4G Signal Boosters

[CharlieOneSix]

Not exactly computer related but this seems the best place.....

My broadband is provided wirelessly by a local firm - Caleycom - so I have no landline broadband. It took almost 4 months to convince BT of that fact when I ditched a third party landline ISP! I still have a BT landline for voice calls which we hardly use as we both now use our iphones with a bluetooth connection to our hearing aids for that purpose. Mrs C16 cannot use the landline phones because of her deafness. I'm contemplating ditching the BT Landline. I'm aware of the small disadvantages of not having a landline phone.

Our iphones are with EE so we have "Wifi Calling" as a freebie and we have excellent wifi throughout the house. We have 4G in most areas of the house and 3G everywhere else but we occasionally still lose signal mid calls. I'm not convinced about the value of "Wifi Calling".

Does anyone have experience of legal 4G signal boosters in the UK? I've been looking at https://www.mobilebooster.co.uk/ and it seems a booster around £200 would fit my needs. Does anyone have experience of 4G boosters?

[Pontius Navigator]

Charlie. No. But provided you are happy with your broadband plan and use mobile with your aids, I can think of no reason to retain BT.

I have a Talktalk legacy mobile plan with O2 at £5.13 per month. Data, at 750Mb is not generous but adequate when I am put but 750 minutes speech is more than adequate.

Why are you worried about a 4G booster as I thought that was a data thing not voice. Am I wrong?

[CharlieOneSix]

Data improvement is not of any concern in the house as our wifi gives us all the speed we need. 4G data would only come into play on our rare summer days when in the summerhouse outside of wifi range - not really too much of a consideration and 3G voice is okay out there.

It is purely a desire to get reliable voice calls in the house that made me look at boosters - being in a rural area we are some way from a transmitter. There's a very useful article I've just found on the website I linked to. Rather than using the number of bars as an indicator of signal strength, on iphones you can go into Field Test Mode by dialling *3001#12345#* and pressing the Call button to get accurate results for placing an external booster. Field Test Mode - iphones .

[Undried Plum]

Asking for more than 4G is like asking for an extra portion portion of prawn crackers with your order for sweet'n'sour chicken.

You might get it, but you'll be lambasted as being a Commie-luvver if you ask it and accept what you ordered.

[OFSO]

I've had 4G home mifi in both UK and Spain. With several computers, TVs, phones, tablets, two CCTV cameras and five Google Homes the system is at its limits. (Most users are on a ring CAT-5/6 cable I installed). I thought about buying a set of Huawei stick antenna that connect to the box, but reviews were so-so. In the end I fabricated an aluminium bracket that holds the box to the window, inside. Cable from there to my original TP Router. Both boxes radiate WiFi on different frequencies/channels. All works more or less, until the Frog tourists arrive and turn their phones on to call home.