Marvyn+Mary

After 3 months of use, I think it’s time to revisit this product and give my thoughts to how it has stood up to the test of time. My initial post on Wi-Ex’s Cell Phone Signal Booster Dual Band YX510 PCS/CEL explained how to install it, but I never covered how well it works or any pros/cons. 

I’m not going to go into how to setup/install the extender, as I’ve done that already. What I want to talk about is how well this product works. Before using the extender, I had at best 1-2 bars on my iPhone in any area of the basement. With it installed, I now have full signal strength. While the manufacturer suggests having line of sight to the base, I have no problems receiving signal in different rooms in the basement. Keep in mind that my walls are made of 2x4s and drywall. I highly doubt that signal will travel through cinderblock.

Once in a while, my signal indicator on my phone will drop to 3 (of 5) bars, but after a few seconds it will jump right back to full strength. I’m not sure if this has to do with my signal strength dropping from the receiver antenna mounted on my roof, or the base unit dropping the signal, or just my iPhone acting up. Regardless, it has never caused any calls to drop. So I’m not concerned about it.

I have used multiple cell phones simultaneously without causing any issues. So that’s a big plus for households with multi-cell phone users.

The base unit sits next to my wireless router and I have not noticed a drop in signal from either device. They do operate on different frequencies, but it’s worth noting when you have two devices next to each other that is emitting some type of signal.

To conclude, this product is definitely worth the $299 for those who need signal in certain areas of the house and cannot sacrifice moving to areas that do. My clients are impressed with my improved call quality and I no longer have to go outside to take a call.

Pros

• Extends signal to odd areas of your home/office.
• Different versions of the product for different carrier signals.
• Plug and play setup, no need to toggle switches, mess with software
• again…it extends signal to odd areas of your home/office.

Cons

• $299 price is not for everybody.
• It’s an extender, not a booster. If you have no signal to begin with, it’s not going to do anything for you.
• Installation may require you to go out to your roof.