Problems with Network Extender

[vjamison812]

We have recently moved into a metal building as our home.  Our phone signals are affected and so we did the research and bought a Verizon network extender.  The bars on our phones went straight up to 4 and the VNE works great ... up until you use the internet for anything that takes a little bandwidth.  I work in a home office over a VPN all day.  I can be taking a call and as soon as I send an email (no attachments just an email), my call becomes choppy and unusable.  I paid our ISP technician an hour's onsite visit to troubleshoot our in-home network and with his monitoring we noted that the bandwidth performance was drastically affected when the VNE is attached and working.  According to FAQs, the bandwidth required for the VNE should be nominal.  We have 10 mbps down and 4 up...and the VNE seems to cause all kinds of internet issues when plugged in. 

Further, the GPS signal catches and stays for hours but then seems like when left unattended for hours the blue light goes away...if I pick up the VNE and just move it around, the GPS signal catches again. I have attached the "external GPS cable" just to see but if it gets the Blue light at all, doesn't that really mean the extra cable isn't necessary?

Does anyone have any suggestions how I can successfully use this tool?

[vzw_customer_support]

Hi vjamison812,

I want you to have the best experience using your cell service while at home. Every call connected to the extender should only be using an average of 40 kbps. Was the technician able to advise how much bandwidth is being used? We may need to reach out to our engineering team to confirm the manner that the Network Extender is connecting to your internet but the more information we have from your ISP, the more details we can provide. I also recommend you contact the manufacturer of your router if it's different than your ISP. Occasionally settings need to be changed to ensure better call quality.

Does the GPS light turn off or does it go from Blue to Red? The external cable is only needed when the light is Red and stronger connection is needed. Please ensure that the Network Extender is located in an open area, preferably in an elevated location near a window and in an upright position. Please provide more details as to exactly what happens with the light.

Thank you,
MariaC_VZW
Please follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

[dlewis42]

We have the same problem with our extender with the calls becoming choppy and unstable. How do you change the settings on a router? Right now it seems like a waste of a lot of money on an extender that doesn't really work like it should. It would be great if someone could help with this issue be I turn this thing into a Frisbee and throw it through the window of the store I bought it from.