Wilson Sleek

[jimindenver]

Last week I ordered a refurbished, discontinued Wilson Sleek 4G model 460107 for $109 including shipping on ebay. It came Monday and my first experience was here at home during rush hour. That's about the harshest test I can give it here as we get weak signals and congested towers.

The T-mobile hotspot usually loses internet during rush hour even though it shows signal. The Sleek improved things enough that it held it's connection.

The Verizon 3G hotspot runs very slow during rush hour, it's speeds were double from pitiful to not quite so pitiful.

Sprint wasn't suppose to be usable in the Sleek due to one of it's LTE bands not being amplified. What i found is some sprint devices can connect to multiple bands at once. As long as the hotspot or phone can see the unimproved band along with the amplified band, it will connect to both. With no bars it will stream and run a 2 Mbps test.

With Cricket it improved the signal and lowered the dBm but no speed test. Cricket test always come out at the throttle here, The Sleek can't fix that.

So the Sleek did what it said it would, amplify a weak signal. That's what I will really be looking for up in the hills where the towers are long off.

The antenna is currently on a triple extension pole where the signal is best. In none peak times it turn the same weak signals up and streaming improved greatly. So much so that I set up the trial to netflix, it streams easy and looks great.

Next on the list is the directional antenna.

So if weak signals are a thing for you, you might try a Wilson sleek or the newer model, the weboost. The older model amplifies the same bands, it just cost less.

 

[highdesertranger]

thanks Jim. one of these days I am going to get a booster so I like to hear about first hand experience. Wilson has a good name, would you say it was worth the money? or do you need more time before you could give a thumbs up? highdesertranger

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Next on the list is the directional antenna.

I've been doing a bunch of research on this myself, so I appreciate your real world experience report.

The Wilson directional antenna give a 9 to 10 db boost, a lot more than any of the Wilson omnidirectional antennas do.

However, another company, WirEng, makes a marine cellular antenna that gives the same 9 to 10 db boost, and it's omnidirectional, and compatable with Wilson amplifiers.

http://www.amazon.com/Antenna-weBoo...ie=UTF8&qid=1461803890&sr=8-4&keywords=wireng

 

[jimindenver]

HDR

Is it worth the money, oh yes. It's taken a bit to work out the best positions for the antenna and cradle, try all of the different bands, etc, but I am more impressed the longer I use it. I know the unit I have is a refurbished, discontinued unit but it does the same as the newer one and comes with a warranty so I consider it a good deal.

OP
Thank you for the link.
A Omni directional antenna certainly would be more convenient if it has the same gain. Not only would I have to move a directional antenna each time I switched devices, I would have to take the time to find each tower from every site.

From the different devices I have learned...

They say it will not improve Sprints band 41 but I watched the signal meter on a phone go from -122 to -133 as I removed it from the cradle while on band 41. So either the Sleek was boosting it or the physical connection to the antenna was. It does boost Sprints LTE on 800 and 1900 too. Sprint 3G gets a good boost and while only good for 1 Mbps to me, it's a usable signal that has a wider footprint and consistant signal than their LTE does.

The Verizon 3G will stream anytime the towers are not congested.

With T-Mobile it has taken not only finding the best position for the antenna but also understanding how the hotspot works. At times it seems like the tower is congested with the slow download speeds I get while just cruising the forums. Load up something to stream from one of their approved services and the meter goes from .3 Mbps to over 3 Mbps. This is why I don't put much faith into speed test.

I also tried the T-Mobile 4G and it lite it up even during rush hour. Where the band 12 was congested and slow even with the booster, the Hspa had no issues streaming.

Considering all of this is with a 3 inch antenna that was intended to use the roof of the truck as a reflector, not be stuck up on a pole, I am very happy. It has made a improvement on all of the devices one way or another.

So now that is out of the way i would work on getting the solar mounted on the trailer if it would ever stop SNOWING.

 

[BobBski]

I know this is an old post, found it while researching Weboost cell phone boosters here.  I ordered one of these cradle models, $179 through Walmart and it's supposed to arrive at the Walmart near me tomorrow, free shipping/in store pickup.  I've met a couple other very satisfied users as well.  Hope you're still satisfied with yours Jim

 

[speedhighway46]

Please give us a full report . . .

 

[Ballenxj]

Please give us a full report . . .

