This MIMO panel antenna kit will provide meaningful signal improvement, even if you're surrounded by trees, hills, or tall buildings.
For most users the best external antenna choice for the Cradlepoint COR IBR900 is our MIMO panel antenna kit. This antenna doesn’t require line-of-sight to the tower.
These cross polarized log periodic antennas are have higher gain and are more directional, but work best if you have direct line-of-sight to the tower.
However, if you have line of sight to the nearest tower, we recommend using a MIMO log periodic antenna kit instead. The higher gain on these antennas can get you better performance, but only when you have a straight shot to the tower.
Why External Antennas Are Critical for Improving Data Rates
Most people think that external antennas primarily help you increase your data rates by increasing the signal strength.But that's not the case.
An increase in signal strength is often less important than other ways that external antennas help.
Here are the three main ways that external antennas help you increase your data rates:
1.They Improve Signal Quality
In 4G LTE networks, signal quality is measured as SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio) or sometimes as RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality).
Improving signal quality has a huge impact on your data rates.
Higher data rates allow your hotspot to communicate using "higher order modulation schemes." That means they can use the same wireless spectrum to send more data per second.
However, there's one big caveat:
In order to improve your signal quality, you need to both aim and shield your outdoor antenna properly. We talk more about this in the next section.
2.They Allow You To Connect On More Bands
Hotspots like the Cradlepoint COR IBR900 support an LTE feature called "carrier aggregation."
Carrier aggregation allows the Cradlepoint to connect on multiple cellular bands simultaneously.
The more bands you're connected on, the greater the bandwidth, and the higher your data rates.
However, many of the higher frequency bands aren't able to penetrate into buildings. Using external antennas allows you to access higher frequency bands, which are often less congested and offer higher speeds than lower frequency bands.
3.MIMO Isolation
MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology uses signals travelling along multiple paths simultaneously, increasing both bandwidth and reliability in wireless connections.
MIMO isolation is the antenna's ability to handle several data streams at once, cleanly and without interference, leading to quicker data speeds and steadier connections
Our external antennas are specifically designed for superior MIMO isolation, and dramatically outperform standard built-in antennas found in most home devices.
This means you'll see a more reliable connection with enhanced bandwidth, ensuring smoother streaming, gaming, and browsing with minimal interruptions.
Positioning and Aiming MIMO Antennas
Positioning and aiming MIMO antennas well is crucial to getting the best performance to your Cradlepoint COR IBR900, or indeed any other router.
We've actually compiled a detailed instruction manual to accompany our own MIMO Antenna Kits, where we go into depth on the best ways to aim the antennas.
The goal is to find the best location and direction for the antenna(s), to maximize data rates to the Cradlepoint COR IBR900. It can take a little patience, but can have a huge impact – it’s worth a bit of extra effort!
Before getting started, it's always a good idea to run a couple of speed tests indoors from a device connected to your Cradlepoint's WiFi. The results will fluctuate a little, but this is the baseline you're trying to improve.
SMA ports on the Cradlepoint COR IBR900
Now disconnect the standard paddle antennas, and connect the external MIMO antennas to your Cradlepoint COR IBR900 via the cellular SMA ports labeled in the image above.
Once you've got your external MIMO antennas, you're ready to go outside with your "test-rig".
With each location and direction you try, run a couple speed tests, and make a note of the results. Here are all the locations and directions where we recommend testing your MIMO antenna:
Where to test your signal
Pro tip: Don’t just go to the highest point of the roof! While signal is generally stronger the higher you go, there’s also often more interference. We’ve found it’s often better to mount the antenna(s) on the side of the building where the structure can shield the antennas from interference.
Once you've found the position which gets you the highest data rates to the Cradlepoint COR IBR900, that's where you'll want to install the MIMO antenna. Go ahead and mount the antenna, run cables inside, connect everything up, and enjoy superior data rates!
Advanced Optimization
If you've gone through the trouble of installing and accurately aiming a MIMO Antenna Kit, you're likely already getting excellent data rates from your Cradlepoint COR IBR900.
That said, there's always more that can be done! If you’d like to go a little deeper and get technical to optimize your system even further, you can experiment with band locking. First, here are some general guidelines:
Look up your nearby towers. This can be time consuming and accuracy is often questionable - we've listed our suggestions in an article on the Best Ways to Locate Nearby Cell Towers
Aim your antenna(s) at each nearby tower and band lock the Cradlepoint to every band that the tower transmits. Run speed tests on each band to find the fastest bands.
Try enabling multiple bands and using carrier aggregation to find the fastest band combination. Carrier aggregation allows your devices to connect to two or more bands simultaneously but doesn’t always result in an improvement, so stick to a single band if that gets you the best results.
Note: Band locking features, along with firmware updates and remote management features are available via Cradlepoint's "NetCloud" subscription. The first year of this service is included with purchase, thereafter it is a paid subscription.
