The line of Cel-Fi "Smart Signal Boosters" from Nextivity are unique designs that work in a fundamentally different fashion than most other cellular boosters on the market.
Cel-Fi has been a major player in the residential and in-building booster market for years, and in 2017 introduced its first booster designed for mobile use - the Cel-Fi GO.
We have been testing the GO ever since it came out - and dive deep into its strengths and weaknesses in this review.
What Makes Cel-Fi Different?
Cel-Fi boosters interact with a cellular network actively, and only boost individual channels as needed rather than boosting an entire frequency band at once like traditional analog boosters.
This distinction makes Cel-Fi boosters stand out from all previous cellular boosters we have tested.
Because of how they work - Cel-Fi boosters are legally allowed to offer substantially increased downlink gain compared to more traditional boosters. This opens the door for increased indoor coverage areas.
Cel-Fi describes their technology this way:
"Cel-Fi is the most sophisticated signal booster in the market. It is completely digital and powered by two custom-made system-on-a-chip processors with 38 digital signal processors. Integrated smart antenna technology tirelessly analyzes the indoor environment and automatically adjusts in real time to provide the best coverage and overall value. Cel-Fi ensures optimal cellular coverage – even with only one bar of signal from the mobile operator."
This is why the Cel-Fi boosters are allowed by the FCC to deliver 70dB of gain (in mobile mode), well above the 50dB max legal limit of conventional mobile boosters.
And in stationary mode - Cel-Fi boosters can actually enable a full 100dB of downlink gain.
Cel-Fi boosters are controlled by the Cel-Fi Wave app connected via Bluetooth to the booster. The app will show you the carrier and LTE band that you are connected to, the signal strength, and the amount of boost - directly on your iOS or Android device.
There is a downside to all this technological magic however.
Because the Cel-Fi booster is working interactively with the carriers network, the GO-M only supports boosting one carrier at a time.
For example - if it is in Verizon mode, AT&T devices will not see any benefits at all.
Analog boosters on the other hand work with all carriers at once.
Specifications
- Model: GO/GO+
- Gain: 70dB (mobile) / 100dB (stationary)
- Max Uplink Power: 20-22 dBm
- Impedence: 50 Ohm
- # of Devices Boosted Simultaneously: Multiple
- LTE Bands Supported: 12 (17), 13, 5, 4, 2
- Exterior Antenna:
- GO+ Vehicle: Screw mount with SMA Male Connector (dimensions: 3.2" x 2.4" x 2.4")
- GO+ RV/Trucker: Mirror mount with SMA Male connector (dimensions: 2' tall)
- GO+ Marine: Standard marine mount with SMA Male connector (dimensions: 2.5" x 9.8")
- Internal Antenna: Patch antenna with 3.77' integrated cable SMA Male connector.
- Range of Interior Coverage: "large coverage area" (self claimed)
- In Motion Usage: Yes
- Power: 9.6 – 16.5V DC
- Power Consumption: 16W nominal
- Booster Dimensions: 1.71" x 3.79" x 10.73"
- Warranty: 2 Year
- Retail Price: $599.99 (Vehicle Kit)
NOTE: In July 2019, Cel-Fi rebranded the GO-M to Cel-Fi GO/GO+. There has been no change in the core booster hardware - and the original GO-M can be updated to have all the latest features via software.
The revised product line now includes four different bundles. The bundles all include the same core booster and indoor antenna, but come with different outdoor antennas.
- GO+ Vehicle
- GO+ RV/Trucker
- GO+ Marine
- GO+ X (stationary use only)
Included in this Review
Free/Public:
Member Exclusive Content / Review:
Review & Testing Status
We have been in communication with Nextivity about the development of this product since summer 2016, and received a pre-production unit for evaluation in May 2017.
We performed one extensive round of testing in mid-2017 with this booster head-to-head against other booster options, and overall we were underwhelmed and sent back a list of concerns.
But the booster was promising enough in many ways - so we held off drawing any definitive conclusions.
In 2019 Cel-Fi released brand new firmware claiming to enable some new features and address some of our concerns - demonstrating how the GO is the only mobile booster that can actually get smarter over time via software updates.
As of November 2019 we completed our initial and extensive rounds of testing of the updated GO, and our results are summarized in the member area below.
The unit still has some firmware issues, but we consider our testing with the Cel-Fi to be complete for now.
We may revisit it again in the future should there be substantial firmware updates that can further improve performance and usability.
Members can also follow our testing activity in our forum, where we'll post updates and our latest insights and information.
Members can also dive deeper and access our raw and ongoing results as we conduct our testing in our Testing Lab:
- Cellular Booster Intensive – weBoost Drive Reach, SolidRF RV Pro, Cel-Fi Go-M (Summer/Fall 2019)
- Booster Bonanza – weBoost Drive Reach, SolidRF RV Pro, Cel-Fi Go-M, Poynting 402 vs 4G-X (Summer 2019)
Potential Alternatives to Consider:
For other booster options on the market worth comparing this model to - here are our featured options:
Learn More About Selecting Cellular Boosters
This Review Contains Additional Member Exclusive Content
We are honored to be able to present the above overview for free without 3rd party advertising or sponsorships. We are not paid by the manufacturer of this product to provide this listing or review, and nor are we selling this equipment or plan (purchasing links are provided below as a courtesy and some may be affiliates).
Our members have funded this resource center and any extensive hands on time
we have spent with the product to review it.
The in-depth portions of this review are made available to them which might contain: hands on testing notes, field testing data, user interface tour, product analysis, comparison to alternatives, setup tips, video tutorial, insider tips, vendor discounts and fellow member experiences.
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Purchasing Options
Cel-Fi | Waveform | 5G Store | Signal Boosters
This booster is now beginning to show up in various marine and RV focused online retail channels now too.
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