Customer Reviews

Wilson Electronics 841262 DB Pro 65 dB Adjustable Gain 800/1900MHz In-building Wireless Smart Technology IITM Signal Booster Kit with Omni-Directional and Panel Antenna for Home or Office

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have been suffering through satellite internet for years and decided I would try to boost my cell signal into my home. I tried a few other options, until I decided to pony up the dough and get this one. Let me tell you, this was the BEST purchase I have ever made, and I am completely able to get signal to discontinue my $200 a month satellite service to the $48 data card plan with my cell phone company. The speed is much better and now I can take my data card anywhere I get cell signal. This cell booster is of exceptional quality and is very easy to install. I definitely recommend this to anyone who needs to boost their cell signal.

We live in log home in the woods and have a metal roof. Needless to say we had an issue with signal strength in the house. We went from two bars outside and one bar in the house to 4 bars(the max) in signal in the house. Signal on the router went from -93db to -70db. Speed test confirmed the signal indication gain. Rates went to a blazing 1.5Mbs download to .5Mbs Upload for Verizon Wirelss. When you were dealing with dial up speeds before, this was to good to believe. It is about the best it can do. I had my doubts on spending so much money and this. But the reviews and Amazons return policy made me take a chance. Short time out of the box and we had more signal then we ever thought possible. With 8 watts of power consumption I can leave it on 24/7. Be sure to follow the manual and turn cell phones off and data cards off while installing. Install the power supply last. So far worth every penny I paid and Amazon beat others prices by $140. Thanks to everyones reviews on this product ... they made me take that leap of faith!

Boss said get something to make the cell phones work better in the offices. Checked out lots of info and reviews were good on this product. I ordered it, worked better than expected.
Boss said to get another for one for the back building.

From no signal to 5 bars signal strength in some locations inside. This Wilson booster system did the job.
Obviously you have to have some cell phone signal outside for it to work. In this case there was no signal or unreliable signal outside in the yard. However on top of chimney there were 5 bars.

LESSON LEARNED AND TOPICS TO UNDERSTAND
There are some decisions to make before selecting this kit with the 13" OMNIDIRECTIONAL antenna versus the shorter YAGI antenna which comes in this kit Wilson Electronics 841263 = Wilson Electronics 841262 DB Pro 65 dB Adjustable Gain 800/1900MHz In-building Wireless Smart Technology IITM Signal Booster Kit with Directional Wide Band Yagi and Panel Antenna for Home or Office..

For me the omnidirectional antenna worked well (or let's say I got away with it).
But before you purchase a system you want to consider...

SIGNAL AVAILABILITY
If you only have one or two bars at the location WHERE YOU INTEND TO INSTALL THE EXTERIOR ANTENNA buy the Yagi type. It is directional and will be able to pick up weaker signals and connect to a tower further away.
If you have two to three bars you can PROBABLY use the 13" omnidirectional antenna.
You will get the best signal from the Yagi type antenna. So the Yagi should be your first choice unless the cell phones in your house connect to different towers in different directions.

ONE OR MORE TOWERS
If all carriers are transmitting from the same tower a Yagi will work but if one cell phone provider's tower is in one direction and the other one is in another direction you will need an omnidirectional antenna in order for users of both networks to be covered by the antenna/booster.

In my case I did not know where the towers were located or what phone connected to what. I therefore selected the kit with the omnidirectional antenna.

SIGNAL STRENGTH
I had either no service or one to two bars on the grounds around the house and no service inside the house. However on top of the chimney 25 feet in the air I had full signal on my phone (5 bars) all the time. Unfortunately the chimney was at the end of the house that was farthest away from the tower. The manual tells you to mount the antenna on the end of the house nearest the tower.
While hunting for a PRACTICAL location I measured 2 to 3 bars (with my cell phone) on the inside of an attic vent on the end of the house facing the tower. It turned out (as one can expect) that the larger 13" Wilson antenna picked up more signal than the small antenna in my cell phone so I eventually ended up with more bars in the room where the internal antenna was mounted above the ceiling. At first I was only able to get 3 to 4 bars but eventually ended up with 4 to 5 bars (See "Turkey Roasting Pan" below).
Had I used the Yagi antenna I would probably have had 5 bars consistently. The Yagi puts out double the signal strength around 850 MHz and more than double in the 1900 MHz band (these are the bands used by US cell phone providers for voice and some for data).

