HiBoost Cellular Amplifier LCD Screen and LED Light Meanings
Feb 14, 2019
HiBoost Signal Amplifier Indicator Lights and LCD Screen Display Meanings.
There are LED lights on the base signal amplifier that indicate the processes occurring within the cell phone signal boosting system. The LCD screen also displays a lot of good information that is helpful in setting up and maintaining the cellular booster system at peak efficiency. These are common across indoor HiBoost cellular signal boosters and possibly same or similar for other brand cell boosting products.
The LED lights on the front.
The LED lights on the front indicate the alarm, power or ISO functionality of the booster. The alarm light should be slowly flashing green. This means that the booster is operating at full output power. If it is solid green, it is still operating, however, not at maximum power. If it is quickly flashing green, that means the output power is too high. If it is flashing red, then it is shutting down because of excessive downlink power. Power LED shows if the power supply is properly supplying power to the booster. Anything other than a steady green light represents an issue with the power supply.
The ISO LED.
The ISO LED indicates if there is self-oscillation or feedback occurring between the booster and the antenna system. A steady green light indicates there's no feedback or oscillation. A slowly flashing green light means that there is a slight oscillation. A quick green flashing light means that there is significant oscillation. If the light is quickly flashing red, that means the booster will automatically shut itself off to prevent severe oscillation.
The LCD screen.
The LCD screen shows a few key points of information to help with installation and troubleshooting. These include the individual bands that each carrier uses, the uplink and downlink gain or UL and DL, and the downlink output power shown in power dBm. On the bottom of the LED are the indicators. The ISO indicator will flash if there is not enough antenna separation. The ALC indicator will flash when there's too much downlink power from the tower and the output is close to saturation. ALC is an indicator that shows what your power dBm should be. If it is over a positive 12, you're receiving too much noise. Therefore, you should move the exterior antenna or decrease the uplink and downlink power. The off indicator will flash when the booster is about to shut itself off to prevent overload. The uplink and downlink gain or UL and DL show the real-time uplink and downlink gain in decibels. These values change slightly as the automatic gain control or isometric function changes to optimize coverage. Downlink outlet power shows real-time downlink power or dBm. This is what the amp is delivering to the indoor antenna ports.
The manual gain control function.
While HiBoost signal boosters come with automatic gain control, sometimes using the manual gain control function can help optimize your signal solution. Simply hold down the "Set" button until the indicators start flashing and then press the "Set" button to select the correct setting. After you have selected the correct setting, you can increase or decrease the output power by simply pressing the buttons to the left and right of the Set button. For example, if you are receiving an alarm overload issue on a band, simply select that band with the set function and decrease the uplink and downlink power to reduce the power dBm and turn off the alarm function. Conversely, if you are not receiving enough power, simply select the correct band and increase the uplink and downlink power until you're receiving optimal coverage.
Solutions to fixing an ISO issue.
The two most common solutions to fixing an ISO issue include moving your indoor and outdoor antenna further apart. We recommend at least 20 to 25 feet, or making sure that they are not facing each other. Newer HiBoost signal boosters have the smart link functionality, allowing users to remotely monitor their devices over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The device is working properly when these show green.
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4 comments
I still dont have a good explanation what the bands represent and where is my 5g anyway
After reading this article, I began thinking of how little we read our instruction manuals for electronics. If you buy a cell phone booster, you have a big need for help with your cell signal, but if you don’t know how to maintain the booster and troubleshoot it, what good is it? HiBoost Cellular Amplifier deserves praise for what looks like a user-friendly readout.
You always want to have a basic grasp of how your technology is working. Society has progressed to the point where we can’t be experts on every aspect of life, but we can be generalists and be able to at least get a basic idea of what is going on. Then, if there’s a problem, we can contact the professionals. I think that’s what’s so good about the simplification of monitors like this one.
Simple enough explanation here. I think electronics manufacturers have progressed in making equipment easy to understand for the everyday ordinary person. While these cellular amplifiers may need some expert help from time to time, it’s good to see you don’t have to call in a technician on a regular basis. Thanks for explaining things here.