Customer Reviews

Wilson Electronics Sleek Cell Phone Signal Cradle Booster for All Cell Phones with Mini Magnet Mount Antenna - For Single User

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

WORKS

A couple things to bear in mind:
* The magnetic antenna needs to be grounded on something metal for it to work.
* The phone must be set inside the cradle at all times, so you'll need a bluetooth headset so you're not holding the whole contraption with multiple wires up to your face.

It boosted my sprint signal about 2-3 bars on average depending on antenna placement and how well it was grounded.

I just moved into a new office cube at the first floor of an old building. The entire area where I am at is considered a giant dead zone due to the high wireless head set activity. I used to get no signal from AT&T, period. Once I bought this item, I was anxious to try it out since I received the product over a long weekend. Oh my!! this thing gets FIVE BARS!! no kidding. I am rediscovering the iPhone I love in a dead zone. The only negative I can think of is the fact that the phone has to be on the cradle at all times to get signal. This is fine by me as I do not move around with the phone when I am at work. Thank you Wilson !!!!

Anytime I see a product that claims to boost signal of any type of device, I get skeptical. I have tried various products in the past that never worked...Until now.

The Wilson Electronics Cell Phone Signal Cradle is a well designed signal booster that utilizes an external antennae and an external power source to boost cellular signal. My test phone: The iPhone 4.

What comes in the box

Phone cradle with adapters
DC Adapter
External magnetic antenna

Construction

The cradle is made of hard plastic and has a padded surface for the phone to rest. A green indicator light on the lefthand side of the cradle lets you know the cradle is on. The plastic grips on the side are flexible enough to fit the phone into the cradle easily. There is an adhesive backing that attaches the cradle to any flat surface of your choosing. I would have preferred additional backings or mounts for users who move from one location/vehicle to another. The cradle rotates on a ball and socket joint allowing the user to view the screen in the vertical or horizontal position; this will facilitate the use of the GPS capabilities of the iPhone 4. The antenna has a magnetic mount that sticks to any metallic surface (preferably the top of the vehicle) and this connects to the cradle with a coaxial cable connection. The DC adapter plugs into the DC port in your vehicle.

The cradle allows the user to plug in their charging cable and the top of the iPhone is unobstructed to allow the phone to "Sleep".

Use

Just place your phone into the cradle and watch it work. In just a few seconds, I watched as my "One Bar" 3G signal in a weak coverage area go up to "Four Bars". That was impressive. This weak coverage area that I drive through is notorious for dropped cell phone calls. That could be the difference between getting a Tow Truck or walking a few miles in the dark with an LED flashlight in the middle of the night. You get my drift?

I took the cradle and brought it to work where there are lead walls in my department (Radiology Department) and there is poor signal ("Two Bars" Edge or "One bar" 3G). I took the DC adapter and plugged it into my DC to AC converter. Again, I went from "One Bar" to "three bars" 3G! As I moved the antenna from one location to another, I saw that it increased the signal to "Four Bars" 3G!

This will surprise you but the sticker says that this is MADE IN THE USA!!!

Verdict

This product works!

Highly recommend it for the iPhone 4.

My new office at work has terrible reception. Constantly dropped calls or the voice drop-outs made communicating impossible. Ordered this hoping it would solve the problem. It did. Double the signal strength in my office. Now my calls are crystal clear. I also purchased their 'office adapter kit' which came with a suction cup antenna mount and 110v charger. Inadvertently ordered the wrong one. The antenna mount works great, but came with the wrong charger. No big deal, I have an extra USB charger or use my laptop. Both work. If you do order the office kit make sure you order the one with the correct charger. The cradle itself is easy to use, seems very robust. I'm very please with this purchase. Worth every penny. Way to go Wilson. Amazon had the best price and free shipping. Can't beat that.

I rarely review items, but this I can't pass on. When I got my first cell phone I was hoping that I'd be able to drop my land line and just have one phone bill. However, I live in "the boonies" and cell reception is iffy, so that idea was tabled. I've upgraded my cell phone a few times and now have a smartphone. I love the phone, but my home signal is still the same. Periodically I'd check to see if booster technology had evolved to where I could benefit at a RESONABLE price. When I saw the ad for this product it sounded too good to be true. I'm a skeptic, but willing to give somethings a try. When I found it on Amazon I figured I'd give it a try and if it didn't work, then I'd return it (returns to Amazon have always been hassle free for me...). Well, no worry - IT WORKS AS ADVERTISED!!! With the home adapter kit I now have 4 full bars on my BB Storm. Before I was lucky to have one bar. And I'm NOT exaggerating. The only downside is that I have to use my bluetooth headset because the phone has to remain in the cradle, which would make it pretty awkward to use. But, for me, that's no big problem, as I'm used to using bluetooth when I'm traveling, so it isn't a deal breaker. This will be my LAST month of paying for a separate land line (in 4 months this product will have paid for itself). I HIGHLY recommend this for anyone who lives in cell phone fringe reception areas and would like to drop their land line. Oh, and it's simple to shift it into the car for on-the-road signal boosting, where it also shines.

