WaveForm 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 congured
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
+1 (800) 761-3041
www.waveform.com
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 Amplier 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 signicant 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.
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 (800) 761-3041 or
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 amplication). 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 specic 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, amplied 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 amplies, 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.
10
Finding the best location for the outdoor antenna is the most important part of the install.
The Goal
Your aim is to nd the best location and direction for the outdoor antenna that maximizes
signal strength and in particular, signal quality, for the frequency bands available in your area.
Set up the GO X as a Signal Meter
If you have a long power extension cable, we
recommend taking the GO X outside with you and
using the 5 ft cable included in the kit to set up the
GO X as “signal meter.”
Here are all the parts you’ll be using:
Don’t have a long power extension cable? Keep the GO X indoors near a power socket, and
use the 30 ft coax cable included in the kit to take the outdoor antenna outside. Everything
will be the same as the diagram above, except you'll use the 30 ft coax cable instead of the 5
ft jumper.
Finding the best outdoor antenna location without a power extension cable is a little bit
harder. You won’t easily be able to stay connected to the GO X via Bluetooth as you try
different locations. You may need a second person standing near the booster, watching the
Wave app to help you as you take signal readings.
Outdoor antenna
5 ft Jumper
Pigtail
Connect pigtail to
the port on the
GO X
GO X and
Power Supply
Positioning & Aiming the Outdoor Antenna
05
POWER EXTENSION
CABLE
11
Using the Antenna Position Test
The Wave app has a special “Antenna Position Test” that you
can nd under the “Settings” tab in the “Antenna Settings”
dropdown.
With each location and direction you try, you can “Capture”
results. Tests take about a minute each. Ideally, we want to nd a
location with a score of 115 or higher.
If you have very weak or low-quality signal outdoors, then it may
be hard to get over 100 or even 90. It’s okay if that’s the case, just
nd the best score you can. Alternatively, you might nd that the
rst location you try is over 115. That’s great! It’s still worth trying
more locations to optimize for the very best signal.
Please note: don't be surprised if your antenna position score
goes down later on when you connect your internal antenna(s).
Thats totally normal!
How to Position & Aim
Finding the right outdoor antenna location and direction takes some patience, but it’s
absolutely worth it. Spending time to get it right will have a big impact on your system’s
performance.
Here are all the locations and directions we recommend testing your outdoor antenna:
How come we don’t recommend just using the highest point on the roof? It’s simple: while
signal strength is generally higher on the roof, signal quality is often better on the side of
the building.
12
In Section 2 of the manual (go back and read it if you haven’t!) we explained that low signal
quality happens because of “intra-cell interference.”
The best way to improve signal quality is to “shield” the outdoor antenna from any other
towers in the area, by putting it on the side of the building.
When the signal quality outdoors is low, the goal is to shield the outdoor antenna to reduce
the signal from other nearby towers:
For some people, the top of their roof (where signal is the strongest) provides the best
signal. For others, it’s the side of the house. The only way to nd which is best is to test.
Once you’ve found the best outdoor antenna location according to the Antenna Position
Test, it’s time to temporarily secure the outdoor antenna and set up a “temporary install.”
The following 4 pages explain choosing the right indoor antennas, antenna separation,
and how to assemble your GO X. Read them before you start.
We recommend securing the outdoor antenna temporarily, and running coax indoors
through a window or a door without drilling any holes. Once you’ve done that, you can test
your coverage and data rates. If everything is looking good, you can drill holes, install your
antennas, and switch to a permanent install.
If you’re having signal issues with your temporary setup, or aren’t happy with the
be happy to help assist - we can often suggest an easy solution to the most common
problems.
Set up a Temporary Install
06
13
Indoor Antennas: Types & Placement
07
Before choosing a location for your indoor antennas, you’ll need to understand how your
indoor antennas broadcast signal. Depending on which kit you purchased, you'll have either
dome or panel antennas included in the box.
