Signal booster for rural areas? S8 Verizon. - Samsung Galaxy S8 Questions and Answers

anyone care to help me out with pointing me to a great cell signal booster for a great price so i can enjoy my S8 a bit more this week when i'm at my place in the country? please? lol.
Thanks!

If you need just cell signal and not data, you can turn on wifi calling and just get a good wifi router. If you need actual verizon data, get their 4g booster. Hook it up to your internet and you are good to go (make sure its near the line of site to the sky for gps on the device, its required to enable. (not on your phone, but the booster))
I'm out in the country too (actually outside having a fire) and i sold my 3g booster and just use wifi. The wifi calling feature verizon has works great.

https://www.verizonwireless.com/home-services/hotspots/network-extenders/

spinkick said:
If you need just cell signal and not data, you can turn on wifi calling and just get a good wifi router. If you need actual verizon data, get their 4g booster. Hook it up to your internet and you are good to go (make sure its near the line of site to the sky for gps on the device, its required to enable. (not on your phone, but the booster))
I'm out in the country too (actually outside having a fire) and i sold my 3g booster and just use wifi. The wifi calling feature verizon has works great.
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There's no cell signal and no internet, the nearest tower is on the other side of the hill in the valley, my neighbors all have boosters and get 4g and cell signals...but no one has a cable or wired internet connection.
I've see a few verizon branded ones on Amazon for a reasonable price, I'm just not sure if they will all work for this phone and don't quite understand what makes one unit more expensive than the next.

The only booster that really works is the one that Verizon sells. The other boosters are garbage. If you have satellite Internet you could still get a WiFi router and use that. The booster that you buy from Verizon still needs an Internet connection.

Yeah, no sat net either, I'd just use my Google voip number if I did....i think you guys can see why this has been a PAIN the butt, everything that seems like it would work is a lot of this garbage type stuff....is there anything that's not garbage, I expect it to have a fair price tag....

theizzardking said:
my neighbors all have boosters and get 4g and cell signals...but no one has a cable or wired internet connection.
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Have you asked your neighbors?

peachpuff said:
Have you asked your neighbors?
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Not yet, but I can't do that until I'm out there, I'm trying to order one so I can install it while I'm out there. I'm a terrible neighbor and don't have their phone numbers, lol.
Thanks for the help though!

I work at a company called RepeaterStore and we specialize in cellular repeaters and other technologies. We recently published a page that breaks down all the different types of carrier specific signal boosters and their pros vs cons: https://www.repeaterstore.com/pages/femtocell-and-microcell
If you're interested in a repeater system, feel free to send me a PM or just start a live chat on the website, you might get me

