How to fit your Mobile Broadband Aerial

You’ve probably already seen on our previous post, that the best way to improve the signal to your 3G Mobile Broadband Dongle is to attach an external aerial.

Although this may sound like a complicated procedure, it really isn’t!

There are two main types of aerial, one with a dongle specific connector, and a universal one. The steps below will show you how to connect the Clip Aerial and High Gain Aerials to your dongle.

Universal Aerials

Clip Aerial:

The Clip Aerial clips on to the top of your laptop screen and is attached to the antenna pad by joining the two cables together. It’s a simple screw connection so shouldn’t cause you any hassle.

To connect the aerial to your dongle, you just need to sit the antenna pad on top of your dongle, and then securing by wrapping the velcro strap around it.

That’s it – just plug the dongle into your laptop and you should see a difference in signal straight away.

High Gain Aerial:

The High Gain is Aerial designed to be a more permanent solution, and as a result. installation for this aerial is slightly different as the aerial needs to point in the direction of your nearest transmitter.

The 1.2 metre cable that is included will need to be connected to both the aerial and the antenna pad. As with the clip aerial, its a simple screw connection to attach them, and it’s not possible to connect them the wrong way round. If you need a longer cable, 3 metre and 5 metre extension cables are available (High Gain Aerial only).

To connect the aerial to your dongle, you just need to sit the antenna pad on top of your dongle, and then securing by wrapping the velcro strap around it.

You can now plug your dongle in and launch the broadband control panel. You just need to position the aerial so that it now points towards your nearest network transmitter. If you don’t know where it is, then just rotate the aerial until the signal strength increases.

Dongle Specific Aerials

Clip Aerial:

The Clip Aerial clips on to the top of your laptop screen and is attached to the antenna pad by joining the two cables together. It’s a simple screw connection so shouldn’t cause you any hassle.

To connect the aerial to your dongle, you need to locate the antenna connection – this is normally hidden under a dust flap. Once you’ve found it, gently push the aerial connector in as far as you can.

That’s it – just plug the dongle into your laptop and you should see a difference in signal straight away.

High Gain Aerial:

The High Gain Aerial is designed to be a more permanent solution, and as a result. installation for this aerial is slightly different as the aerial needs to point in the direction of your nearest transmitter.

The 1.2 metre cable that is included will need to be connected to both the aerial and the antenna pad. As with the clip aerial, its a simple screw connection to attach them, and it’s not possible to connect them the wrong way round. If you need a longer cable,3 metre and 5 metre extension cables are available (High Gain Aerial only).

To connect the aerial to your dongle, you need to locate the antenna connection – this is normally hidden under a dust flap. Once you’ve found it, gently push the aerial connector in as far as you can.

You can now plug your dongle in and launch the broadband control panel. You just need to position the aerial so that it now points towards your nearest network transmitter. If you don’t know where it is, then just rotate the aerial until the signal strength increases.

If you want help finding your nearest network transmitter, the OFCOM sitefinder website has maps showing the locations of all transmitters.