Panel Antennas
A panel antenna has a narrower “spray” (technically called a “beamwidth”). This means that
it directs signal in one direction, and not in a circle, like a dome antenna. Panel antennas
should be installed on a wall near the perimeter of the coverage area for best results. For
example, you might use a panel at the end of the hallway or at one end of your house.
Dome Antennas
Dome antennas should be installed in the ceiling, centrally to the area you are looking to
cover. Some (but less) signal will also radiate upwards to cover the oor above. You’ll need to
have access to an attic or crawl space to run the cable.
14
Indoor Antennas: Separation
08
Antenna separation is critical to installing your indoor antennas.
If you don’t have enough separation, the Cel-Fi GO X will throttle its gain (amplication) to
avoid “oscillation.” Oscillation is a type of feedback that occurs if the gain of the system is
higher than the “RF separation” between the indoor and outdoor antennas.
You can improve your separation by moving your indoor antennas. Keep your outdoor
antenna in the location with the best signal. If you have more than one indoor antenna, the
total separation is determined by whichever antenna is closest the outdoor antenna.
The Wave app shows a percentage score for separation on
both the Dashboard and Advanced tabs.
Ideally, we want a score of 80% or higher for each “boosting”
band, but in small buildings that might not be possible - just
do the best you can.
Not enough vertical and/or horizontal
separation between outdoor and
indoor antenna.
Not enough building materials
between indoor and outdoor antenna.
Plenty of vertical and/or horizontal
separation.
Outdoor antenna pointing away from
indoor antenna.
Multiple layers of building materials
between antennas.
Example of Poor Separation
Example of Good Separation
How to Tell If You Have Enough Separation
15
09
Getting the parts set up
Refer to the diagram to the right as needed
1. Connect the two SMA Pigtail cable adapters to the Cel-Fi GO X amplier.
2. Note the two icons by the Cel-Fi GO X’s two SMA antenna ports:
This port should be plugged into the indoor antenna(s).
This port should be connected to the outdoor antenna.
3. Connect the RS400 cables to the SMA pigtail adapters and hand-tighten them.
4. If you have a kit with 2x or 4x indoor antennas, connect your splitter to the indoor
antenna end of the booster using the 1 ft jumper.
5. Connect the 30 ft cable(s) and panel/dome indoor antenna(s) to your splitter or directly
to the indoor antenna port of the Cel-Fi Go X and hand-tighten the connectors.
6. Connect the Outdoor Antenna to the 5 ft RS200 cable, Lightning Surge Protector, and
RS400 cable. Instructions on grounding are in the next section of the manual.
7. Connect the Cel-Fi Go X power supply and plug it into the booster.
Assembling the J-Mount and Antenna
The photo to the right shows how the Outdoor Antenna should be
secured to the included Antenna Mount.
If you’d like more detailed instructions on how to install the L-bracket
to the antenna mount, you can nd that online here:
waveform.com/polemount-instructions
Assembling Your Kit
16
Antenna Mount & Outdoor
Directional Antenna
30 ft RS400 Cable
5 ft RS200 Cable
SMA to N-type Pigtail Adapter
Lightning Surge Protector + 5 ft Grounding Cable
SMA to N-type Pigtail Adapter
30 ft RS400 Cable
Dome or Panel Antennas
Should ideally be installed outdoors, just before cable enters building.
Connect the Lightning Surge Protector to the building’s ground with 10
AWG or higher grounding cable (5 ft grounding cable included).
Quantity and type depends on the kit
you purchased.
Only included in kits with 2x or 4x indoor antennas.
Only included in kits with
2x or 4x indoor antennas.
Quantity depends on number of antenas in the kit
you purchased
Cel-Fi GO X
AC Power
Adapter
1 ft RS200 Jumper
Splitter
17
Once you’re done setting up your temporary install, it’s time to test the performance.
If you mostly care about voice calls, simply place a call and walk around your home. If
data rates are your primary concern, we recommend testing with the Speedtest app you
downloaded from waveform.com/speedtest
If you’re using a hotspot, simply connect to it and visit speedtest.net in a browser.
