Can Signal Boosters Be Left Turned-On All the Time?

Yes. All weboost signal boosters can remain on all the time. However, in some vehicles, the "DC power outlet (or cigarette lighter socket) from which the boosters [for vehicles] is powered, continues to draw power from the car battery even when the vehicle ignition is turned off. This means that leaving the signal booster powered on when the vehicle is not running can discharge the car battery” (“Can I Leave the Signal Booster in My Vehicle on All the Time?”). Since all of our vehicle signal boosters use cigarette lighter plug power supplies, you should verify that your cigarette lighter socket is not powered when the ignition key is off. If it remains on, we recommend that you either A) Unplug the signal booster to prevent the battery from being drained or B) Power the signal booster through the ignition switch (from the fuse box) so that the signal booster turns off and on with the vehicle ignition.

Vehicle Signal Boosters

In a previous entry, we reviewed the cell phone weBoost signal boosters that you can choose from for your vehicle, including: weBoost Drive 3G-S, weBoost Drive 4G-S, weBoost Drive 3G-M, weBoost Drive 4G-M, weBoost Drive 3G-X, and weBoost Drive 4G-X (see the full entry here https://cellphonesignalbooster.us/blog/review-of-cell-phone-signal-booster-for-car/). While each of these vehicle signal boosters have different benefits, all of them come with and use a power supply plug to give the signal booster power.

Power Supply Plug

The power supply plug is a combination of a power supply with a female USB receptacle (place for a USB to connect) and a separate USB power cord. To attach the power supply to your signal booster is very easy. Just plug the other end of the power supply (the side without a USB receptacle) into the vehicle's cigarette lighter. Then connect the USB from the cable into the other side of the power supply. Lastly, connect the other side of the USB cable directly into the signal booster's power port. When the device is powered and the inside and outside antennas are properly connected to the signal booster (and not too close to each other), a green light will light up on the signal booster indicating that everything is working properly.

How the Power Supply Works

The power supply powers the device, but does not charge it since the signal booster does not have a battery inside it. When the signal booster is getting power (either when the vehicle is off or on), the power is coming from the car battery. If the device stays on when the vehicle is off, it can drain the car's battery.

How to Prevent Batter Drainage

Check the Cigarette Lighter Socket

The first thing to do is check that the cigarette lighter socket is not powered on. After you have set up your signal booster system and the signal booster box is working properly (a.k.a. the greenlight is on), turn off your vehicle. If the cigarette lighter socket powers off when the vehicle is turned off, then the signal booster lights will be off showing that the signal booster is off. If the cigarette lighter socket stays powered on when the vehicle is turned off, then the signal booster green lights will stay on showing that the signal booster is on.

If the signal booster remains on, then you have two options: Unplug the power supply or power the signal booster through the ignition switch.

Unplugging the Power Supply

If you don't want your turned-on signal booster to drain your car's battery, the fastest and easiest way to solve this problem is to unplug it. You can either unplug the power supply from the cigarette lighter or unplug the power supply connector directly from the signal booster. You don't have to worry about the car battery draining if you decide to leave the power supply connected to the cigarette lighter. As long as the power supply is not connected to anything, the power supply itself will not draw much power.

Powering the Signal Booster through the Ignition Switch

Most of our signal boosters have hardwire kits available that you can use to connect directly to your vehicle's ignition system. In some cases, a hardwire kit may not be available and our technicians suggest purchasing a hardwire power adapter instead. Connecting your signal booster using either a hardwire kit or a hardwire power adapter will produce the same result. (It will make it so the signal booster turns off when the vehicle is turned off.); This installation process is a little more complex than using a cigarette lighter connector so we suggest that you call our customer service and talk to our technical team for proper installation. If you still think that the installation will be too difficult to do on your own, you can have your signal booster kit professionally installed by looking up an electrician in the local yellow pages.

Conclusion

Unplugging your signal booster is the easier method, but you may have difficulty remembering to unplug it or get tired of always having to do so. Powering the signal booster through the ignition switch is more difficult, but you will only have to do it once and will not have to think about it after the installation is complete.

References

weBoost support. “Can I Leave the Signal Booster in My Vehicle on All the Time?” Support.weboost. WilsonPro. June 12 2015. Nov 2 2015.