verizon signal extender

[n813ca]

first of all the people that say it will only work 50 feet away. That's not true. if you read the instructions you have to be 50 feet away the first time you sync and then after that it goes up to 5000 feet. i got one for $99 and I am very happy. The only thing I have to ask if it is normal is.... My signal will be 1 bar until I am on a phone call and then will go up to full bars. Is this normal for the extender?

 

[tebower]

The reason for this is that the Droid displays 3G signal strenth by default. Older Verizon phones used to have two signal bars for EV and 1X. When you make a call, the Droid switches to 1X signal strenth.

 

[silvershrk4]

Ok, what is this signal extender? And does it really work? I work offshore and as soon as I'm heading a couple of miles out I lose my signal...would the signal extender help me out any?

 

[BucYouUp68]

Ok, what is this signal extender? And does it really work? I work offshore and as soon as I'm heading a couple of miles out I lose my signal...would the signal extender help me out any?

No, it has to be connected to a Router.

 

[silvershrk4]

Sucks, thanks for the info. Guess I just have to keep looking or wait until verizon starts putting towers on rigs...HA! That will never happen

 

[shadowdude777]

first of all the people that say it will only work 50 feet away. That's not true. if you read the instructions you have to be 50 feet away the first time you sync and then after that it goes up to 5000 feet. i got one for $99 and I am very happy. The only thing I have to ask if it is normal is.... My signal will be 1 bar until I am on a phone call and then will go up to full bars. Is this normal for the extender?

Yeah, for the two seconds that I owned one my signal was like that too, so I guess it's normal behavior.

The reason I stopped owning one after those two seconds was because I learned that anyone within the vicinity of the network extender can use it and therefore suck up your home connection's bandwidth. Pay to let everyone in my very crowded area use my home connection that I also pay for? No thanks. I've done this rant before... it's just that every time I see "Verizon Network Extender" my eyes light up in a firey rage.

 

[BucYouUp68]

Yeah, for the two seconds that I owned one my signal was like that too, so I guess it's normal behavior.

The reason I stopped owning one after those two seconds was because I learned that anyone within the vicinity of the network extender can use it and therefore suck up your home connection's bandwidth. Pay to let everyone in my very crowded area use my home connection that I also pay for? No thanks. I've done this rant before... it's just that every time I see "Verizon Network Extender" my eyes light up in a firey rage.

LOL, do you really think that everyone dials #48 when there near your house. You have just be nominated for COME ON MAN!!!!!

 

[shadowdude777]

You don't have to dial any special code or anything to use the extender. That's what bothers me! My house is a dead zone; I plugged in the extender, let it do its voodoo magic initializing process while I had a cup of coffee, and made a test call. My signal shot up to 4 bars without me doing anything to my phone. I'm not paranoid, really.

 

[droidpcguru]

Only downside with the network extender is no 3G.. so if you only have a wired router you will still have only very limited data capabilities..

 

[johnlgalt]

You don't have to dial any special code or anything to use the extender. That's what bothers me! My house is a dead zone; I plugged in the extender, let it do its voodoo magic initializing process while I had a cup of coffee, and made a test call. My signal shot up to 4 bars without me doing anything to my phone. I'm not paranoid, really.

Umm, if that were true, why do you have to first sync with the extender? I'd like to see proof of this completely open extender before I believe it.

Only downside with the network extender is no 3G.. so if you only have a wired router you will still have only very limited data capabilities..

That is true - since it broadcasts 1X signals you get phone reception and that is about it. Unless you like download speeds slower than dialup....

 

[shadowdude777]

Umm, if that were true, why do you have to first sync with the extender? I'd like to see proof of this completely open extender before I believe it.

From the Verizon FAQ:

Can I manage and secure access to my Network Extender? Yes. Only the Network Extender account owner can sign into My Verizon to manage device settings. You can set your Network Extender for open or managed access. Open Access allows any Verizon Wireless phone within range to use your Network Extender. Under Managed Access, you have the ability to prioritize access to your Network Extender to up to 50 Verizon Wireless callers you select. Where a compatible cell tower is unavailable, callers that do not appear on your managed access list may access the Network Extender when not in use by priority callers. All callers may access the Network Extender for emergency (E911) calls.

So basically, yes, you get a list of people that should be the only ones allowed to use the Extender but people that aren't on the list can use the Extender anyway. How about we make a change to WPA2 so that any router that's encrypted with it can be used by random people as long as the people with the encryption key get priority to bandwidth usage. I just don't think it's fair.

