Customer Reviews

Wireless Extenders YX-500 PCS zBoost Cell Phone Signal Booster up to 2500 Square Feet of Coverage for Home or Office (1900 MHz Phones)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Summary:
My results are good. I am an electrical engineer and also followed all the directions. The booster's transmitter could afford to be about 2-3dB stronger. Still, my goal of making my GSM (T-Mobile) phone useful inside my house was well achieved with some minor effort.

Detail:
I purchased my YX500-PCS for use with my T-Mobile Blackberry Pearl 8100 in Saratoga, CA. I live in a one story, 2400 sf, ranch style home with a metal roofing system called "Calpac" that uses formed and coated sheet metal panels to simulate a tile roof. The house structure is wood framing with wood siding on the front side and stucco on the other three. I mention this because this means that my house is at least partially shielded by metal on top and on the three stucco sides (remember that stucco is hung on steel mesh). If you have a similar home, you should seriously consider placing the remote antenna of the YX500 outside of your house and not in the attic as others have done. You don't want to have metal between the antenna and the cell tower.

Before the YX500, I could not reliably connect to my T-Mobile service inside my home. At best, I could get one bar near certain windows. I could get satisfactory reception by taking my phone outside and seeking out a "line of sight" path to the cell tower. After installing the unit with my antenna attached to the chimney on my TV antenna mast, I can use my phone pretty much throughout my home. Placement of the base station is more sensitive than I would have liked to see. The issue is that it's transmission strength is usable, but weaker than I would have liked to see. My expectation was that I would be 3/5 bars as a minimum, and the reality is that I lose a bar ever ten or so feet. This is mostly OK since I get 5 bars when close to the unit (within 10 feet). So, you must make sure it is centrally located and that your principle location in the house (say, your desk or office) does not cause the booster to be on the other side of the funrnace/AC (if you have central HVAC), water heater, etc. Remember, avoid metal, especially grounded metal, objects. They absorb or block the radio waves you are trying to receive. In any case, I temporarily set up the antenna and the unit as recommended in the instructions and moved the components around to get the best signal strength on my phone's meter. One of the reviewers commented that he "can't see radio waves" and neither can I. We can all MEASURE them, however, and that is what we are doing in a crude way with our cell phone signal strength meter.

In any case, I ended up installing my antenna outside on my TV antenna mast. In general, higher up should be better to avoid the obstruction of buildings, etc. You should check the location of the nearest tower that serves your area and your carrier. There are websites that can help with this (e.g. www.cellreception.com/towers/) or you can simply contact your carrier directly. Once you know your nearest tower location, you should locate your antenna so that there is as much of a clear view as you can achieve to that site. Of course, a totally clear view may not be possible. You should try to avoid metal structures, concrete stuctures (they have metal reinforcements), etc. Trees and vegetation should be less of a problem. Some wood frame houses will block reception and some won't. It depends on what is inside and if they have some hidden metal like mine has.

In any case, your goal is to get the strongest signal to the outside antenna you can, because the YX500 is a signal booster or amplifier. It follows that if you have no reception when you climb up a ladder or onto your roof outside with cell phone in hand, you will not fix anything with a booster because there is nothing to amplify or "boost." Conversely, if you get the antenna positioned to receive the strongest signal from the tower or cell base site, you will also get the strongest signal and best results inside the house, too. To put it another way, this unit "captures" the best signal you can find with the external antenna and then sends it into your home via the cable it is attached to. The base unit then re-issues that signal back out through its antenna as well as receiving your cell phone's signal and sending it the other way. The signal inside your house is not going to be better than the one that is initially captured outside. If you only had one bar of reception and it was scratchy when standing at a high spot outside with your phone, you are going to just get a somewhat more powerful, but similarly distorted signal once you install the booster.

In any case, after installing and testing this unit for goodness with my Pearl, my son's friends came over armed with a bunch of ATT (Cingular) phones which are all GSM. Previously, these did not work at my house, but now they all do. This might not be that much of a blessing in this specific case :-) but the system has now been tested with two services and the latest RAZR variants on ATT as well as my BBY.