A WORD ABOUT SIGNAL STRENGTH
Some reviewers highlight that it is impossible to get more bars inside a house, by installing a booster system, than the number of bars they measure where the exterior antenna is mounted or going to be mounted. The statement is correct if they measure the signal strength outside using the same external antenna they intend to put up as part of the booster system.
This can be done because some cell phones are equipped with an external antenna connection on the back/bottom of the phone or behind a label in the battery compartment.
Antennas have different gain. The higher the gain the higher the efficiency and the stronger the signal they can deliver to your cell phone (and eventually to your phone via the booster system). Wilson's website lists the dB gain for the various antenna types.
In my case I did not have a cell phone that could connect to an external antenna nor did I have the antenna that came with the kit (when I did the initial planning).
But one thing is for sure, if you use your cell phone to measure the signal strength where you plan to install the exterior antenna you are in for a positive surprise when you install the exterior omnidirectional antenna or even a bigger surprise with a directional Yagi type.
Some phones has a Field Test Mode hidden in a menu and others like the Symbian phones offers an Energy Profiler app. Either one will allow you to measure the actual signal strength in dB rather than in bars.
Had I had this feature, it would have been possible to provide actual signal strength as dB values in this review rather than bars. It would also have made it possible to calculate the impact of different lengths of cable runs and to predict coverage areas. Wilson's website has a calculator for this purpose.

AMPLIFIER (BOOSTER) LOCATION
You want to install the amplifier (signal booster) near the antenna (using as short a cable as possible). The 20 foot* cable worked well for me. I actually shortened it to 12 feet.
The longer the cable the more noise and signal loss you will incur. Also the amplifier will amplify the noise as well.

*The kit comes with 20, 30 and 50 foot antenna cables and an RG6 Female to Female adapter so you can string two cables together if you need a longer run.

NOTE: The kit does not come with a lighting surge protector. You must install one before the amplifier.
Wilson Lightning Surge Protector

POSITIONING THE INSIDE ANTENNA(S)
It was quite time consuming finding the optimum location for the inside antenna. Initially I thought I could get away with one internal antenna placed horizontally on top of the ceiling drywall (under the insulation) as one of the options in the Wilson Installation Manual suggests.
It turned out that the coverage was disappointing. There was no or very little signal in the adjoining rooms. It surprised me because the ceiling height is 13 feet. However it is a directional antenna and the most signal power is in a 90 degree angle relative to the antenna's flat front surface. Consequently the vertical signal direction sent the signal directly into the floor. (Which can be an advantage if you live in a multi-level house).
The pattern from the interior antenna that ships with the kit has a beam-width of 70 and 50 degrees in the horizontal and vertical plane respectively.

INTERNAL ANTENNA LOCATION(S)
If you have an open concept house the best location may be by shooting horizontally from a corner or a wall facing the largest open area (the antenna mounted vertically).
If this is not possible you have to reduce the amount of solid material the waves have to go through.
From a practical perspective imagine you are shining a light spreading at the same angles (beam-width) as the internal antenna. The objective is to place the light so you get as much light into as many rooms as possible. Imagine the building materials, wooden studs, floor joists, insulation, drywall are made of tinted glass that reduces the amount of light. The more glass/material the light/radio waves have to go through the weaker the light/signal gets. Consequently, if you are shooting on an angle from above, it is best to point the antenna in the direction along the ceiling joists as opposed to at an angle hitting multiple joists from the side where each joist weakens the signal. In a scenario with multiple rooms it would be best to install the internal antenna(s) as high up in the attic as possible pointing down in order to cover as many rooms as possible.
The best location in my case turned out to be a 30 degree angle several feet above the attic joists as the signal only have to go through one ceiling layer of drywall to make it into 3 rooms/patio-area. 3 room coverage was obtained by placing the antenna above the area where the walls below join in a T (the wall forming the top of the T was concrete with metal mesh*).

Unfortunately as in my case a high elevation may turn out to be just below or at the same horizontal level of the "exterior" antenna which in my case is mounted behind the attic vent. So as expected OSCILLATION occurred.

*Concrete with rebar, metal net or mesh used on buildings with stucco, insulation with aluminum foil or aluminum siding will block cell phone radio waves effectively.

OSCILLATION - MY WORST FEAR
In the planning phase before purchasing I called Wilson tech-service. The rep told me that I must have at least 70 feet distance between the exterior OMNIDIRECTIONAL antenna and the inside antenna AND the internal antenna must not point in the direction of the external antenna. If I could not install it in such a way I would face oscillation and have to reduce the signal strength from the amplifier (not exactly my preference).
My interior antenna is only 35 feet from the exterior antenna and once I moved the internal antenna 5 feet above the attic joists OSCILLATION STARTED (same phenomenon you hear when a microphone and loudspeaker starts to emit a high pitch sound if they get close to one another). The Wilson amplifier/booster lights will blink red to signal that you have a problem (as you can't hear radio waves oscillating).

