Mobile phone signal boosters

[cb31]

Has anyone got experience of a house mobile phone signal booster? I've been searching and they seem incredibly expensive for one that does 4G and calls from both Vodafone and 3, ranging from £750 to £2500. A typical example in the link below

https://www.australiaboosters.com/olduk2/product/d...

I've looked on ebay and there are some China specials that look pretty similar specs wise for less than £100

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GSM-2G-3G-4G-Cell-Phone...

Am I missing something obvious as it seems to be too good to be true? We get 1-2 bars outside but nothing inside so a booster with an external aerial on the roof seems perfect. We currently use a vodafone sure signal box but it is pretty rubbish and I also fancy a 3 mobile broadband router as we can't get fibre here.

[indigochim]

I'm pretty sure they're not legal to use. You can get a device from some of the providers that I think plug into your broadband.

Is WiFi calling an option? What do you actually need?

[Wilmslowboy]

indigochim said:

I'm pretty sure they're not legal to use. You can get a device from some of the providers that I think plug into your broadband.

Is WiFi calling an option? What do you actually need?

I have a booster that plugs into the WIFI, (EE), our mobile phones seamlessly switch between the cell tower and WIFI (no need for an app).

Absolutely amazing, gone from zero coverage to 4 bars - I think it was £80.


The cell signal boosters (as OP) were illegal last time I looked (5 years ago).

[blingybongy]

Ofcom page about boosters and repeaters.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-stateme...

A few years back some nob head not far from where I live fitted an illegal one and basically ruined mobile reception for a whole town.
I believe he was heavily fined when they tracked him down.

[cb31]

indigochim said:

I'm pretty sure they're not legal to use. You can get a device from some of the providers that I think plug into your broadband.

Is WiFi calling an option? What do you actually need?

I think from 2018 they are perfectly legal if used only indoors under a roof which ours would be.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/featur...

We have a wifi calling device, a vodafone sure signal but it isn't very reliable, it works 95% of the time but you do miss some calls and the wifi signal doesn't reach all around the house. Nowhere near as well as our unifi mesh wifi so if you are at the back of the kitchen it sounds ok to us but the other end of the call has dropouts. It also from time to time goes into a tizzy which a reboot won't resolve, you have to call vodafone to get them to do something which takes up to 24 hours from after you have got a competent person on the line. It's an ok solution but nowhere near as good as a proper signal.

We want a decent phone signal which ourselves on vodafone and guests on other networks can use, we also want 4G in case the broadband goes down.

[Chozza]

cb31 said:

I think from 2018 they are perfectly legal if used only indoors under a roof which ours would be.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/featur...


We want a decent phone signal which ourselves on vodafone and guests on other networks can use,

If the booster supports more than one network ( i.e. guest on other networks ) then its unlikely to be legal - as per the what to watch up for paragraph.

The ones you linked to aren't legal , the companies T+C should also be a flag "The customer takes the responsibility about using signal boosters."

[AJB88]

I was given a work O2 mobile to work from home, unfortunately O2 is the only provider than doesn't work in my house so work stumped up for a booster that plugs into router. Only available for business customers though I think.

[FWIW]

I have a Vodafone Sure Signal. It’s crap. WiFi calling is hit and miss too.

[bristolracer]

The only stuff I know of that is approved for use is manufactured by Cel-fi

[cb31]

bristolracer said:

The only stuff I know of that is approved for use is manufactured by Cel-fi

Fair enough, I didn't read the ofcom decision fully. So we are back to the £910 options for a single network which is quite a lot to fix a less than ideal cell signal. It would fix our phones but not do the 3 mobile broadband or guests phones at the same time which is pretty limiting. There are much better ways to spend that kind of cash I think. It's a bit annoying too as the Chinese version at the top for £90 obviously has the technical ability but not the certification, seems like a big markup as I can't imagine the approved ones aren't made in China too.

Edited by cb31 on Wednesday 16th September 12:59

[dhutch]

I have Vodafone WiFi calling, Android phone, it's good as long as I remain within wifi range and even ok at toggling between wifi and not if I walk outside.

[TimmyMallett]

Most modern phones support wifi calling? Or is this not all networks?

[AJB88]

Both iOS and Android have native wifi calling but a few networks insist on using their own apps, they should just all roll out native OS support.

[Dodsy]

I use EE wifi calling on my iphone , its flawless and switches from wifi to mobile automatically if i leave wifi range while on a call .

Cheaper to change to EE with a wifi calling compatible handset than go for other costly and possibly not reliable alternatives IMHO

[maccas99]

FWIW said:

I have a Vodafone Sure Signal. It’s crap. WiFi calling is hit and miss too.

You are doing something wrong then, I have a SS and it provides full signal thoughout the house and I use Wi-Fi calling in my man cave where I work and that is fine as well. Me thinks you have an underlying issue somewhere....

[illmonkey]

blingybongy said:

Ofcom page about boosters and repeaters.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-stateme...

A few years back some nob head not far from where I live fitted an illegal one and basically ruined mobile reception for a whole town.
I believe he was heavily fined when they tracked him down.

Previous employer done this on some warehouses. Turns out they are illegal, 5 figure fine for them. woops.

[Uncle boshy]

i'm on Vodafone (UK) and have switched from sure signal to wifi calling.

wifi calling on my android device is a menu item and the phone literally connects to your wifi router and calls in the house are routed that way.

the suresignal is now discontinued as a product, existing ones work, but you can't by new. that was a different approach where it was a mini cellsite in your house using 3G but connected to the network over your broadband.

wifi calling doesn;t require any additional equipment and is better performance than the old femto cells that sure signal was an example of.

most UK networks support wifi calling, except Tesco for some reason.

[cb31]

Uncle boshy said:

i'm on Vodafone (UK) and have switched from sure signal to wifi calling.

wifi calling on my android device is a menu item and the phone literally connects to your wifi router and calls in the house are routed that way.

I have a Pixel 4xl which can do wifi calling, however as there is a very faint cell signal it won't switch over. I just turned off the sure signal and made a call, it used the cell signal even though it was dropping out and the other end couldn't hear me at all. I turned on airplane mode with wifi enabled and the call was perfect.

I've been trawling google to see how to always use wifi if available but no luck so far.

[maccas99]

Uncle boshy said:

i'm on Vodafone (UK) and have switched from sure signal to wifi calling.

wifi calling on my android device is a menu item and the phone literally connects to your wifi router and calls in the house are routed that way.

the suresignal is now discontinued as a product, existing ones work, but you can't by new. that was a different approach where it was a mini cellsite in your house using 3G but connected to the network over your broadband.

wifi calling doesn;t require any additional equipment and is better performance than the old femto cells that sure signal was an example of.

most UK networks support wifi calling, except Tesco for some reason.

I hadn't realise this had happened, and this is a problem especially when it comes to text messages as Vodafone don't yet support them via Wi-Fi Calling although they are planning on enabling it. I see a move to Three.co.uk for us as the SS will die at some point...

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2020/07/voda...

[RammyMP]

My work phone is an android phone on O2 with WiFi calling. Our office is next to the tram tracks, every time a tram goes past your call drops out