CEL-FI GO X User manual

from
The GO X is manufactured by Cel-Fi, but supported by Waveform
and our team of Signal Specialists.
We’ve helped over 20,000 customers boost their signal since our
company was founded in 2007. We’ve installed and con gured
thousands of devices in buildings across the country, and we’re
here to help. If you have any issues at all, please don’t hesitate to
reach out.
52 Maxwell,
Irvine, CA 92618
[phone]
www.waveform.com
[email protected]
About Waveform
Please note: Your Cel-Fi GO X will come pre-programmed to boost Verizon signal.
You will need to change the carrier using the Wave app if you are using a different provider.
We know, reading manuals isn’t fun. But we promise it’s worth it.
We’ve helped hundreds of customers install the Cel-Fi GO X and
boost their signal. We’ve compiled everything we’ve learned in
this manual.
Give it a read before you start: it’ll save you time and help you
get the best performance out of your GO X.
Please Read This First

1
Indoor Antennas, Cables, and Splitters (Depends on Kit Selections)
Depending on which version you
purchased, your GO X kit will contain
either 1x, 2x, or 4x Dome or Panel
indoor antennas.
You'll also have 2x, 3x, or 5x 30 ft coax
cables.
If you ordered a kit with 2 or 4 indoor
antennas, you'll also receive a 1 ft jumper
and a signal splitter.
Dome
Antenna(s) 2x, 3x, or 5x 30 ft
RS400 Cables
Panel
Antenna(s)
5 ft RS200
Jumper Cable
10 AWG
Grounding Cable
Lightning Surge
Protector
Other Parts
Outdoor Antenna &
Pole Mount Hardware
Cel-Fi GO X Ampli er Universal Antenna
Mount
2x SMA to N-Type
Pigtails
What’s In The Box
AC Power Supply
2-Way or 4-Way
Signal Splitter
1 ft RS200
Jumper
Only included in kits with 2x and 4x Indoor Antennas:

2
Signal boosters can be nicky to set up. The Cel-Fi GO X is no exception. It will take a bit of
work to get your GO X unit installed optimally.
But there’s a reason that most people are willing to take the time to perform an installation,
even if it takes 4 to 5 hours. The GO X is the only device on the market that provides an
industry-leading 100 dB of gain. Once you get it set up and running properly, you should see
a signicant improvement in signal, right away.
We’ve written this guide based on our own experiences and those of hundreds of customers
who we’ve helped. We promise you’ll be glad if you read this manual through thoroughly
before you get started. It’ll help you save time, avoid the most common pitfalls, and ensure
your system works as well as possible.
Stuck? Have Questions? Contact us!
We're a small team, but we really care about helping you get the best results.
We're happy to discuss any issues you're having or walk you through any of the steps in this
manual. Helping people improve their signal is what gets us out of bed in the mornings.
Even if everything goes smoothly, reach out and let us know how your system is performing.
We particularly appreciate feedback: let us know if there's any way we could have made the
install process or this manual better.
Call us at [phone] or email [email protected]. We're generally available from
9am-5pm PT, Monday to Friday.
Install manuals, who needs ‘em?

3
Before you start
00
It’s critical that you have at least 1 bar of usable signal outside or on the roof of the building
you’re installing the GO X in. If you don’t have 1 bar, or if you’re not sure, give us a call.
What do we mean by usable?
Well, you need to be able to place a call and use data reliably. When running a speed test,
you should have decent upload and download speeds.
Cell boosters bring signal inside from outdoors. If the signal outside your building isn’t
usable, the GO X isn’t going to help.
If you don’t have 1 bar of usable signal, we’re sorry, but there’s not much point in continuing.
Visit waveform.com/returns to set up a return. We’re happy to take your Cel-Fi Go X back
and try to help you nd a booster that might work.
Compatibility
A quick note on compatibility. The Cel-Fi GO X is compatible with:
AT&T 3G and LTE signal on Bands 2, 4, 5, 12, and 66
T-Mobile 3G and LTE signal on Bands 2, 4, 5, 12, and 66
Verizon LTE signal on Bands 2, 4, 5, 13, and 66
Verizon 2G/3G signal
Worried about 5G? Cel-Fi has promised to push a rmware update that will allow
compatibility with 5G on the bands listed above.
The lack of Verizon 2G/3G compatibility isn’t a big deal. As long as you have LTE signal
available in your area to boost, you should be ne. Most phones released after 2014 support
“HD Voice” – also known as “Voice over LTE” (VoLTE). VoLTE is usually enabled by default. For
example, all iPhones released since 2014, starting with the iPhone 6, support VoLTE.

