G4AR Antenna Options

I ended up getting 4 dual band portable antennas. Had to put in all 4 to get a signal. Speed reduced by about 20%. May try an external but a lot of reviews say it isn't better and in some cases, worse. Of course it depends on multiple variables. 

extremetm wrote:

Just got a G4AR. I get a good signal and really don’t ‘need’ an antenna so am not getting an external one. 

Question is. If I get two or four 8 inch dual band antennas to screw in the back and switch to antenna mode, is it going to make a difference? 

No, the ports are specifically for 4x4 MIMO antennas with specific matching of the numbered ports to numbered cable ends (differs by manufacturer). Just installing generic dual band antennas will likely provide much lower performance if it works at all.

I haven't purchased one … yet.  I'd be checking with Waveform for their antenna, as they have a good return policy.  If your signal is 'good' (vs. very good or excellent) it can make a difference.

On mine with ‘good’ download ~=350-450Mbps on n41, and might drop to n71 with ~200Mbps and ‘very good’.  on n41, upload on ‘good’ is ~20-40Mbps.

If I open my slider, signal will increase (better RSRP/SINR values), and it will typically stay on n41 and show as 'very good'.  Speed will typically be 400-550Mbps, at times hitting 600-700Mbps.  The more important bit is upload can hit 60-80Mbps.

All that being said, if your service is being ‘deprioritized’ - it won’t help AT ALL.