HiBoost Cell Phone Booster Review
I get some great stuff here at John’s Tech Blog and this certainly tops the list. HiBoost has graciously provided me their HiBoost Cell Phone Booster to review. This is primarily targeted for Overland and Off Road explorers who might find themselves in weak cell phone signal areas.
The version sent to me to review is the Travel 3.0 ExplorerX. The other version is targeted towards Truck Drivers and SUV drivers and is called the Travel 3.0 Truck.
It should be noted right out of the gate that you can’t boost a signal that doesn’t exist.
In my current location cell reception is pretty poor. Can you hear ME now, Verizon? We live on the edge of the Croatan National Forest and our neighborhood is heavily wooded. At best we get 2 reception bars on a good day.
And I should also note that mobile boosters and in home boosters are two different animals entirely. I promise you though that I’m going to test this at our home regardless.
Does It Work?
Normally I’d work you through installation and any weirdness I stumbled across before I got into the operational testing phase. But you want to know straight up whether it does what it says it does, Don’t you? The answer to that question is a resounding “YES” from my initial testing.
The highest cell signal on my phone I have ever seen inside the house is 2 bars. The highest outside the house is 2-3 bars. With this system installed in my Toyota Tacoma I instantly get 4 full bars.
Operational Test
The first test is a simple speed test using an app called Open Signal. I’ll post 2 images below.
- Before turning on the HiBoost Cell Booster
- After turning on the HiBoost Cell Booster
Hiboost Testing (click pics to enlarge)
Wow! First of all I went from 2 bars to a full 4 bars. The download speed is roughly 75.5% FASTER. The upload speed is 1500% FASTER. Latency numbers (lower is better) are improved as well after turning on the Hiboost.
2nd Test
The second test I performed involves using an application called Signal Supervisor (IOS). There is a little setup involved with the app but it is very intuitive. Here is what it came up with.
Signal Supervisor (click pic to enlarge)
The HiBoost Booster itself was performing top notch but the manual indicated that the goal for maximum signal is if the gain reaches 50 dB (upper right circular graph). The sweet spot is obtained by keeping the outdoor antenna away from the indoor antenna as much as possible. Look at me getting a score of SUPER on the first try.
It is also worthwhile to note that I’ve got 4 full bars here where I’d normally have 2.
So, yes, this Booster WORKS.
The Real Test
I live on the edge of the Croatan National Forest. My house has a wooded area that runs to a nearby river. We are surrounded by trees. So many trees that one fell on the house recently. One Star. Do Not Recommend. The trees, I mean.
Anyway, driving up to a nearby town nets a few dead spots. And I know exactly where they are because I ride my bicycle to this town all the time. I bluetooth podcasts over to a speaker mounted on my handlebars. When the stream interrupts, I know I am in one of the notorious dead spots.
Driving a car or truck is better because you are in and out of the dead spot quicker. 55mph vs. 13mph. I sat a phone up next to a radio and called my phone and drove the 11 miles through the country roads with not a single drop out. I listened to the radio from the other phone at home the whole way.
AMAZING! And yes, that is a weird test to confirm a signal but that’s what I do here.
And I know a thing or two about signal acquisition as I am a licensed General Class Amateur Radio Operator (KN4FMV). Trust me.
Installation Video
There are only a few steps to complete the installation:
- Provide a 12vdc power source from a car cigarette lighter power port
- Connect the outdoor antenna
- Connect the indoor antenna
- Keep them apart as much as is possible
- Test your installation (already covered above)
The installation could not be any easier. Seriously.
Issues, Gotchas, Complaints
None.
Works as advertised. Everything you need is in the kit which is well packaged. The only thing that might give anyone pause is the price which is over $500.
However, if you can afford an off-road or overland vehicle you can’t afford to NOT have this. This could save your life. It really could. I frequently worked out of an office in Yuma, AZ. Lots of ATV’s and gigantic pickup trucks operating right near the Mexican border on the sand dunes. Cell service was abysmal.
Even where I live there are hunters that trek out deep into the woods. Guarantee as they hike out from the truck they get in some no signal reception areas. In an emergency having cellular service where the truck is could mean the difference between life and death or being stuck out in the woods overnight unplanned.
Wrap Up
If you ever encounter a situation where you have no cell service routinely the HiBoost Travel 3.0 ExplorerX Cellular Booster can fix that problem. Of course your mileage may vary depending on your service area but where I live it far exceeds my expectations.
JOHN’S TECH BLOG GIVES THE HIBOOST CELL BOOSTER 5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️