ATT is questionable at my house. Thinking about installing an antenna/repeater system. Has anyone done so? How does it work?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Has anyone installed a repeater to extent signal?
- Thread starter jeffreyfort
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
redshovel
macrumors 6502a
A freind of mine tried something like that with the Orange Network here in the UK. He moved house and was unable to get out of his contract. He spent between £150-£200 getting these little ariels placed onto each window on his house. Was a total waste of time. He took them to court on the point of contract that he could not longer recevie service at his home address. He won and just moved to a network to that worked in his home.
Go ahead and install an antenna/repeater system but it could be a big waste of money and effort.
All this goes to show apple should release a sim free version of the phone and allow ppl to use it on their chossen network!
I just ordered the ZBoost 510. Should have it in a couple of days. I will post here how it works out.
Mike
Mike
We have a repeater system installed at work. There's virtually no signal (nothing usable anyway) with my network (Rogers) out in the parking lot, but I get full bars anywhere in the R&D/Admin offices, and 1/2 to 2/3 bars elsewhere inside buildings on the campus. Mind you, we had to install two rather expensive antennae on top of the building, there are a series of new transmitters lining several hallways, and there are some very fancy looking new boxes down in the server room powering everything. All in all, it's probably more infrastructure than a home user would be able to afford or justify.
People subscribed to the only other network with any infrastructure in my province (Bell/Aliant) or to 3rd parties piggybacking on that service (Telus, Virgin Mobile mostly) get adequate service out in the parking lot, but the building's metal walls mean that they don't work at all inside. Go figure.
Update
I just spent about an hour installing a zBOOST YX510 and I'm really happy with it's performance. I had NO cell service inside my home. Had to go outside to the end of the driveway to make a call. Outside i would get 1 bar, 2 on a good day. Now anywhere in the house I get 2 to 5 bars.
It takes a liitle trial and error to find the right location for the base unit, but once you find the "sweet spot", you are good to go. I ended up with the base unit in the attic and the signal antenna outside, mounted on the edge of the roof. The box came with everything needed and clear easy to follow instructions. If you are having in-house or office reception problems, give the zBOOST a look.
Mike
P.S. I got mine from Amazon for a good price.
I just spent about an hour installing a zBOOST YX510 and I'm really happy with it's performance. I had NO cell service inside my home. Had to go outside to the end of the driveway to make a call. Outside i would get 1 bar, 2 on a good day. Now anywhere in the house I get 2 to 5 bars.
It takes a liitle trial and error to find the right location for the base unit, but once you find the "sweet spot", you are good to go. I ended up with the base unit in the attic and the signal antenna outside, mounted on the edge of the roof. The box came with everything needed and clear easy to follow instructions. If you are having in-house or office reception problems, give the zBOOST a look.
Mike
P.S. I got mine from Amazon for a good price.
Does this work well with more then 1 cellphone provider at the same time? In other words if I install it will it work for my att service while at the same time for my wifes US Cellular service? Both of are signals are weak in out house.
nickspohn
macrumors 68040
Congrats it worked out for you.
It shouldn't matter. It should boost any signal it get. Not like there is an ATT repeater or Verizon repeater 🙂
It shouldn't matter. It should boost any signal it get. Not like there is an ATT repeater or Verizon repeater 🙂
I have the dual band model (VX 510). I think it works for everything except Nextell. There is also a single band model that only works for certain networks. That why I bought the dual band model so if some else is in the house their phones will work, too. The price difference between single or dual band was small. This thing is awesome!😀
Mike
I have a Digital Antenna sbr400 at my house. around 350$ on ebay. Works great with my verizon phone (tower about 4mi LOS) and ok with AT&T (tower about 10mi LOS). Its supposed to be able to carry 20 phones at once.