SOLUTION - A TURKEY ROASTING PAN TO THE RESCUE
Obviously the last thing I wanted was to reduce the signal strength from the amplifier.
So I temporarily placed a disposable aluminum turkey roasting pan as a shield behind the "exterior" antenna and THE OSCILLATION PROBLEM TOTALLY WENT AWAY.

It was hard to attach the turkey pan permanently so I replaced it with a flat disposable drip pan Pactiv/E Z Foil 90815 Oven Liner (Pack of 2)from the kitchen oven. I placed the drip pan on top of the horizontal extenders located at the bottom of the omnidirectional antenna and secured it to the rafters with duct tape and staples. The best signal was obtained when there were metallic contact (conductivity) between the drip pan and the horizontal rods sticking out from the bottom of the omnidirectional antenna. Also the pan had to be tipped forward touching the top of the antenna.
To my surprise THE SIGNAL LEVEL INCREASED BY 1 TO 1.5 BARS throughout the house.

Oscillation would probably not have occurred if a Yaki antenna was installed. However I see no reason why you can't install a shield behind a Yaki antenna if you choose to install an interior antenna in closer vicinity than the Installation Manual suggests.
If the exterior antenna is mounted outside (as recommended) a more robust metal plate will have to be fabricated because a drip pan is too flimsy to handle the wind pressure.

OBJECTIVE
My objectives were to establish a reliable signal in the TV room, kitchen, patio area and secondly in the living room and master bedroom area.
First I thought one interior antenna could do the job but the concrete walls facing the roof-covered patio area were "effectively" blocking the signal.
The house is 60 feet long and 45 feet wide. The first antenna was mounted in one end of the house shooting across the 45 foot width (in the same direction as the ceiling rafters).
In the areas near the T-wall intersection I have 4 to 5 bars.
At the 45 foot mark I have 1 bar after shooting through 2 walls at a 90 degree angle plus the 30 degrees from the top. I don't care about the signal in this area as people are seldom there.

ADDING AN ADDITIONAL INTERNAL ANTENNA
First of all, it is preferable if you can get away with one antenna because you only get 50% signal on each antenna after you split the signal to feed two antennas. It reduces the coverage area of the first antenna to approximately 70% of what it was previously. You notice it right away when you connect the second antenna. Wilson Electronics Dual Band - 700-2700 MHz 75 Ohm Directional Wall Mount Panel Antenna with F Female Connector
The splitter will cost you $$ as will the extra internal antenna (see link above) and if the reduced coverage for the first antenna turn out to be a problem an extra amplifier (booster) is needed ($$$).
The New Wilson Electronics Antenna Splitter 2-Way F-Type Female 700-2300mhz Weatherproof Housing is very efficient and has only 3 dB loss (50% split) on each output but it is relatively expensive (for a splitter). If you have plenty of signal one may consider the IDEAL 85-332 2-WAY 2 GHZ SPLITTER which has a 4.7dB and 7.0dB loss at 800 and 1900MHz respectively. However you lose a lot of signal strength because the scale is logarithmic and 3 dB translates to a doubling in signal loss.
After all you installed the system to get a reliable signal so why let it go to waste with an inefficient splitter.
By the way, you can install multiple inside antennas and yet maintain full signal strength if you add additional boosters/amplifiers. (Call customer service).

LOCATION FOR THE SECOND INTERNAL ANTENNA
In my particular case the end of the house where the "external" antenna is mounted could theoretically not be covered because of the minimum distance requirement between antennas could not be achieved. Thus I installed a second reflector (oven drip pan) two feet from the second interior antenna blocking the transmission path to the "exterior" antenna. The two antennas are 12 feet apart in direct line with only one foot difference in elevation (remember we started out with a requirement for 70 feet minimum for the kit with the omnidirectional antenna).

