Gnex Signal Issues at home, Network extender questions?

[wunderkinder]

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

It doesn't boost the signal, it creates its own. Think of it as a mini cell tower in your home.

 

[Cyber Warrior]

Just got off the phone with Verizon... the network manager in MyVerizon is having problems and will be fixed by January 10th so I had her manually add my numbers to the white list.. anyways, we tried troubleshooting the problem and there was no fix so she put in a support ticket to have the techs take a look into the matter. I'm getting full bars for voice calls but my 3G data connection is constantly dropping in and out to where it's unusable.

Never had this problem with my Thunderbolt... so it's either I use the extender and get full bars for voice calls and no data connection or I use wifi and get 0 bars for voice calls and still have a data connection.

 

[exarkun]

I have poor signal issues at home (all providers) and use VOIP/SIP on my wireless. I have my own asterisk box, however if you're not up for that you could get a free pbxes.org account and use that.

 

[wunderkinder]

I'm already in $300 for the Network Extender and another $300 for the phone. If the Nexus doesn't start working within the next few days, I'll probably revert to my OG Droid (again).

 

[ElusiveAura29]

I had 0 bars of signal at my house with the GNex where with the iphone4 I had 2 bars. I got verizon to knock off $100 off the network extender from $250 to $150. I had to speak to a level2 tech to get that price, only they can do that supposedly. Told them I wasn't paying $250 for service I should already be receiving.

Long story short, my signal went from 0 to full LOL. I love the extender. Have the gps sitting in my window in my bedroom and living room still get full signal. Works great.

 

[dookie.]

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

as has been said, it's not a booster...rather your own micro-tower. so it connects to the phone w/3g CDMA and turns that into TCP/IP data to Verizon. not exactly VoIP, but a similar concept.

 

[m3incorp]

Is it safe to assume that everyone that is buying these extenders are having signal problems in their homes, regardless of the make of the phones they own?

 

[kca2000]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I can confirm that the one i mentioned in the OP on e bay for 100$ is the non 3g model. Probably why its so much cheaper. The newer 3g model has a different model number. But they look real similar.
Im gonna see if i can hit up Verizon for a better deal on the 3g model. I agree that we shouldn't have to pay for service were already paying for, but I am in a basement surrounded by probably 20 different electrical devices when the problem occurs so i am willing to pay 100-150 to fix the issue.
Ill report back if i have any luck.

 

[ElusiveAura29]

M3incorp,

I have an iPhone 4 and in same place I was getting 2 bars all the time. Nexus now and it was at 0. Would barely have enough signal to send texts or receive them. It would fail about 4 or 5 times until it finally sent. The network extender fixed these problems. Full signal now. It's a shame though. The nexus has a terrible radio.

 

[Cyber Warrior]

Just a quick update.... GNex is finally working with my extender... full bars 3G. It took 3x for me to find someone at customer service that knew what they were doing... but all is back to normal again. The guy basically had me pull my sim card while he re-sent the signals to the extender.

 

[mrwestphal]

Hey all, another poor signal Gnexr at home guy here. Just wanted to share this and hope that's ok.
Samsung SCS-2U01 3G Wireless Network Extender for Verizon - Enhance Indoor CDMA/EVDO Cellular Coverage! Samsung SCS-2U01
I have bought from these guys for years and never had any problems just note it is for a "refurbished" unit.
I just bought one for myself.

 

[kca2000]

Hey all, another poor signal Gnexr at home guy here. Just wanted to share this and hope that's ok.
Samsung SCS-2U01 3G Wireless Network Extender for Verizon - Enhance Indoor CDMA/EVDO Cellular Coverage! Samsung SCS-2U01
I have bought from these guys for years and never had any problems just note it is for a "refurbished" unit.
I just bought one for myself.

Now i am really torn. New Non 3g off ebay or refurbished 3g from there? Is there any reason to have a good 3g data signal when wifi is present? Other then for a backup connection? Refurbished with only a 90 day warranty does not sit well with me either.

