on a ladder or on the roof and the wifi signal should be better. If you are worried about weather put it in a plastic tupperware container. The nighthawk can also have a cat 5 cable plugged into so you can mount it someplace high and run the cat 5 cable to an ethernet switch if it is too far away for wifi.   


That said no cell data it will not work.

That brings me to my final point. In a disaster you cannot count on cell tower functionality. in fact after Hurricane Ida cell service did exist but it was prioritized to emergency/official  phones. Cell service was basically out for the average user.

However I did figure out quickly that Hotspots like my Nighthawk were still functional even when my smart phone said no data or simply no service. The network permitted the hotspots while denying my smart phone.

Still If you can get Starlink that would be an ideal backup or even primary data service.     

Starlink is the shit. Its the solution for rural internet. Ive watched a few demos on youtube. Its very cool. Its basically a little dish that finds elon musks satellites all on its own. Its like motorized. And you get dsl quality internet. But not good enough for gaming. Still. For a hundred a month it makes moving to an area without internet doable.

That cellphone booster looks awesome. I tried a malcolm cell booster at my dads a few years ago. It didnt work so well. They have obviously improved.