Is your Cel-Fi Boosting?

You feel that your Booster is not Boosting?

If this is the case- don’t panic!

The units  function really well, do boost, and any perception less than that is usually to do with settings, either in the handset being used or in the booster.

We’re going to refer to The Cel-Fi Wave App, which is available on iPhone and Android. There’s even a PC version if so inclined!

The Cel-Fi Wave App is used ONLY to register the device and as a diagnostic tool.

It is NOT needed for successful boosting of your signal. So before proceeding with diagnostics, make sure you've downloaded the Cel-Fi Wave App.

The Cel-Fi Wave App on your phone communicates with your Cel-Fi Booster via Bluetooth.

The app manages the Bluetooth connection – you don’t need to pair the device.

Just install and be within a meter or two of your Cel-Fi.

If the App does not build a connection make sure that nearby Bluetooth devices are disabled.

Your mobile will need an internet connection, either from the boosted signal, a non boosted signal or Wifi

As you can see the dashboard tells us what the unit is doing.

Here we see the signal strength in to the unit is 12%, quality is 70% and Boost or separation value is 78%.

The most important thing to notice here is that it is boosting “4G / LTE” (4G and LTE are effectively the same thing)

To see a “boosted” signal, your phone MUST be working on the same technology as the booster ie. 3G or 4G. You can usually see this at the top of your phone screen.

TIP: Go in to the settings page, and SET your Cel-Fi to 3G or 4G – do not leave it in Auto if you are frequently not seeing a boosted signal.

The “Auto” function causes the Cel-Fi to boost the strongest signal so it may be boosting 3G whilst your phone is adopting to work on a very low level of 4G even when the 3G signal is huge by comparison.

 The Cel-Fi GO (The Pro works on 3G and 4G so not applicable to this discussion) can boost Band 5 which is 3G, or Band 3 4G, and Band 28 4G.

In terms of usability in distance form the tower the band selection is Band 3 when close by a tower, Band 28 when a long way away from a tower – Band 3 when in3G mode.

Many phones will try to connect on Band 3 by preference, so again, if the booster is boosting Band 28 4G, or Band 5 3G your phone may still try to lock on to a faint Band 3 signal, ignoring the really strong signal.

 You can choose what band to boost (subject to their being a signal!), in the SETTINGS tab of the Cel-Fi Wave App.

Choose 3g or 4G, if needed you can select the Band to Boost individually. You’ll see which one is the best to have operating on the DASHBOARD of the App. Test each setting for best performance.

TIP: If you would like to discuss these settings and performance with us, take a note of the settings, a note of what the dashboard is showing, and then go to the ADVANCED tab.

 The Radio Band being used can be expanded, we will need the values of RSSI, RSRQ and RSRP – try gathering these values for each band you want to use.

A great way to do this is by sending us screen shots of the Dashboard, Settings and Advanced tabs (with the radio tabs expanded)

It’s pretty easy to do, just google screen shot on Android or iPhone and send to “  sales@boostersformobiles.com.au “

Driving your Phone!

Now that we know what signal we are boosting, you need to know what your phone is doing, ie. What band is it listening to?

This is easy on Android – just down load and install “*Network Signal Info:

Unfortunately we do not know of any App that works like this for iPhone, however there is a way to find out what signal strength is being received without an App.

(*We do not imply any warranty or suitability by  the use of Network Signal Info. Be sure to understand and accept the implications of installing this app on your handset)

APPLE

IOS 10.3.1 AND NEWER

4G

1. Dial *3001#12345#*
2. Select “LTE”
3. Select “Serving Cell Meas” signal strength will be displayed as “RSRP0”

3G

1. Dial *3001#12345#*
2. Select “UMTS”
3. Select “Serving Cell Meas” signal strenght will be displayed as “RSCP0”

VOLTE or “Voice over LTE” considerations:

If you find that your Booster when set to 4G has the phone ring, but on answering the call stops – check to see that your phone hasn’t dropped back to 3G.

Voice Calls on 4G use “Voice over LTE” – there are no settings in the Cel-Fi needed to support this, it is “just there”. However your phone, tower and provider MUST support VOLTE for voice calling. If any one of these does not support VOLTE leave the booster set to 3G.

Many of the Telstra “Mobile virtual Network Operators” like Aldi and Woolworths do not always support VOLTE, same with older handsets, usually VOLTE is supported from iPhone 6 and Galaxy S6 upwards.

In some handsets VOLTE may need to be “enabled”, or in the case of Apple and some Android phones, sometimes called “HD Voice”, or may look like something below. You may need to do a search specific to your phone.

Summary – the Cel-Fi units work very well and DO provide good boost when there is a signal available. Sometimes your handset may jump to a different band than the one being boosted, we can see what is happening by using the Cel-Fi Wave App, Network Signal Info, or the engineering menu in the iPhone.

We’re always happy to assist in diagnosing situations and are here to assist. Best way to deal with technical questions is to send the relevant information and screenshots if available to sales@boostersformobiles.com.au