Which is the Best wi-fi signal booster on the Market. (1 Viewer)

Jun 16, 2015
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Hi Chaps & Ladies,
Could you please give me your best advice & knowledge for what you think are the top Wi-Fi signal boosters for a Motorhome when your out & about, You get that many Brands & systems out there, I don't which are the best? (and of course simplest!, Well for us anyway, not very good at the techno side?):think:,
Thank you all in advance:mnythnks:
 
Sep 12, 2016
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I've been looking too but Steph doesn't want to spend tons of money

there are some on Fleabay at £15
Jim has some in the Shop

a friend of mine has put one together from a well known online store for £100 and gets 3.5KM range (quite useful as he's in Scotland ) from Alfa WiFi not the other one just remembered before I hit send

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BreweryDave

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I have this one, using it now!
Bought from amazon for £150
Has a stronger aerial than its competitors !!! ( and works exactly the same! )
Used their after sales service to enable set up on iPad, no problem at all, very helpful.

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Motorhome WiFi without a doubt. The quality of the kit and the after sales support from Adam and Sophie are unbeatable.

There are certainly cheaper kits around but unless you have strong technical knowledge and are confident you will never need support I wouldn't recommend them.
 
Jan 3, 2008
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I did have a booster but I found that there were few unlocked wifi points that I could use. I could connect no problem but couldn't log in. In the end I gave it away and now use 3G/ 4G by using my iPhone as a hotspot. There have been only very few occasions in the U.K., France and Germany when I haven't had a decent signal.

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vwalan

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just go on ebay ,get an alfa or an edup antenna . both just a little plastic thing about the size of a fag packet . i,m using my alfa at moment in spain . costs about 10 -20 quid .
dont pay more ,there are alot of rip offs out there .
 
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We've had good success with iBoost in the UK but not so much in Europe.
 
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just go on ebay ,get an alfa or an edup antenna . both just a little plastic thing about the size of a fag packet . i,m using my alfa at moment in spain . costs about 10 -20 quid .
dont pay more ,there are alot of rip offs out there .

Fine if you're using a laptop or something with a USB port.

If you only want to connect to a phone or a tablet those are both completely useless.
 
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Unless you run the antenna into a USB router, then all can logon to it (y)
Cheers
Ed

You could. Then you're buying another bit of kit that you have to know how to set up.

Like I said in my first post there are other options but almost all of them require some degree of technical knowhow and most of them won't have technical support easily available. If you have the IT skills fine, if you don't you're best off sticking with a kit from a reputable UK based supplier who you can talk to if you get in to trouble.

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BreweryDave

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I did have a booster but I found that there were few unlocked wifi points that I could use. I could connect no problem but couldn't log in. In the end I gave it away and now use 3G/ 4G by using my iPhone as a hotspot. There have been only very few occasions in the U.K., France and Germany when I haven't had a decent signal.

Search for all the available signals. Then simply visit an 'establishment' that has one of the wifi signals you picked up, buy a beer and get the code. Go back to the van and put it in - simples ;)
 
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I did have a booster but I found that there were few unlocked wifi points that I could use. I could connect no problem but couldn't log in. In the end I gave it away and now use 3G/ 4G by using my iPhone as a hotspot. There have been only very few occasions in the U.K., France and Germany when I haven't had a decent signal.
I concur, except I don't use a phone but a 3g/4g Huawei mifi. Works brilliantly almost everywhere, UK and Europe. I do have an Alpha, but have only used it occasionally, it can work on campsites in the van to save you sitting in reception to get a decent signal, but as I say, I now mostly use the mifi. I've also got Fon, but have rarely found a Fon signal. And those open unlocked wifi sites worry me.
 

scotjimland

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I did have a booster but I found that there were few unlocked wifi points that I could use. I could connect no problem but couldn't log in. In the end I gave it away and now use 3G/ 4G by using my iPhone as a hotspot. There have been only very few occasions in the U.K., France and Germany when I haven't had a decent signal.

Likewise.. (y)

sold my iBoost and bought a Mifi .. three data sim with 12gb , 3 Feel at Home worked great in France..
https://www.mymemory.co.uk/3-payg-4g-trio-data-sim-pack-incl-12gb-data.html
 

vwalan

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Fine if you're using a laptop or something with a USB port.

If you only want to connect to a phone or a tablet those are both completely useless.
i use laptop. havnt paid for wifi for about 8 yrs . if home or away . there are loads free unlocked ones .
some places we stay at you dont even get a phone signal so getting wifi isnt easy. but never mind i will get it at the next stop i hope .
i,m on an unlocked one now . mind i have been using it when i arrive or leave for about 5 yrs . only a cople of days a year.
 

Lot lover

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@iandsm - off topic I know but is your avatar a bichon/caniche or a bichon or a caniche (poodle). Our b/c would like to know.

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PeteH

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I have a Device similar to this, And it pulls in signals OK, cost $12 in the USA.



But most of the time I use a cheap £30 "Smart" Phone and a "3" 12Gb sim card as a MiFi.
 
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i use laptop. havnt paid for wifi for about 8 yrs . if home or away . there are loads free unlocked ones .
some places we stay at you dont even get a phone signal so getting wifi isnt easy. but never mind i will get it at the next stop i hope .
i,m on an unlocked one now . mind i have been using it when i arrive or leave for about 5 yrs . only a cople of days a year.

So, as I said, those antennas are fine for you.

I only have my phone and iPad when we're away so couldn't use one even if I wanted to (y)

More and more people are doing away with full size computers permanently, even at home, and just managing with oversized tablets that don't have USB ports and so need genuine wireless connectivity.
 

