OT: AT&T MicroCell

[aTotal360]

So I'm moving and my new neighborhood is the blackhole of cell reception (both ATT and Verizon). I'm on ATT now and really don't want to switch. They are recommending I get this MicroCell device you plug into your modem or router. Supposedly it routes all cellular transmissions through your wifi via this device and you always have awesome reception as long as you are in within range of it (5000 sq ft).

Have any of you tried this device? Does it work as well as advertised?

It's only $150 and has a $75 rebate, and there is no monthly rental or BS fee.

 

[dawgstudent]

Sounds like you will basically be using a VOIP service (such as Vonage) that will connect with your cell phone.

 

[aTotal360]

Pretty much. And all text transmissions will go through it as well. Other data such as surfing and streaming will be diverted through the regular router. I just wonder if it works as well and as seamlessly as advertised.

http://www.att.com/att/microcell/

 

[codeDawg]

So I'm moving and my new neighborhood is the blackhole of cell reception (both ATT and Verizon). I'm on ATT now and really don't want to switch. They are recommending I get this MicroCell device you plug into your modem or router. Supposedly it routes all cellular transmissions through your wifi via this device and you always have awesome reception as long as you are in within range of it (5000 sq ft).

Have any of you tried this device? Does it work as well as advertised?

It's only $150 and has a $75 rebate, and there is no monthly rental or BS fee.

It works great. The only drawback is that if you leave your house on the phone it doesn't switch over the the cell network.

 

[dawgstudent]

so the call will eventually drop?

 

[vhdawg]

[Disclaimer: I work for AT&T, though I have no direct experience other than hearsay about the Microcell]

Yeah, basically it takes your broadband connection and uses it as backhaul for the wireless transmitter. My uncle has one at his house where he has poor coverage, and it works well enough that he has gotten rid of his landline phone. As far as hand-in/hand-out, if you start a call at your house it should hand over to the cellular network if you leave, but that will not work in reverse. You can only originate calls on the microcell, you cannot hand-in to it. You can set it up to not hand-out to the cellular network, but that's an option.

And to correct one thing you said, it doesn't use your wifi to route the cellular calls....it uses your broadband service, which also happens to drive your wifi, but it's two separate services operating in parallel. However, it does use the same cellular spectrum that the cellular network uses.

Hope this helps any, but from what I understand, it's certainly worth a shot.

 

[fishwater99]

So it connects to your broadband through this microcell service, which is similar to your wifi?

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

If you leave your house and get a stronger signal from the tower than you do from your micro-cell, the call should transfer to the tower, unless you've told it not to which is advisable in cases where you get low-power (not no-power) tower coverage at your house. The big problem is actually when you initiate a call on the tower and then go home. A tower can only transfer you to another tower, not a micro-cell.

 

[aTotal360]

Yes. But it only handles what would be cellular transmissions (calls and text). Web surfing and streaming will still go through your normal wireless router.

 

[aTotal360]

This one only works for AT&T phones. You have to set the MicroCell up for each AT&T number that you want to tether to it. So you can't just wander into my yard on use my signal.

 

[justin.sixpack]

I recently switched away from AT&T (DSL and cell phone) to Cspire (Fiber and cell phone) and I have a MicroCell I don't need anymore if you are interested in buying a used one. I unplugged it about 3 months ago and it was still working perfectly at that time. Send me a private message if you would like to discuss it.

My house was a black hole of reception. The cell phone would work in the driveway but not inside the house. The MicroCell worked pretty well. It would drop a call occasionally, but not so often as to be infuriating. It was much better than having no service in the house at all.

 

[vhdawg]

So it connects to your broadband through this microcell service, which is similar to your wifi?

Right....it's quite literally a very scaled-down cell site inside your house which uses your broadband for backhaul rather than the T1 or fiber circuit that a macro cell would use. You can run voice, text, and data through it, but you'd be well advised to use your wifi instead for data.

 

[MSU'92]

How fast will it stream porn? I'm asking for a friend.

 

[aTotal360]

Let me go check. BRB.

 

[twopack]

AT&t Microcell

I had such lousy reception in parts of my home with AT&T (probably because i was midway between towers) that i called them and complained and threatened to cancel the service about a year ago. They sent me the Microcell free of charge and it does work well. Virtually never have any more dropped calls. Now my phones show 3 or 4 bars and previously it was showing 1 max. I would see about getting them to send it for free before shelling out the $150. I told them i was tired of them telling me they were building new towers (who has that many years of life left?), and they were extremely nice and apologetic and offered the microcell for free since they did not want to lose customers...hope that helps......QUOTE=aTotal360;1108907]So I'm moving and my new neighborhood is the blackhole of cell reception (both ATT and Verizon). I'm on ATT now and really don't want to switch. They are recommending I get this MicroCell device you plug into your modem or router. Supposedly it routes all cellular transmissions through your wifi via this device and you always have awesome reception as long as you are in within range of it (5000 sq ft).

Have any of you tried this device? Does it work as well as advertised?

It's only $150 and has a $75 rebate, and there is no monthly rental or BS fee.[/QUOTE]

 

[57stratdawg]

I have one. It's been good for me. Our original apartment had basically 0 service, and we got the microcell and it was night/day. I went from not being able to talk inside at all, to being able to freely move and talk without issue.

We were told the worse your service is, the better it works. If you have "some" reception your phone might try to bounce between tower and MCell. Having said that, we then moved to a new house with "some" reception, and it's still be great.

The 5,000 feet is probably BS. Our house is half that and it doesn't always pick up in the yard or garage.

 

[57stratdawg]

No. But remember you probably got the MCell because your reception sucks. Leave it, and suddenly you're back to bad reception.