Cell booster inside antenna placement

[cdement]

Cell service is poor near us. I have a cell booster in another vehicle and it works well. My question is does anyone have an idea where the best placement for the internal antenna would be for maximum effectiveness? My wife’s only complaint so far is the radio cutting out while driving using Sirius, Apple Music etc.

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[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Sheet metal is harder to penetrate than glass.

 

[f1racer328]

Are you using the built in apps with a Connect+ subscription? I can vouch for the vehicles cellular antenna. It always has better service than my phone in remote areas.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Are you using the built in apps with a Connect+ subscription? I can vouch for the vehicles cellular antenna. It always has better service than my phone in remote areas.

That’s because Connect+ is AT&T 4G LTE, which has broader coverage than 5G (which most phones are on these days).

 

[f1racer328]

That’s because Connect+ is AT&T 4G LTE, which has broader coverage than 5G (which most phones are on these days).

5G phones are backwards compatible with 4G networks though. I just completed a road trip through BFE and we saw our phones go from a variety of 5G all the way down to 3G. It's antenna placement/size.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

5G phones are backwards compatible with 4G networks though. I just completed a road trip through BFE and we saw our phones go from a variety of 5G all the way down to 3G. It's antenna placement/size.

Backwards compatible yes, but are they optimized for it? I've been in areas where my iPhone shows 4G but can't load anything. Not even weather forecast.

 

[cdement]

Are you using the built in apps with a Connect+ subscription? I can vouch for the vehicles cellular antenna. It always has better service than my phone in remote areas.

Yeah built in apps.

 

[SwampNut]

but are they optimized for it?

Yes. They didn't de-optimize the existing radios when they added 5G. At my house I can sort of get our 5G phones to work, but the Rivian is no-go next to the charger, even though we're closer to an AT&T site. Radio signals are just complicated. If I move the Rivian 30' or so, it works.

OP, you are trying to use a cell booster/repeater like a Wilson WeBoost to help with the internal cell modem, not your phone, right? That's an interesting one I haven't looked into at all. But I can experiment with mine. I suspect that the car's radio is already optimized and at max power, and that adding a repeater won't help, might make it worse. I know a couple people who I can ask though.

 

[CharonPDX]

Backwards compatible yes, but are they optimized for it? I've been in areas where my iPhone shows 4G but can't load anything. Not even weather forecast.

This.

Or it doesn't bother trying to "downgrade" to 4G/LTE, because it "has a 5G connection" - but that 5G connection is terrible and doesn't actually get any reasonable data moving. I have this inside my local Costco. It claims to have 5G, but I can't do anything. But if I tell my phone to stop even trying to use 5G, it connects to LTE and is just fine.

 

[AAA]

My cellular is so BAD right here in heart of Silicon Valley (go figure), I turned off my 5G completely as I get far better coverage with simply LTE (on T-Mobile).

 

[cdement]

Yes. They didn't de-optimize the existing radios when they added 5G. At my house I can sort of get our 5G phones to work, but the Rivian is no-go next to the charger, even though we're closer to an AT&T site. Radio signals are just complicated. If I move the Rivian 30' or so, it works.

OP, you are trying to use a cell booster/repeater like a Wilson WeBoost to help with the internal cell modem, not your phone, right? That's an interesting one I haven't looked into at all. But I can experiment with mine. I suspect that the car's radio is already optimized and at max power, and that adding a repeater won't help, might make it worse. I know a couple people who I can ask though.

Yes I’m curious if there is a location in the R1S for the inside antenna from the booster that would boost the signal the best.

 

[SwampNut]

I've reached out to the person at AT&T who would know or can find the answer. Looking at the FCC filings from Rivian, I think that it's not going to help to get a booster.

(I've worked in wireline telcom since the 90s and have done a lot of cell work too, and know people in that side of our industry.)

 

[SwampNut]

The booster MAY help. Below is an answer from engineers, and this also will depend on having a great antenna well placed. For example this:

Will do far more than my base car kit with this:

Of course if you truly want coverage all over, get Starlink. The cost has gone way down lately, and you should weigh that against a $600-ish cell setup.


Initial answer from my guy, but he's asking more about antennas and power:
Okay. Connected car radios have the same power level restrictions as handsets - set by both FCC and telecom providers. However, handsets may operate at a lower power for optimal battery life, and the antenna gain in cars is greater than handsets due to placement and utilization of the vehicle itself.

Would a booster help? - Yes. External antenna placement would be a contributing factor on how much help it would provide.

 

[SwampNut]

I have my WeBoost Internal antenna in the center console. I found this the best location especially when I use the wireless charge mat

I think you missed the fact that he wants to boost the CAR'S cell service, not the handsets. The antennas for the car are located in the rear spoiler (cab roof, rear). This is in the owner's manual as well as the FCC filings. In an R1T, you might get ok coverage from the console to the antenna, BUT...where do you put the inbound antenna??? You really need to isolate the outside antenna from the inside antenna. Blasting them at each other is going to make things worse in many cases. On the R1S, the antenna is too far from the console for this to work.

This feels more and more like an engineering solution, where guessing will make things worse. I reached out to Wilson engineers.

 

[R1T_Cruising_Male]

If this topic is still alive, is there any evidence based posts that validates adding a signal booster in line from external antenna to module? Or evidence based about replacing the OEM Rivian antenna with a higher gain external antenna? Like everyone else, signal loss in the G2 R1S is frustrating. I did not have this issue with my Gen1 R1T. Thanks

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