Related

surf and talk

is there anyway or any application that is out there that will let you browse the web and talk om the phone at the same time?
If you have GSM then you can do that without any special app. If you have CDMA then you can't do that unless you're connected via wifi.
Yup wifi and phone works really well LOL...
you can do this with t mobile???? I know att just came out with this on their network i dont believe this is possible with t mobile
bokechukwu1 said:
you can do this with t mobile???? I know att just came out with this on their network i dont believe this is possible with t mobile
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Just came out? AFAIK 3G on AT&T's network thats one of the benefits. I believe all 3G smartphones that had web browsing had voice capabilities at the same time... that's part of what 3G on a GSM network creates.
You can talk and surf in AT&T 3G network for sure. I am not sure if it works on T-mobile though. I would think it should, as it looks like it depends on technology and not the network itself!
bokechukwu1 said:
you can do this with t mobile???? I know att just came out with this on their network i dont believe this is possible with t mobile
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i just tested this the other day after watching a commercial asking if my phone and carrier could do it. answer....yes! i called my wife, put the phone on speaker phone, opened opera and browsed, opened google maps and checked out some street view and did a little binging. worked great all the while talking on speaker phone in the background.
edit: i was on a 3g connection.
jlavoie said:
i just tested this the other day after watching a commercial asking if my phone and carrier could do it. answer....yes! i called my wife, put the phone on speaker phone, opened opera and browsed, opened google maps and checked out some street view and did a little binging. worked great all the while talking on speaker phone in the background.
edit: i was on a 3g connection.
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So I guess AT&T is full of crap! Hmmm whats new!!!LOL
Yea you can do this only with 3G connection. Cuz you are using E to talk I would assume! And 3G for data...
this is only possible using a GSM network(at&t, t-mobile...etc) without using wifi.
3g makes no difference in this situation.Verizon & Sprint run on CDMA networks and is not possible to "talk & surf" at the same time
ai6908 said:
So I guess AT&T is full of crap! Hmmm whats new!!!LOL
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Well the commercial is a response commercial to Verizon's ads... so at least in this case they aren't full of crap. Verizon's 3G network is based on EV-DO Rev A. You get the speeds of a 3G GSM connection but you don't get the simul voice/data functionality.
joeyc1123 said:
this is only possible using a GSM network(at&t, t-mobile...etc) without using wifi.
3g makes no difference in this situation.Verizon & Sprint run on CDMA networks and is not possible to "talk & surf" at the same time
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Click to collapse
AT&T does not support browse/talk on its Edge network. So if your phone steps down to an Edge connection you lose that ability. AFAIK Edge CAN support the functionality its just that AT&T doesn't support it.
I will check on verizon when I get a chance, but if you look in the Kaiser forum, I showed everyone there in a thread how to get this functionality b'c the carriers (US) usually strip it out to preserve bandwidth. It has to do with the RIL settings in your provisioning xml. beeen a few years, but it is there if you want to dig. Look in kaiser rom development. Also, it has to be cooked in. the provisioning registry changes will always revert back to OEM settings if not cooked in.
It is not a matter of carrier but a matter of technology. Edge and 3G are akin to narrowband and broadband for landlines. Just like you can't talk and surf the web and talk on the phone on dialup but can on DSL. It's simply a matter of bandwidth.
To explain this in a more simple matter, 3g is essentially a CDMA connection. Being that CDMA carriers use said transmission for voice, they cannot use data and voice simultaneously. However, with t-mobile and at&t, voice is transmitted over the GSM radio and a 2nd radio is present which carries the CDMA 3g technology. If said GSM device looses that 3g service and falls back to edge or gprs, the simultaneous voice and data becomes inoperable. The key part to this is that a 2nd radio transmission takes place to allow the simultaneous transmission of both services. I have often wondered, however, why other carriers like sprint and Verizon don't incorporate a 2nd radio in their devices to simultaneously connect two CDMA transmissions similar to how a TIVO/DVR box works with cable/satellite services to allow the viewing of one channel while recording another. This functionality would allow them to compete with the GSM carriers.
cdma gsm
I know that when I used to work for ATTWS (long time ago), they were freaking out about the new carriers rolling in with CDMA (some with hybrid AMPS and D-AMPS 850 mhz spectrum) because, in theory CDMA should wax TDMA's call load significantly. TDMA, at that time could only hold 3 calls per channel. So about (here comes a geeky number) every 6.67 ms the calls on the channel would switch functions. Only one could TX, one could RX, and the other was Idle.... this was all transparent to the caller of course.. CDMA rolls around with the theory that becasue it's data piggy backed on the channel, it would increase their call handling ability 10 fold. Unfortunately theory didn't work out to real work practicality b/c the new PCS CDMA carriers really had about the same call capacity as everyone else.
Now, I've always touted VZW speeds here in my market bc TMO didn't even have 3g here till like 6 months to a year ago.. .and AT&T's 3G was laugable here in Jacksonville...might as well have kept the E or G icons on the phone for as slow as things ran.... HSDPA and UMTS could put a cramp on VZWs claim to speed...as long as they can get it consistent nationwide... I'd be tempted to leave for the right data speeds.....but for now, I'm in love with my overpriced VZW plan because of the coverage, quality, and speed..... who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Sorry for the long post, but it takes a bit to explain it.. (even though most of you know it.)
Thanks,
Nate
its working for me i'm on the phone talking while surfing now i have been doing it for about 30 minutes with no disconnection
gfloyd45 said:
its working for me i'm on the phone talking while surfing now i have been doing it for about 30 minutes with no disconnection
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I can only do talk and surf if I have wifi on.....I cant do it otherwise Do you have to do anything special to get the talk and surf to work on GSM on ATT?
Surf and talk on Att !?
bsg411 said:
I can only do talk and surf if I have wifi on.....I cant do it otherwise Do you have to do anything special to get the talk and surf to work on GSM on ATT?
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Can anybody do this without being on wifi ?
bsg411 said:
I can only do talk and surf if I have wifi on.....I cant do it otherwise Do you have to do anything special to get the talk and surf to work on GSM on ATT?
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When you say it doesn't work for you, does your notification bar show 3G-or-H or does it show E? It won't work if it's E.
MCbrian said:
When you say it doesn't work for you, does your notification bar show 3G-or-H or does it show E? It won't work if it's E.
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Yes my phone shows H when I'm trying to surf and talk. I think since I have a cooked rom, it may have altered my stock internet configuration and proxy settings or something and now it doesnt work.....idunno......thats my guess. Hoping one of you guys have the answer.
Thats definitely the problem make sure proxy is off and your connections setting are going to the MEdiaNet server and that should fix it.