Bottom line, do a lot of signal monitoring with your cell to see if you can even use this device. If you decide it's a go, follow all the instructions and you should be fine.

I originally was going to purchase a Spotwave Z1900 Wireless Signal Booster, but when WorstBuy sent me a vacuum cleaner instead (and insisted the only way to fix their screw-up was to drive to a B&M store), I started looking elsewhere and came across the YX-500.

I'll admit, I was a little wary after reading some negative reviews on it, but after setting it up I suspect that people who have problems are NOT FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS. There are really only two things to do:

1) Locate the antenna where you get the best possible signal. If you have a Sprint phone, dial # (pause) #33284 and you'll get a readout of the Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), which is more accurate than the crude 0-5 bars that most phones give you. In my main living space, I was getting a RSSI of -102, with 0-1 bars on my phone (and many dropped calls). Climbing up into my attic, the RSSI went to -88, with 4 bars on the phone. So - that's where I placed the antenna.

2) Locate the base unit on a different horizontal plane than the antenna. The instructions state that there should be at least 15 feet of separation. Even without being a RF engineer - think about it. This device is basically a repeater with some amplification. If the receive and transmit antennas are within the same horizontal plane, then the thing will interfere with itself. If you place the antenna in your attic (or on your roof if you don't have an attic), then you should be fine (as long as you don't put the base unit in the attic or on the roof also. If you feel the need to place it there so you can make phone calls while you're sitting in your attic or on your roof, you may want to reconsider).

Once I had the antenna properly located in the attic (I did try going the simple route at first - by placing the antenna near a window in my bedroom and the base unit twenty feet away down a hall. This worked so-so, but not very well) everything was great. In my main living space, I consistently get a RSSI of -89 to -92, with 3-4 bars on my cellphone.
The device is pretty much hands-off: supply it with electricity, and it's working.

I only have two complaints about the thing:

1) The antenna on the base unit seems to work on a horizontal plane only, which means that your use will be limited to the same floor that it's located on. So - if you have a multi-story place, you'll have to decide which floor you want coverage on. For me, this isn't too big a deal, but it would have been nice to have coverage on both stories of my residence.

2) The instruction manual has a decoder table to interpret the three different colored lights on the base unit.
The lights on the base unit are in this order: Install/Signal/Power
The decoder matrix in the instructions lists them in this order: Power/Install/Signal. WTF? How hard would it have been to match the instructions to the actual device. This may sound a bit nitpicky, but instead of being able to easily translate what you're seeing, you have to search through the table to find out the meaning of the indicator lights.

Altogether, I'm happy with this. Once set up, it's hands-off and just works. I'm taking away a star because of the need to be on the same floor as the base unit, and because of the poorly written table in the instructions. Come on, guys - doesn't anyone there actually read through the manual with the actual device sitting in front of them??

Oh - I do have to throw in one more plus - you aren't locked into the antenna that came with it. If you feel the need, you can replace it with a different (higher gain) one, and just connect it to the coax that it came with.

I purchased this unit and installed the antenna outside my window on the second floor of my house. I live in an area that has about 1-2 bars of signal outside my house but none inside. I originally tried to put the booster on my second floor so i could place calls from my first floor with minor improvement of signal. After tilting the antenna the signal improved. I decided that I needed the signal to be the best on the first floor in the living room and finally decided to install the unit on the first floor of my house.

You should test the unit for the best placement BEFORE actually installing it like another person did (see other review)and then complained that it didn't work for him.

This unit will not create a signal if you don't have any to begin with.

