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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 228 customer reviews )
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229 of 237 found the following review helpful:
Good Booster Tool Feb 05, 2010
By JDP
No matter whose providing our cell phone service, dead zones still seem to be an issue. The overpriced and underachieving booster that my service provider billed us for was absolutely worthless. In short, after four days use I boxed it up and sent it back for an account credit. When the opportunity came along to take the Wilson Electronics 801247 Cell Phone Signal Booster for a test drive I had some serious doubts.
Opening the box, the first thing I noticed was the hard plastic body casing for both the exterior antenna and the amplifier. Speaking from personal experience I know that the exterior antenna unit will have a short lifespan against the elements unless it is weather proofed. Corrosion will definitely have an effect on the connectors. Vulcanizing tape, electrical tape and Scotch coat is a must if this product is installed outdoors. My other gripe is the design of the cradle. Its a given that the cradle will accumulate standing water which could result in damage to the unit.
That said, I did a quick inventory of hardware that included the DT amplifier, amplifier antenna, exterior antenna, mounting hardware, barrel connector, ac power supply, and both 20' and 30' coaxial cables. Kudos to the folks at Wilson for providing a detailed and readable instruction manual. Tools that will come in handy if mounting outdoors including the protection that I mentioned earlier are a drill, 3/16" bit, phillips head screwdriver and an adjustable wrench. After determining the location of the strongest signal, I opted to mount the exterior antenna inside on a facing window.
Just a reminder to mount the front of the antenna so that it faces outside (which is the logo side) and not in the direction of the amplifier. To keep the system from oscillating and shutting down, I placed the amplifier about 20 feet away from the antenna. Always point the onboard antenna backwards towards the exterior antenna. The flashing of the red light means the gear is too close to each other and the unit will shut down. The green light means all systems are go. Luckily we got this model up and running after only two tries.
Now the important test. In the same space and about 10 feet away from the amplifier I opened my cell phone and got a surprise. Instead of getting the customary one bar for this location, I had the full compliment. That has never happened here. Conversations were crisp and clear. Instead of turning up my volume to hear the other party, I had to lower the volume on my phone. That is a first. To further test this system, I left the office, closed the door and walked down the hall to the soda machine which is about an additional 30 feet away. Even though I lost a couple of bars, my reception was still clear.
It goes without saying that this product is far superior then the overpriced piece of junk that my cell phone provider shipped out to me. The Utah based manufacturer backs this system with a one year warranty and also a 30 day money back guarantee. The company website is somewhat basic but offers great links to various product operating manuals, tech support and a toll free customer service number.
In closing, my only disappointment remains with the overall design of the exterior antenna and cradle. Still this booster delivers on a great signal. With proper installation (weatherizing) this Wilson Electronics product may just be the right choice for those of us that can't hear you now.
80 of 82 found the following review helpful:
 good product, does what it says it will do Jul 11, 2010
By P. Boyce
I switched from a verizon cell phone to the iphone 4 and at&t. Coverage in my area, Sedona, AZ is not that good with at&t. In my house I was getting 1-2 bars and a few dropped calls with my new phone. When I went up on the roof, I discovered that I could get 5 bars on my phone. So I bought the Wilson unit and installed it as per their clear instructions, putting the antenna on the roof and the amplifier in my living room. It raised my bars in the house to 4-5 bars. Calls are clear and strong now. Very happy.
Important point: what you need to understand is that this unit will only amplify an existing cell signal. It cannot amplify a non-existent signal. In other words, you have to find a place in your house, probably on the roof, where you get good strong cell reception. Then the unit will bring that strong signal into your house. The unit cannot create a signal where none exists.
120 of 128 found the following review helpful:
A Good Investment! Wilson's Cellular Signal Booster: A Critical Review Feb 17, 2010
By Andre Lawrence
Wilson's Electronics, a company out of St. George, Utah has been producing a number of products that enhances the performance of many of the digital devices that we use and rely upon. "The Cellular Signal Booster" is a powerful amplifier system that's used to strengthen the reception of the radio waves to/from a cellphone and Internet data cards.
I've tested the product for two weeks using my Blackberry Curve (T-Mobile), The Novatel MiFi 2200 Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot Modem (Sprint) for Sprint and to measure the signal strength, the on-line site, Speed Test dot Net.
* First Impression
** Battery of Tests
*** Results and Interpretation
**** Pro's and Con's
***** Conclusion
* The product comes as a three-piece kit: the Outside antenna and cradle, the base unit "Signal Booster Amplifier," and the Desktop antenna (which recently replaced an attached "Arm antenna.") The kit also includes 50' of coaxial cable and an assortment of installation tools that allows for installation in several ways.
** Blackberry-- This isn't the recently released 3G Curve, so when I get a WiFi connection, it's the only time I can get a reliably fast signal for phone and internet connection. (This was why I eventually opted to upgrade my USB data card to the MiFi.) The MiFi gives me the WiFi signal I prefer, but the MiFi is limited to a range of 30'- 40'. When I'm on a call or picking up my email, the signal defaults to Edge beyond that 35' or so.