^^ What he said. ^^

 

[jimindenver]

I am very thrilled with mine still. Right now I am in a low spot in the NF north of Cottonwood and wouldn't have internet or phone with out the Sleek and the directional antenna except for Sprint 3G. The towers are a long way off and the Verizon 3G went from 1 bar to a full signal. Cricket went from no bars on 4G to LTE and T-mobile went from no service to being connected.

 

[kaBLOOnie Boonster]

I know this is an old post, found it while researching Weboost cell phone boosters here.  I ordered one of these cradle models, $179 through Walmart and it's supposed to arrive at the Walmart near me tomorrow, free shipping/in store pickup.  I've met a couple other very satisfied users as well.  Hope you're still satisfied with yours Jim

I concur with the upbeat assessments of the Weboost 4G-S cradle signal boosters. I unboxed it and had it running in 5 minutes. I use the (provided) 4" antenna with the magnetic base -- it sits on the galvanized steel roof of my cargo trailer.

I power it with 12 VDC from a standard cigarette receptacle. (Actually, you use the adapter that they provide. The output is a standard 5 VDC  USB connector.) It's nice to turn the inverter off.

Anyway, my results have been 23 dB of gain. This was measured by the Android smartphone that serves as phone and data hotspot to my laptop.

I have left the smartphone in the cradle and used it in telephone mode.

 

[makenmend]

Well I seem to be striking out with the Wilson 4G-S signal booster, got one last week, set it up, no improvement, called the tech support line, went through various checks without success. Returned on RMA direct to Wilson Electronics ( Weboost ).
Received replacement today, set up with same results. Thought I must be doing something wrong so double checked things to no avail. Called Tech support again and went through procedures, no success. I'm waiting on delivery of hi gain antennae and cable to see if that helps. Basically the tech said this item wasn't going to help much, I would be better off getting the 50 db gain unit at $360+  !!!
I'm going to wait on the hi gain antennae before further action.

My provider is Verizon the signal strength at home is usually 1-2 bars  -108 to  -93 db We will see what happens.

 

[jimindenver]

Interesting. Can you tell me what the difference between the 4G-S and the basic 4G is? It could be that it is set for specific bands. I know my 4G and directional antenna was the only reason I had any internet in the hole I was in. I'm up top now and everything is lit up even Sprint 4G. When Sprint runs fast it stream what ever, no waiting.

 

[jimindenver]

Ok I may have a answer.

Verizon uses bands 700, 1700 and 2100. The 4G-S supports 700 but misses the 1700 band slightly supporting 1710 through 1755 and misses the 2100 band supporting 2110 through 2155. You would have to see what bands the more expensive WeBoost covers but if it doesn't cover those two bands you would be out of luck in any area Verizon uses them.

A wide band antenna may help like it does me with Sprints high speed band. It isn't boosted but I still get a passive boost in that band just by being in contact with the antenna. I wouldn't need the Sleek at all were that the only band I used. A wide band antenna alone would do just as good.

So see if you can find out what bands Verizon is using in your area and what bands your device is set up to use.

 

[highdesertranger]

also you must have a clear line of sight to the cell tower. if you don't you can't boost what you don't have(3 negatives in one short sentence, oops). your 1-2 bars may be a rebound signal. does the phone work on those 1-2 bars? can you see the tower? highdesertranger

 

[makenmend]

Today I drove a couple of miles into town where I have 5 bars @ -72 db with just the phone, placing the phone in the cradle shows no difference at all.
The wide band directional antenna covers from 700MHz to 2700 MHz, but the low loss coax I have has the wrong connectors so can't check this out yet.
Trying to remain patient. And I do appreciate your input.

 

[makenmend]

Just found Bob's post from 4/22/2015, detailing the connectors, cables required. Ordered, should be here Friday.

 

[makenmend]

I received all the parts to rig the wide band directional antenna, hooked it all up in my back yard, pointed antenna in direction of nearest tower, phone was showing -97 db out of the cradle, then placed in the cradle did not show any improvement, I did a slow 360 scan with the antenna again no improvement. So it's repackaged ready to ship back to Amazon Monday. I guess I'll experiment with some thing else in the near future.

MM

 

[IGBT]

I need a booster but like the post above I am worried that these $500 Weboost things don't actually do anything but move an outside signal inside the van/rv.

