Wi-Ex zBoost YX545 SOHO Dual Band Repeater Kit

Customer Reviews

Upgrade the cable Review by Franco

Rating

I live in the mountains and have a metal roof. I had my system setup according to the included manual with 8ft of vertical and 15 foot horizontal separation and was never happy with it. I remounted my antenna on a non-metallic mast 5 feet above the highest point of the roof and used your information on using RG6 cable instead of the supplied cable. With the new setup, it has min 20 feet vertical and horizontal separation. I now have a 17dB gain minimum all over the house and close to 30dB in the common use rooms. I hold back from giving it 5 stars because the output range on the base unit is not as good as one could hope for. But, until I remounted the antenna higher and upgraded the cable to RG6, I would have been hard pressed to give it a even a 1. (Posted on 3/12/13)

Awsome just what I needed Review by Woody

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I have a cabin in central Pennsylvania. The cabin is located in a low spot and you needed to be up on the road to even get one bar. After installing the YX545 I now average three bars through out the building. The antenna is mounted on peak of the roof, the cable is routed down the side and through the foundation. The outfit was a surprise gift from my Son-in-law and Daughter and my Son-in-law did the installation so I couldn't be happier. This is the gift that keeps on giving it has allowed me to cancel the land line saving me $23 a month and keeps my phones battery from dying. (Posted on 12/10/12)

Works if installed correctly Review by Clayton T.

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Let me tell you a few things you need to know. First, the square footage advertised is a lot like a new car’s gas mileage. Sure, with a tailwind, going down hill, and no passengers, you might get that 36mpg but it’s the ideal, not the normal. So with the YX545, when it says up to 2500 sqft of coverage, which means under ideal conditions! If you have less than a full strength signal outside where you mount the antenna, you will have a weaker signal inside. That’s the way these things work. I have an 1800 sqft home and knowing that I only get 3 bars of signal outside, I knew it would be pushing this unit to cover the whole house but thought I’d give it a try.

I put my phone in field test mode (google your phone model plus field test mode for instructions. On an iPhone, dial *3001#12345#*) and found a place on my roof where the signal was strongest. Signal is measured in decibels which is a negative number so the closer to 0 the better the signal. I mounted the outside antenna, ran it into my attic through a soffit and then down into my laundry room which is centrally located and where I wanted to mount the amplifier. When I got everything connected, I turned it on and the signal in the laundry room went to 5 bars, but it faded after about 10 feet.

I knew it would take some tinkering to get everything working so I found a higher place to mount the outside antenna to increase the distance from the amplifier. I also ran to Home Depot and got some quad shielded RG6 cable, which is just like the cable you use for a satellite dish and is much better than the thin cable that comes with the kit. I only needed 40 ft of cable so I got one cut to that length and the nice people there put ends on it for me. Once I got the new cable in, I turned on the amplifier and the inside signal had improved! I now get a 5 bar signal and can make calls within 25 feet of the amplifier. That translates to a coverage area of almost 2000 sqft and considering my weaker signal outside, I think that’s pretty great!

A few things to remember:
- Unless you get a strong signal outside, you’re not going to get the full advertised sqft coverage inside.
- The included cable is very thin. Get a high quality RG6 cable instead.
- Try to have as much distance between the outside and inside antennas as possible.
- Make sure the outside antenna is in the place where you get the best consistent signal.
- Use the shortest cable possible since longer cables lose more signal.
- This only helps if you have a usable signal outside. If you don’t have anything to amplify, no amplifier will help you.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars because the included cable could be better. (Posted on 5/26/12)

Plug and Play Review by Jennifer S.

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I followed all of the instructions and got the thing installed in 3 hours. When I plugged it in, it just worked. I can now make and receive calls and texts anywhere in my house. (Posted on 3/30/12)

Happy Birthday to Me Review by Sofia W.

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I have an iPhone with AT&T in San Francisco. AT&T’s coverage in SF is terrible. I’ve heard it’s because of the hills but if that were the case wouldn’t other services be affected? I live on the top of Nob Hill so you’d think I would get a decent signal but my apartment is on the first floor away from the street. When I’m in my apartment, my phone might as well be off. My boyfriend gave me this amplifier for my birthday (very romantic, I know…) and I really had no faith that it would work. He mounted the antenna to a pipe on the roof and then ran the cable down the back of the building and in my window. We turned it on, and my phone worked! I get calls and texts so I finally know what’s going on. It’s been great. I’m not sure it’s the best birthday present ever, but definitely in the top five! (Posted on 3/17/12)

Signal in the Woods Review by Max T.

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I own a hunting cabin in upstate New York and while I love to get away from it all, I still need a phone in case there are any problems. When I’m inside I could usually receive a text, but most calls went straight to my voicemail. Outside on the porch, I can have a conversation but calls would drop frequently making phone conversations difficult.

After doing a lot of research and talking to the guys at UberSignal, I decided on a YX545 and it has been AMAZING! I mounted the outside antenna on my old TV tower which gets it 25 ft off the ground. This is still well below the tree line but it seems to be high enough. With the unit hooked up inside, I get between 4 and 5 bars everywhere and even enough on the porch so that I haven’t had a dropped call since! My phone used to die in just a few hours but now it can go a whole day or more before I need to recharge it. I’ve been telling everyone on my street about it and a few neighbors installed their own systems and have been really happy with the results. The best part is that I can now cancel my landline which was costing me $32 a month. That means this thing will pay for itself in less than a year! (Posted on 1/13/12)

Not strong enough Review by Darryl K.

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The repeater only boosted the signal in one room. After talking with tech support they said it was because I have a very weak signal on my roof (only one bar) and that I needed something more powerful and with a directional antenna. Returned it for a full refund. Two stars because it does work, just wasn’t right for my house. (Posted on 10/27/11)

Saved my Job Review by Guy R.

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The YX545 is a lifesaver and probably saved me from getting fired. I’m a sales rep and I typically work out of my home office, which is in my basement. The main floors of my house don’t have any cell phone reception issues but in my basement office, it’s hit or miss. My clients started getting annoyed that it was difficult to contact me and my boss was telling me to fix it! A friend recommended looking into a cell phone signal booster so I found the YX545 and thought I’d give it a shot. I mounted the outside antenna in the easiest place I could find and when I turned the unit on, I was disappointed to find that the signal wasn’t any better. After talking to their tech support, I found out that the outside antenna has to be at least 15 ft and ideally 40ft away from the base unit. So I tried another location further away and once I re-ran the cable, I fired it up and my entire basement was blanketed in 5 bars of wonderful signal. In the month since I installed it, I haven’t had a single dropped call. My company wouldn’t pay for it, but since my basement office is only used for business, I can at least write it off of my taxes! (Posted on 9/29/11)