With the Signal Booster on, the range jumped from 35' to about 115- 120'. That's almost one full block away from my apartment. I also noticed clearer phone conversations.
The MiFi-- (casual observance) After the initial set--using the first interior antenna supplied--there was clearly a faster response time in surfing the internet. The latency effect on sites like YouTube seemed considerably shorter, same thing for downloading music video from there.
*** (Measured results)-- I ran tests for 10 days in total. I measured the test at various times: early in the morning, in the wee hours during the week ("off peak times.) And, the other times were what I called "peak times:" right after school, 8-10 pm during the week and on the weekends. The measured results were from Speed Test dot net.
Novatel MiFi's spec. sheet: The MiFi under the best conditions will provide up to
EV-DO Rev. A- 3.1 Mbps download/ EV-DO Rev. A- 1.8 Mbps upload
Without CSB (best results- off peak times)
(Jan 29, off peak hrs.) 1Mbps download/.28 Mbps upload
(Jan 29, off-peak hrs.)--With the CSB
1.37 Mbps download/ .3Mbps upload
(Jan 31, off peak hrs.)--With the CSB
1.28Mbps download/ .38Mbps upload
(Feb 14, peak times)--With the CSB
1.03Mbps download/ .49Mbps upload
(Feb 15, peak times)--With the CSB
.72 Mbps download/ .24 Mbps upload
(Feb 16, peak times)--With the CSB
.68 Mbps download/ .41 Mbps upload
**** Pro's and Con's
Pro's
+ Easy to install/ All tools needed are provided
+ System gives an extremely strong amplified signal. (I can't verify the company's claim that it can magnify the signal response by 10x, however by my own test it is clearly about 4x.)
+ Customer service and tech support are friendly and thorough in their explanations.
+ System enables a cross-platform of devices from different carriers to function simultaneously without a drop in performance.
+ The entire kit is small enough to be packaged in an average size plastic grocery bag.
+ The system has a unique technology built-in that allows for surfing around high-traffic areas to find a less congested signal--avoiding overloading nearby towers.
+ Price for the system is competitive to other brands
+ Proudly designed and manufactured in the US by Americans.
Con's
- The kit is made out of a light-weight plastic. [It is too early to tell how durable the outdoor antenna will hold up under extreme changes in weather. Here in Miami (FL), the temperatures range above 70+ ten months out of the year, during the sweltering summer months, the added humidity makes it feel well over 100. What about windy and blistery cold areas?]
- The AC adapter is considerably short for the distance it is forced to maintain. There's a minimum proximity that the indoor antenna ("Desktop Antenna") must maintain from the base and there's also a minimum distance that the outdoor antenna must maintain from the base. I found its sweet spot a bit awkward until I made a makeshift ledge for it.
- Optional add-on's that gamers might want to consider like a dedicated range antenna-- a "Yagi"--for example, are upwards of $60+.
***** It's hard to ignore a system like this that offers so much to cellphone and mobile internet users for a home-based business as well as a small office environment. The kit is relatively compact, easy to install and has few parts to be concerned with.
Durability should be a consideration as there's only a 1-year limited warranty. And, with a retail price of $300, replacement costs can be unnerving under the wrong circumstances. The other side is also true, customer service and tech support are extremely helpful and should allay most fears when it comes to their products and installation.
I can easily see this product (and some of their other products, for that matter) increasing personal and professional productivity in a number of different scenarios. That, in my opinion, makes Wilson's Cellular Signal Booster a good investment.
4 ½ stars.
51 of 58 found the following review helpful:
 Was ineffective in my weak cell signal area Jun 25, 2010
By Rick Langtry
Was easy to setup, the instructions were fine. We are in a problem area for reception, most phones don't get reception and those that do only get 1 bar in certain very limited, specific and awkward locations. The only method I have of locating the direction of a cell tower is moving the antenna around. The short answer is - no matter where I put the device & antenna I got no improvement. My phone got no bars before or after using. I returned the device to Amazon without any hassle.
19 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Works amazing - once again a happy home! Jul 03, 2010
By Andrew P Miller
I researched this and the competition and it seemed like this product had the best reviews (as well as the best price) so I dove in head first and bought it. I hoped the 30 day money back guarantee wouldn't be too much of a pain if I needed to use it. Well, the good - no great news is that this product works fantastically. My wife likes to chat on the phone in the basement and since switching service to T-Mobile that has been totally impossible (it was hit-or-miss with AT&T). I followed the directions as they are listed and placed the outdoor antena outside on the side of my house and routed the cable down to my basement to where the repeater would live. I plugged everything in and went from having zero bars in the basement and 2-3 in the rest of the house to having 3-4 bars throughout the house (2 story + basement Cape Cod ~ 1300sqft w/ aluminum siding). The place where I put the outdoor antena was showing 2-3 bars which was the best I was getting. Now we aren't dropping calls or "fading in and out" on our calls. I couldn't recommend this product more. Best of all I'm not getting knocked over the head by my wife anymore about not being able to chat up her friends while she's doing the laundry, etc. Marriage saver? Maybe...
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