I require a Network Extender to have Verizon service in and around my home. I've been through multiple 3G extenders, two of the original 4G extenders, and now a 4G Extender 2. While they've all...
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I require a Network Extender to have Verizon service in and around my home. I've been through multiple 3G extenders, two of the original 4G extenders, and now a 4G Extender 2. While they've all had their share of problems, the most annoying thing that's been standard across all of them is they will just reset their transmission power levels for no obvious reason. The 3G you had to beg Verizon to up the power which they would begrudgingly do, but at least in the 4G ones we've had the ability to do it ourselves (like Verizon knows our homes/offices better than we do), but while I want mine at 100%, it's the ONLY way I get decent coverage in my home and on my back patio, I keep finding this 4G Extender 2 at 0%. It happens sometimes when the unit is rebooted, but not every time, and other times it just seems to happen for no apparent reason - perhaps a firmware upgrade, but of course they never tell you when that's happening. When it's at 0% it's horrible. I'd rather not even have it on. Calls are terrible and drop. Make no mistake, this is not only an inconvenience, it's also a SAFETY issue. If one needed to call 911 or there's another emergency and the 4G Extender 2 is not reachable due to power levels calls may not go through. Why is it that Samsung/Verizon cannot design a unit that retains user-defined settings across reboots/firmware upgrades? The original 4G unit was notorious, anytime there was an upgrade it was reset to 20%, but at least 20% got me some coverage. 0% on this new one works when I'm about 5' from the unit and not anywhere else. I called support this morning and this guy starts ranting about why I should not be using an extender and that I should rely on WiFi calling and how great it works for him in his house. It's so painful to hear clueless Verizon reps who have apparently been brainwashed by management to push WiFi calling over extenders (or so they don't have to explain why their actual network is so shoddy in so many parts of the country - Can you hear me now?), when in MANY homes and offices WiFi calling is just not an option. For example, if you have more than 1 WiFi access point forget WiFi calling if you want to move around your home/office because WiFi does not hand-off like real cell towers do. The extender also has more transmit/receive power than an 802.11x AP does due to Federal airwaves licensing. I get fantastic coverage at 100% and I don't drop calls when I walk around my house. If I do WiFi calling I get dropped the second my phone swaps APs. It's time for Verizon to stop trying to be IT consultants/engineers (that is, actually, what I do for a living) and just answer calls and speak to the issue at hand. It's not their place to tell us how to use our devices. It's their place to support the equipment they put their name on and nothing else. So, Verizon, when are you going to fix this?