Vodafone SureSignal alternative
Vodafone SureSignal alternative
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Nigel_O

Original Poster:

3,885 posts

249 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2020
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Mobile phone signal at my mother's house is very poor (on any network, not just Vodafone). Outside the house is just about adequate, but inside is extremely poor in most parts of the house.

Over the years, I've set up three Vodafone Suresignal devices, but each one has failed within a couple of years. There are loads of customer reviews about the longevity of these devices - it seems we've been lucky to get two years before they failed.

Vodafone have now stopped supplying them and prices for secondhand units are two or three times the retail price

Wi-Fi calling doesn't appear to work very well, presumably because its a large house and the wi-fi signal is weak in places

Is there such a thing as a universal phone signal booster to do (reliably) what the SureSignal did?

TEKNOPUG

20,494 posts

235 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2020
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Your phone reception will be network specific, therefore you would need a network specific signal booster. All they are doing is the same as wifi calling. Improve the wifi signal in the house would be easiest solution.

I have a Vodafone Sure Signal that I no longer need if you want to make me an offer for it? Alternatively there appear to be loads on ebay.

Buzz84

1,753 posts

179 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2020
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If your mother has the ability to wifi call then improving the wifi will probably be the best bet. a new Mesh router system would place repeaters all around the house to enable good coverage throughout.

I haven't got experiance with a particular mesh system but there are other posts on here and reviews availabvle via google
I am currently looking into doing the same in my house as wifi struggles, even though i use a booster it causes other issues with conflicting signals and deadspots i hope to elimnate with a proper mesh system.

Nigel_O

Original Poster:

3,885 posts

249 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2020
quotequote all
I've heard of mesh systems but never looked into it - I'll do some research

HantsRat

2,410 posts

138 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2020
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One draw back is Vodafone STILL doesn't support text messages via wi-fi calling. Apparently it's been in work since 2018 but still not been supported. (EE and Three does)

This can cause issues with services that use a text message for 2fa (Banking etc)

HantsRat

2,410 posts

138 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2020
quotequote all
You can also get a singnal booster but they're pricey to get a Ofcom allowed device https://www.signalboosters.co.uk/BUNDLE-Cel-Fi-GO-...

Bobhon

1,059 posts

209 months

Wednesday 23rd September 2020
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I have moved from a Suresignal to BT mobile SIMs, which support WIFI dialing. But I am not getting a great experience with it, poor call quality from both ends. The only place that I can get a decent call is in the office sitting right next to our BT Hub.

I'm using TP Powerline adapters to try to get WIFI around the house, but they are a bit hit and miss and seem to drop the WIFI fairly frequently. So this is probably the root of our problems.

Amazon are doing a set of 4 BT Mini Whole Home Mesh discs for only £99.99. Can anyone advise on if these are any good. The Amazon reviews are a bit mixed.

Just the two of us with maybe 2 streaming videos at once occasionally. 4 bed home over 2 floors. BT Hub is on the first floor.

Also what is the difference between the Mini, the Normal and the Premium, apart from many, many £'s??

If they are not recommended then what should I be looking at?

TIA

NDA

25,737 posts

255 months

Friday 25th September 2020
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Bobhon said:
Amazon are doing a set of 4 BT Mini Whole Home Mesh discs for only £99.99. Can anyone advise on if these are any good. The Amazon reviews are a bit mixed.

Just the two of us with maybe 2 streaming videos at once occasionally. 4 bed home over 2 floors. BT Hub is on the first floor.

Also what is the difference between the Mini, the Normal and the Premium, apart from many, many £'s??

If they are not recommended then what should I be looking at?

TIA
I have just (30 minutes ago) received from Amazon the BT mini 4 disc system... thanks to your post. smile

They were a little bit clunky to set up - in that the app seems to take ages to recognise a disc. However they are now set up and I have changed the SSID and password to my normal settings and 29 devices (Sonos, smart plugs etc etc) all connected immediately without any fiddling.

It seems pretty solid in the 30 minutes or so I have been using them... I've turned the wifi off my BT router and all seems well.