Verizon Wireless Network Extender

[TheGardener]

I have little to no carrier (Verizon) data or voice coverage in and outside my home. And no, I don't live in a rural location. The coverage in my city is pretty bad, and my local coverage is the worst. I have to drive a half a mile to make a call. My SGIII signal shows 1 or zero bars. For data 3G, 1x or even a circle with backslash through it. Can't access the internet with any of the latter.

Verizon changed out my SIM card, but that had no impact. Another solution is to buy a network extender from them. I was told that they normally sell it for $250, but because of my cell issues, they will charge me only $170.

Is a network extender a viable solution? Can I get one for less? Does this pose any health concerns?

Other solutions are to leave Verizon and go with T-Mobile, or to buy an iPhone. A neighbor with an iPhone handed it to me and I was able to make a call, when my SGIII failed.

 

[Artdeco]

I'd go for the extender, or a 4g booster.

 

[paperwastage]

There are two types of extender: (Verizon mainly uses (2))

1) Device sits near the exterior of home, grabs signal from outside home, rebroadcasts it inside home, aka signal booster/repeater
2) Device uses your internet connection, broadcasts it's own signal, aka femtocell

People have been using it, no major issues with it (apart from the factor that it's an additional device like your router.. may have issues setting it up / stablity etc)

Option 3, is to wait for Verizon to deploy VoWiFi ("WiFi Calling"), and you'll need a new (android/iPhone) device though. same scenario here if you were to get an iPhone

 

[ControlD]

I have one of the femtocell devices and for the most part it gets the job done. It is a bit of a pain to get positioned, because you need to have the device somewhere it can get a GPS signal, which isn't all that easy to do inside a house. You also need to have it close enough to a router that you can run an Ethernet cable from the extender to the router.

The device coverage is OK but not spectacular. I have a ranch house with a basement (around 1600 square feet each) and I would say I have about 75% coverage.

FWIW, I got mine used on Amazon for $89 shipped.

Also, if you are into running custom ROMs, chances are your device won't recognize the extender. It will still work, but you have to enable data roaming on your phone.