Now before I start this post, let me caveat it by saying, yeah yeah we know, camping is about disconnecting. Well the reality is it's not, at least not for everyone all the time.
In order to do longer camping trips my wife and I need to be able to work remote, and this means having a connection. For others like my brother who travels 100%, the data connection is critical for him to do his job and be the nomad that he is.
Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about the setup that I just tested.
What did we buy...
This is the weBoost Drive Reach RV - Cell Phone Signal Booster kit. It boosts 4G LTE & 5G for All U.S. Carriers - Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile & more. We picked this specific model because of a ton of research, reviews online, and the price (which was honestly at the top of my budget). Cost $467 on Amazon.
We bought this because as I said, we need signal. Our Internet (home and traveling) is a T-Mobile Home Internet, and the back-up is a Verizon Hotspot via one of our phones. Since both leverage cellular signal, if we can boost any existing signal then we can get to work.
The Test.
Conditions: Clear, no clouds
Apps Used: Network Cell Info Lite & Wifi, and SpeedTest
I did a temporary set up to test in my home office with the Boosting antenna set up out side on an extension pole at 10 feet. I also made sure it was placed on the correct side of the house to where the closest cell tower is.
BEFORE:
It was easy to test this unit at home as our Verizon service is HORRIBLE. Like, THIS horrible.
The first image here shows the cellular connection to the closest Verizon Tower. The signal is bad enough that calls break up, and getting on the internet without being on wifi is impossible.
As we have a T-Mobile Tower less than a 1/2 mile from the house, it wasn't valid to include our T-Mobile home internet device in this test.
As you can see the SpeedTest rates aren't even high enough to check email.
AFTER:
Results. Not only did it boost the signal, but This is enough of a gain to easily do a video or audio call online.
Network cell info change form:
One bar LTE @ -118
to
Three bars 5G @ -98 DB.
This is a huge gain.
Network Speed Tests changed from:
1.17 Mbps download / .02Mbps Upload
to
58.9 Mbps download / 24 Mbps Upload
These are massive gains in connectivity, and would allow our hotspots to provide the connectivity we need. Now, we can extend our trip from a Friday eve to Sunday morning trip and add one two or even three days to the front or back giving us much more time to enjoy the area we are in.
Our next big test will be on our camping trip this weekend. The site we are going to is spotty at best in normal conditions. If we can get a sustained connection, then we will be able to camp longer at one of the sites we love the most.
I will provide updates to this post after we return (and obviously unpack).
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