Now that I have all four carriers it is time to optimize the signal I get. I know that up in the mountains will be a challenge but even here at home it can be a pain getting a decent signal. The towers are either distant or shielded by buildings and high power lines. There is also a lot of congestion due to a large neighborhood and three expressways near us. On their own the devices function but can be slow at times, occasionally getting knocked off completely even though it shows a signal.
Enter the Wilson Sleek cradle booster that was $109 including shipping on ebay. It is a refurbished, discontinued model that covers the same bands as the newer more expensive WeBoost units.
It showed up right before rush hour so I was able to test it in the worst of times. The improvements were not huge but it did improve things.
On TMO it gave full bars, lowered the dBm and kept the device online through rush hour. Switch it to 4G and it will even stream.
The Verizon 3G got a full signal, a lower dBm and it's speed double from pitiful to not so pitiful.
On Sprint it says it doesn't cover the high speed band 41 but I have seen the dBm change as I pulled the device from the cradle. It is either boosting it or the mere connect to the antenna is. It does boost the other two LTE bands as well as 3G and while the signal doesn't look like much, it is usable with just one bar.
On Cricket it lowered my dBm, raised the signal but being capped, the speed never goes above 8 Mbps.
So for $109 it really does improve your signal. it wont take a pitiful signal and turn it into full speed, nor will it create a signal where there is none. It is just being able to use a weak signal that matters, especially up in the mountains.
The improvement during off peak hours was wonderful. Streaming became easy on all of the devices.
Next is to find a directional antenna to improve things even more.