I put the antenna on the very top of my roof with it verticle ran the cable to my computer room and my phone got all 5 bars in the computer room pretty much right next to the unit. Go about 10 feet and the signal goes back down to 1 to 2 to roaming, this is line of sight of the base unit. The manual states that it will cover 2500sq ft, there is no way it would or could cover that much area let alone 10ft. The manual states that the base unit is only a .25watt and talking to a communication buisness that sells similar units that are more high end and are up to 3watts those won't even cover that much area. If you want any mobility to roam around the house and get good signal don't waste your money on this, if you are stationary with your phone or tether it to your desktop then this would work for you. One thing postitve I can say the customer service was right on the phone with me and very friendly.

I live in a 2 story stucco house with shingled roof. Under the shingles the builder put a "radiant barrier" material called Tek Shield (I think) with a reflective coating on the inside. This is good for insulation... but not so good for cell phone reception. Our home office is on the first floor and I could not make cell phone calls from this room reliably. Signal strength was 0-1 bars and dropped calls were frequent. Outside this room signal strength went up to 1-2 bars and obviously more as I moved outside.

I installed the antenna in the attic in a spot that yielded 3 bars, consistantly. I spend a lot of time making sure that the attic would provide sufficient signal strength versus mounting the antenna outside. The repeater module is in the study closet, behind a louvered door. I'm sure this blocks the signal some, but this is the only room that really caused problems. Now I get 3-4 bars and calls are clear - no drops since installation.

In summary, this product definitely fixed my problem. Signal strength would probably be better if the repeater was installed in a more centralized location, but that wasn't necessary here becuase I only really cared about one room. Putting the repeater in the closet also alleviated any "you're not mounting that on the ceiling in our living room!" type comments from The Boss. :-)

PLEASE, PLEASE READ MY WHOLE ARTICLE BEFORE BUYING ANY BOOSTER SYSTEMS.

I purchased this booster some time ago, Oct 2009. Upon installation, I did not see any improvement. I contacted Wi-Ex and after a few days of bitching, they sent me a new system. The new system was a bit better but still did not do what they claim it to do. I've continued to use this booster for 8 months total now and here is my analysis.

First, they claim that this unit will cover a home of 2500 sq ft. LIE.

Second, they claim that this will reduce dropped calls... HALF A LIE

Here are the facts:

1- You will only get a boosted signal from the base unit ONLY if the receiving antenna has a strong signal. I have 2 bars in my attic, where the receiving antenna is installed, and the coverage range from the base unit is only anywhere from 2 inches to 3 feet from the base unit.

2- In my situation, the coverage area dramatically drops as soon as I'm out of the 3 foot radius of the base unit. As soon as I'm about 10 feet from the base unit, the signal will drop to zero bars on my phone (Palm Pre) and the phone will intermittently switch to Roaming. (This also occurs with an HTC Touch Pro 2 as well).

I contacted Wi-Ex and they told me that the max range of the boosted signal will be 15 feet. That's right, he said 15 feet. They why do they advertise full house coverage? And also claim a 2500 sq ft home coverage on this unit. I was also told that if my input signal is only two bars, that the output from the base unit is reduced to a lower radius/range. This is not what is advertised. As a matter of fact, while I was on the phone with the rep, he kept asking me to repeat myself because I kept breaking up. He asked me to repeat myself three times, yes, three times, and my distance to the base unit? About two feet at that time and the bar strength indication on the phone? That was at 1 bar!! Yes, 1 bar!!!

So basically, if you have full bars (a strong signal) outside of your home, then the boosted signal inside your home will be greater. I want everyone to know this. DO NOT BE MISGUIDED!!!! This system is only as good as your signal outside your home. If you have FULL strength outside your home and have no signal strength inside your --- a basement for example, then, you will have good coverage in your basement room ONLY.

