Good quality wifi antenna / booster???

[One Awesome Inch]

Looking for suggestions for a good quality wifi antenna / booster.

Im looking for something less than $100 on amazon but good quality and effective.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

I borrowed a Wilson Sleek once to try it out in a remote area. It added one bar to my cell, giving me all of 2 bars. Still took several minutes to complete sending so I wasn't all that impressed for the price. I know many swear by them tho so I can't say they are bad. (I know Bob uses one).

The funny part is that (in same location), I laid my phone on an old TV antenna booster and got the same (1 more bar) result. 
Where I am right now I have 3 bars at the moment and the old TV booster jumps it to a full 5 @ 4 G.
I also have a cheap $15 flat antenna that acts the same way.

I heard there are antennas you can add to a Wilson (more $$) for better results and maybe those who swear by that unit have that.


Needless to say, this old cheapskate ain't gonna buy in.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

I borrowed a Wilson Sleek once to try it out in a remote area. It added one bar to my cell, giving me all of 2 bars. Still took several minutes to complete sending so I wasn't all that impressed for the price. I know many swear by them tho so I can't say they are bad. (I know Bob uses one).

The funny part is that (in same location), I laid my phone on an old TV antenna booster and got the same (1 more bar) result. 
Where I am right now I have 3 bars at the moment and the old TV booster jumps it to a full 5 @ 4 G.
I also have a cheap $15 flat antenna that acts the same way. (Try holding your phone up to a TV antenna cable and see what happens).

I heard there are antennas you can add to a Wilson (more $$) for better results and maybe those who swear by that unit have that.


Needless to say, this old cheapskate ain't gonna buy in.

 

[cyndi]

Technomadia has done the comparison shopping for you. I couldn't find the article with a quick search (I'm on the run this morning). Here's a bunch of different posts and resources regarding boosters
http://www.technomadia.com/internet-page/

 

[masterplumber]

I bought a Wilson Sleek when they were changing names, right before the price went up. I think they are a couple hundred now so I'm not sure I would still go that route. I typically get 2 - 3 extra bars signal strength in the mountains and I just run the small magnetic mount antenna that came with it. There are a few times I've only gotten 1 extra bar, and I can't tell you what the difference was. It does take a few minutes it seems for the phone to recognize a better signal once I put it in the cradle. For me it does what I need it to do, which is get a message or phone call out in marginal areas, so it was worth the roughly $100 I paid for it. I'm not sure if I'd pay $180 for it and that is what the Weboost lists for on Amazon right now - it looks to be the same as the sleek. For those who really need a strong signal for videos etc, I hear that a directional antenna does make a big difference. Just not worth the extra money and hassle of set up for me.

 

[masterplumber]

Well I just read the title of the thread again - were you looking for a wifi booster or a cell phone booster? My previous post was for a cell phone booster and a wifi booster is obviously a whole different animal. sorry for the confusion.

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Try holding your cell up to a TV antenna cable for 30 seconds. Mine gains at least 1 bar there too.

 

[akrvbob]

One Awesome Inch,you should clarify if you wan t a cell phone booster or WIfI booster (like from McDonald's). Many people mistakenly use them interchangeably.
Bob

 

[One Awesome Inch]

Okay well I'm looking for recommendations for a wifi antenna that goes on your roof to increase the wifi signal to my android phone so I can get better Internet on my phone. One that will connect me to Starbucks wifi (for example) from a couple hundred metres away would be great.