Texas Two Steppers
Beaumont, TX
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Joined: 03/30/2008
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About a year ago I bought the Wilson Electronics equipment recommended for rvs and installed it according to their instructions. It consists of the outside trucker's antenna, amplifier, inside transmitting antenna, and assorted wiring and fittings. My phone and internet are both Verizon. I have tried to use the booster twice, both in extended network areas, and can't tell that it is doing any good. Both green lights are on on the amplifier at the maximum gain and it does boost the signal according to the cell phone's power scale. The power scale on the cell phone might be at the max, but I still can't make or receive calls or get on the internet. I know this equipment must work or people wouldn't buy it. Can anyone give me a tip as to what might be going on?
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sdianel
Tampa, FL
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Wilson Electronics has great customer service. You could ask them.
I have used mine successfully for phone calls. Haven't had to try it for my Mi-Fi hotspot yet.
Lonny & Diane
2004 Country Coach Allure 33' "Big Blue"
Towing 2008 Chev Colorado 4x4
Semper Fi
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wcjeep
Tacoma, Wa
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There are other factors at play too. Is roaming enabled ? Data roaming ? Does Verizon have an agreement with the local cell company ? Have you called Verizon or checked FCC website to see who owns the nearest cell tower? If no roaming agreement you can only call 911. There's an area near me where I connect to tower but no phone or data.
Not sure which booster you have. On average the 2watt Sleek is good for 18dba improvement.
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Executive
California/Arizona/South Dakota
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Using the Wilson in some areas will improve your phone reception but not your data reception, especially with Verizon. I've used the Wilson, usually along the NorthWest coastal regions where the signal is weak. It will boost the phone but not the data. You might get five bars signal but still have edge as data. AT&T isn't much better. I have Verizon and DW has AT&T so we've compared the two while traveling as well as using the Wilson......Dennis
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byways
anywhere
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I would definitely give Wilson a call. My son works in customer service at their headquarters in St. George and he is always talking about how much he loves helping customers get the performance they need/deserve. There are a lot of factors that can affect signal performance, especially with the different Mhz operation of companies/towers. They will walk you through that to get the best performance. You have nothing to lose by calling them. Mark.
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Matt_Colie
Southeast Michigan
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My coach used to be my office, and by necessity, I had to be places with bad coverage. I put in a Wilson system and have never been out of coverage since - Even though it might look like I was trying sometimes.
Yes, call Wilson. You have something wrong. Years ago, the last cell tower was in Amarillo and we had usable internet well into New Mexico.
Matt
Matt & Mary Colie
A sailor, his bride and their black dog going to see some dry places that have Geocaches in a coach made the year we married.
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MrWizard
Traveling
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gsm, 'Edge' and HsPa is AT&T
1x, and 'EvDo' and LTE is Vzw
1x and edge are second generation aka 2g
evdo and hspa are third generation technology aka 3g
LTE is 4g
att 4g is an improved hspa
IIRC the frequency band for each generation is the same , it is only the utilization 'technology' that is different between the carriers
* This post was
edited 08/05/12 08:50am by MrWizard *
Options, always have options, and the journey goes much smoother
....
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ktmrfs
Portland, Oregon
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MrWizard wrote:gsm, 'Edge' and HsPa is AT&T
1x, and 'EvDo' and LTE is Vzw
1x and edge are second generation aka 2g
evdo and hspa are third generation technology aka 3g
LTE is 4g
att 4g is an improved hspa
IIRC the frequency band for each generation is the same , it is only the utilization 'technology' that is different between the carriers
at least with Verizon, and I believe ATT as well, 4G data is NOT the same frequency band as 3G. So far Wilson has announced one product that will amplify 4G signals, it takes a different amp for ATT than Verizon.
for 3G and below ATT (GSM) and Verizon (CDMA) one amp will work for both.
ATT is slowly migrating there existing 4G to LTE.
As others have mentioned, give Wilson a call. I've found my wilson amps to work very well.
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aslakson
Fulltiming in the Lower 48
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Actually, the Verizon 4G service (maybe others) is in a different frequency band than their other stuff - which is why Wilson and the others are scrambling to get compatible amps and antennas designed, approved and built. For now, there are very few options for improving 4G signal. Complicating the process is that most 4G devices will switch to 3G when there's no 4G signal, so 4G amps and antennas have to be able to also cover the 3G bands.
al
Fulltiming since Apr 2007 in 2000 Rexhall Aerbus, towing 2012 Honda CRV. 44 of the lower 48 so far.
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WayneLee
Out West Somewhere
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I have had great experiences using Wilson amplifiers over many years. One thing to be aware of... In the case of Verizon, their cell phones, 1x data and 3g data use two frequencies, 800 and 1900 Mhz. But, their 4G service uses a different frequency, 700 Mhz. Wilson is working on a tri-band amplifier to handle these frequencies. I am not sure what AT&T uses for their 4G service.
Wayne Lee
Out West Somewhere
2007 36' Class A HR Endeavor | 2006 Hummer H3 Dinghy | Millenicom 4G MiFi
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