Cell phone & internet questions

[HappyYooper]

I'm not sure this is the right place to ask my questions..if not just tell me where to go, lol
We will be moving soon. We will be in an area where I can't get internet reception and can only pick up cell service when I stand in one particular spot outside
My cell phone/internet provider is Verizon. I have an Apple iPhone and a Verizon Jetpack, Mifi..I think they call that a personal "hot spot" I have no clue what that means...
For those of you who live back in the boonies/off grid do you have any suggestions how I can get service?

[fordy]

Originally Posted by HappyYooper

I'm not sure this is the right place to ask my questions..if not just tell me where to go, lol
We will be moving soon. We will be in an area where I can't get internet reception and can only pick up cell service when I stand in one particular spot outside
My cell phone/internet provider is Verizon. I have an Apple iPhone and a Verizon Jetpack, Mifi..I think they call that a personal "hot spot" I have no clue what that means...
For those of you who live back in the boonies/off grid do you have any suggestions how I can get service?

.............You can greatly enhance your cell service with 1)by adding an amplifier that boosts your weak signal being transmitted to a cell tower ! , What you Don't want to do is transmit a signal that is TOO strong to the cell tower . They make amps that adjust the signal strength of their output to not "over" boost their signal !
.............2)You can purchase small , Yagi antenna's that are VERY directional and Amplify BOTH received and transmitted cell phone signals by your cell phone . These small antenna's are........Line of Sight , meaning that physical objects that stand between your cell phone signal and the cell phone tower will tend to block that signal and weaken it's ability to connect with the cell phone tower . The computers that control all incoming signals to IT normally hand off those signals off to other towers as they become weaker on one tower and stronger on another tower.........cause most signals are being sent from moving vehicles . Your signal can't be "handed off" so you will need to improve it's strength or the tower may continually DROP your phone signal , IF it becomes to weak . , fordy

[7thswan]

My dh contacted the phone co. they want 350.oo to put up a booster antenna at our cabin SW of Alpena. To have a land line would be expensive, if one considers how much I am there. I could change companys, but would I be able to call south very well? Still looking at options.

[GREEN_ALIEN]

A "Hot Spot" is just that, a hot spot for internet connectivity. All it means is an internet connection through the hot spot device. Most cell phones have this feature built in.

Setup and configure your hot spot and any nearby device, that you allow, can access the internet through it.

Ted

[7thswan]

Originally Posted by fordy

.............You can greatly enhance your cell service with 1)by adding an amplifier that boosts your weak signal being transmitted to a cell tower ! , What you Don't want to do is transmit a signal that is TOO strong to the cell tower . They make amps that adjust the signal strength of their output to not "over" boost their signal !
.............2)You can purchase small , Yagi antenna's that are VERY directional and Amplify BOTH received and transmitted cell phone signals by your cell phone . These small antenna's are........Line of Sight , meaning that physical objects that stand between your cell phone signal and the cell phone tower will tend to block that signal and weaken it's ability to connect with the cell phone tower . The computers that control all incoming signals to IT normally hand off those signals off to other towers as they become weaker on one tower and stronger on another tower.........cause most signals are being sent from moving vehicles . Your signal can't be "handed off" so you will need to improve it's strength or the tower may continually DROP your phone signal , IF it becomes to weak . , fordy

Thank You Fordy, Just looked at Yagi on amazon and will be calling my provider for suggestions and the OK !

[mvick]

I had the same problem for 3 years. Had to get out of the house and go to the top of the hill to talk. Very awkward at night. Also got cut off a lot. Went thru 5 smart phones before problem solved. It was not the phones. It was the reception.
Also have Verizon.
Finally got them to send me an Internet extender. It is a small black box with a long (very long) wire that goes almost all around the ceiling of my bedroom. (I taped it). Works like a charm.
Note: they wanted to charge me $75 for this, but after telling them I was paying for service and they were required to furnish it. They sent it for free. I am happy.

[Shoden]

fordy is right, you're at the very least going to want an antenna for your hotspot device, but you'll probably want to go for a full antenna and booster kit that will help both your hotspot and your cell phone.

When we bought our place, we could get anywhere from 0-3 bars on our phones, depending on where we were on the property. Unfortunately, 3 bars really only happened occasionally, and while standing a couple hundred feet up our driveway, part way up the hill. In our building, 0-1 bars was more common, obviously resulting in many lost or dropped calls on the occasions we even had signal. Also, there was no DSL or cable available for internet access.

