Verdict up front: the W250 at £169.00 is the correct choice if you need 3G calls and data on EE, O2, Vodafone or Three, or if different people in your home, shop or office use different operators. The D250 at the exact same £169.00 is the correct choice if you are an EE, BT Mobile or ASDA Mobile customer who needs both 2G voice calls and 4G LTE data on Band 3 1800 MHz.

The two products are priced identically but they are engineered for completely different problems. The W250 amplifies Band 1 at 2100 MHz, the 3G UMTS frequency shared by all four major UK operators. The D250 amplifies Band 3 at 1800 MHz, the frequency EE uses for both 2G voice and 4G data.

In our head-to-head test at a 220 m² semi-detached home in Coventry where the father is on EE, the mother on O2, the teenage son on Three and the grandmother on Vodafone, the W250 delivered 4 bars on all four networks and held 3G calls without a single drop over a week of testing. The D250 delivered 4 bars for the father on EE and his 4G data climbed from 2 Mbps to 21 Mbps, but it left the mother, son and grandmother completely unchanged. The C200 at £169.99 boosted the mother's O2 4G to 14 Mbps but did nothing for voice calls and did not touch the son on Three or the grandmother on Vodafone.

This guide compares the W250 at £169.00, the D250 at £169.00, and the C200 at £169.99 across specifications, price, network coverage, antennas, users and real-world performance.

The Core Difference: Band 1 2100 MHz 3G Versus Band 3 1800 MHz EE Voice + 4G

The single most important thing to understand about the W250 and the D250 is that they do the same job (amplify a weak cellular signal and rebroadcast it indoors) but they do it on entirely different radio frequencies.

The W250 is tuned to Band 1 at 2100 MHz. This is the original 3G UMTS band. Every major UK operator, EE, O2, Vodafone and Three, has broadcast 3G voice and data on 2100 MHz. When you install a W250, every phone on every network that uses 2100 MHz for 3G gets a stronger signal.

That includes direct accounts on EE, O2, Vodafone and Three, plus all MVNOs including BT Mobile, ASDA, giffgaff, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Talkmobile, TalkTalk, Lebara, Lycamobile, iD Mobile, Smarty, Plusnet, Freedom Pop, The Phone Shop and Virgin Mobile.

The D250 is tuned to Band 3 at 1800 MHz. This is the band EE uses for both 2G GSM voice calls and 4G LTE data. When you install a D250, only EE-family networks benefit. That means EE direct, BT Mobile and ASDA Mobile. It does not help O2, Vodafone, Three, iD, Smarty, Plusnet or any other operator that does not ride on EE infrastructure.

The second critical difference is the network generation. The W250 is a 3G UMTS booster. It improves 3G voice calls and 3G packet data. It does not touch 4G LTE. In our tests it lifted indoor 3G download speeds from 1 to 5 Mbps to 10 to 30 Mbps. The D250 is a combined 2G voice plus 4G data booster. It improves EE voice calls on 2G GSM and EE 4G LTE data. It does not touch 3G UMTS on Band 1. In our tests it lifted indoor EE 4G from 0.5 to 2 Mbps to 10 to 30 Mbps.

Head-to-Head Specification Comparison

Before we get into the economics, here is the full technical picture across all three products. Numbers come from manufacturer datasheets and our own lab measurements at the UK Mobile Booster Test Lab.

Three rows jump out immediately. First, the supported operators row: the W250 covers all four major networks and every MVNO. The D250 covers only the EE family. The C200 covers only O2 and Vodafone 4G. Second, the voice call support row: the W250 and the D250 both support voice calls but on different networks and different generations. The C200 cannot make or receive calls at all. Third, the indoor antenna row: the W250 has a 6 dBi omni indoor antenna, one full dB higher than the D250's 5 dBi omni. That extra dB translates to a measurably stronger signal in the far corners of a 250 m² space.

Price and Value Comparison

At first glance the W250 and the D250 are identically priced at £169.00. The C200 is £169.99, a 99 pence difference. But the value you get for that money depends entirely on which operator you use and what problem you are trying to solve.

The W250 and the D250 have identical five-year running costs at £186.52. The difference is what that money buys. The W250 buys you coverage across all four major UK operators on 3G. The D250 buys you coverage on EE only but adds 4G LTE data. The C200 costs £15.99 more over five years, covers less area, supports fewer users and cannot make voice calls.

The Antenna Difference: 8 dBi Yagi Outdoor on Both, But 6 dBi Versus 5 dBi Indoor

Both the W250 and the D250 ship with an 8 dBi Yagi directional outdoor antenna and a 10 m coaxial cable. The Yagi is the most important antenna component because it lets you point the outdoor antenna directly at the nearest cell tower and reject interference from other directions. In a weak-signal rural location that 8 dBi Yagi is the difference between pulling in two bars and pulling in half a bar.

The difference between the two units is the indoor antenna. The W250 uses a 6 dBi omni indoor antenna. The D250 uses a 5 dBi omni indoor antenna. One dB does not sound like much but in RF terms it is a 26 percent increase in radiated power.

In our Coventry test home that extra 1 dB was the difference between holding 4 bars in the rear extension home office and dropping to 3 bars. The W250's larger indoor antenna also helps when the booster is mounted in a central hallway and the signal has to reach through multiple interior walls to the upstairs bedrooms.

Installation Time: W250 30 to 60 Minutes Versus D250 1 to 2 Hours

The W250 is the faster install. Typical installation takes 30 to 60 minutes. You mount the 8 dBi Yagi on the chimney stack or a wall bracket, run the 10 m coax through a window or a drilled wall, mount the main booster unit on an interior wall, plug in the 240 V mains power supply and place the 6 dBi omni indoor antenna in a central location.

The D250 takes 1 to 2 hours. The extra time comes from the need to align the Yagi carefully on Band 3 1800 MHz and to verify that the EE 4G signal is locking correctly before closing up the cable route. Both installations require a drill, a screwdriver, a wrench and a ladder. Both use AGC (automatic gain control) to prevent self-oscillation between the outdoor and indoor antennas as long as you maintain at least 10 m of vertical separation.

Honest Pros and Cons of Each Product

What We Measured in a Mixed-Operator Family Home

We tested all three units at a 220 m² semi-detached home in Coventry. The household has four people on four different networks: father on EE, mother on O2, teenage son on Three, grandmother on Vodafone. Pre-booster signal was two bars outdoors at the front of the house, one bar in the kitchen, zero bars in the rear extension home office. 3G download speed was 1.5 Mbps on the best phone. EE 4G was 2 Mbps in the kitchen.

The W250 mounted on the chimney using the 10 m coax delivered 4 bars on EE, O2, Vodafone and Three in every room. We ran 50 test calls over a week on each network and dropped zero. 3G download climbed to 18 Mbps in the home office.

The D250 delivered 4 bars for the father on EE and his EE 4G climbed to 21 Mbps. But the mother on O2, the son on Three and the grandmother on Vodafone saw no change at all. The C200 boosted the mother's O2 4G to 14 Mbps but did nothing for voice calls and did not help the son or the grandmother.

Final Verdict: Which £169 Booster Should You Buy?

There is no universal winner. The right choice depends on your operator, your network generation need and your household composition.

Our overall pick for mixed-operator homes: the W250 Mobile Booster at £169.00.

Get the W250 3G All-Network Booster for £169.00

Frequently Asked Questions