Wifi vs Mifi Boosters?

[alphapets]

WiFi vs MiFi Booster?

The site we are on has Wifi, but the signal strength is very hit and miss. Plus it’s not a secure network. And at peak usage times you have dip in speeds.

We have a Huawei E5783B Dongle 4G with Three which we purchased for touring, but use on site. But the signal coverage for the area is poor at present and Three show only 3G coverage.

What are the options for both boosting either the on site WiFi signal strength , and likewise for boosting the Mifi signal strength?

Any links for reviews, makes and models of devices used to boost signal strength please? We are locked into a contact on the Mifi for the next 18 months.

Cheers

 

[bertieboy1]

With boosting you'll improve the signal strength between your device and the source of the WIFI signal,you won't get more (channels) - for want of a better word.If the original signal has interference all you will do is "boost"this interference.

 

[Woodentop]

MIfi is short for Mobile wi-fi, so in this application they are one and the same.

Simple answer, until your mi-fi contract expires, is to turn on the hotspot facility of your or your Managament's phone and use that - assuming of course one or both of them are on a different SP to that of your mi-fi.

3 are one of the cheapest but their coverage leaves much to be desired. We visit our daughter and family in Bath and take our van to a farm CL in NE Somerset. There is a electricity pylon about 650m West of the pitches that carries 4G on both O2 and VF, and a 3 tower about 1.1Km East that carries 3 and EE but only EE has 4G*. We must assume that 3 don't see a market for 4G in that area which is strange given that the landline-fed broadband only just does 2MB downhill with a following wind in good weather on a sunny day. I showed the farmer how to use his phone as a hotspot (ironically on 3) and he could get 10Mb with ease. I use GG on the O2 infrastructure and can pull 29Mb with no problem on a Huawei mifi and its own internal aerial. The farmer has told all of his friends and now most have cancelled their landlines and gone mobile and mifi only.

*O2 and VF are often co-sited because that use a shared distribution system under the 'Cornerstone Project': similarly (and for many years back to the days of T-Mobile) 3 and EE have a joint company called MBNL that, like O2 and VF, is a shared distribution system. Ergo if EE have 4G on the site there is no reason why 3 should not as well given they come down the same pipe!

 

[Buckman]

WiFi vs MiFi Booster?

The site we are on has Wifi, but the signal strength is very hit and miss. Plus it’s not a secure network. And at peak usage times you have dip in speeds.

We have a Huawei E5783B Dongle 4G with Three which we purchased for touring, but use on site. But the signal coverage for the area is poor at present and Three show only 3G coverage.

What are the options for both boosting either the on site WiFi signal strength , and likewise for boosting the Mifi signal strength?

Any links for reviews, makes and models of devices used to boost signal strength please? We are locked into a contact on the Mifi for the next 18 months.

Cheers

It needs to be remembered that when operating a mifi inside a caravan you are sitting in a Faraday cage. Move the mifi outside for better results. We used to place ours above the skylight in poor signal areas.

 

[Woodentop]

It needs to be remembered that when operating a mifi inside a caravan you are sitting in a Faraday cage. Move the mifi outside for better results. We used to place ours above the skylight in poor signal areas.

Or even put it in an appropriate place in your car next to the caravan - the wi-fi field it produces will work well in the caravan. Just don't pull down your blinds close to it if the have an aluminium backing!

 

[alphapets]

I tried it outside, and it did work slightly better. Not a permanent solution, but I think a booster would be ideal.

 

[Buckman]

We are with Three and have never needed a booster.

 

[alphapets]

It all depends on your areas signal strength. So I am pleased that your 3 works in your area. But that does not help me.

 

[alphapets]

I contacted https://www.boostersdirect.com/ Booster Direct, but did not receive a reply. If that is a measure of their 24/7 support. I might look elsewhere.

 

[alphapets]

Judging by reviews might have dodged a bullet with this company. https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/mobilebooster.co.uk

 

[Beachball]

We are with EE and never had a problem with our Dongle 4G

 

[trish645]

Between us we have 4 Sim cards in or phones covering EE/3/Tesco/O2. and if we cant get a good wifi from a phone personal hotspot is it worth getting a MiFi dongle?

 

[Sam Vimes]

A Mifi dongle or device can be useful if you don't want to bother messing about swapping SIM cards in and out of your phone.

With many 30 day contracts available you can select one thats good for where your going. There are apps available that show the coverage of the different operators.

The other issue can be that some of the MVNO suppliers e.g. Tesco don't always get as good connections as the MNO. Tesco use the O2 network, however there's a possible difference in service between Pay Monthly and Pay as You Go.

 

[IanB1485]

Falcon do a Wi-fi router that has suckers on it so can be stuck on the outside of the caravan and can be fitted with a pay as you go, data SIM , and two large external aerials to enhance reception .
As to referring to a caravan as being a 'Faraday cage' is a bit spurious as
a . it's full of big holes,
b. aluminium is not a good magnetic shield ( and newer caravans are plastic skinned)
c. it's not earthed so can't sink away induced currents, so will just resonate with the RF signals (At Ferranti's we had two proper Faraday dark rooms and even opening the door would allow RF signal in , particularly Radio 4 on 198kHz ).
A metal box made of thin aluminium only partially blocks electric /electrostatic fields , unless built of copper/nickel alloys which , being magnetic absorb the magnetic component.
A caravan skin will not stop a magnetic field and an em signal has an electric component and a magnetic component.

 

[Woodentop]

Between us we have 4 Sim cards in or phones covering EE/3/Tesco/O2. and if we cant get a good wifi from a phone personal hotspot is it worth getting a MiFi dongle?

For the record Tesco uses O2 infrastructure so you have tried two on the same system. Also did the device using 3 have 4G capability as 3 have now closed down their 3G system and operate only on 4G.
Phone sensitivity IME is never as good as a mi-fi unit as it has some much much more to do. A mi-fi simply has to change GSM into wi-fi plus a bit. If you get something like a Huawei E5776 it has the benefit of an external aerial socket if you need it.

 

[Sam Vimes]

While it's true that caravans are not technically a Faraday Cage it will attenuate signals from out side. Any enclosure will, even putting your hand across the back of your phone can decrease the signal power being received. You'll see on coverage maps figures for indoors and outdoors.

Sitting in my caravan as I write this the signal strength at the table is -110db. If I hold the phone to the window it goes up to -96db. Every10db is a change of power by a factor of 10. At these power levels I can get between 15-20Mbps... sometimes

But signal strength is not the only factor in performance. You may well be sharing the same mast as hundreds or thousands of other people at the same time. Also the mast may not support all the signal bands available and lower frequencies support less users and have less bandwidth available.

It's complicated 😉