It's been 3 years since I reviewed Wilson's
Sleek 3G and at CES 2013, they've finally unleashed unto the
masses the Sleek 4G Cellphone Signal Booster. The 3G and I had
very good results and I still made good use of it until Valkor
presented to me the new 4G version. This new 4G Cradle works exactly
as its predecessor with the addition of 4G signal Amplification.
What makes this all work is the cradle has a bi-directional signal
amp, which translates into a signal boost to and from your phone.
One additional feature, the 4G Cradle has a USB port to charge
your phone. And while the 4G booster is primarily meant for vehicular
use, you can also purchase a Home Accessory kit, which we're thankful
Wilson saw fit to include for this review.
The sleek 4G comes in very handy, especially on road trips, in areas where you're trying to catch a signal in a limited spot such as rural areas and in between valleys - that's when the Sleek works it magic, pulling in a weak signal and making it stronger, allowing you to stay connected with the strongest signal possible.
What's in the box:
- 1 Sleek 4G Signal Booster
- 1 Mini-magnet antenna 4"
- 1 USB Cable
- 1 USB Universal Car Charger
- 1 Mounting Clip
- 4 Adjustable Arms
- 1 Installation Guide
Home/Office Accessory Kit(Sold Separately)
- 1 Desktop Mount
- 1 Carrying Case
- 1 Window Bracket
- 1 AC Power Supply
The field test I did was at places I knew would be signal black holes. One area in particular is at my cousin's house where Sprint service is terrible in her area! I first tested the 3G signal and it works as well as the previous Sleek unit; I actually achieved 4G signal but it wasn't at full bars. But hey that's better than no bars at all. The second field test was done at a large chain store with a steel roof and no sky lighting. So the manager of the store is a close friend and always complains about service in his back office, so I let him borrow the Sleek 4G for a day and almost didn't get it back. He said, "I had full service all day and I didn't need to wander around looking for signal outside". I used a speed test to get an accurate reading and the results were better than stock but varied wildly from 1Mp/s to 7Mp/s over base. Their claim of up to 20x more output looks true but I couldn't get it consistently; I can send/receive messages and make calls in the poorest of coverage areas, which is exactly what the Sleek 4G promises. Please note that the Sleek 4G doesn't create a signal for you if there isn't one, but it can increase a signal even if it's miniscule.
Since there are a variety of 4G and 4G LTE carriers, some of them have to have their own unit because they don't play well with others; with that said The Sleek 4G comes in a few options:
- Sleek 4G (813425) - This works with 2G/3G and all other US carries (except Verizon/AT&T 4GLTE)*
- Sleek 4G-V (815125) - This works all 2G/3G and specializes in Verizon 4GLTE.*
- Sleek 4G-A (815325) - This works all 2G/3G and specializes in AT&T 4GLTE.*
- Sleek 4G-C (812726) - This one works on most International/Canadian Carries.**
*All amplifiers support the following US Freq. 698-746 MHz / 746-787 MHz / 824-894 MHz / 1850-1995 MHz / 1710-2155 MHz **The 4G-C supports the following Freq. AWS 1710-1755 MHz / 2110-2155 MHz / 824-894 MHz / 1850-1990 MHz
The Bang:
No matter where you are or where you go, as long as you have a tiny bit of signal, even intermittent, the Sleek 4G will work as promised. Through my testing and with the assist of others, I was able to achieve excellent call quality and an increase in data speeds, in poor coverage areas. As if I wasn't impressed the first time with the Sleek 3G, now Wilson shows up and impresses again with the 4G – you guys nailed it and I couldn't be more pleased. The great thing about the Sleek 4G is its compact design will hold almost any phone and the accessories for Home/Office was a great addition, definitely worth the investment works great for my office. Plus points for the set up as either in my home or in my car, it wasn't at all difficult piecing everything together. Man, I wish this product was around during Hurricane Sandy; in a situation where there was not much power going around and the cell towers were very limited and far away, the Sleek 4G would have been most helpful. Just note that I'll be ready for the next disaster and so can you should you pick this up.
The Slack:
I used it in the car and service was great but I wasn't sold on the whole wiring set up; between the USB (inbound to cradle), the signal cable, and the USB to phone (outbound of cradle) it got kind of messy. Simple set up but still messy. The other thing i wasn't so sure about was the car mounting clip. Once it's on it's on, so I highly advise to measure twice and stick once. Its 3M tape and it will tear up your dashboard if you're not careful.
The End:
Now before you go writing off the sleek with the response "but my cell service never drops" or that "the cell towers have improved". True in any downtown city, the service will be great, however even in those areas there's a possibility where you can run into a signal black hole. So if you have a dead zone in your home or office, the Sleek 4G makes for a great buy; the quality of service is delivered exactly as promised from the base of a valley to rural areas with very random tower service. Just be mindful of the type of service you have and the unit you'll need to buy. And out of TOV 5 stars I give this a TOV 5 out of 5.
