Andrew Revering Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 This one has stumped me and I'm hoping someone can shed light on this... I have Sprint as my provider, and I'm out in a no-coverage area north of Lake Superior in Minnesota. I purchased a 20db gain Yagi antenna, and pointed it at the nearest tower, which is 16 miles away on the other side of a high bluff. The antenna is connected to a Wilson (WeBoost) amplifier Amplifier showing all green as it's at max power and working properly. I am getting a signal! It's a middle of the road "2-3 bar" -87 dBm signal on both my Android HTC 10 and my wife's iPhone 6S Plus Signal Check Pro says it's the Verizon tower, which makes sense as I'm pointing it at the 850 mhz Verizon tower. The problem is that calls do not work. No tones or audio when dialing and eventually it just disconnects, and no data connection available. I tried a Verizon MiFi and had similar results. It had a signal but couldn't connect. What's the problem? I've put in about $800 into this setup, and I don't want to give up on getting data and switching to Satellite if I'm very close to getting a connection! Thanks in advance for your ideas/explanations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirskyc Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 if you can't get it to work with a verizon device then it isn't a sprint problem. Does any provider have service for the area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirskyc Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 edit: i don't know if i've ever seen a sprint device roam on Verizon 3G 850MHz either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flompholph Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Did your phone have signal where your antenna is located? 16 miles is not unheard of for 3g but very weak. The reason I ask is because weboost needs something to boost. It may be garbage in garbage out. It may just be a factor of you finding that one spot that works on your property where it works and placing the antenna there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Revering Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 There isn't a signal without the antenna & amp. With the amp its 2-3 bars and about -87 dBm I guess I was just wondering if since I have a signal if the problem is something like high noise and antenna placement would resolve the issue. It's the middle of a huge forest...and antenna is about 15-20 feet up, but all the pines are 40-50 foot high. So I'm hitting the middle of all the trees. Lets say its some sort of noise or obstruction due to the trees, do you think raising the antenna another 20 feet would do the trick, or since I'm already at 20 feet with a decent, but unusable signal that going another 20 feet wouldn't make a difference? I know this is more of a trial and error type of thing, but it's a lot of work if it's a fruitless effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Revering Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 I should add that the signal being reported is 1x, not 3G. Not sure if that matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Revering Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 ...and to answer a previous question... yes there's service, but not at our location, towers are 16 miles away. There's a sprint tower and a verizon tower right next to each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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