Cell signal booster

Andy1959
Grasshopper

Does anyone have a recommendation for a cell signal booster to use with Shaw? We are on a lot near Nanaimo with intermittent coverage, (both Shaw and Nationwide) and we’d like to boost Shaw so we can use our big mobile plan.

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-- a few thoughts: 1. Exactly where near Nanaimo is your...

mdk
Legendary Grand Master

@Andy1959 -- a few thoughts:

1. Exactly where near Nanaimo is your lot? I expect that there are many cell-phone towers in Nanaimo, and vicinity, that will supply a strong signal.

2. if you place a signal-booster inside your home, it probably will receive the same signal-strength as your cell-phone, unless you can place it in the

side-wall of your home that "faces" the nearest Shaw (and non-Shaw) cell-phone towers.

3. Do you have Shaw Internet into your home? If so, connect your mobile phone to the cable-modem's WiFi network. This will not use any of your "data" monthly allocation.

4. From: Shaw Mobile - Nationwide Network Coverage - Cell Phone Signal Map, I see:

Capture.JPG

which seems to offer good coverage.

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks for the reply. 1 - Northeast corner of Gabriola Is...

Andy1959
Grasshopper

Thanks for the reply.

1 - Northeast corner of Gabriola Island

2 - I'm looking for an external antenna

3 - I'm looking for this as a solution instead of having to pay $100/month for full internet when I'm not there very often.

4 - From the map, my location is actually in the 4th or 5th tier of coverage, put another way - the worst or second worst.

So, any recommendations on a booster (my original question)?

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let us know if you find one that works for you, I have be...

rstra
Grand Master

@Andy1959 let us know if you find one that works for you, I have been looking for something at our second place. There are a few reasonably priced models on Amazon that get good reviews. I am also going to upgrade my phone from an iPhone 7 to a model that supports band 66, I will try that first.

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-- experiment: take your cell-phone outside of your home,...

mdk
Legendary Grand Master

@Andy1959 -- experiment: take your cell-phone outside of your home, on one of your north or northwest or west or south-wide or south sides, and check for the strongest signal on Shaw's network. Then, repeat, after forcing your phone to connect to the "nationwide" network. Then, what you have determined is the "best" side, go inside your home, and place your phone close to a window on that side, and re-test the signal strength. If it is just as good "inside" as "outside", you have found the best location for an _interior_ repeater to be purchased and connected.

 

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I've been considering getting a booster for my home at di...

dorkstick
Grasshopper

I've been considering getting a booster for my home at different times over the years as I've had issues with the different cell providers over the years in certain places in my home. Never pulled the trigger yet but I've been doing some research on this. One thing that is important to know is that not all boosters are equal as cell providers offer their service over different frequency bands and you need to ensure you buy a booster that will support your cell provider and also the cell band on your phone.

To find the frequency band on your mobile devices you would do the following depending on your mobile device:

iPhone

  1. Dial *3001#12345#*, press the call button
  2. Choose All Metrics, in latest iOS 14.5 just tap on the hamburger icon on the left side of screen
  3. Tap on Cell Serving Cell Info in the LTE section
  4. Look at the value for freq_band_ind and make note of it

Android

  1. Download the app called LTE Discovery
  2. Choose Signals
  3. Check EARFCN
  4. Confirm your band

Once you know your bands you are then better equipped to ensure the booster you purchase will work for your devices. From what I've been reading so far Shaw is operating on the 4, 13, and 66 bands.

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Thanks for the info! I wonder if you have done anything f...

DGittins
Grasshopper

Thanks for the info! I wonder if you have done anything further on this. Did you try a booster? 

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Hi Andy, we are getting cellphone connectivity issues in...

Belchyrbonabely
Grasshopper

Hi Andy, we are getting cellphone connectivity issues in and around our home in North Nanaimo. Lots of dead zones in Nanaimo itself it seems. No matter the provider, signal is intermittent and sometimes drops altogether. Annoying for both cellphone and home security system. Have you gotten any further with your problem? Seems like no one here has offered anything specific unfortunately 😕

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-- Around our home in North Nanaimo, no matter the provid...

mdk
Legendary Grand Master

@Belchyrbonabely -- Around our home in North Nanaimo, no matter the provider, signal is intermittent and sometimes drops altogether

That is unfortunate. One would expect that Telus/Bell coverage is much more extensive than Shaw's towers.

What is the nearby geography? Some hill between the cell-towers and your home? Are you in a deep valley?

Have you tried switching your mobile device from connecting to "Shaw" to connect to "Nationwide"? This will connect to the cell-towers of Shaw's partners, e.g., Rogers & Telus/Bell to give you "free roaming" for your voice & texting requirements.

 

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