Which 4G/5G antenna should you buy
If you wish to receive off grid broadband WiFi in a poor signal areas you will want/need an External antenna kit. If you purchase the correct antenna you can increase your signal strength significantly. Increased signal strength means increased reliability and increased speed.
Plug & Play kits: As always if you wish to skip all of the setup steps, take a look at our plug and play 4G & 5G kits. If you are happy to go it alone, no problem keep reading.
Why do you need an external antenna
If your off grid WiFi is for a Caravan, Motorhome, Boat or any other moving platform then you will benefit hugely from an external antenna kit as moving between mast locations hence increasing your distance from transmitting masts may be a little too much for a routers small antenna alone. Couple this with the fact that vans, trucks, motorhomes, campers etc… tend to be of aluminium or steel construction that will easily block any signal. Even fibreglass or wooden constructs tend to utilize thermal insulation that has a foil layer. All this means having an external antenna kit is an absolute game changer and in many cases a must have.
External antenna kits are not just for those in poor signal areas. Even strong signal areas will benefit from an external antenna kit with both increased speed and reliability.
4G and 5G external antenna kits help cut through any local interference and make life easier for the signal to get from the transmitting mast to your router.
Below we will describe the types of 4G and 5G antennas on the market, what features you should be looking for, and other basic recommendations for your purchase.
Antenna frequency
If purchasing your antenna from the UK and from a major UK online retailer you shouldn’t have to worry about this step. In this case all you will need to look for is a 4G antenna. Many 4G antenna’s are also future proofed to also pick up 5G signals. These antennas will cover the full UK 4G signal spectrum therefore you won’t have to read too much into the signal frequencies/bands the antenna is optimised for.
For those who would like a little more knowledge on the antenna frequency subject. there are now a number of bands that UK 4G suppliers operate on in the UK these include 800MHz , 1400MHz / 1.4GHz , 1800MHz / 1.8GHz , 2100MHz / 2.6GHz, 2300MHz / 2.3GHz, and 2600MHz / 2.6GHz bands.
Many UK suppliers will transmit on multiple bands across the UK as such to ensure you receive the signal that is available in your area, you will want an antenna capable of receiving all of these frequencies.
MIMO antennas
If you followed our advice in previous steps your router will have MIMO capability. This means multiple input, multiple output.
In brief MIMO means that your router and antenna are capable of receiving twice the bandwidth, this means you could effectively double your download and upload speeds. If your router has this capability then you will want to ensure your antenna can do the same.
You will be able to distinguish a MIMO antenna from a none MIMO antenna pretty easily. The MIMO 4G antenna will have 2 cables running from it where as the none MIMO will only have one cable.
Directional 4G Antennas vs Omni directional Antennas
Omni direction antennas are antennas that will pickup signal from any direction (provided you do not block its line of site). These 4G and 5G antennas are ideal for scenarios where you simply need to get an antenna outside of your building or vehicle due to interference or the signal being blocked.
Directional 4G and 5G antennas tend to provide better gains in situations where there is poor outside signal and you need every little gain you can achieve. These antennas tend to offer higher levels of gain (we will explain this later) than that of omni directional antennas but have the downside of requiring you to point in the direction of the nearest mast. This means for static locations the direction antenna is ideal however for scenarios where you may move or be on the move the omni directional antenna would be your choice. for guidance on directional antenna setup please see our (Antenna setup step)
Antenna Gain
You may see 4G and 5G antennas advertised with differing levels of gain. You can expect this to fall within the range of 4 to 12db. Don’t be fooled into thinking that higher Db gain rating automatically means a better antenna and therefore better signal. This is not actually the case. what is just as important is the radiation pattern of the antenna and how well tuned the antenna is.
we would always recommend you purchase a proven antenna from one of the major brands whilst achieving the best gain possible within your price range. we advise this as many of the antenna’s we have tested and seen visually from the cheap Chinese manufacturers have been extremely poor quality items that add little value or are actually detrimental to your signal.
You will see many extremely cheap 4G and 5G antenna’s advertised on major online retailers. Our experience is that when opened up, these are little more than a circuit board with some copper strip applied. In practice you will lose far more signal strength from the cable attached to the router than what the router will gain you in signal strength.
Our top pick for antennas would be from the antenna manufacturer Poynting. they are extremely well made, will last for a very long time, are well weather proofed and offer superb improvements in signal strength. In addition to this the cable length that comes with their antennas is very good quality and well insulated so means they will lose less signal transitioning from your antenna to the router than that of lower end antennas.
Poynting antennas tend to be at the top end of price range and can seem quite expensive. Don’t be put off by the prices, when you witness the gains/improvement in signal strength as a result you will realise just how good of an investment you have made.
4G &5G Antenna types
The type of antenna you require is highly dependant on your usage requirement and signal strength in your area.
We have already described the difference between omni directional antennas and directional antennas earlier in our guidance but there are also considerations to be made on how you will mount your antenna.
PUCK Antenna’s
For vans, cars, motorhomes, touring caravans, trucks and canal boats the choice is pretty simple. you will want what is known as a puck antenna (they look like a ice hockey puck). these antenna’s are mounted on the roof of your vehicle. they are low profile and extremely well weather proofed. 4G and 5G puck antennas are omni directional antennas. they pick up signal from a near 360 degree field of view.
Puck antennas can also be post mounted. this makes them ideal for areas that should have strong signal but this is interrupted by an obstacle that is in close proximity, for example another building. raising the antenna above the height of the obstacle using a mast will improve your signal significantly.
Panel Antenna’s
For homes, static caravans, apartments and other fixed locations. Panel antennas are the main 4G and 5G antenna of choice for most consumers. they offer great levels of dB gain, they come in a variety of sizes, they are far less of an eye sore than Yagi antenna’s and come in both omni directional and directional variants.
We would recommend directional antennas for areas of poor signal (see signal guide), to achieve full effect you may need to post mount the antenna to ensure the clearest line of sight possible to your nearest transmitting mast.
For areas with strong signal (see our signal guide) we would recommend an omni directional antenna. these can be mounted directly to a wall, fit flush or slightly protruding meaning they are less visible and easier to install. Omni directional external antennas will increase signal strength over that of an internal antenna as they are not victim to the internal interference created by other electrical devices in your location. The major advantage over that of directional antennas is you don’t have to be as accurate in the direction you point the antenna, indeed these antennas would offer significant gains over the standard antennas that come with your outer, even if you where to plonk it on the sideboard inside your home.