If everything is working well, you can start drilling holes, securing the GO X, and moving to
a permanent install.
If you’re not happy with the results, don’t panic! We can help you gure it out.
9am-5pm PT, Monday to Friday., and we can help you optimize your setup.
A Quick Note on Surge Protection & Grounding
We include a lightning surge protection kit in your GO X kit to help protect from lightning.
The surge protector should ideally be installed just before the coaxial cable enters your
home.
Both the surge protector and the outdoor antenna mast itself should ideally be grounded.
We include a short length of grounding cable, but you’ll likely need to purchase more.
Grounding cable is available at most hardware stores, and we recommend using at least
10 AWG cable. Cable gauges are a little confusing, the numbers increase as the cable gets
thinner. So 6 AWG and 8 AWG are both okay, but 12 AWG and 14 AWG are too thin.
If you have a satellite or HDTV antenna on your roof already, it’s likely grounded. You
should be able to simply connect the mast and the lightning surge protector to the satellite
dish's grounding cable. Alternatively, you can ground your outdoor antenna directly to a
grounding rod. Most homes should have a grounding rod, but if yours doesn’t you can
purchase one easily at a hardware store.
Weatherproong Outdoor Connections
We strongly recommend wrapping all outdoor N-type connections with stretch-and-seal
self-fusing silicone rubber tape (available from most hardware stores). N-type connectors
are outdoor-rated, but water can still sometimes get in and causes a lot of issues.
Test & Install Permanently
10
18
In many areas, the GO X will only nd a single band to boost. You can see this under
the Advanced tab: one of the GO X’s radios will say Boosting and the other will remain
Scanning. If that’s the case, there’s only a single band available for the GO X to amplify.
However, in some areas, your GO X may nd two bands. If that’s the case, you may be able
to optimize your data rates by manually testing different bands.
Here are the steps we recommend following:
1. Discover all available bands
There may actually be more than 2 bands available outdoors. The GO X will attempt to
boost the best two available, but sometimes data rates may be better on other bands. If you
manually disable the rst two bands that the GO X has selected, you can force the GO X to
scan and show you what other bands are available.
2. Test each band individually, then together
When your phone detects multiple bands, it will attempt to “carrier aggregate” and
connect on multiple bands simultaneously. Unfortunately, carrier aggregation isn’t perfect -
sometimes it works well, but in other cases, it can actually decrease your data rates.
To get the absolutely best data rates, you can try running speed tests with the GO X
amplifying each band individually, and then testing different combinations of bands.
How to disable and enable bands
You can disable and enable bands under the “Booster
Settings” dropdown in the settings tab of the Wave app.
Each time you enable or disable a band, the GO X will rescan
to nd signal. It can take a minute or two until the GO X nds
and starts boosting signal again.
After the GO X starts amplifying a new band, toggle on
airplane mode on your phone for a few moments, then turn
it off again. This will force your phone to connect to the newly
boosted band before you run a speed test.
Optional: Test Band Combinations
11
19
The “Advanced” Tab
12
One of the best features of the GO X is that it actively listens and decodes the cellular
signals before amplifying. You can nd out more about the system's status at any given
moment in the “Advanced” tab.
The most important information is summarized at the top of the screen, under the
"Overview" section. The information here is divided into two "radios" – the GO X's two
radios are what allow it to amplify up to two bands simultaneously.
For each radio, the advanced tab tells you if it is "scanning," or if it has found a signal and
started "boosting." When the radio is scanning, you'll notice that the frequency changes
often. Once it's boosting, the frequency will no longer change.
Once the GO X is boosting on one of the radios, the Wave app will show a percentage for
signal quality, signal strength, and antenna separation. Signal quality and signal strength
are determined by your outdoor antenna’s location and direction. Antenna separation is
determined by the separation between the indoor antennas from to the outdoor antenna.
The goal during the install is to get the highest numbers possible for each of these
percentages. But sometimes, despite your best efforts, these numbers may remain low.
That's okay - they're just a guide to help you during the install.
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