Gnex Signal Issues at home, Network extender questions?

kca2000

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First let me get this out the way, This is not another thread bashing the Gnex for signal issues. Im well aware that the phone is not the issue in my case. This phone is awesome, but just looking for opinions on fixing this problem.

Just a little back round of the issue. After im done with my day i usually go down to my basement to my "Man cave" to relax and do any work left over since my office is down there as well. When i had my droid 1 i was able to keep 1 bar 99% of the time, so i never had an issue holding a call. 1 bar on Verizons network seems to be plenty.

But now that i have the Gnex it struggles to keep any bars. Im usually pinned at -120 dbm / 99 asu, No bars shown. I assume this is not good? The phone is reporting its without signal 80% of the time im in the basement, Also not ideal. So what i am asking here is will a Verizon network extender help here? Weak signal in my house has always been an issue, but its never really been a problem till now.

I did some research and found this model on ebay.

NEW VERIZON WIRELESS SAMSUNG NETWORK EXTENDER SCS-26UC4 | eBay

I understand this is the older non 3g model, my question is will this work to give me a better call signal?
I dont care about 3g data in my house, my wifi is much more reliable and faster. But do i need the 3g model to accomplish this or will the older model suit my needs?

Any help is appreciated, Also if anyone actually owns either the 3g or older model please chime in with your experiences. If anyone has bought one on ebay like i listed any feed back would be great as well on the purchase. Do i need to place this thing near a window? Or will next to my router in the center of the basement suffice?

Thanks to all in advance.
 
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rjack22

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I have the newer model network extender. It works great! I used to get only 2 bars inside my house and sometimes had dropped calls unless I stood near a window. Now I have full bars. I think a network extender would be a great solution for your basement.

You do have to put the antenna near a window and at the same time be able to plug the extender into your router. You may have to work that out.
 
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kca2000

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I have the newer model network extender. It works great! I used to get only 2 bars inside my house and sometimes had dropped calls unless I stood near a window. Now I have full bars. I think a network extender would be a great solution for your basement.

You do have to put the antenna near a window and at the same time be able to plug the extender into your router. You may have to work that out.

Did you get this from Verizon i assume? 249$ is a little steep for me, Especially if i can get by with the older model off of ebay for 100$ and have that solve just my voice signal problems. But if Voice travels over 3G i am not sure the older model will be sufficient?
 

greydarrah

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I'm in your same position with the man cave in the basement and 1 bar of signal on my X. 2 years ago I bought Verizon's network extender and the older. non 3g version gave me a full 4 bars in my basement (the network extender was one floor up). I did upgrade to the 3g version, but the call signal strength is the same. It's well worth having (old or new version). I used to have to run up the stairs or out into the back yard if I got a call. Now I can sit comfortably and talk all I want.
 
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dookie.

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I've been using a network extender for several years... first the 1x version, and as of this spring a 3g one.

Signal strength has always been an issue here as well, and at the advice of a VZW rep at a corporate store, I called 611 to complain (and mentioned that I was really hoping to kill my land line and switch to an unlimited VZW plan).

They said I was in a known low-signal area, rolled a truck to do a site survey (confirmed... surprise!), and then GAVE me the extender for free. When the 1x crapped out, they happily swapped it for the latest 3g version also at no cost. I do not believe the 4G extender has been released.

The claimed coverage is 5k sqft, and I get full bars nearly everywhere in my house (2 floors @ 2k sqft each, standard wood framing w/sheet rock). My nearest neighbor has seen an improvement as well, so I think the reach must be pretty good. You can limit the devices that the extender will allow to connect, should you want to... though I don't. (I live in the sticks and really only have one neighbor in range, who I am happy to do the favor for.)
 

dookie.

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Oh... voice will work fine on 1x. But if you see any 3g signal, it will try to use that. So you may have to disable 3g on the phone when at home.
 

dookie.

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Oh... and the 3g extender is nice for visitors. Don't have to bother putting them on your wifi.
 
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MrVeda

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I thought this model NEW VERIZON WIRELESS SAMSUNG NETWORK EXTENDER SCS-26UC4
was the latest 3G extender? I was about to order this and now looking for confirmation as my new GN is also unusable at home.