4
Install Process Overview
01
This is the process that we suggest using for installing your Cel-Fi GO X:
1 Read this manual. Ideally from start to nish so that you understand the whole
process before you begin.
2 Download the Wave app to your phone by visiting waveform.com/waveapp
3 Select your carrier. Your GO X is preprogrammed to Verizon. If you’re boosting a
different carrier’s signal you’ll need to use the Wave app to change the carrier.
4 Find the best outdoor antenna location and direction. This step is the most time-
consuming, but it’s worth the effort. Getting it right has a huge impact on your
system’s performance.
5 ”Temporary install” and indoor antenna positioning – Without making any holes in
your roof or walls, temporarily run the cable indoors to your GO X, and nd indoor
antenna locations with enough separation from the outdoor antenna.
6 Verify performance and hard-wire everything – Run speed tests and check your
bars – if everything's looking good, it’s time to nalize all your cable runs and mount
antennas.
7 Tell us how your system is doing – We really love hearing how our customer’s
systems are performing. Send us an email and let us know how things look.
If anything’s unclear, or you’re unsure about something, just call us at [phone] or
email [email protected]. We're generally available from 9am-5pm PT, Monday to
Friday.

5
One of the most common questions we get asked is: how do I get better data rates?
To understand how to get the highest data rates we need to dig into the details a little. In
this section we'll give you a quick primer on how cell signal works.
a. Signal Bars
Your phone’s signal bars attempt to give you an idea of how
“good” your signal is.
How does your phone decide how many bars to show? Well,
it measures both the signal strength and signal quality, and
converts those measurements into a simple indicator.
Having either low signal strength or low signal quality can
limit the number of bars your phone displays.
For example, you can have a strong signal, but if the signal quality is low, you won’t have
many bars. Or your signal quality might be perfect, but if it's very weak, you still won’t see
many bars.
However, the real secret is this: signal bars aren’t all that important.
You can have full bars and very slow data rates. Or you can have 1 bar and super high data
rates. We regularly see both!
That’s why we don’t recommend judging your signal by the number of bars your device is
showing. Instead, use a speed test app to measure your data rates indoors before and after
you install your GO X.
You can download our favorite speed test app ("Speedtest by Ookla") by visiting this URL:
waveform.com/speedtest
Go ahead and download that speed test app now, and run a couple of speed tests indoors.
You’ll notice that your results will uctuate a little between tests – that’s normal.
If your phone's connected to WiFi, the speed test will measure the speed of your WiFi
instead of your cellular connection. Disable your phone’s WiFi and run the test again.
A Quick Introduction to Cellular Signal
02
LTE

6
b. Signal Quality (SINR)
Signal quality is probably the most important measure of your cell signal. In 4G LTE
networks, signal quality is called “SINR,” which stands for “Signal to Interference Plus Noise
Ratio.”
In general, the better the signal quality, the faster your download speeds will be. Improving
this measure can have a big impact on your system’s performance.
Why does signal quality drop? It's actually because cell towers interfere with each other.
Every cell tower transmits signal
on the same set of bands.
If you’re located between
multiple cell towers, your phone
has a hard time clearly “hearing”
the cell signal from the tower
you’re connected to. This is called
“intracell interference.”
A signal booster like the GO X
won’t increase your signal quality
directly. However, by shielding and aiming the directional outdoor antenna that’s included
in your kit you can  nd higher quality signal, and the GO X will amplify that signal and
rebroadcast it indoors.
We’ll explain exactly how to position and aim your outdoor antenna later in this manual.
c. Signal Strength (RSRP)
The main measure of signal strength for LTE networks is called
“RSRP.” Signal strength is measured in dBm and is always a
negative number.
Signal boosters like the GO X amplify your signal so you have
higher signal strength. The GO X has 100 decibels of gain (a
measure of ampli cation). That means that it’ll cover a larger
area with stronger signal than most boosters.
Stronger signal can help you get better data rates and a more
reliable connection. But signal quality is critical as well.

