Sprint Airave

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.0 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Nicole Lee
• Reviewed on: 08/21/2008

Since a cell phone is practically useless without good signal strength, a signal booster is sometimes required to boost it. We've seen plenty signal boosters here at CNET, from the Wi-Ex zBoost YX510-PCS-CEL to the ARC Freedom Antenna. However, Sprint has decided to release device to boost the signal of Sprint phones, and it's called the Airave, made by Samsung. This CDMA femtocell uses your existing broadband Internet connection to help with the signal strength, similar to how the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home service works. We found that it worked as promised. The Airave costs $99.99, while the service will cost you an additional $4.99 a month.

Out of the box, the Airave looks like an ordinary wireless router. It measures 6.9 inches long by 5.7 inches wide by 2.1 inches thick and weighs about 14 ounces. On the front are four LED indicators for Power, System, GPS, and WAN status. On the back are an Ethernet jack, a charger jack, the power switch, a GPS socket, and an antenna that can rotate up to 180 degrees for better performance. As for the GPS, the Airave requires a GPS signal to maintain exact network timing updates and it helps provide E911 services with your accurate location. If the built-in GPS is insufficient, Sprint has included an external GPS antenna that attaches to the GPS socket.

Setup was pretty easy. The Airave comes preactivated from Sprint, so all we did was connect the cables and power it on. Note that you'll require a router for the broadband connection. At this point, you'll have to be patient--it takes a long time before the Airave is able to find a GPS signal, and after that, it takes awhile before it can find coverage. Sprint advises you to wait for an hour; it took up about an hour and 15 minutes. Do note that if you are using the external GPS antenna, be sure to place it near a window at an elevated position for the best signal strength. You'll know everything is ready to go once all four LEDs glow blue.

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Recent user reviews

• Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 21 reviews
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• 5.0 stars

  1 out of 1 people found this helpful

  "Great Product"

  by kennettville on December 20, 2009

• 5.0 stars

  "Must have for weak signal and dropped calls"

  by juanayala on November 18, 2009

• 5.0 stars

  "Excellent! There is NO MONTHLY FEE provides EVDO signal"

  by tangercp on November 5, 2009

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