This guide is to help people in setting up a self-install mobile signal booster. Our generic guide is purpose built to help people avoid the main pitfalls you may come across when carrying out a self-install. With 20 years of engineering experience, we can help you have a fully operational mobile booster for your home or office. These self-install home signal boosters do not require expensive signal scanners, just a few pieces of equipment, a phone and our helpful guide to installing a signal booster successfully!
Let’s start with the most important item when installing a mobile signal booster in the UK and worldwide, which is your outside donor antenna. The location for this is critical and is the single most important factor to take into account.
The outdoor antenna for a mobile signal booster must be:
- Located in an area that has signal outdoors at your house or office.
- Fit the antenna as high up as possible to avoid obstructions and get the best input level.
- It’s directional, so make sure to point the antenna in the direction of the base stations.
- Do not have it in an area where it is blocked by overhanging fascia boards.
- Avoid obstacles e.g. trees directly beside it.
How do you identify the best direction to point the donor antenna that feeds your mobile signal booster?
We recommend using an app that shows the locations of the base station for Vodafone, o2, EE and Three. The best one in the UK is a company called Cellmapper, which is a not for profit organization that has a database that’s over 90% accurate and very helpful.
Once you have the antenna high up, pointing towards the base station and in the best location the next item to address is the isolation.
Isolation means ensuring there is no feedback loop from the amplifier to the outside aerial, this is managed by having a solid material between the mobile signal booster and the outside aerial, for example this could be the gable wall, and ideally the amplifier is a full 10m or 15m from the antenna. The distance will depend on the amplifier you use, both Huaptec amplifiers use 15m cables, while some units only come with 10m cable. Do not have the amplifier beside the window on the first floor, where the outside aerial is on the other side of the wall, try and have the amplifier further away so that it is isolated. Once fully isolated the amplifier will boost the mobile signal at full power, this means you are getting the maximum mobile signal boost.
When the outside aerial is in the correct position and the amplifier is fully isolated, you should also have signal broadcasting where the amplifier is now located.
Choose a mobile signal booster with the correct bands for your area & mobile network
Boosters have five bands in the UK, 700MH to 2600MHz. Ensure the booster you buy has the right frequency bands built in. Devices can have only one band or come with all five bands built in ready to use.
Check the bands you have at the house by following the guidelines outlined further below if you’re not already familiar on how to identify the bands using your handset. For EE customers always look for the 1800 Mhz frequency, for Three customers look for the 2100MHz to be included and Vodafone and o2 the 900MHz and 800MHz bands are the most important.
How do I extend the mobile signal booster?
Firstly, it is important to note that self-install signal boosters for homes typically aren’t suitable for boosting more than one room or a small open space. Splitting or extending the signal to additional rooms or areas could reduce the effectiveness of your mobile signal booster.
If you do want to extend the signal from the amplifier to your other floors, you can do this using a 2 or 3 way splitter, which will divide the mobile phone signal at the booster box. Once divided by the splitter, it will then need to be cabled to antennas in other floors or areas of the building, once you cable to these areas you will need to fit an antenna that will be the access point (AP) for that roof.
The reason people fit antennas is that the signal will travel down the low loss cable and still be strong when it’s connected to the antenna, the signal broadcast from the amplifier reduces as it hits the internal walls, as the walls absorb the signals it travels less and less.
If you need a signal solution that covers multiple floors or large buildings, we do recommend working with professional installers like Mobile Signal Solutions.
What do you need to split the signal from the mobile signal amplifier?
- 1 X Jumper cable from the signal booster to the signal splitter box.
- 1 X Signal Splitter, this can be a 2,3 or 4 way splitter.
- A number of Indoor antennas to match the splitter (e.g. 2 antennas for a 2 way splitter).
- A cable which should be crimped with N-type connectors at each end, these will be needed to bring signal from the splitter to each antenna (e.g 3 cables for a 3 way splitter).
What do I do if the mobile signal booster does not cover all the areas I need?
If you find your signal booster is not covering the full area you want or need boosted, there really are only 2 ways to improve the signal. Start by adjusting the outside aerial to get the maximum input signal possible, assuming you have it in the general direction of the towers then use small variations of 5 degrees to help you identify which is the best direction.
What do I do if the signal booster is not working at all?
The outside aerial is, once again, the key. You will need to start to move the outside aerial to point in the different directions; North, North East, East, South East, South, South west, west and North west. One of these 8 directions will be the best one, so at each point check the signal, and then from there you can do small adjustments to get the best results.
For professional installations, an engineer will have specific signal scanning equipment and the required experience to get any system to work. They will also have access to commercial grade equipment and high gain industrial aerials for outside, so if you need a commercial installation of a signal booster or want to get full coverage contact the team here for a professional installation for a mobile signal booster.
How to know what band to boost or to check you have the right signal booster?
Mobile boosters in the UK boost individual bands, you can buy boosters with just the one band or you can purchase a booster with all 5 UK bands. You will need to check what band you have outside your home and ensure you buy a booster that operates and boosts that same signal.
If you are unsure what bands of networks are available in your area you can use the codes we have provided below to identify the band and frequency range.If you are still unsure or unable to identify the band, you can also contact the company you purchased your signal booster unit from to help.
For Android Users
1. Switch wifi off
2. Type in *#0011# into the area that you would normally use to put in a telephone number and click call
3. Scroll through the list until you see the Band section
- 700MHz (Band 28) – Perfect for rural areas, usually 5G, average 50MB+ speeds once live in your area. This is usually only available in the more expensive boosters like the Huaptec 5S model or any commercial amplifier.
- 800MHz (Band 20) – Usually 4G but is suitable for your speed of 2MB. It is the most likely band that you will find in the UK for both voice and data, please make sure your mobile signal booster is capable of boosting this band. Find out more about a 4G mobile signal booster.
- 900MHz (Band 8) – Traditional UK voice, very useful for o2 and Vodafone.
- 1800MHz (Band 3) – Traditionally the old Orange and T-mobile bands, so it’s used by EE in most areas. If you have EE, please check that your amplifier has the 1800Mhz band or it simply will not work.
- 2100MHz (Band 1) – Older 3G technology and steadfast band of Three network. For Three customers ensure the booster you choose has the 2100Mhz, it’s also useful for all other networks but it is slowly being discontinued and will be completely offline in the UK by 2033.
- 2600MHz (Band 7) – Not allowed by Ofcom boost. This is a great band to have if you want to future proof your system, but it is not presently allowed to be broadcast in the UK under guidelines, as at July 2024. If your handset is picking up 2600 MHz outside, the unfortunate news is the amplifier will not help as it can not rebroadcast this band legally.
Some phones may only show UARFCN numbers, if so email us at [email protected], with the number, and we will come back to you as we will need to use software to identify the correct band for you.
For IPhone Users
1. Switch wifi off
2. Dial the following number and press call *3001#12345#*
When outside, the bands you have available to you will be identified. You should make sure your booster can boost the bands as listed, as the mobile signal booster will give each a large boost of up to 70dB to bring you from 1 bar and broken signal, to full bars with a crystal clear signal.
If you have followed our checklist but you’re still having a problem with getting your booster working, feel free to call Mobile Signal Solutions and one of our RF engineers will be able to help you find a solution or recommend a commercial grade mobile signal booster. We will design your commercial system for you free of charge.