Also, I wanted to troubleshoot this some more so I bought a Wilson 800/1900 booster. Identical to this Wi-Ex unit. I tried a combination of several things. I used the Wi-Ex receiver with the Wilson base and the Wilson transmitting antenna, the Wilson receiving antenna with the Wi-Ex base unit and the Wilson antenna and so forth..... and this is what I learned:

The Wilson system gives you a better coverage radius than the Wi-Ex unit. However, the Wilson unit continuously loses it's signal and the base unit's LED will switch from green to amber to red quite often! Again, neither of these units really improves your indoor signal if your outdoor signal is not at 100%. DO NOT EXPECT YOUR INDOOR RECEPTION TO BE BOOSTED THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE 2500 SQ FT HOME!! This will NOT happen. These two units are misrepresented to make a sale. This is not to say that the Wilson is a better buy, it is not! The coverage radius is only increased by about 1 foot using the Wilson unit. As soon as you are out of this range, your signal will drop and switch over to Roaming as well.

Do not waste your money on either of these two systems if all you need is coverage at your computer desk. You might as well buy their lower priced units that you suction cup to your window. These will give you that same result and you don't have to climb into your attic or bore holes in your home to hang an external antenna. More importantly, they cost about $100 less.

I have disconnected both units and the signal strength at my desk is at 2 bars without a booster. (Intermittently of course but good enough and better than with the boosters in place). I of course, lose my signal in the basement, but the boosters didn't provide me with better signal strength either so for me, it's not a loss.

Note: I did abide by the distance requirements called for by each manufacture and those called for by the FCC. I only operated my cell in close proximity only to perform my tests. At no time should you operate your equipment outside the limitations set forth in the user's manuals.

I only had 2 bars inside a brick home wrapped with aluminum under the brick. I installed the booster inside my attic at the highest peak and ran the line down to the computer room where I spend most of my time.
I am now getting 4-5 bars frequently. I know it is expensive but I got tired of walking outside to talk on the cell phone so it is worth every penny to me.

I live in a basement. I routed the antenna to the top of the house and mounted it to the tv antenna. With the base unit in the basement, I have great recption all the time with no fading ever. Very pleased.

Does what it says it does: takes the signal from where you put the receiver antennae (whether its on top of your house or inside your window) and repeats it from the base unit.

My set up: I live in an apartment that has to be made of titanium. NO ONE has service in their apartments so you see lots of people sitting at their windows to talk on the phone or sitting in their car or walking outside.

If I put my cell phone anywhere but the window sill it didn't work. So I bought this and attached it to the side of my window frame where I usually have 2/4 or 3/4 bars on my cell. I ran the cord behind my TV and put the base unit about 15 ft TOTAL away. But its only about 5 ft below the antennae and about 13 horizontal ft away. SO DON"T WORRY ABOUT IT ACTUALLY BEING 15 FEET BELOW THE ANTENNAE!

Mine works just fine. I have 2-3 bars in my dining and kitchen where before I had no bars. I still have no bars in my bathroom (no windows and furthest from the base unit and the base unit does nothing for my bedroom because the wall blocks the signal). But overall I am pleased with what it has done for my cell signal in my home.

You can't expect miracles: if the walls of your apartment block outside cell signal they will block this bases signal too, so it really only helps in one area not separated by walls. If thats what you want then you'll like this. If you expect something more then you will be frustrated.

Pros:
-great for an apartment where you have problems with cell signal (as long as you have a decent signal by the windows!)
-gives you signal where you had none before.
-easy to set-up if you're using the inside window method=


Cons:
-Has to have a "15 ft vertical distance" to work properly. This isn't as big of a deal as everyone makes it out to be. Basically it shouldn't be on the same horizontal plane and it should be at least 15 ft total.
-White cable runs from antennae to base unit - its not super pretty but its not that big of a deal.
-Doesn't transmit signal through walls so only works in one room.

I am very glad I invested in this product. I use it both for my cell phone and the sky card on my computer. It works well for both purposes. Before buying this unit, I had no bars of coverage in my house. As explained in the set up directions, I went up on my roof with my cell phone prior to installing the unit. I got 4-5 bars (out of six) on my roof. Using this unit's attenna on my roof, I get 6 bars consistently in my house, witth the unit in my house. Since I have a blue tooth head set for my phone, I set the phone next to the unit and get full coverage no matter where I walk in my house.