Why no voice and data?

I was on the Phone with Dell trying to order my new Sony Bravia TV and I was trying to use the internet so I could give the rep the proper item number. To my surprise I couldnt surf the web and do voice at the same time. I thought on GSM network this was possible. When I had Cingular a few years back this was possible. What gives? Why am I not about to do both at the same time?
That's strange. I've been on the phone and surfed the internet and/or used most of the other functions on the phone at the same time.
I've had no problems talking and surfing at the same time provided I had a 3G signal. Maybe you were in a marginal reception area and the signal wasn't solid but it does work.
I dont know why it didnt work, and it sorta pissed me off, does it have to be 3g in order to do voice and data
937dytboi said:
I dont know why it didnt work, and it sorta pissed me off, does it have to be 3g in order to do voice and data
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Click to collapse
Nope. This is my first 3g phone on t-mobile. Never had a problem with edge voice + data
937dytboi said:
I was on the Phone with Dell trying to order my new Sony Bravia TV and I was trying to use the internet so I could give the rep the proper item number. To my surprise I couldnt surf the web and do voice at the same time. I thought on GSM network this was possible. When I had Cingular a few years back this was possible. What gives? Why am I not about to do both at the same time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was data working otherwise in that area? I've been in some areas where data doesn't work at all.
it should have been.
On edge I can't get consistant voice and data with any phone I've ever had, it is more consistant when getting a 3G signal.
You need a 3G signal to do Voice + Data as 2G (G)PRS nor 2.5G (E)DGE have enough bandwidth to support both.

[Q] Not using wifi?

In my work developing an App for localized radar information, I find that when I need information from the internet, my phone doesnt use the wifi, but relys on data usage. My house's wifi is unsecured, and my phone is always connected when in range, but where I do my developing in the house there is scant 3g coverage and mostly Edge coverage. (Kinda inbetween towers where I live)
For example, my Weatherbug App will not load (and sometimes lock up) unless the signal indicator says H or 3G or 4G, while being connected to wifi.
I am new to mobile OS so is there something I am doing wrong or something I have not set on the phone?
I have a very weak signal in my apartment. My phone constantly bounces between no signal and 1 or 2 bars. I find that my DVP works much better when I manually turn off the data connection in the Cellular settings when I want to use wifi as my primary connection.
Your DVP says H or 4G? If so, you have soemhing the rest of us do not..
Sent from my Venue Pro using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
Yeah my carrier put a 4g sim into my DVP and upgraded the radio...Works too, I didnt believe it when I first heard it.
i call shenanigans.
if there was a way to screen cap i would show you...but i do not know of any way thus far.
speaking of which, what radio version do you guys have? I got radio software 2.2.50.18, is that any different?
Thunder_47 said:
if there was a way to screen cap i would show you...but i do not know of any way thus far.
speaking of which, what radio version do you guys have? I got radio software 2.2.50.18, is that any different?
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I have that same radio in my at&t dvp. Bottom line is that the phone does not ship with a 4g capable radio. No SIM card changes that fact. Don't let the goons at the phone store fool you.
venelar said:
I have that same radio in my at&t dvp. Bottom line is that the phone does not ship with a 4g capable radio. No SIM card changes that fact. Don't let the goons at the phone store fool you.
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Click to collapse
I agree. DVP is not 4G capable.
hey they offered a free upgrade and I took it...but I havent been able to connect to a 4g network so maybe they WERE fooling me....either way the Wifi issue has been solved so no more discussion on this if you would please.
who faced the same?

[Q] What signal booster should I get?

Was searching around online, and saw one or two places that the sprint 4g lte data is on the same waveband as the 3g, so any dual band 800/1900mhz antenna should work, but haven't seen in confirmed by others. If I am going to get one, I want to know that it really will work and figured this is the best place to check.
I have an older one I picked up a while back, but it was for in the car... reading the specs they frequency is TX:824-849MHz and 1850-1910MHz
RX 869-894 MHz 1930-1990 MHz. When I tried it in the house it doesn't really seem to help much, even with the antenna set up out the window. At one point I had a metal bunk bed that I set it up as a contraption on and it helped with 3g very slightly.
Was looking at the zBoost ZB545 setup, but was considering a wilson if need be. Figure an external antenna should help either way. Currently sometimes get a 4g signal (very rarely), even though the map says I should get great 4g. Usually in house have 1 bar of 3g.
Thanks.
if you have poor reception in your house, sprint will give you a booster for free. however all it really does is route your cell thru your high speed internet. meaning it requires high speed internet and its really not boosting at all just rerouting. i dont know if this will help you or not.
bryguy9021 said:
if you have poor reception in your house, sprint will give you a booster for free. however all it really does is route your cell thru your high speed internet. meaning it requires high speed internet and its really not boosting at all just rerouting. i dont know if this will help you or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks much. I have no internet available here other than dial up or on my phone, so that doesn't work.
Ended up going with the ZBoost one, just finished setting it up. As long as I am in the same room, voice is staying ok. If I leave the phone on the booster I can get 4g.
We did make an extra "non-metal antenna" for it though to put it extra high above the house.
Probably if I shorten the coax it would work even better, but this is great for the moment.

