{"id":190,"date":"2010-05-18T12:15:48","date_gmt":"2010-05-18T11:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/?p=190"},"modified":"2015-05-22T16:42:18","modified_gmt":"2015-05-22T15:42:18","slug":"how-to-boost-your-mobile-broadband-3g-signal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/2010\/05\/how-to-boost-your-mobile-broadband-3g-signal\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Boost your Mobile Broadband 3G Signal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"background-color:#f3f3f3; border:1px #353735 solid; padding:5px; margin-bottom:10px;\">This is part of a series of posts on <strong>How to improve your mobile broadband signal<\/strong>. Here&#8217;s what we&#8217;ve covered:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"How to boost your mobile broadband signal\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/2009\/03\/how-to-boost-your-mobile-broadband-3g-signal\/\">How to boost your mobile broadband signal<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Finding your Nearest Transmitter\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/2010\/02\/mobile-broadband-finding-your-nearest-transmitter\/\">Finding your Nearest Transmitter<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"How to measure and improve your mobile broadband reception\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/2009\/06\/how-to-measure-improve-mobile-broadband-reception\/\">How to measure and improve your mobile broadband reception<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Which mobile broadband antenna do you need\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/2009\/03\/which-3g-antenna-do-i-need\/\">Which mobile broadband antenna do you need<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"How to fit your mobile broadband antenna\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/2009\/06\/how-to-fit-your-mobile-broadband-aerial\/\">How to fit your mobile broadband antenna<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Mobile broadband antenna range extended\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/2009\/08\/mobile-broadband-antenna-range-extended\/\">Mobile broadband antenna range extended<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"How to improve mobile broadband signal in the car\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/2009\/08\/improving-your-mobile-broadband-signal-in-the-car\/\">How to improve signal in the car<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Antenna Compatibility Guide\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/guides\/3g-dongle-compatibility\/\">Antenna Compatibility Guide<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft\" title=\"High Gain 3G Antenna\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/graphics\/120pixelp\/18962.jpg\" alt=\"High Gain 3G Antenna\" width=\"120\" height=\"120\" \/>One of the great things about Mobile Broadband is that you can go online anywhere you like &#8211; but you can almost guarantee that the place you need it the most is the place where signal is at its weakest.<\/p>\n<p>While 3G coverage is getting stronger with all networks, there will still be blackspots where it drops out, or you can only pick up a 2G signal. Thankfully, a couple of solutions are now available to try and get round these signal issues. If you don&#8217;t have a dongle yet and are looking for the network with the strongest 3G signal, then the <a title=\"Ofcom Website\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ofcom.org.uk\/radiocomms\/ifi\/licensing\/classes\/broadband\/cellular\/3g\/maps\/3gmaps\/\">OFCOM website<\/a> has just published updated coverage maps (as of 31\/12\/08) that allow you to view the <a title=\"View 3G coverage by network\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/graphics\/misc\/Blogs\/coverage_maps.pdf\">3G coverage by network<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATED:<\/strong> There are now three different types of antenna available:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Clip Antenna: <\/strong>This Antenna is designed to be a portable solution that clips onto the screen on your laptop or sits on your desk. It is omni-directional, which means that it will pick up signals from all directions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>High Gain 3G Directional Antenna:<\/strong> This is a much more powerful signal booster than the clip antenna and is ideal for people who have problems with 3G reception or use their dongle in a fixed location.  They are directional, which means that you will need to point this towards your network&#8217;s transmitter in order for it to improve the signal.  The High Gain antenna when positioned correctly will make a significant difference to the signal you receive and can be wall mounted as a permanent fixture.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mobile Broadband Outdoor Panel Antenna:<\/strong>This is also a more powerful signal booster than the clip antenna and is ideal for people who have real problems with 3G reception. They are also directional, which means that you will need to point this towards your network&#8217;s transmitter in order for it to improve the signal. The Outdoor Panel antenna when positioned correctly will make a significant difference to the signal you receive and is designed to be wall\/pole mounted outside.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each of the antenna&#8217;s can make a big difference to the signal you receive.\u00a0Some will have an ariel connection that will plug straight into the dongle, and others will use a Universal &#8220;strap on&#8221; connection. Antennas are available for Dongles and Data Cards made by:<\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/3\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 50px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"Three Mobile Broadband Antennas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/3.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"View all Three 3G Dongles\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/t-mobile\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 50px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"T-Mobile Mobile Broadband Antennas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/tmobile.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"View all T-Mobile 3G Dongles\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/vodafone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 50px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"Vodafone Mobile Broadband Antennas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/vodafone.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"View all Vodafone 3G Dongles\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/orange\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 50px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"Orange Mobile Broadband Antennas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/orange.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"View all Orange 3G Dongles\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/o2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 50px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"O2 Mobile Broadband Antennas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/o2logo.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"View all O2 3G Dongles\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/cat\/Virgin.htm\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 50px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"Virgin Mobile Broadband Antennas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/virgin.