As an Insurance Agent I often travel in East Texas, Western Louisiana and SE Texas. Verizon Wireless coverage isn't complete, and if you have to travel off of the beaten track at all - most roads in the country - you won't be able to keep a call up with your cell phone and a 3 dB gain antenna on top of your car. I purchased this Wilson unit, partly because I have used Wilson Ham Radio antennas and equipment for better than 20-years, so I have "brand loyalty". The Sleek works in all areas I have been to since I got the 815226 with the stock 3 dB mag mount antenna. No drop outs, often 4 to 5 bars where I had NO SIGNAL with the cell phone/external 3 dB antenna just a week or so before I had to go back to the same area to see clients. For a business man this solves the issue ... I have also let an AT&T user with an iPhone use the unit when his didn't work and mine did....and he got through also. Fixes the failure of the TELCO Wireless providers to complete the build-out in thinly populated areas, recommend anyone with drop-out and no-signal issues try this before taking a more expensive route.

Length:: 0:27 Mins

The Sleek "Universal Cell Phone Signal Booster" works as promised: In my testing with an iPhone 3GS on AT&T, it typically boosted the signal in my car by around one bar. There are downsides, but the downsides may be common to all similar products, so if you are specifically looking for a booster, this product could be perfect for you.

Now the downsides... Installation involves putting a short antenna with a (surprisingly strong) magnetic base on your roof, and then running a clumsy black antenna cord through your car, under or across your dashboard, to the holder. The holder itself needs to be mounted with its adhesive pad to something flat and relatively vertical on your dashboard. There are multiple clips, to accomodate a variety of phones. The mount is intended for your phone to be vertical, so if you want to view maps in landscape (wide) mode, your phone could slip out. Further, with an iPhone, you really need thumbs to type, so with your phone in the holster, typing is a pain. Finally, not only do you use up your car's power source (the lighter), so you can't charge your phone, but when the charger is plugged in, my radio got fuzzy. I'd rather hold my phone in my hand carefully than deal with all these shortcomings. But I put the Sleek "Universal Cell Phone Signal Booster" in my glovebox in case I ever need to get from zero to one bars in an emergency.

We live out in the country where cell service is difficult. I thought this product would help boost the signal enough that we could rely on our cell phones only... not the case. I'm sure it works for some people, but for us NO. My advice is that if you have signal that fluctuates up and down but is still weak at best don't buy this as it did not improve things for us at all.

So I live in a Sprint low zone, note I say low zone not dead zone. I needed some help in boosting my signal strength on my Hero. after looking around at several different options for home and car boosting of signals, I decided on the Sleek by Wilson. I am glad that i made that choice, However with that said there are a couple of things that is keeping it from being a 5 star review.

1st, there is the lack of an AC adapter that comes with the product. Yes I know I can order a house kit from Wilson or even amazon, but when it's claimed that it will help improve home coverage near the booster, then an ac jack should be included instead of just using USB.

2nd, and this is the only reason that I'm not giving it a 5 star review, and it's the indoor coverage. I hooked up the mini-mag antenna that came with the product and it didn't do a whole lot for me, now preface that with the fact that I put the antenna up inside right in front of the window and hooking the antenna up outside the window could improve conditions. I will say this, my house was built back in the late 60's to withstand an f5 tornado, it can block out a lot of signals, so YMMV on indoors.

now the good parts. after not working so well inside I tried hooking it up in my pickup. Man what a difference. Without the sleek I would normally have 1 or 2 bars at best in my driveway with db ranges of -100 to -105. as soon as I plugged it in I quickly went to 4 bars, with db signals of -85 to -90. and it held up VERY well in coverage as I drove around our city and even out in the country where our signals was very poor at best without the sleek. I HIGHLY recommend the sleek to someone who is a traveler, and who doesn't want to spend $300-$400 dollars on a fancy setup to improve the reception. You can find the sleek from places on line as cheap as $75, cheaper than the $99.95 that Amazon charges. it works great in the truck, and I would never go again on a long trip without the sleek.

oh and one more thing, for traveling with the sleek I recommend using a bluetooth headset or somesort of hands free device, for 1 reason, it is VERY bulky to hold in your hand with the sleek kit and your phone.

Yep have to agree with the above user:

I was totally anxious for this to show up. I have absolutely terrible signal at my house, and I live 40mins from work, and have to drive through a base and woods with very poor reception. I got constant drop calls and missed calls. When this arrived, I was amazed at actually how sturdy it was. It came with the cradle, and it's not made out of some really cheap plastic, the usb cord plug-in and the adapter for the car. A really long antenna, which by the way you do not need to set on top of the car. It literally took me like a minute to set it up. I was blown away to watch my cell phone go from 1 bar to no freakin kidding, 5 bars!!!. Then I tested it on my drive to work, I did not drop a call one time. This thing is by far one of the best products that I bought that does actually does what it suppose to do. I am really happy that I spent the money on it. The only problem I have is, it's not very easy to move around. If you want it in your car, you have to unplug it, wrap up the antenna, it gets to be a pain at times, and it makes your phone bulky, so you have to use a Bluetooth or speaker phone. OH it does come with a mount that you can place on your car as well. I'm telling for the price, you cannot beat this. I love it.