Project Fi at home where Tmobile and sprint signals are weak.

i am considering project Fi.
But where i live there is not tmobile signal, my friends come here with tmobile homes and they dont get signal(they live half a mile away).
Sprint coverage map says that there is "fair" signal.
so i was wondering if with project FI i dont have signal at home, the nexus 6p will switch to my wifi network and i will be able to receive and make calls?
buton2 said:
i am considering project Fi.
But where i live there is not tmobile signal, my friends come here with tmobile homes and they dont get signal(they live half a mile away).
Sprint coverage map says that there is "fair" signal.
so i was wondering if with project FI i dont have signal at home, the nexus 6p will switch to my wifi network and i will be able to receive and make calls?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I activated my Project Fi sim earlier in the week. T-Mobile is not strong around my house (I had to switch to an AT&T sim when I was with StraightTalk) and I'm not sure about Sprint. So far, while I'm at home, the majority of my calls are using my home wifi. I haven't had the chance to test a continuous call as I'm driving home to see if it switches to wifi, as Google indicates it will.
jrstaples1 said:
I activated my Project Fi sim earlier in the week. T-Mobile is not strong around my house (I had to switch to an AT&T sim when I was with StraightTalk) and I'm not sure about Sprint. So far, while I'm at home, the majority of my calls are using my home wifi. I haven't had the chance to test a continuous call as I'm driving home to see if it switches to wifi, as Google indicates it will.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We are on the same boat...I work on the city and signal is strong there...
Verizon and att serve my home..but I want to get away from them...
Sent from my XT1060 using XDA Free mobile app
Yes, Project Fi uses WiFi for calls and texts when you are on WiFi.
Honestly tmobile wifi calling isn't even that great also. I am only able to get edge in my house with them and wifi calling enabled. I tried calling my phone 15 times and 2-3 times it didn't go through (it actually RINGS but my phone doesn't ring or indicate someone called, and the phone I'm using it rings and goes to voicemail) Wifi calling is at it's infancy I feel like.
I had a tmobile lte booster installed in my room for a year and it BARELY made a difference, still got 0.3-0.5 mbps speeds on their "lte"
Fast forward to last month they finally came out with a lte booster that ACTUALLY works, the previous one came was trash.
If I were you, I'd get tmobile and get the NEW lte booster, because the old one gave me 0.5 to 1mbps at it's best and the new one gives me around 7-10mbps on speedtest. Sprint has horrible signal, I would think their "Fair" signal means horrible reception.
Or just go AT&T and verizon, you get what you pay for..... they are much MUCH reliable than tmobile and sprint.
btort1 said:
Honestly tmobile wifi calling isn't even that great
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Click to collapse
Note that T-Mobile Wi-Fi calling has nothing in common with Project Fi Wi-Fi calling, which works perfectly.
I seem to only have had one wifi call at my house with Project Fi that I've actually noticed / remembered. I have no idea why all of them don't come in / go out that way. I have a good cell signal too. But, my wifi is strong on 5 Ghz and my bandwidth is about 88 mbps down / 12 up. I only noticed that one time I got an incoming call that said something to the effect of "using wifi network name." I've confirmed the settings in the phone app are set to use wifi calling too.
WiFi calling works perfect at the house. Have very limited cell signal with every provider, so I put on Airplane mode + WiFi and zero issues?
Solutions Etcetera said:
Note that T-Mobile Wi-Fi calling has nothing in common with Project Fi Wi-Fi calling, which works perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I was just mentioning how bad tmobile is in some areas. But if you have their new lte booster, it works great. The older version barely made a difference. Came from 0.5mbps to 7-10mbps consistently
I mentioned it also cause they told me to try their wifi calling last year and it was jist decent, I still missed calls without knowing people actually called

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