There are only three things that will actually improve cell reception.   Height, antenna design, and receiver sensitivity.  It is very likely the cell phone electronics are far advanced of anything Wilson could build.  Samsung or Apple just have better engineers than a two man shop or whoever designed the Weboost.

I am going to try height.   Put the cell phone in a bag and get it 100 feet up a tree, then use the hotspot feature.

 

[jimindenver]

In order for a booster to help you, it has to be designed to deal with the bands your device uses. The cell companies are acquiring bands they didn't have when some of the boosters were designed so if you are in a area or using a device that uses those bands you are SOL. It's not just boosters that are affected, some devices become useless simply because they don't have the ability to use the new bands. One of my old Cricket phones doesn't handle band 30 which AT&T started using. I can boost it with a booster that does handle band 30 and it will still not get a signal. 

So it takes some effort on your part to make sure you know what bands your cell company uses in your area. You need to have a device that takes advantage of that band as well as a booster and antenna that does too. WeBoost is just a more expensive, rebranded Wilson Sleek that was developed years ago. Things have changed and they are behind the times as in the example with Verizon above. This isn't hand grenades or horse shoes where close is good enough, if you need 2100 you need 2100 and 2110 doesn't cut it.

You can check out what bands your cell carrier uses here. http://www.ubersignal.com/carriers

IGBT, you may be right. You may not be on a band improved by the Sleek or Weboost. So check it out before you buy. As I mentioned Sprint uses a band that isn't listed so the Sleek is useless in areas that it is the band that Sprint is on. That said a wide band directional antenna does cover it and that has taken that hotspots signal from two bars to a full signal and I am 20 miles from the tower. I have enjoyed streaming like I rarely get and the Sleek isn't even plugged in. It has provided a passive connection to the antenna as good as if I had screwed the cable right in to the antenna port. You can buy inexpensive passive connectors and use a wide band antenna while avoiding the cost of a booster. This is a example, they make them specific for different devices too.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-p...hash=item3cc55673bf:m:mi23v2VSUJutAnfV4zZSy6g

The other option is that there are OTHER boosters out there than the Sleek/WeBoost. I can't afford every gadget out there even as much as I enjoy the testing and giving reviews. One such is the Maximum signal which I read someone say that it gave them results when the Sleek/WeBoost didn't. It is just an example as I am sure there are others available. I follow a number of forums on the subject because someday my gear will fall behind. Luckily it's not today so far.

https://www.maximumsignal.net/

So do your homework and get what will benefit you the most. It's better than buying something and deciding all boosters are crap simply because you bought the wrong one.

 

[jimindenver]

Two more bits of homework. The is Cellreception. I use it to tell me what towers the companies are using and where they are in a given area. It helps tell me what companies I can expect reception from as well as what direction to point my directional antenna. You can check specific carriers or all towers. Should you see a bunch of towers but none from your carrier, it means that your company has a signal there but you will be roaming to use it. You may be SOL if your device doesn't roam as many MVNO's don't while your buddy enjoys a great signal. This is a example I am using now here in Cottonwood, Az.

http://www.cellreception.com/towers/towers.php?city=cottonwood&state_abr=az

Also I use a app on my phones called Network cell info lite. It is free and shows band used as well as signal. The great thing is it will show you a map telling you just what tower you are connected to. Using it I found my Cricket phone was jumping around on different towers making pointing the antenna in just one direction detrimental.

With hotspots I have to load their web manager page and then bring up the status listing the signal strength. Some automatically update as I spin the antenna, some I have to refresh the status to see how the change affects them.

 

[makenmend]

Yesterday, returned the Sleek unit to Amazon for a full refund and ordered the WeBoost Drive 4G-M cell phone booster kit 470108, so hopefully with it and the wide band directional antenna, I should see some improvement. ( New item will arrive tomorrow )

jimindenver, thanks for those links, In a past life I was a CPO electrician on Royal Navy Polaris Submarines, so I"m fairly proficient with electrical/mechanical systems, however band width/frequency is not my forte.

This quest for improvement came about after an earlier camp trip into the forest where I had no signal, My daughter couldn't contact me so called my close friends who also failed to contact me, Now my daughter is getting worried ( I do have pre existing health condition ).
Anyway at the same campground was a young couple full timing/working, talking with them they had full 4G and were also with Verizon, so with wide band directional antenna, and WeBoost could continue there business. Hence my reason to get this equipment, if this all makes sense.