LESSONS LEARNED
-With this system it is possible to achieve cell phone coverage inside a building if you have signal outside.
-First, do your homework; determine where the nearest cell tower is.
-If you use more than one cell phone provider determine if the signals comes from one cell tower as this may prevent you from using a Yaki antenna.
-Select a Yaki type or other directional exterior antenna if at all possible.
-Determine where you have the most signal outside for antenna location. High up is normally best.
-Look for potential locations where you can install the interior antenna(s).
-A corner in a large open area will give you the most coverage.
-You lose signal strength when shooting through walls or solid materials.
-Go on the Wilson Electronics website and read the installation manual.
-Plan the layout in your head or on paper.
-Lay it out with loose wires (don't attach anything) so you can move the antennas around.
-It took longer than expected to hunt for the best cell tower signal and to optimize the internal signal strength.
-Even small changes to location or antenna direction can make a huge difference in performance.
-It is great if you can distance your antennas as outlined in the Installation Manual but what if you can't?
-I think the most important lesson learned was that I did not have to be bound by the strict distance limitations between antennas by installing reflectors/shields (you can use aluminum siding, foil, pans, insulation board with foil or any type of metal plate for that matter).

I forgot to mention this system is of good quality and made in the US.

I hope my experience can help to you plan, install and enjoy cell phone coverage in your house as well. Good luck!

We live in a fairly large house (5,000 sq ft) with thick wooden walls, some steel beam construction in the house. Our family is on ATT with iphones, and found throughout the house, we typically had between 1-2 bars if we were lucky. About 1/7 calls would end up in a dropped call inside the house. Our kitchen and livingroom, as well as my office were 1 bar / dead zones. Fortunately for us, outside the house we would get 4-5 bars, or full service with the iphone. We were fed up having the exit the house sometimes to use our cell phones. We finally decided to try a signal booster, and used Amazon, to make sure it would work, and we know their rock solid return policy. Install was pretty easy, just 10 screws for all the units combined. We positioned our antenna on the roof where we would get 4-5 bars. We put our repeater in the basement pointing up from the center of the house, and the WHOLE HOUSE is covered by at least 4 bars, It will never even go into the 3 bar area. It is recommended in the directions to mount the repeater high, like on the 2nd floor and point it down, but it was too hard for us to run the wires. I bet if we installed it the way it was recommended we would get 5 bars in the whole house, but we only get 5 bars within 100 feet of the repeater box. Those dead zones in the kitchen, living room and office where making a phone call was something you just couldn't do, and now fully covered with 5 bars of 3G. Our 3G download speeds are hitting 7 megabit on speed tests now, thats as fast as our wifi can make the iphones go!

On a side note.

One of our family members uses T-mobile, and will at best get only 1 bar outside the house. The repeater will not make more bars than the service can provide, therefore, if you are getting 1-2 bars outside your house, I would not recommend even trying a $500 repeater, get a new service provider. She can only get 1-2 bars in the house, so it can't magically make bars, but it can help push the service through the walls without a problem.

Now if it were 1-2 bars on ATT on the cell phone outside the house, the antenna may be able to capture more bars, and provide more service inside the house. Maybe it is just because T-mobile service is so bad, that any antenna wouldn't help the cause.

Overall I am very pleased with this signal booster, and would recommend it to anyone who needs a boost inside their house. It will cover your whole house, and dropped calls or low signal will be a thing of the past. Thanks Wilson for making such a great professional product. I am thrilled that I don't have to go outside to make/receive calls anymore!

Quick Summary: If you get a decent signal on the roof of your house, but horrible signal inside, this is the product for you! If you get horrible signal on the roof of your house, then this won't do anything but cause you to be frustrated.

I recently purchase a home that was definitely within the coverage map, however, we couldn't make a call on our iPhones without dropping signal. Our Edge coverage was 1-2 bars at best, and we couldn't connect to 3G long enough to know how many bars we had. We tried everything to get better signal short of standing on the roof. To make a call I would have to turn off 3G and stand at a window in my family room. And that only worked successfully about 25% of the time. 75% of the time I would be talking to myself, not realizing that the call dropped. I couldn't send or receive MMS messages at all, SMS messages would work sometimes. In order to use the internet or email I would have to connect via WIFI. We were fed up and started looking online for a solution.

I originally was looking at getting the zBoost because it was on sale for only $199.99 (from $399.99), however, after I read the reviews for this Wilson DB Pro I was sold. I purchased it from J&R and expedited the shipping. So let's break this down.

Packaging:
The unit comes with two antennas, including mounts, one for the outside of your house and one for the inside. It also includes the signal booster, as well as a DC adapter, RG6 Cables (50ft, 30ft, 20ft), and a couple instruction inserts.