PeteH

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More and more people are doing away with full size computers permanently, even at home, and just managing with oversized tablets that don't have USB ports and so need genuine wireless connectivity.

I can see some sense in that but for doing "downloads" the (Better) reliability of Wired LAN is (in my case) a necessity. And to be Brutal I do not trust the "Cloud". it has it`s uses but IMV is best only used the "non essential" storage etc; and I have a shed load of stuff that needs USB access.

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Jan 3, 2008
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@iandsm - off topic I know but is your avatar a bichon/caniche or a bichon or a caniche (poodle). Our b/c would like to know.

Caniche, pure bred 9 yrs old. Came to us as a rescue from RSPCA at 2 yrs old. We are her fifth home because she had s habit of biting men including me at first (great with ladies and children) with patience and training she if over it now and is fine with me, still suspicious of other men but no longer bites.

She is my best friend now and will do anything for me, loves a cuddle and sleeps beside me. Very good guard dog for the motorhome and travels perfectly, no problem on buses, boats and trains and particularly likes to lay under tables in restaurants in France watching the world go by.
 
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Jan 3, 2008
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Search for all the available signals. Then simply visit an 'establishment' that has one of the wifi signals you picked up, buy a beer and get the code. Go back to the van and put it in - simples ;)

Yes I can see that would work but not as reliable as 3G or 4G especially when there are no nearby establishments. Never the less a good idea
 
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I can see some sense in that but for doing "downloads" the (Better) reliability of Wired LAN is (in my case) a necessity. And to be Brutal I do not trust the "Cloud". it has it`s uses but IMV is best only used the "non essential" storage etc; and I have a shed load of stuff that needs USB access.

I'm the opposite.

My WiFi at home is plenty fast enough for any possible download I'll ever want to do. If you have a decent fibre broadband connection and decent kit (router and laptop) then wired LAN will be no faster than WiFi.

I do have a laptop (MacBook) at home mostly for work purposes but everything that can be is Cloud based. I don't think I own any USB devices any more apart from my printer at home but even that works fine via WiFi. If I'm somewhere other than at home or at work I can still access anything important and if I'm really bored still work.

The Cloud is perfectly safe as long as you understand how it works and as long as you maintain proper password and security behaviour. I wouldn't use USB devices for critical things like backups unless there is more than one copy of everything in more than one location. Hard drives fail, flash drives get lost or broken. The chances of the various Cloud based solutions I use all failing simultaneously as well as every possible method I have of accessing the internet failing at the same time?

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Yes I can see that would work but not as reliable as 3G or 4G especially when there are no nearby establishments. Never the less a good idea

The mobile market is changing all the time. When the best option available was 3G it wasn't in any way comparable to WiFi. Now that 4G is becoming the standard along with ever bigger data allowances that's slowly starting to change. For personal use only 4G is probably not far off being usable as a first choice. I don't think data allowances are really big enough or cheap enough yet though
 
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PeteH

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I'm the opposite.

My WiFi at home is plenty fast enough for any possible download I'll ever want to do. If you have a decent fibre broadband connection and decent kit (router and laptop) then wired LAN will be no faster than WiFi.

I do have a laptop (MacBook) at home mostly for work purposes but everything that can be is Cloud based. I don't think I own any USB devices any more apart from my printer at home but even that works fine via WiFi. If I'm somewhere other than at home or at work I can still access anything important and if I'm really bored still work.

The Cloud is perfectly safe as long as you understand how it works and as long as you maintain proper password and security behaviour. I wouldn't use USB devices for critical things like backups unless there is more than one copy of everything in more than one location. Hard drives fail, flash drives get lost or broken. The chances of the various Cloud based solutions I use all failing simultaneously as well as every possible method I have of accessing the internet failing at the same time?

You have far more trust in it than I. I like to have some physical control of what I back up, not risk it on anything that relies on the same people (type of) who "engineered" (in the loosest sense) Windows 8 and 10!. I learned the lesson on "Backups" in the 80`s. (you cannot have too few!). Several T-B of Mirrored "Raid" works for me. (I actually have some 5" Disks somewhere!).
 
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not risk it on anything that relies on the same people (type of) who "engineered" (in the loosest sense) Windows 8 and 10!.

I'm with you there. (y)

I refuse to use anything that Microsoft have been involved with apart from one print server hidden in the corner at work that I have no choice about because the required software isn't available for any other platform.

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Jan 3, 2008
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The mobile market is changing all the time. When the best option available was 3G it wasn't in any way comparable to WiFi. Now that 4G is becoming the standard along with ever bigger data allowances that's slowly starting to change. For personal use only 4G is probably not far off being usable as a first choice. I don't think data allowances are really big enough or cheap enough yet though

I did have 4 GB roaming data with Vodafone but I just yesterday took up thier offer of 20GB, unlimited calls and texts @£22 a month which can be used in U.K. and Europe without restrictions. Since they allow tethering with no throttling back it's going to suit me fine. As to coverage, last year over four months in France and Germany I don't think I failed to get a decent signal more than about four five times.
 

Lenny HB

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I use one of together with a Solwise Alfa router gives me the best of both worlds, For a quick scan I can plug the aerial directly into my laptop, or if I want all round connectivity I can plug it into the router and pick up the wifi from that on all devices. Alternatively I can plug my dongle into the router and use it like a mifi. To get the best out of it you do need a bit of technical know how.

Never too much of a problem finding wifi signals loads of Fon's to pick up in France, only place we have found them a bit thin on the ground is Germany.
 
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brianno5
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Thanks ALL for your advice, I've taken it all onboard & It's helped us no end, Thanks again!(y)

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