7
d. Bands
Your cell phone connects to towers on certain ‘frequency bands.” These bands are licensed
to each carrier by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US.
Each frequency band has a certain “bandwidth” which determines it’s total data capacity.
That capacity is split amongst the users who are connected to it.
In general, higher frequency bands (like 1900 MHz and 2100 MHz) travel less far and
penetrate building materials less well than lower frequency bands (like 700 MHz and
800 MHz). As a result, higher frequency bands tend to be less “congested” - they have
fewer users connected to them, and data rates are often faster. This isn't always the case
though, sometimes a lower frequency band may have better data rates, depending on your
location.
Newer phones have a feature called “carrier aggregation,” which means that they can
connect on multiple bands simultaneously to increase data rates.
The Cel-Fi GO X can boost up to 2 bands simultaneously. Depending on the signal
conditions in your area, there may be just 1 cellular band available, or up to 5. After you’ve
completed a provisional install, you can experiment with enabling specic frequency bands
to see if a particular combination gets you the best speed test results.
Unfortunately, FCC regulations don’t yet allow consumer signal boosters in the US to
amplify LTE band 30 (2300 MHz), band 41 (2500 MHz), or band 71 (600 MHz).
Okay, thanks for reading that!
We know that's a lot of information, but we promise it'll be helpful as you start your install.
Our goal is to get you strong, amplied signal and the best possible signal quality on the
bands that get you the best data rates. Let's get started!
Low Frequency Bands
More congested, lower data rates
Travel further, penetrate buildings
700 MHz (Bands 12, 13, 17)
850 MHz (Band 5)
1900 MHz (Band 2)
2100 MHz (Band 4, 66)
High Frequency Bands
Less congested, faster data rates
Travel less far, don’t penetrate buildings

8
First, download the Wave app and make sure the GO X
is set up to boost your carrier:
1Download the Wave app by visiting waveform.
com/waveapp.
2Open the app while keeping your phone within 4
feet of the GO X to start pairing. This may take a few
minutes. The app will say “searching,” “syncing data,”
and  nally “gathering data.”
3Your GO X is preprogrammed to boost Verizon.
If you're with a different carrier, go to “Settings” and
then the “Operator” section and change it. Changing
carriers takes a few minutes - don’t turn off your
booster or move your phone away during the process.
Note for AT&T customers: if there is 4G LTE signal
Wave App and Carrier Selection
03
outdoors, choose “AT&T LTE Preferred” instead of the other AT&T options available. This will
ensure that the GO X boosts as many LTE bands as possible, instead of also boosting 3G.
Troubleshooting Wave App Pairing:
• Note: only one device (your phone or tablet) can connect to the Cel-Fi GO X via
Bluetooth at a time. But don’t worry – every device in the building will see better
cellular signal after you’re done installing.
• If the Wave app is unable to connect to your device,  rst try force-closing the app.
• In Android, this is done by going to your phone’s Settings, choosing the “Apps”
option,  nding the Wave app, and then choosing the “Force Stop” option.
• For iOS, you can read here about how to force-close apps:
waveform.com/fcios
• If force-closing the app doesn’t help, restart your phone and power cycle the GO X
by unplugging the power adapter.

9
Understand How The Go X Works
04
The GO X “Searches” For Signal
Unlike other boosters, the GO X doesn’t blindly amplify every frequency. Instead, it searches
for, and then amplies, the best signal available for your carrier.
At any given time, the GO X can amplify up to two frequency bands.
In the Wave mobile app, you can watch in the “Advanced” tab as it scans the frequencies on
different bands to nd the best signal to amplify.
Anytime you power-cycle the GO X, change the band settings, or change the operator, it will
restart scanning to nd the best signal. The GO X starts scanning as soon as you unplug the
outdoor antenna cable. To make sure it scans all frequencies, restart the GO X anytime you
disconnect and then reconnect the outdoor antenna.
Activity Lights
A small light on the GO X ashes to indicate the current status.
Solid Green:
The GO X has found the best band is amplifying.
Blinking Green:
The GO X is scanning for networks to boost.
Blinking Red:
The unit is in an error condition. Check the app for more information.
Solid Red:
If the status light remains red, the device has a hardware issue. Call us for a
replacement.
Boot-up Sequence
On rst being plugged in, the GO X activity light will start solid red, then ash red, then
move on to blinking green as it starts scanning the cellular frequency bands. Finally, once it's
found signal to boost, it will switch to solid green.