Our initial solution was to get a hotspot device from AT&T, and then add a high quality antenna. We went with a omni directional (Wilson 301202) instead of a yagi, mounted on top of the building and connected with a low loss coax cable (Wilson 952330), and that got our hotspot device a solid 3-4 bars inside our building, good enough for a solid 3G connection. We used that for our internet access for a 7 or 8 months, and it was good enough to work from home over VPN and to play some games and stuff, but due to the monthly 5GB limit, with expensive overage charges, we couldn't do any Netflix, Youtube, or other videos.

Eventually, we found out about a local wireless internet provider (WISP) that offered a service with 1MB download speed, but more importantly, no monthly limit. It's actually slower than the service from our AT&T hotspot, but the lack of a limit makes a huge difference for us. Plus, it costs less. You may want to see if a WISP is available in the area you're moving to. Try this link for a start to your search: http://www.wispdirectory.com/index.p...&limitstart=40. Since they're often small local companies run by tech guys, they can be really bad about not advertising themselves well. We only found out about ours from a neighbor.

Once we got the new internet service set up, we decided to take care of the poor cell phone reception. Since I was already happy with the results of the Wilson antenna and cable, I went with a full kit from Wilson (This one, which has been discontinued: https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/ag-...l-60db-841245/). It had the same antenna and cable that I already had, but it was cheaper to buy the full kit than to buy just the parts I needed, so now I've got a spare cable and antenna. After installing the booster kit, we've got solid 3-4 bars in the building depending on location.

The Wilson website that I linked to above is really good, and I've been happy with their service. There's a lot of good info in their FAQ that you can use to educate yourself on the options and tech, and if you're not sure about what you need, you can call them and they'll make sure you get the right solution for your situation.

[MichaelZ]

A simple and relatively inexpensive solution is to put up an antenna and then connect to it. The drawback is that you are tethered to the wire. But at least you are in your kitchen and not on top of your roof. Radioshack would have this. Not sure if this works now but I know years back it was an option with our cell phone.

[Shoden]

Originally Posted by mvick

Finally got them to send me an Internet extender.

Usually the internet extenders provided by the cell phone companies (like this one: http://www.verizonwireless.com/acces...nder-scs-2u01/) require you to plug them into your high speed internet connection. They work great if you're in an area that offers high speed internet, but happens to be in a cell phone signal dead zone.

They don't work so great if you're using your cell phone service to provide your internet service with a hotspot device.

[ET1 SS]

Originally Posted by GREEN_ALIEN

A "Hot Spot" is just that, a hot spot for internet connectivity. All it means is an internet connection through the hot spot device. Most cell phones have this feature built in.

Setup and configure your hot spot and any nearby device, that you allow, can access the internet through it.

Ted

That only works if you can first get cellphone signal.

My cellphone does not allow hotspoting.

[ET1 SS]

We have a Verizon cellphone tower in our town [only because the interstate cuts through town and Verizon wants coverage along the interstate]. Many of our friends live in nearby towns that do not have cellphone towers, it is fairly commonly among them to not have signal at their homes.

When I first moved here, I found a spot 4 miles away, where I could drive to and park, and there I could get 2 bars.

A yagi antenna and signal booster, may be the best solution. They are very common among long-haul truck drivers. The gear is marketed at truck stops.

[logbuilder]

I have no cell service and only very bad quality land line. No DSL.

We have Exede internet which is satellite based. Works well however it does have data limits. My plan is the least expensive and I have 10 GB per month. Between midnight and 5am, anything you do does not count against your limit.

[Xplorer]

Originally Posted by logbuilder

I have no cell service and only very bad quality land line. No DSL.

We have Exede internet which is satellite based. Works well however it does have data limits. My plan is the least expensive and I have 10 GB per month. Between midnight and 5am, anything you do does not count against your limit.

Same deal here, works OK.

[HappyYooper]

Well, I just spoke with a rep from Verizon to see what they could do...

I was sent links:
Samsung Network Extender (SCS-2U01) $249.99
and an external antenna for my Mifi $19.99

I will hold off awhile longer...and still not ready to move in and that's a lot of money! But she did say that if we didn't get any reception we have 14 days after we receive it to return...