 

[joggy]

Is it safe to assume that everyone that is buying these extenders are having signal problems in their homes, regardless of the make of the phones they own?

That has been my experience, yes. I've had my extender for a few years now. With any phone (even my in-laws feature phones), if the extender is powered off we have no signal in the house and can't make or receive calls. If it's powered on, we have no problems with either.

 

[Montclair]

Now i am really torn. New Non 3g off ebay or refurbished 3g from there? Is there any reason to have a good 3g data signal when wifi is present? Other then for a backup connection? Refurbished with only a 90 day warranty does not sit well with me either.

In my opinion, if you have wifi, the data rate of the extender (1x vs. 3g) is moot. You're only interested in the voice connection.

If you're concerned about the (only) 90 day warranty for the refurb, make sure you know what it is for the other one.

 

[skinnytoo2]

make sure your phone is connected to the network extender. you will her a tone before you connect to a call. you can connect by dialing #48

 

[kca2000]

make sure your phone is connected to the network extender. you will her a tone before you connect to a call. you can connect by dialing #48

If you program the extender with your number will it always connect to the extender when in range?


Update: Ended up going with the 3g extender mentioned in this thread. Should be here friday. I decided this because of purchase options. I never use my paypal account and didn't want to re activate it for this purchase. I will report to see how this extender works out.

 

[NYRico#AC]

Out of curiosity, will you actually see 3 or 4 bars on the phone? I ask because I too have poor signal at home, I am in what the Verizon rep termed a " Marginal Coverage Area " and after some fighting with customer retention, I received one for free while I had my Droid X. I still have intermittent dropped calls and at times no call receipt ( incoming calls ). I rarely see 4 bars and I almost always hear the tone that means that I am on the network extender and my cellular experience has been better, but, not what I expected with a network extender. I see the same exact behavior now that I am on the G-Nex and just wonder, what the *&^@$#?

 

[marcw]

Why do you need the 3g/4g on the wifi extender if you have wifi in your house?. I just want to improve my phone reception. Data is fine on the wifi in my house.

 

[ellisz]

Has anyone received one of these from computergeeks.com? Will Verizon have any issues with it being bought from a 3rd party? Not sure what setup has to be done though. Is Verizon needed?

I called before I got the GN to get the extender(had the $50 coupon). They basically talked me out of it and I got the GN to "try out". They were going to open a ticket to test the signal in my area. I have not heard anything though. I have been pretty lucky so far as voice calls are working great. Signal appears low but it works. I mostly use wifi at home but I use my cell for long distance and want it to be reliable. I have had dropped call issues on my D1, Fascinate and Charge so I am pretty sure it is my area.

That price is good and refurbs are typically ok but I am not how reliable the units are new to be honest.

 

[DLCPhototography]

Out of curiosity, will you actually see 3 or 4 bars on the phone? I ask because I too have poor signal at home, I am in what the Verizon rep termed a " Marginal Coverage Area " and after some fighting with customer retention, I received one for free while I had my Droid X. I still have intermittent dropped calls and at times no call receipt ( incoming calls ). I rarely see 4 bars and I almost always hear the tone that means that I am on the network extender and my cellular experience has been better, but, not what I expected with a network extender. I see the same exact behavior now that I am on the G-Nex and just wonder, what the *&^@$#?

I'm in a similar position. My home is in a very poor area for any signal reception - constant missed and dropped calls, etc. Had the original Network Extender, which helped a fair amount, but not as solid as I would have expected.

Got the 3G version a few months ago, and have had my Nexus about 2 weeks now. It definitely connects to the Extender, call reception is quite good, no dropped calls, and no missed calls that I'm aware of.

But - on my phone, it still only shows a bar or even less, even when standing right next to the Extender itself.

So it seems to be working, but I would have expected a full 3 to 4 bar signal showing on my phone. Anybody know what's up with this? If it matters, I am on a grandfathered in Alltel plan.

(Oh, and I have WiFi, so don't need the 3G Data for that reason, but still wonder about the bars).