Hybrid Connect - attaching additional antennas

[87lions31]

Hi everyone,

I received my Hybrid Connect (EE 4G backup) device as part of my Halo 3+ package.  Setup was easy, all good.

Unfortunately I'm only getting 1 out of 3 bars of 4G signal where I live, which the BT app defines as 'weak'.  2 or 3 bars is considered 'good'.

Perhaps 10% of the time, I will get 2 bars of signal, but even after following all of the positioning instructions, that's about as good as it gets for me.  That's to be expected where I live though, not BT's fault.

I have noticed however that the Hybrid Connect has two additional antenna ports on the back.  I've ordered a pair of '4G indoor antennas' from Amazon for about £10 and I'm going to plug them in once they arrive - hoping to get a consistent 2 bars at least.

My questions:

- Do BT sell official booster antennas for the Hybrid Connect yet?  This would be my preferred option.

- Is there any official guidance (or technical specifications) on what type of antennas can be used to boost the Hybrid Connect?   I think I've bought the right kind, but it can be hard to tell.

- Has anyone tried this already and found it helped at all?

Thanks everyone

[avanix · Accepted solution]

Need SMA connectors, I got 2 from ebay advertised as 5dbi, took my signal from -115 to -120 down to -99db which is good enough to get about 30Mb over 4G.

Have also placed in a window. 

[87lions31]

Thanks avanix, that's good to hear - the ones I ordered have SMA connectors (with a boost of 10dbi apparently).

My signal is currently -109db, so I will report back with how mine changes once I install the antennas. 30MB over 4G would be amazing though, especially for something that is only intended as a backup.

[87lions31]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update.  My antennas arrived and I've attached them, very easy to do.

I've gone from -109dBm signal strength to -96dBM.  The 4G signal is now sitting comfortably at 2 out of 3 bars, which is what I was hoping for.

I would definitely recommend doing the same if you're like me and you're just on the edge of having an acceptable 4G connection.

To get these ones, I just searched Amazon for '4G sma antenna indoor' and chose cheap ones (£8.99) that I thought looked nice and would match the Hybrid Connect.  The deeper you go into the subject, there appear to be really powerful antennas available, but that seemed overkill in my case.

Thanks BT for the Hybrid Connect by the way - real peace of mind now!

[Surboy]

I bought a set of antennas from Amazon and my signal didn’t change at all. Does anyone know if BT have to add /allow their software to pick up the signal from the external antennas instead of the internal? 

[avanix]

what was your signal before?

on mine the signal improved as soon as i attached the external antenna, if the signal is very poor not much is going to help.

[87lions31]

Hi Surboy,

As far as I'm aware, there isn't any software component required.  As Avanix suggests, once the antennas are plugged in the benefit should be seen immediately (which is what happened with mine).

[Surboy]

Thanks a lot 87lions31!

[87lions31]

Also, I'm not sure if this helps anyone else, but I found this little chart whilst I was doing my research:

I don't know how accurate it is, but it definitely seemed to match my experience:

My 4G signal was -109dB at first (which puts it almost in the poor category).  With the antennas it has since jumped to -96dB (which now puts it firmly in the good category).

I assume the Hybrid Connect would need to be -90dB or better before it started showing 3 out of 3 bars signal.

[87lions31]

One final post and then I’ll only revisit if someone asks a question:

This morning, the signal dropped back down to -105dBi.  Still enough to get 2 out of 3 bars, but obviously the router either takes a little while to calibrate, or changes in the weather mean that the signal strength varies.

Either way, still got a nice little boost for external antennas (even if it wasn’t quite as much as I’d first hoped).