Installation:
The installation is fairly straight forward. I would strongly suggest that before you just pick a spot to mount the exterior antenna, you use your phone to check the signal. If you only get 40% signal (2 bars on iPhone) where you put the antenna, you will see the same result in the house where you put the interior antenna, so try to find a spot with the best possible signal. I was lucky to find a spot on the roof with 80-100% signal (4-5 bars on iPhone). Now that I figured out where I wanted to put the antenna, I had to figure out how I was going to get the wiring down into the house. There are three things to keep in mind before drilling into your walls. 1 - You must mount the antennas (interior and exterior) a minimum distance (height and length) from each other to avoid cross talk (interference), 2 - Your interior antenna should be facing the inside of the house, so find a wall that faces a majority of the house to ensure the best coverage, 3 - The signal booster needs power and also needs both interior and exterior antennas connected to it. If you keep these three things in mind before you just start drilling and pulling wires, it will save you the headache of having to move the antennas around and patching the drywall to cover up your mistakes.

Setup:
Once both antennas were installed, we hooked them into the signal booster and powered it up. One green light came on immediately, along with a blinking orange light. The instruction manual said to turn down the gain on the band that had the blinking orange light until it turns green. We turned it down about 5db and it turned green.

Test/Result:
Immediately we noticed an increase in bars on all of our cell phones. My iPhone had 5 bars (100% signal) on 3G (AT&T), my wife's iPhone had 5 bars (100% signal) on 3G (Verizon), and my friend's EVO (Sprint) had 5 bars (85% signal). I immediately called my mom, just to test the signal strength around the house. I have a two story home that is 3500 sq. ft. and not only did I have 4-5 bars over the entire house, the call clarity was fantastic. After my initial call with my mom, we did the ultimate test, a 3-Way call with two iPhones and an EVO, while walking around the house, in bathrooms, closets, garage, even the backyard. It worked flawlessly. The calls didn't drop, and the signal stayed between 80-100%, even in the backyard.

Summary:
In my situation, this product worked EXACTLY as advertised. We went from arguing about dropped calls, having to sit completely still in a specific spot in the house to get signal, to having the ability to walk around without loosing signal. This product is AWESOME!

WOW!! Have been contemplating this for a long time but hard to verify if this thing would really work. But have been so disgusted with cell service in my house that I finally bit the bullet and ordered one.
I live in the woods of central Florida, tall trees all around my house, and have a cell tower 3 miles both east and west, and if I stand outside, or climb a ladder I get a signal, 3 bars at the back of my driveway. Zero to one bar in the house. Cell phone never rings in the house, only missed calls. I am on call (MD) at times and it is a nuissance to ask to be called on both land and cell phone, cuz folks just don't remember.
Well, this booster arived yesterday, and spent the afternoon installing it. Climbed up in the rafters of my attic to feed wire for outside antena through soffit, when my wife called, and I had 3 bars! So I installed outside antennae in attic ( with extra wire in case I need to still put it outside). Finally got the rest hocked up and turned on last night, and Walla! Now have 2-3 bars inside, occasionally 4! Phone works great so far, and my V cell modem now is incredible! Was about to buy a new computer but this old one works great now.
Was reluctant to spend $500. bucks on this thing but so far it is well worth it!!!!
PS: Wilson Tech guy got me through finding special code to dial, to find OSL(outside signal level) for my phone. Inside was -120 and above, now is -81. The lower the better. Max signal is -50. Calls dropped above -100. So I have a dramatic, and measurable improvement!!

If you're comparing this product to the Z-boost and asking yourself if it's worth the extra money...stop now.

Take it from someone who at first purchased, installed, tweaked, put up directional antennas, and eventually uninstalled and returned the Z-boost.

The Wilson Pro is a far superior solution for anyone on the fringe of cellular coverage.

The Z-boost might work if you have 4 bars outside your house and nothing indoors but if you are trying to extend coverage into rural areas, do yourself a favor and get the Wilson Pro.

I turned 1 bar/ no 3G into 4 bars and close to 4mbps 3G data coverage. Great product Wilson, where have you been the last 10 years!

I found the unit relatively easy to install however it should be noted that trying to run the coax cable in finished living spaces somewhat a challenge. It is obvious that if you have an unfinished basement or an attic in which the cable could be run the installation would be easier. Also, the signal from the amplifier could be stronger. If the cell phone is more than 20-30 feet from the amplifier all benefits from the amplifier are lost. The booster did do what was advertised; it strengthened the signal sufficiently that we can now use our cell phones in the house where before we did not have a signal strong enough to maintain a call without it being dropped.

I would definitely recommend this product to anybody living in areas with fringe cellular coverage.

Hi
This works with both Sprint and Verizon 3G air cards. I have had it for several months and it worked like a champ