Cel-Fi GO X Cell Phone Signal Booster for Homes & Offices

I recently installed this cell signal booster on a large home for orphans (Aloha House of Hope) we are building on 200 acres in the middle of the woods in a very rural area of Virginia. Since i am building the house myself I need reliable cell service to keep in contact with subs, suppliers, etc. Our cell service was spotty at first, but useable. Lately the signal had degraded to where we were only able to get at best an LTE (4G) nsignal reading of -112db. Many times the signal would degrade to either 3G or 1X, thus rendering it useless.

After doing a ton of research on the various boosters available, we opted for the Cel-Fi Go X system. We own two WeBoost systems that we use on other buildings in the near vicinity of the Aloha House of Hope, and although they do work, they don't work as well as we would like. Based on our research, the GO X system had the greatest amplification of the various products out there. It isn't cheap, but when you need reliable cell service in a rural area, you pay whatever it takes. I would also add that we do not have access to high speed internet, so we need a strong cell signal for that as well. We purchased our GO X system through Amazon from The Repeater Store. Our system is comprised of the outside Yagi antenna, two interior panel antennas, the GO X booster and related cables and connectors.

I installed the Go X system yesterday and couldn't be more pleased. I had several text message exchanges with Ray at The Repeater Store. Ray was always very prompt in getting back to me (either immediately or within an hour) and provided me with very detailed and helpful information regarding my installation questions. Having installed two WeBoost systems before, I knew that placement of the outside antenna is crucial to getting the best signal. Also, the Yagi antenna we used is directional, so having it point in the proper direction is also essential.

To start with I used a third party app on my Iphone called Open Signal. It detects the cell phone signals your phone is using, shows the strength of the signal, and provides a map showing the various cell tower locations close to you. It also has a directional function that has a round dial with an arrow pointing in the direction of the cell tower that your phone is locking onto. This works much like a compass and the arrow moves as you rotate your phone, always pointing in the direction of the cell tower currently being used by the phone.

Since this is a large three level home (8,000+ square feet) I climbed out on the lower roof and walked around at different locations to find the strongest signal. What was interesting was that as I walked from end of the lower roof to the next, the phone would change cell towers and the Open Signal locator arrow would swing around point in the opposit direction. I did this several times. As an aside, an easy way to get your phone to relocated a signal is to turn on "Airplane Mode" then turn it off. This causes the phone to search for a cell signal. This eliminates the need to wait and wonder if your phone is locking onto the strongest signal.

Ultimately I decided it was well worth the risk and trouble to climb up onto the highest peak of the gable roof and install the antenna at the end of the gable. This roof is about 40 feet off the ground and is a 12/12 pitch (45 degrees). I've posted pictures showing the location of the external antenna after it was installed. To reach the highest gable, I climbed out onto the lower roof that is only a 5/12 pitch (you can walk comfortably on that type of roof), and took an extension ladder with ladder hooks installed. I shoved the ladder up the large 12/12 pitch roof section, hooking it over the top edge of the gable roof. You can see the ladder in the picture I posted. Then it was merely a process of climbing up the ladder, swinging my leg over the roof ridge (basically straddling the ridge), and scooting out along the ridge to the edge of the gable. From there I leaned over and screwed in the antenna bracket to the facia board of the gable end and installed the antenna. While up there, I used the Open Signal app to check the direction of the cell tower. I also ran the antenna cable back into the house.

Since the house is under construction, we plan on installing the panel antennas inside the walls at the end of the house on the two lower floors where reception was the weakest. This makes for a totally invisible installation. For now though, I temporatily mounted the panel antennas on the unfinished walls.

Next, I installed X Wave App you use to configure your GO X booster. It took several minutes to install the app and then another several minutes to update the app. The app then locked onto the booster via bluetooth. From there you can check various settings. The one function I used was the antenna location function. That allows you to point your external antenna in various locations to check the signal strength. This required me to climb back up onto the roof ridge again. Fortunately, I was still able to pick up the bluetooth signal to the booster back in the house. I rotated the antenna to various cell tower locations that Open Signal was showing. From there I used the Wave app to test the strength of the signal of each location the antenna was pointing. Each reading takes about 30 seconds. I then rotated the antenna to the strongest location and went back inside to see the results.

WOW! What a difference. I went from no signal or at best a signal of -112db to a whopping -72db. This would equate going from no bars or barely one bar to 4-5 bars, depending on your phone. I could go into areas of the house where previously it was guaranteed I would totally lose all coverage, to now getting a very strong signal. Ray at The Repeater Store, was kind enough to check my antenna and booster signal strength remotely from his location to confirm I had a very strong signal.

We also plan on running a separate cable and interior antenna to an apartment above the garage and Ray told me exactly what I would need (an expanded splitter and longer cable).

One final note I would add. In choosing a location, you also need to give consideration on how you are going to ground your antenna to protect it from lighting strikes. We get a lot of thunderstorms in our area and have had external electronic products damaged from lightning (primarily power gate openers). Unfortunately in the location I chose that was best, we are not closed to any of the installed grounding rods. In the near future, I will be installing another ground rod close to the external antenna location and running a 10 awg wire down to the grounding rod. Not a complicated procedure, but you need to keep this in mind.

In conclusion, I the GO X system from The Repeater Store gets my highest recommendation. They have exceeded my expectations many times over. For the naysayers out there, I am not getting paid to write this review, paid full price for my system, and previous to this purchase, have had no experience with The Repeater Store nor with the maker of the GO X system.

by Mauidude