New to this stuff, have some questions

[dmc83]

I have seen this site linked a few times now for getting good cellular internet. I live out in the middle of nowhere and am currently using a fusion4home booster with their yagi external antenna and the omni directional antenna on the booster in the house. I am currently using visible and I usually get between 1-6 Mbps download speeds. Disconnects are fairly common, however, and of course visible is known to deprioritize people. I have a couple of questions:

1) Is it likely that I could get significantly better service with the types of equipment and/or services discussed here?

2) Verizon and AT&T are the major providers around here (AT&T actually has the only cellular store in my town now), how can I see if AT&T service might be better at my house without spending a bunch of money?

Thanks

[Didneywhorl]

100-600Mbps with Visible? On what device? That's fantastic speeds.

You can always do better one way or a other, but you put up the biggest barrier, "...without spending a bunch of money."
You MAY spend a little and find what you need. You might not, and may have to spend more to keep figuring things out, on and on. The hard part is that everyone's situation is different. Some are similar, but generally different.

Do you need LAN connections? What equipment are you using now? What are your internet needs? Network needs?
What is your top need? IE: Is speed your main goal? Latency? Uninterrupted service / reliability?

Likely you'll get SIGNIFICANTLY better service? No. Possible? Yes.

Usually the best way to check service on the cheap is to have a friend or associate over that has a phone or hotspot with the service your looking into.

[dmc83]

Oops, meant to put 1-6 Mbps (fixed now). I must have been daydreaming when I typed that. I would be thrilled to even have the 50 Mbps I had at the old place back.

Do you need LAN connections?

No

What equipment are you using now?

Just what I mentioned and I am using my moto g7 power as a hotspot for my computer

What are your internet needs? Network needs? What is your top need? IE: Is speed your main goal? Latency? Uninterrupted service / reliability?

I would be happy to get consistent 10 Mbps download with sub 100 ms latency honestly. Uninterrupted service and reliability would be a high priority as well, because I like to game. I forgot to mention that my latency ranges from about 120-600 ms. The higher end is somewhat rare, but too common for me.

I don't have any friends or associates around here yet, unfortunately. That means I will probably need to get a cheap phone and some type of AT&T service to try at my house, correct?

[Didneywhorl]

Yeah, next best route is a used unlocked iphone and a prepaid month of att service on it to test.

Google how to get detailed signal info off your phone so you can get an understanding of exactly what type if signal you get in your house with Verizon. Test mode or engineer mode, something like that. Google is your friend there.
Do the same on the att phone you choose. Preferably a phone with roughly the same capabilities as your Moto G7 ... In fact, you SHOULD be able to simply get a SIM activated for ATT to put into your Moto G7. ATT and Verizon are interchangeable I believe. Could be wrong.

This should give you a baseline for while service is "better" at your house.

You ABSOLUTELY can get better and more reliable internet at your house via LTE routers. Some people like to get hotspots that are turnkey, like the Nighthawk M1. Other people like to put together setups, like the CBA850LP6 or GLinet and mikrotik devices, with minimal tinkering. Some of us, like me, love building from scratch: Router, modem, antennas put together and customized.

I've yet to find anyone who clearly defined to me a way that any booster made their internet connection the best it could be over simply using a high quality pair of antennae. I don't recommend them, though I do recognize their use, usually in mobile setups with omni-directional antennas. They cost way too much for what they give in my own personal opinion.

To me, with your current setup, it sounds like you'll need antennas and know where your cell towers are. It takes some playing and hair pulling, but is doable for sure.

I wish you said Sprint was available for you, they are the easiest for gaming. The others just require a lil bit more, or sometimes cost a lil more.

[dmc83]

Thanks for the reply. I should have mentioned that my entire house is basically a deadzone without the booster, because we have a metal roof. The only spots you can get a signal without the booster is the very front of the house and the very back of the house, and that is if you are right at the wall/window. I would have tried an LTE router first had I known they existed. Im always so confused on this cellular stuff, because it can get so complex. Would a booster and an LTE router paired together make any sense? I know the most frustrating thing about this booster is that its range is not very far (maybe 15 feet in an open room) but if my cell phone is within like 8 feet of it, it will very often cause oscillation in the booster, which kills the signal. When we first moved here we had a regular verizon hotspot plan and we had the little puck device (literally the smallest and cheapest they make probably) and that actually worked decently until the soft data cap was hit. We had to sit it in the front window, but it worked fairly well. Is this an indication that a nice LTE router like a nighthawk would perform a lot better than my booster?

[Didneywhorl]

The boosters seem to be great for some people to get cell signal to talk on. The boosters for LTE seem to be limited in effect and can cause a boost in noise as well, and tend to be narrow band.

I prefer a good modem and antenna pair. The Nighthawk may do well for you. I'm going to bet a set of outdoor directional antennas will do best paired with a modem/router that can accept antenna inputs. The Cradlepoint CBA850LP6 is a favorite of many. It doesn't have the latest greatest modem, but that can be upgraded. The Nighthawk M1 is great but the antenna ports are meh. Not unusable, but meh. TS9 connectors leave one wanting.

[dmc83]

Yeah I think im going to try router/modem solution. I would be shocked if it isn't any better than the booster. Even if its the same exact speeds, at least the modem will reach my entire house. The booster is only effective if you are within 9-15 feet of it. Its not good for phone calls at all. I have stopped even trying to talk to people on my cell phone, because a 30 minute call will drop at least twice. You also cant lock bands or just about anything else with it. It has 5 dials on it for poorly defined bands of signal strength and thats it.

[dmc83]

I am thinking about getting the Cradlepoint MBR1400LPE and hooking it up to the 2 outdoor antennas I have now since I am on a pretty tight budget at the moment. What do you think about that?

Edit: Hmm, it looks like the MBR1400LPE wouldn't support carrier aggregation right? I would like to take advantage of that if I can. I can get band 5 and 13 out here on verizon. Band 5 is definitely the stronger one.

[Didneywhorl]

I'm not familiar myself. Hopefully someone else can chime in.

[JimHelms]

Hmm, it looks like the MBR1400LPE wouldn't support carrier aggregation right? I would like to take advantage of that if I can. I can get band 5 and 13 out here on verizon. Band 5 is definitely the stronger one.

That is correct. To take advantage of Carrier Aggregation it would take the MC400LP6 modem (CAT6) or higher.

[dmc83]

Alright, so now im looking at the Cradlepoint CBA850LP6 mentioned earlier. I would need a wifi router to connect to this one it seems. Since I wont likely be exceeding 15 Mbps on visible (from what ive read on the forums here). I could probably get away with something pretty cheap right? Im also considering the mc7455 modem with something like the WE826, which is unfortunately out of stock right now. Thanks again. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[JimHelms]

Unless there is a special reason for a custom build router (i.e., to change the TTL), I would use any existing router with a good dual band WiFi behind the CBA850LP6. That, or an Access Point.

If I needed a custom build, I would look at the routers that are support by GoldenOrb, and build one that still offers good dual band WiFi (i.e., 2.4/5GHz WiFi).

[dmc83]

Alright, ill probably try the CBA850LP6 and a wifi router then. Hope I get some improvement. Was topping out at 2 Mbps down this evening =(