Both are Band 7 (2600 MHz) EE/Vodafone 4G LTE + VoLTE boosters with the same ≥60 dB uplink / ≥65 dB downlink gain. The L500 is the flagship: it delivers ≥20 dBm output (vs the L250's ≥17 dBm), covers up to 500 m² (vs 250 m²), supports up to 50 simultaneous users (vs 25), and pairs 7 dBi outdoor omni + 7 dBi indoor panel antennas with a 10 m low-loss 5D-FB outdoor coax. If you have a large detached house, a small office, a warehouse or a retail shop where the whole 500 m² floorplate needs coverage and 30–50 phones connect at once, the L500 is the right call. If you have a medium 2–3 bedroom house or a cafe under 250 m², the L250 at £279.99 is enough.

The price is the same on purpose, but the radios are completely different. The L500 boosts high-frequency Band 7 (2600 MHz) — the dense-town 4G capacity band EE and Vodafone use in built-up areas. The C500 boosts low 800 MHz Band 20 for rural O2/Vodafone reach, with a 75 dB low-band gain tuned for longer distances. Check your phone's field-test mode: if your outdoor 4G sits on Band 7 (2600 MHz) and you are on EE or Vodafone in a town, buy the L500. If your outdoor 4G sits on Band 20 (800 MHz) and you are on O2 or Vodafone in a rural village, buy the C500. Picking the wrong one wastes £335.

The outdoor 7 dBi omni antenna sits on your roof or external wall, where it grabs the outdoor Band 7 signal directly — the booster does not rely on the signal passing through the steel. It then rebroadcasts a clean, amplified 4G signal inside via the 7 dBi panel antenna. So even 2600 MHz's weaker metal-frame penetration does not matter much: you are pulling the signal in from outside the building and feeding it in. You still need 1–2 bars of outdoor Band 7 at the antenna point. For a very long shed, the optional 20/30/40/50 m low-loss 5D-FB cable lets you position the panel centrally without signal loss.

The L500 boosts Band 7 (2600 MHz) 4G LTE data and VoLTE HD voice calls only. It does NOT boost legacy 2G GSM or 3G UMTS voice on 900 MHz. To make and receive calls through the boosted signal, your phone must be VoLTE-capable (almost all smartphones sold in the UK since 2018) and your EE or Vodafone plan must have VoLTE switched on. On EE and Vodafone, VoLTE is enabled by default on most consumer and business plans — check your phone's network settings for a "4G calls" / "VoLTE" toggle. Without VoLTE, the L500 improves 4G data but will not pass through older 2G/3G calls.

The L500 boosts Band 7 (2600 MHz) 4G LTE only — 4G mobile data plus VoLTE HD voice calls. It does NOT boost 5G NR and it does NOT boost 3G/2G voice. There is no Boost4U Band 7 5G booster in this range yet. If your phone shows 5G indoors but struggles to hold it, the L500 will strengthen the underlying 4G LTE fallback that many 5G calls and data sessions actually fall back on, but it will not amplify a 5G radio carrier directly.

The L500 is rated for up to 50 simultaneous users / devices — the maximum in the L Series. That comfortably covers a 15–25 staff small office plus customer phones, a busy 500 m² retail shop with 6–8 staff and a queue of customers, or a large household with multiple family members and home workers. It is not a router — each device still uses its own SIM and data plan — but every device in the 500 m² coverage area benefits from the cleaner signal at once. Beyond 50 active devices you would need a larger enterprise unit.

Yes. The standard kit includes a 10 m outdoor low-loss 5D-FB coax (N-type both ends) and a 5 m indoor coax. If your roof-mounted omni is further from the booster than 10 m — for example in a large warehouse or a detached house with a loft booster location — you can order the optional outdoor cable upgrade in 20 m, 30 m, 40 m or 50 m lengths. Because 5D-FB is a low-loss cable, longer runs remain clean; we also stock an 18 kA lightning / surge protector for exposed roof mounts. Do not use cheap satellite coax — it adds too much loss and will eat into the ≥20 dBm output.

No. O2 and Three do not use Band 7 (2600 MHz) for 4G — they rely mainly on Band 3 (1800 MHz), Band 20 (800 MHz) and Band 1 (2100 MHz). The L500 only amplifies the 2600 MHz carrier, so an O2 or Three SIM will not see any improvement from it. If you are on O2 or Vodafone rural Band 20, look at the C500 (same £335.00 price, 500 m², Band 20 800 MHz, 75 dB low-band gain). Check your network's band in field-test mode before you buy.

Typical results move a weak indoor 1–5 Mbps connection up to 15–50+ Mbps, measured on a speed test next to the indoor 7 dBi panel antenna. The real figure depends on two things outside the booster's control: how strong the outdoor Band 7 donor signal is (1–2 bars gives a lower ceiling than 4–5 bars) and how congested the nearest EE / Vodafone cell is at peak evening time. The ≥20 dBm flagship output and 7 dBi antenna gains push the signal further across a 500 m² floorplate than the L250's ≥17 dBm, but they cannot add extra mast capacity.

You can install the L500 yourself in 20–25 minutes — no engineer required. Mount the 7 dBi omni on the roof or external wall, run the 10 m 5D-FB coax in, fix the 7 dBi panel on a central internal wall, connect the 5 m indoor coax to the L500 unit, and plug in the AC 100–240 V UK 3-pin mains adapter. AGC locks on automatically within a minute. The unit is compact at 180 × 120 × 28 mm and shows an LED status light. If the omni antenna is mounted on an exposed roof or a tall warehouse gable, we strongly recommend the optional 18 kA lightning / surge protector — it protects the booster and your broadband from induced spikes in a thunderstorm.