Cell signal boosters like the $369.99 HiBoost Hero are a great option if you live in an area with poor cell service. This unit covers homes up to 3,000 square feet and includes two indoor antennas and one outdoor antenna to help improve coverage throughout your space. We wish the setup process was a bit quicker and didn't require so many cables, but the device makes good on its promise to boost 4G and 5G signal in testing. We still prefer the Editor's Choice-winning SureCall Flare 3.0 overall, however, since it's easier to set up and covers a comparable range for a similar $379.99.

Design: Compact and Unobtrusive

The HiBoost Hero arrives in a box with three layers of antennas and cables. Many boosters come with just an indoor and outdoor antenna, but HiBoost adds a second indoor antenna for more flexibility. All of the antennas connect to the sleek, white booster console, which has a small color LCD that displays the signal strength and other notifications. It measures 5.0 by 7.6 by 1.3 inches (HWD) and weighs 1.68 pounds.

The indoor whip antenna is a small and thin plastic piece that attaches directly to the booster and resembles the vertical antenna on a Wi-Fi router. It's the simpler of the two indoor options. Alternatively, you can mount the thin, angular indoor panel wherever you get the best performance thanks to its 30-foot cable.

The triangular outdoor antenna has a white plastic finish. You must attach this to the side of your house or the roof pointing in the direction of the nearest cell tower. The kit includes metal brackets, screws, and other accessories to help with the mounting process.

Otherwise, the Hero comes with a comprehensive setup guide, a power supply, various other connection cables, and some waterproof tape.

Setup: Straightforward, But Many Steps

Make sure to read the manual fully before you start because the setup involves a fair number of steps. In the documentation, HiBoost notes that you must register the device with your mobile carrier and get its approval before you use it.

The HiBoost Hero can amplify your cell signal across up to 3,000 square feet. Boosters cannot create a cell signal where it does not already exist; HiBoost requires one or more bars of signal outside your home for this device to function. Meanwhile, rival SureCall Flare 3.0 covers a slightly larger area of 3,500 square feet. Generally, the more bars of signal you have to start with, the more distance a booster can extend coverage indoors.

To start the installation, I downloaded the SignalSupervisor app (available for Android and iOS). It connected the booster console to my Wi-Fi network and showed the strength of various cell bands. Next, I had to find the closest cell tower by either downloading the NetWork Cell Info Lite app (available for Android only) or dialing a special number on my iPhone—this also let me determine which band my phone was using. After that, I had to enter my provider and the phone band from the previous step on cellmapper.net. I found this part particularly difficult since the site's interface isn’t intuitive. It took me a while to even get cell towers to show up on the map.

After I found the correct tower, I positioned the outdoor antenna in the direction of the tower and on the corner of my home closest to it. I don't have access to my roof, so I simply placed the antenna in an open window facing the tower. I then used the 16.4-foot coaxial cable, an under-the-window cable, and a 32.8-foot extension wire to connect the outdoor antenna to the booster.

Next, I had to either attach the indoor whip antenna directly to the main unit or opt for the indoor panel antenna via its 30-foot cable. No matter where you put the booster, you must connect both the outdoor and one of the indoor antennas. The result is a house full of winding cables. 

HiBoost recommends a 30-foot horizontal and 13-foot vertical distance between the indoor and outdoor antennas. Additionally, the indoor antenna needs to face in the opposite direction of the outdoor one. These requirements further complicate the setup but are necessary to ensure optimal performance and eliminate interference.

I chose to install the whip antenna on the end of the booster. Then, I dragged the unit down the hall and into my living room, where I plugged it in and placed it facing the opposite direction of the outdoor antenna.

When I opened the SignalSupervisor app, it showed that the LTE700, CELL800, PSC1900, and AES2100 signals were coming in at good or acceptable levels. The app is helpful in that it uses plain language and color codes its signal strength levels. I confirmed these results via the LCD on the booster, which showed that the outside antenna had a few bars of signal and the inside antenna had full bars. 

Performance: Location Is Key

The HiBoost Hero enhances bands 4, 5, 12/17,13, and 25/2 for all the major carriers in the US. These bands cover both 4G and 5G frequencies but not the fastest forms of 5G (C-band or mmWave). FCC restrictions prevent it and other consumer boosters from covering any other bands.

To evaluate the booster's performance, I connected an Apple iPhone 14 Pro, Motorola Moto G Stylus, and OnePlus 12 to T-Mobile's 5G network—the nearest cell tower carries bands 2 and 7. I took readings of the phone's signal strength, download speed, and upload speed in my bedroom, kitchen, and living room before and after installing the booster. For reference, my bedroom was closest to the outside antenna, my living room was where I had the indoor antenna, and the kitchen was the farthest away from both.

Signal strength results are in decibels-milliwatts (dBm) and use negative numbers: -65dBm to -85dBM is excellent, -85dBm to -100dBm is good, and anything over -120dBm is poor. We measure download and upload speeds in Mbps; the higher the number, the better. All of my testing results are in the table below.

Some general findings:

• The iPhone 14 Pro showed an improvement in cell signal strength in my bedroom with the booster active, but both download and upload speeds dropped. Download speeds got worse in my living room, but upload speeds jumped way up. In my kitchen, the results didn't show much change.
• The Moto G Stylus improved dramatically across the board in my bedroom. Cell signal strength was also much better in my living room, but download speeds fell off. In my kitchen, download speeds increased, but upload speeds crashed.
• The OnePlus 12 pulled down a stronger cell signal in my bedroom, but download and upload speeds both dropped. It showed signal improvements across the board in my living room. In my kitchen, the signal strength and upload speeds got worse, though download speeds increased.

Locations closer to where I had the antennas tended to show better signal strength results, though download and upload speeds vary greatly depending on the device and location.

Verdict: Gives Your Home a Good Boost

The HiBoost Hero has a helpful built-in LCD and successfully amplified nearby cell signals in testing, though results are dependent upon a phone's proximity to the antennas. Otherwise, the detailed user manual and app make it fairly easy to complete the setup. If you have a couple of rooms in your home with a weak signal, the HiBoost Hero can certainly help improve your connection strength, though you should likely turn to something stronger for whole-home boosting. The SureCall Flare 3.0 remains our Editors' Choice winner since it also covers multiple rooms and has a sleeker two-piece design for around the same price.