Wireless / Mobile > Millenicom > Best antenna/amp for Verizon LTE

Best antenna/amp for Verizon LTE

Do Not get a Wilson Sleek 4G , They will help your RSSI signal strength but actually hurt your 4G speeds . Wpsantennas has some cellphone mate 4G amplifiers, but they are current 4G only , Verizon eventually will put 4G on 800 and 1900 once initial rollout is done . There are going to be a lot of 4G amplifiers coming out , they are all in FCC testing . So a little patience will give you a big choice . The antenna Millenicom is selling works well with 4G you might want to try that first.

Are you referring to the Millenicom Hotspot Signal Booster or the Universal Antenna with Adapter?

Also, do you have any sense of the availability time frame for the forthcoming amplifiers that the FCC is testing?

Do not get the Hotspot booster - that is the sleek. The universal antenna / adapter set they sell is a great value . That is an outstanding antenna . As far as FCC approvals , your guess is as good as mine . It is the government , The FCC has really tightened up testing and approvals are a lot harder to get now , no more crap amplifiers getting out their that screw up networks . The Carriers have demanded it.

Max,

Ok, thanks very much for your info. I'll give the Millenicom universal antenna a try and see how it does - for that price I can't go very wrong.

Will that antenna work with a Cyfre amplifier if it turns out that I still need to boost the signal more than the antenna can provide?

reply to Max Signal
Not sure how you concluded Sleek 4G hurts your speeds? I live in an RV and when I'm in a low LTE signal area.. the speeds I get with the Sleek versus without are much higher. I'd give you exact comparison numbers right now but I'm in the boondocks with 3G only signal.

Are you pairing it with a good 4G antenna (preferably directional) or the one out of the box?

The sleek has a narrow pipe that actually restricts data speeds . Like I said . It improves the RSSI but yet does not yield the highest available speeds from said tower . Have heard this from several users along with several network RF engineers . It is the first product on the market and inexpensive , but there will be much better coming.

Ok that may be true about not maximizing speed.. personally I've been happy with the 15Mb down through the Sleek in an area where I wouldn't even be able to connect to 4G without the Sleek.

Which leads me to the original posters issue.. the issue is not bandwidth but is signal. The Sleek 4G would solve the problem of actually getting connected. Maybe at that point the Sleek won't be able to totally take advantage of a 30Mb down pipe and instead pull in maybe 15Mb which is way better than you'll get on 3G. This is the simplest, cheapest solution for the poster.

reply to jferris33
I read something somewhere where you can use a direct connect amp,used as a pre-amp before the sleek that make's reception that much better but I don't really know how that work's.

reply to jferris33

reply to Max Signal
How do you connect the "universal antenna" to the 4620? What type of connector is required and where can you buy it?

»www.wpsantennas.com/WA-1119-Veri···ble.aspx

reply to jferris33
Can the Wilson 3G amp be used with the Novatel 4620 when you are in a 3G only area?

Yes

reply to jpainter01
You will need a specific adapter for the 4620L. You can get these from Amazon, the 3G store, Maximum Signal and many other sources.

Just do a search for "4620L antenna adapter" and you'll find lots of sources. It will probably cost about $15 including shipping.

Beware of close fits . They are not a good thing . The only exact adapter is the one made for WPSantennas . We even buy ours from them . Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades . Just because seams like it is a good fit it is not good enough and you can do permanent damage to you device by buying a close fit.

I have a short adapter cable that I purchased from Verizon that they sell for their 4620L. One end seems to fit the 4620L well and the other end fits the 6' skinny patch cable that came with the Wilson 3G 3 amp.

Should I be looking for a 'patch cable' that connects one end to the Wilson amp and the other end directly into the 4620, eliminating the adapter cable from Verizon?

I guess my question is, in the configuration above . . . will using two connector cables degrade the signal?

reply to jferris33
Where do you set the 4620 to connect to ONLY either LTE or to 3G?

You have to access the 4620 using a browser. First make sure your computer is connected to the 4620's WiFi signal and then type in 192.168.1.1 in the address bar in your browser. It will require a password which is printed inside the battery compartment of the 4620.

Once logged in click on the "Network" tab and then on the "WWAN" tab under network. In the "WWAN Settings" section click on "WWAN Preferred Mode" and choose "LTE Only" for 4G or "EVDO Only" for 3G.

Then click the save button at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.

Thank you so much for the detailed instructions. I knew it was through the management module, but couldn't find it!