Can anyone confirm the latest model number with 3 g?
 
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Cyber Warrior

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I have the 3G network extender... works great... 3-4 bars in my home where I use to have none. It doesn't run off of Verizon's towers. Its hooked up to your cable modem which then sends the signal. Only problem is that my GNex isn't working with the extender... I'm getting maybe 1-2 bars with the data cutting in and out. I'm assuming that Verizon will eventually get this sorted out... for now its back to using wifi.
 

greydarrah

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I have the 3G network extender... works great... 3-4 bars in my home where I use to have none. It doesn't run off of Verizon's towers. Its hooked up to your cable modem which then sends the signal. Only problem is that my GNex isn't working with the extender... I'm getting maybe 1-2 bars with the data cutting in and out. I'm assuming that Verizon will eventually get this sorted out... for now its back to using wifi.

That's odd because with my 3g extender, I definitely get 4 bars on my GN where I would only have 1. I winder why it's not hitting yours that way. By the way, I had 4 bars on both the stock radio as well as the latest leaked radio.
 

joggy

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I can confirm that the original, non 3G, VZ Network Extender will work for improving call quality/reception on the GNex.

When I make calls using the extender I have never had a dropped call. Without the extender I can barely stay connected in a call.

Go for it!
 

Cyber Warrior

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I thought this model NEW VERIZON WIRELESS SAMSUNG NETWORK EXTENDER SCS-26UC4
was the latest 3G extender? I was about to order this and now looking for confirmation as my new GN is also unusable at home.

Can anyone confirm the latest model number with 3 g?

I bought mine from Verizon three months ago... its the newest one. It looks exactly like the one in the picture on eBay except my model number is SCS-2U01... so not too sure.
 

dookie.

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Might want to proofread that message!

thanks tapatalk / swiftkey for that autocorrect laugh...

in any case, i'm using the scs-2u01 and it works great with the nexus. the 3g extenders (by default) allow the first 5 devices they see to connect (just 3 for 1x)...after that, talk to the hand.

if you're having connection issues, it's likely that your friends/neighbors phones have associated and burned up all your open slots. if you think you're having connection problems, reboot the extender to clear the list, then use myVZW to limit the devices that can connect to just yours.
 
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Cyber Warrior

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thanks tapatalk / swiftkey for that autocorrect laugh...

in any case, i'm using the scs-2u01 and it works great with the nexus. the 3g extenders (by default) allow the first 5 devices they see to connect (just 3 for 1x)...after that, talk to the hand.

if you're having connection issues, it's likely that your friends/neighbors phones have associated and burned up all your open slots. if you think you're having connection problems, reboot the extender to clear the list, then use myVZW to limit the devices that can connect to just yours.

Thanks... I think that's exactly what's happening. Now that I think of it... I just had two new tenants move in downstairs about the same exact time I bought the phone. I'm pretty sure they have Verizon... I'm gonna check myVZW right now.
 

wunderkinder

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Verizon 3G Network Extender doesn't play nicely with 4G phones

I have a 3G network extender from Verizon, and I also have a Nexus. Prior to the Nexus I had two different RAZRs, both of which got returned due to continual issues with the phones dropping data and missing incoming calls. Sadly, the Nexus is encountering the exact same issues. I've gone around and around with VZW to try and fix the issue, and nothing we have tried has fixed the problem. Prior to the RAZRs, I had an OG Droid that worked flawlessly on the 3G Network Extender for several months.

To get around the dropped 3G data issues, I started leaving wifi enabled on my Nexus all the time. This didn't drain the battery as fast as I feared, so I can live with this solution. The bigger issue is that I keep missing incoming calls on my Nexus. The phone will not even ring (sitting 4 feet from the Network Extender), which is really starting to annoy me and my clients who can't reach me. I am personally convinced that there is an issue with the Verizon 3G Network Extender and 4G phones. I've read that people had similar problems with the Thunderbolt and the Bionic. Well, add the RAZR and the Nexus to that list.
 

st0ic_1

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Question; what does connecting the extender to a router(no modem in my situation) have to do with boosting the signal?
 

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