CES2016: weBoost shows “eqo”

It’s pronounced “echo.” weBoost was on hand with a brand new booth this year and the focus was on its new cellular booster, the eqo. It may have a funny name but it’s a serious contender. I had a chance to talk to the folks at weBoost and there’s a lot we already know about this booster.

60 dB for 1-2 rooms
The eqo gives you 60dB of amplification which should be enough for the average apartment. This is based on having the two boxes at least 8 feet apart and preferably 15 feet apart. They connect with standard RG6 cable by the look of it. You put the taller of the two units facing out the window, and the other unit as far away as possible.

Easy installation with options
Connect a wire between the two, plug the base unit into the wall, point it out the window. That’s seriously all there is to it. There is an optional external antenna which you could put outdoors if you want, or just use it to increase the distance. Remember this cell booster like all cell boosters, doesn’t have full power if the two pieces are too close to each other.

When this product launches in the next few months it will come with a price point that blows away weBoost’s previous home-oriented 4G boosters. That seems to be the trend this year in boosters and obviously that’s good for everyone. No word yet on actual availability but based on the products that were at the show, this is definitely going to ship soon. They even had the owner’s manual ready, so I would say they are pretty close.

Thanks to all the folks at weBoost for showing me around the booth. They even let me go inside the Faraday cage they brought – this is a special device that blocks ALL cell transmissions. They brought it to show that the eqo works — without it there was no service and with it I found service around -72dB.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.