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"View all Virgin 3G Dongles\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/cat\/BT-Mobile.htm\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 50px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"BT Mobile Broadband Antennas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/btmobile.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"View all BT Mobile 3G Dongles\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/huawei\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 50px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"Huawei Mobile Broadband Antennas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/huawei.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"View all Huawei 3G Dongles\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/cat\/Option-Wireless.htm\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 50px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"Option Wireless Mobile Broadband Antennas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/option.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"View all Option 3G Dongles\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/sierra-wireless\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 50px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"Sierra Wireless Mobile Broadband Antennas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/sierra.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"View all Sierra Wireless 3G Dongles\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/cat\/Novatel.htm\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 50px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"Novatel Mobile Broadband Antennas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/novatel.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"View all Novatel Wireless 3G Dongles\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/zte\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 50px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 10px; border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"ZTE Mobile Broadband Antennas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/03\/zte.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"View all ZTE 3G Dongles\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"Make sure you get the right Antenna! Click Here\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/guides\/3g-dongle-compatibility\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\" aligncenter\" style=\"border: 0px initial initial;\" title=\"Make sure you get the right Antenna! Click Here\" src=\"http:\/\/images.mobilefun.co.uk\/graphics\/misc\/antenna-banner.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Make sure you get the right Antenna! Click Here\" width=\"650\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To help you find the right antenna for your dongle,  you can now check the <a title=\"Which 3G Antenna do I need?\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/guides\/3g-dongle-compatibility\/\">3G Antenna Compatibility chart<\/a> or, to view all available antennas, head over to the <a title=\"Mobile Broadband Accessories\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/by-type\/networking\/mobile-broadband\">Mobile Broadband<\/a> section of the site, and then choose your device &#8211; either a USB Dongle or a Data Card. You&#8217;ll need to know the model number of your dongle, but this should be printed on a label on the underneath of your Dongle or Data Card.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Identifying your Dongle\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/graphics\/misc\/Blogs\/identifying-dongle.jpg\" alt=\"Identifying your Dongle\" width=\"400\" height=\"203\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Your model number is printed on the base of your dongle and is not the CE number<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Setting up your Antenna<\/h3>\n<div style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Clip 3G Antenna to screen\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/graphics\/misc\/Blogs\/3g-signal-booster.jpg\" alt=\"Clip 3G Antenna to screen\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Clip 3G Antenna to screen<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Set up is quick and simple.\u00a0The Clip Antenna easily clips onto the screen of your laptop or can be mounted in the desk stand (if included).<br \/>\nThe High Gain Directional Antenna needs to be mounted on the deskstand, or fixed to the wall (bracket included)<br \/>\n<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 150px; margin: 5px;\" title=\"3G Antenna Installation\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/graphics\/misc\/Blogs\/3g-card-installation.jpg\" alt=\"3G Antenna Installation\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">3G Antenna Installation<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Next you&#8217;ll need to connect the antenna to the adapter cable. If your dongle has an antenna connection, carefully connect the end of the cable to your dongle.<\/p>\n<p>The Clip Antenna includes a 50cm cable, the High Gain Directional Antenna comes with a 1.2m cable. Longer <a title=\"Mobile Broadband Antenna Cable\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/product\/18968.htm\">3m cable<\/a>s and <a title=\"Mobile Broadband Antenna Cable\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/product\/18969.htm\">5m cables<\/a> are available for the High Gain and Outdoor Panel Antenna.<\/p>\n<p><br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Universal 3G Antenna Installation\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/graphics\/misc\/Blogs\/3g-uni-signal-booster.jpg\" alt=\"Clip 3G Antenna to screen\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Universal 3G Antenna Installation<\/p><\/div>\n<p>If your dongle doesn&#8217;t have an antenna connection, wrap the universal adapter round your dongle and make sure that it doesn&#8217;t stop it from going in to your pc\/laptop.<\/p>\n<p>The High Gain 3G Directional Antenna and Outdoor Panel Antenna will need to be positioned so that they are facing your nearest mobile phone transmitter.<\/p>\n<p>Our post on <a title=\"Finding your Nearest Transmitter\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/2010\/02\/mobile-broadband-finding-your-nearest-transmitter\/\"><strong>Finding your Nearest Transmitter<\/strong><\/a> should help you to work out which way your antenna should be facing.<br \/>\n<br style=\"clear: both;\" \/><br \/>\nThat&#8217;s it!  All done.  Use your Dongle or Data card as normal and you should see an increase in signal strength straight away.<\/p>\n\n<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.27.4 -->\n<div class=\"quads-location quads-ad1\" id=\"quads-ad1\" style=\"float:none;margin:0px 0 0px 0;text-align:center;\">\n<div id=\"bari-widget\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is part of a series of posts on How to improve your mobile broadband signal. Here&#8217;s what we&#8217;ve covered: How to boost your mobile broadband signal Finding your Nearest Transmitter How to measure and improve your mobile broadband reception Which mobile broadband antenna do you need How to fit your mobile broadband antenna Mobile [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[228,6],"tags":[426,430,429,683,679,680,684,682,681,427],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40798,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190\/revisions\/40798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobilefun.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}