 

[johnlgalt]

Bummer. Thanks for the info. Now that I have read that, I remember saying pretty much the same thing before, ans someone else showing me the same as well.

Workaround: Since the range is under a mile, then, and callers in your managed list can use it only if priority callers are not using it, keep it turned off unless you are in that area, and then you're phone will use it when you are there and block non-list users, and when you're gone, well, of course, with it being off, they'll be blocked then.

 

[shadowdude777]

Bummer. Thanks for the info. Now that I have read that, I remember saying pretty much the same thing before, ans someone else showing me the same as well.

Workaround: Since the range is under a mile, then, and callers in your managed list can use it only if priority callers are not using it, keep it turned off unless you are in that area, and then you're phone will use it when you are there and block non-list users, and when you're gone, well, of course, with it being off, they'll be blocked then.

Well yeah, but that's a real hassle!

And keeping it on all day would be even worse for me than for most other people because my upload speeds are horrendous and (obviously) the extender uses a lot of upload bandwidth as well as download bandwidth. Actually, my upload speeds on 3G on my Droid are faster than my home connection's upload speeds. I'm not joking... and with no upload bandwidth left my web browsing and general internet activities on my computer would just choke up.

 

[johnlgalt]

Yeah, if your connection is horrible on top of lack of a VZW signal, you're pretty much screwed then. I can see how you would opt to not have this device.

 

[shadowdude777]

Heh, well, it's not my whole connection that's terrible... the down speed isn't bad at all. It's the up that kills me.

 

[johnlgalt]

Double yikes - here is mine right now:



I feel your pain. Surprising that you have such a good downstream but your provider is throttling your upstream....

 

[shadowdude777]

Yeah, my down speed is 66% of yours and my up speed is only 10% of yours. And at the same time, I can't really switch to much else because it seems like in the US, one area is only served by one or two ISPs that know they can charge you out the ass for terrible speeds and there's nothing you can do about it.

 

[johnlgalt]

Yeah, that is why the US has speeds barely approaching 50 Mbits (if you're lucky) in very limited areas, whereas other countries like Taiwan or Korea or wherever can easily get 100+ to their house, no special devices required.

 

[ilmar72]

first of all the people that say it will only work 50 feet away. That's not true. if you read the instructions you have to be 50 feet away the first time you sync and then after that it goes up to 5000 feet. i got one for $99 and I am very happy. The only thing I have to ask if it is normal is.... My signal will be 1 bar until I am on a phone call and then will go up to full bars. Is this normal for the extender?

umm no. it covers 5000 square feet. If it coverd 5000 feet away that would mean it would work a mile away from your house.

 

[johnlgalt]

So, 5000 SQ feet is a much much smaller area than it sounds.....that comprises a square that is just over 70' by 70', and in terms of circles, that is a circle with a radius of just under 40'.

Now, considering that I highly doubt that your coverage area is going ot be polygonal, and furthermore, that it will pretty much be circular, that goes right back to the OPs post about how other people say it will only work at a range of 50' is absolutely true. Do the math. Area of a circle = Pi * (radius) ^ 2, so divide 5000 by 3.14159, and then take the square root of the resulting answer (~1500) and you get ....

DING DING DING DING! A radius of just under 40 feet.

At that range I am pretty positive I would not be worried about someone being able to use my extender from even across the road.

This is, of course assuming that it is 5000 Sq Ft as opposed to 5000 feet. Let's see what the FAQ says:

Yup, straight from the FAQ:

Once you have connected to the Network Extender network, you can move within a broader coverage area (40 feet from the Network Extender or up to a 5,000 square foot area). You simply make and receive calls as usual as long as you stay within the Network Extender coverage area.

Math don't lie, people.

 

[shadowdude777]

My next-door neighbors can use my extender though, cause they're both well within range and on Verizon. =\

 

[johnlgalt]

So, put some aluminum shielding in your walls.

 

[ilmar72]

Double yikes - here is mine right now:



I feel your pain. Surprising that you have such a good downstream but your provider is throttling your upstream... "

That is a very excellent upload speed. I wouldn't be complaining. I believe a T1. Is one meg up one meg down

 

[johnlgalt]

Yeah, but I feel his pain because I have had times when I am getting 0.4up / 0.9 down too.

I know this is a good upload speed, but my best on this connection is usually ~30 down and ~5.2 up.

 

[n813ca]

i have mine downstairs because that is where my router is. I can go upstairs across a large home and still get coverage. So I am sorry but mine does go farther than 40 feet, but yeah not a mile