Customer Reviews

Cisco-Linksys WSB24 Wireless-B Signal Booster

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

The reality of WiFi is that just about everyone I know is not getting as solid a signal as they'd like. I've been frustrated by dead spots in the house, and I'm sure we've all done strange "rain dances" with our notebooks, cables, antennas, etc. to try to improve the signal.

However, my WiFi network did not seem as zippy as my Ethernet when using our cable modem, even though the bandwidth of both networks dwarfs the cable modem. Well, instantly after installing the booster, I got noticeably better response in a room where the signal used to be so weak that Linksys' own utility would show no signal strength (even though I could surf from there).

The WSB24 is trivial to install (180 seconds and that was because I didn't know you had to push the cable onto the connector pretty firmly). If you were a LinkSys pioneer and bought the early access points, you owe it to yourself to upgrade with this booster.

This product could not be easier to install. No CD to spin. No complex manuals - just a power "brick", 2 cables, and the booster. Linksys has a nice package if you need a little more signal.
I did a preliminary survey using my notebook computer with an Orinoco Silver card and Toshiba e740. The notebook usually runs about 3-5db higher gain for any given distance from the router than the PDA, which is normal given the available power to the 802.11b chip and antenna size.
After installing the WSB24 booster, I noted a 5-9db gain throughout the house and down the street on both the notebook and PDA. My goal was to get a solid signal "footprint" covering my entire house, yard, garage. The WSB24 achieved this admirably. I believe Linksys claims a 10-15db gain, but I noted approximately half that. Given that almost all the advertising for WiFi seems to double or treble the true available distance, this doesn't alarm or bother me. At distances and locations where I previously got 1 or 5 mb connection I now have a solid 11mb.
The bottom line: 5 minute install, no problems, definite gain in signal strength, reasonable price.

I've had the WSB24 signal booster in storage since I switched from a Linksys wireless 802.11B router to an 802.11 B/G router, the WRT54G to be specific. However, I decided to give the signal booster a try with my B/G router. It is very easy to set up, just unscrew the antennas from the back of of the router. Screw the wires from the signal booster onto the router in the place of the antennas you just removed. Then plug the power adaptor in and Bobs your uncle (you're done, that is).

My signal strength went up 2-3 bars in the "dead" spots in our house and now goes to the farthest corner of our 2 story house with all signal strength "bars" lit up.

So even thought the WSB24 is not designed to work with an 802.11 G router, it does work fine with the Linksys WRT54G. Note that this booster has been pulled from the market by Linksys. If you want one, you will have to buy a used one. But you can't have mine.

Well, I'm quite impressed with the Linksys WSB24. I thought that the claims of up to 14 dBm signal boost by Linksys were probably for ideal conditions, but I'm seeing close to that in my home (about 12dBm). Be aware that I'm using this booster in conjunction with an early model WAP11 (version 1.1) which is known to be a little weak compared with later versions. My reason in purchasing this booster was to increase my wireless coverage to a deck in my back yard. Without the booster, I would get a weak signal about 60 feet from where I needed to be. After installing the booster, I get a fairly strong signal on the deck and probably could go out further if I needed. Some may say that the Linksys accesss point or router should by default have good range making the booster redundant, however, if you look at similar solutions by companies such as Cisco that have excellent range out of the box, the cost of these solutions is more than twice the cost of the Linksys AP/Router combined with the booster. I highly recommend this device, especially if you have an earlier model Linksys WAP11 or BEFW11S4.

After having installed out first wireless network, we were really disappointed with the performance of the new 802.11g products. The range just wasn't the same as Linksys claimed (big surprise eh). I saw this Signal Booster in the store and decided to try it out on the 54g network, even though Linksys didn't say that it would be compliant. After a 30 second setup the entire home is being radiated by the 2.4ghz signal. I would say that this booster provided a 50%-100% range improvement over the standard Linksys wireless router. A definite no brainer!

I Purchased the Linksys Signal Booster for 81$ on Amazon.com, any store I found it in would run me $99, so I give Amazon 5*****Stars + with FREE shipping, :). Thru 2 concrete walls and about 30 yards, + 1 1/2 inch think would wall, the Booster took me from 34% strength to 83% strength. Quality went from 92% to 100%. Everything is faster and more stable. Excellent Deal and Product. btw, my neighbor 100yards away and also behind concete, well he gets 43% strength, up from 24%, and thats across the street from me. I can now walk 200yards in any direction and have internet access. Ofcourse at 200yards service is real slow.

I have had both an A&B based wireless network in my new home only to find the both of them have about 15' range indoors due to the solid nature of the walls. Wireless routers work excellent in wooden modern homes, but in the stone walled home that I am in now, the wireless transmitter worked only in the living room which is obviously a waste of money seeing as how there are 3 computers upstairs. For a time I went back to my trusty 10/100 ethernet setup, but when I found that Linksys offered a signal booster I jumped on it.

I am in fact a big "Neo Geek" but I'll give you all the short version of my review. Installation was simple, (5 minutes) and it boosts the signal quite a bit just as advertised. If you suffer from low signal strength this item WILL help. If you have no signal strength this item WILL MOST LIKELY help by providing a usable connection.

I highly recomend it.

One room in my home has staggered cement walls (and it's not cellblock A) and unfortunately the signal from my BEFW11S4 does not make it into the room. With the WSB24 (just made available recently) I now have full coverage in this room as well as coverage outside further than I imagined. All-in-all a very nice product.

I had previously installed the Linksys WAP. It worked well. Much better than the previous 802.11a system that I had installed, which lacked the range and speed advertised.

I was able to get total coverage inside my house, but on my deck, or on the patio, the signal was very weak. I was getting dropped connections from my instant messenging software frequently.

The Signal Booster improved on my range by another 20 to 30 feet, as far as I can tell. It also improved the signal strength in the house from poor to good, and good to very good.

Another thought, I must have looked ridiculous standing outside in snow banks three feet tall my laptop, browsing the web and doing download speed tests, but I wanted to make sure that it worked as advertised.

The Linksys Wireless Signal Booster passed my tests. I'm pleased.

I have a Linksys BEFW11S4 v.4 router connected by RJ45 to my PC in a corner room of the 2nd floor of my house. My second PC is two floors below in the basement, attached to a Microsoft MN-510 wireless adaptor. I don't have any handy utilities to measure signal strength and quality aside from the Microsoft adaptor software, but the MS software says I typically get 4 out of 5 bars of signal strength WITHOUT the booster. That sounds pretty darn good, but I get only about 1/4 of the download speed (300-400 Mbps) that I get on the PC physically wired to the router (1000-1300 Mbps). Note that I am going through 2 floors, a wall, a kitchen and some ductwork. Considering the situation, that isn't bad really.

But I bought the WSB24 to see if I could improve it. The installation went fine, except I found I had to push back the rubber "boots" on the antennas so that they could be screwed onto the WSB24 antenna connectors. No big deal. Installation took about 5 minutes.

With the booster, download speed was much improved, from 300-400 Mbps without the booster to around 600-700 Mbps. I don't have a laptop, so I could not tell if the range had been extended or if simply the signal quality was improved within the same range. Since the MS signal monitor still reported 4 out of 5 bars in signal strength even with the booster operating, I'd be inclined to assume the latter. That's fine with me, since two floors of coverage is more than enough range.

So, the improvement in range/signal quality, while it didn't knock my socks off, is what I expected and seems reasonable for the price. The unit stacks right on top of the router, which is a real strong point for me. It keeps things tidy. I give it 4 out of 5 stars. If it gave a little more performance it would have gotten 5, but I am happy with it.