WiFi Boosters. Do they work for you?

[Michael Grady]

We are preparing our boat for some cruising this Summer and Fall and I am spoiled by having access to WiFi, as we have at our berth here in Marathon, FL. I was looking forward to installing a WiFi Booster, such as a Wave Rouge or a RedPort Halo aboard our Krogen Manatee 36.
We have an Xfinity account, so we should we able to use their Hotspots as we travel.
Well, when I mentioned this to my Wife/Admiral, she expressed that she was doubtful that they work and asked me to research this before she would agree to authorize this upgrade.
Will those of you with WiFi Booster experience please share how these work for you and if you think they are worth the purchase.

 

[Ken E.]

MG, I've been using a Wilson cell booster for about 5 years. It works well and usually adds a couple bars to my connection. Well worth having.

 

[JohnEasley]

I helped install a RedPort Halo in a friend’s boat. He was able to pick up McDonalds and Starbucks about a mile away. I was impressed. Ours will be here next week.

 

[Michael Grady]

MG, I've been using a Wilson cell booster for about 5 years. It works well and usually adds a couple bars to my connection. Well worth having.

Thank you, Ken

 

[Michael Grady]

I helped install a RedPort Halo in a friend’s boat. He was able to pick up McDonalds and Starbucks about a mile away. I was impressed. Ours will be here next week.

Thank you, Capt. John

 

[Boat]

Are you talking Wifi booster or cell phone booster? Just wanted to make that distinction.


It was difficult to get acceptable coverage at my farm. I looked into cell boosters and came away with the impression that they were proprietary. So they work with some towers but not others.


Electronics change so quickly, it's a guess from day to day. 5g is here and holds the promise to improve everything. I have my fingers crossed. Spend now as if obsolete is here tomorrow.

 

[psneeld]

My experience is they have worked in the past for me.


Mine is a ubiquity bullet based system about 4 years old and is relatively useless now. Not sure why, but it seemed to connect to lots of access points, but and says it has good speed connectivity, but just doesn't pull in signals that my 10 inch pad can. Not sure if it's software or access point restriction or what.


Even at it's best, it helped but wasn't a miracle worker.


Infinity points are great and often even just your phone or pad can find them without an amp.

Now that my phone is unlimited, I tend to use it as the wifi booster just doesn't seem to cut it anymore and I cant see buying new just yet as more places are adding 5gz access points.


Use due diligent in research as you will get all over the place answers.

 

[HenryD]

Cool Beans,
We have both a cell signal booster and an Aigean Network Wifi extender. Early on we used the wifi extended a fair amount. It is connected to a Cradlepoint router and provided wifi to all boat devices. Over time, I found less and less open Wifi signals and at marinas, their wifi services have improved to where I did not need the Aigean device.
The past 2-3 years, mainly use a MiFi plugged into the Cradlepoint.
BTW- love your paint on Cool Beans.

 

[Larry M]

We upgraded and added an IslandTime Wifi extender. We wanted an antenna that also had the 5.8Ghz band. The 5.8GHz band doesn't have the range but is less crowded than the 2.4Ghz band. The marina we're in now, broadcasts on both bands and the speed/connectivity is superior on the 5.8 GHz. We had the "Bullet" before which as ok but only had the 2.4 GHz band.

Here's an article discussing the differet bands:

https://www.sabaitechnology.com/blog...vs-5-ghz-wifi/

The Island Time system we bought has the Mikrotik Groove 52HPn Dual Band High Gain antenna 2.4/5.8Ghz, 7/8dbi. Tech support was great.

https://www.islandtimepc.com/

 

[FlyWright]

I have a Rogue Wifi that worked when I needed it years ago. They advertise a range of 7 miles but don't believe it. The most I ever say was 3-4 miles., which was still respectable to me. Like psneeld, I now have unlimited data and find that easier to access, so the Wave Rogue sits unused.

Since you have Xfinity, you'll have access to their xfinity wifi that many of their routers broadcast. It has worked surprisingly well for me but free and open wifi is becoming harder to find. I've been known to call a nearby restaurant or hotel to get their code for wifi access.