Official Samsung Network Extender SCS−26UC4 Release Thread

**jayinla** · 02-03-2009, 10:51 AM

Hi. I have a comment and a question. I recently purchased the Extender due to the instable reception in my home. I go from no bars to 3 bars and back and forth without being able to maintain a call. The most annoying part is my blackberry can't seem to keep a battery charge. With the extender, I know have a consistent 3-5 bars of service BUT I'm still noticing a quick battery release. Since the extender is on 1X, doesn't your phone use up battery searching for EVDO?

**Mike72677** · 02-03-2009, 03:18 PM

Got mine today. Been on the phone off and on for an hour with Verizon Wireless. It seems to be impossible to find someone that knows anything about it or can support it!!

My GPS light is a solid red. Had it on over an hour and it stayed solid red. The device is right next to a window on a window sill. Hooked the external antenna up to it for kicks and still a solid red GPS light.

Personally it seems like a defective unit to me. Anyone have any ideas?

**markj73** · 02-03-2009, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by Mike72677

Got mine today. Been on the phone off and on for an hour with Verizon Wireless. It seems to be impossible to find someone that knows anything about it or can support it!!

My GPS light is a solid red. Had it on over an hour and it stayed solid red. The device is right next to a window on a window sill. Hooked the external antenna up to it for kicks and still a solid red GPS light.

Personally it seems like a defective unit to me. Anyone have any ideas?

I assume u were talking to Tech support? ...

If you can assuming the weather is dry etc, run the gps antenna outside into the clear see if u get a signal, sometimes mine has taken 20-30mins and it's outside...

Edit: Actually verizon has a dedicated team for handling this device, I do not know the direct number, but I have been talking to them about another issue I have with my boulder on the extender. If I get the direct # I will post it here.

**Mike72677** · 02-03-2009, 03:57 PM

Yes, regular and tier II tech support. The device was sitting on a window sill for over 2 hours. It is snowing.

It's come down to "take the device home and try it and I'll call you tomorrow" (trying it at work).

**Justin5117** · 02-03-2009, 05:30 PM

I had a similar problem, what I did to fix it was hooked up the external antenna stuck it out the window a bit then pulled the power plug to the unit (while the GPS is outside) plug it back in and then it starts to search for a GPS signal again.

**mrcrispin** · 02-03-2009, 07:03 PM

The Ethernet transceiver on my first femtocell was faulty (it never came on). Its replacement worked with no problem.

When you first connect and apply power to the femtocell, you will see the following in the lights:
PWR - solid blue
SYS - solid red
GPS - solid red
WAN - off

Within a few seconds, the WAN light will turn blue. If it does not, your Ethernet connection isn't working. Verify the cable and hub/router port; e.g., try plugging the cable into a laptop. Note that the hub/router port must be a regular port, NOT an Uplink port.

There are a pair of undocumented LEDs on the femtocell by the Ethernet port. There's a yellow pilot LED that should be on when the WAN is connected, and a green activity LED. If the yellow LED isn't lit, and you've verified that the cable and port are OK, then this is the problem I had with my first femtocell. Take it back and get a new one.

So, now we have a femtocell with the lights showing:
PWR - solid blue
SYS - solid red
GPS - solid red
WAN - solid blue
This is its normal state while it is initializing.

It will go to this configuration:
PWR - solid blue
SYS - blinking blue/red (alternating)
GPS - blinking red or blinking blue
WAN - solid blue

It may revert back to:
PWR - solid blue
SYS - solid red
GPS - solid red
WAN - solid blue
Don't panic! As the instructions say, leave it alone. Go get some coffee, watch a TV show, eat dinner, or otherwise let it sit for a while.

When you're in business, all four (PWR/SYS/GPS/WAN) will be blue (with the WAN light occasionally blinking), the undocumented pilot light by the Ethernet port will be solid yellow, and the undocumented green light by the Ethernet port will blink on when the WAN light blinks off.

**mrcrispin** · 02-03-2009, 07:07 PM

All things being equal, a south-facing window is generally better than windows facing other directions.

However, all things are rarely equal.

The most important factor is a view of blue sky. The femocell GPS receiver is quite sensitive, and will work even with a fairly minimal sky view; but it does need to see sky. If your north-facing window is the only one with an unobstructed sky view (e.g., the other windows are all obstructed by buildings, vegetation, or terrain) use it.

**mrcrispin** · 02-03-2009, 07:09 PM

It's late afternoon and my BlackBerry Storm is still at 90% battery life. By this time of day, it would be at 65% or less.

**Mike72677** · 02-03-2009, 07:11 PM

Only took a few minutes for the GPS light to go blue at home. The windows at work must be made of lead!

**elrod** · 02-03-2009, 07:21 PM

Originally Posted by markj73

I assume u were talking to Tech support? ...

If you can assuming the weather is dry etc, run the gps antenna outside into the clear see if u get a signal, sometimes mine has taken 20-30mins and it's outside...

Edit: Actually verizon has a dedicated team for handling this device, I do not know the direct number, but I have been talking to them about another issue I have with my boulder on the extender. If I get the direct # I will post it here.

The direct number for tech support for the Network Extender is: 877-262-2924

**TekWarren** · 02-03-2009, 08:32 PM

My unit came today and is setup...waiting for GPS acquisition

But I was wondering if these units have a network name? My router pics it up as having no host name but I know what it is since I can see its mac address.

**CanAm** · 02-03-2009, 09:06 PM

I ordered my Network Extender over the weekend and it arrived today. This was the best $249.99 spent. In the basement of my house I am in a dead zone. The extender is upstairs and within 30 minutes I was up and running flawlessly. I now have full signal in my basement and obviously anywhere inside my house. Its too cold and snow on the ground to really test it outside but I'm sure it will be fine.

Just to put the pricing to rest, I work for VZW in a call center, and I got absolutely no discounts. For those who were able to get one, consider yourself fortunate - it was your lucky day. We are to not discount this accessory at all.

**K2RRT** · 02-04-2009, 07:19 AM

Originally Posted by Mike72677

Only took a few minutes for the GPS light to go blue at home. The windows at work must be made of lead!

You might not be far from the truth. Many commercial windows treatments use metal. Where I work they couldn't get wifi into an office with tinted windows. The tint had metal in it.

**mattg** · 02-04-2009, 11:33 AM

I'm wondering how well this will work at my office. We have ZERO signal in our cubical village since we're in the basement.

Will we still have to get within 15 feet of the thing to sync up?

A few of us are thinking about splitting the cost.

**Justin5117** · 02-04-2009, 01:26 PM

Originally Posted by mattg

I'm wondering how well this will work at my office. We have ZERO signal in our cubical village since we're in the basement.

Will we still have to get within 15 feet of the thing to sync up?

A few of us are thinking about splitting the cost.

At 15 feet you'll have full service. You'll love it. I had zero flashing to one bar in my house now full service.