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LTE and Microcell

Stayfly2407

Stayfly2407

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 1, 2011
423
53
VA
Does anyone know if the AT&T microcell is LTE compatible? I have a iP5 and microcell, 4G connects with no problem but we just got LTE in my area in VA just this past week and i havent been able to connect to LTE while at home. Anyone have any knowledge on this?
 
I can not help you with the Iphone 5 and microcell but hopefully someone will soon. I have a microcell and works perfectly will microcell. I did read some posts on here on how to get the microcell and Iphone 5 to work. Maybe if you do a search it will show up. the instructions was quite detailed... Good luck
 
LTE is only for data, right? When you make a voice call, the phone switches back to 4G.

Do you not use WiFi for data when you're at home with the microcell?
 
I have a microcell with iPhone 5 but no lte. I use the wifi for data. The calling works great with the iPhone 5.
 
No, you all are misunderstanding me. My microcell connects to my iphone5 with no problem. I'm not asking about data, the point if the microcell is to boost your cell signal which it does but if I'm on the phone it's no longer on LTE it switches back to 4G. I don't want to use wifi anymore because LTE is way faster than the broadband Internet in my house plus I have unlimited data. So wifi is no longer needed
 
Stayfly2407 said:
No, you all are misunderstanding me. My microcell connects to my iphone5 with no problem. I'm not asking about data, the point if the microcell is to boost your cell signal which it does but if I'm on the phone it's no longer on LTE it switches back to 4G. I don't want to use wifi anymore because LTE is way faster than the broadband Internet in my house plus I have unlimited data. So wifi is no longer needed
Click to expand...

YOU dont understand. LTE is ONLY used for a data connection, not for voice. all voice connections are sent over EDGE/3G/HSPA+. this is why the phone switches to 4G when you make a call. as the other said, which is correct, the microcell is only for EDGE/3G/4G connections, not LTE data. you need to use your wifi for faster data. if your wifi is that much slower than LTE, you need to upgrade your home cable service.

EDIT: it says right on the at&t microcell website that its for 3G/4G connections....not LTE.
 
Stayfly2407 said:
No, you all are misunderstanding me. My microcell connects to my iphone5 with no problem. I'm not asking about data, the point if the microcell is to boost your cell signal which it does but if I'm on the phone it's no longer on LTE it switches back to 4G. I don't want to use wifi anymore because LTE is way faster than the broadband Internet in my house plus I have unlimited data. So wifi is no longer needed
Click to expand...

If LTE is faster than your WiFi when the MicroCell is turned off, then you probably have such a good signal in your home now that the MicroCell is unnecessary. I used to have a MicroCell at my place, but then AT&T improved the signal here to the point that the MicroCell was pointless. I brought the thing to my parents house so my phone would work in their dead spot.
 
Oh I DO understand how it works. And my signal is not good at all without the microcell
 
The microcell is primarily used to help a dead spot or spotty home reception. The use of sharing data is a plus side of using it for up to 4 devices. But it's not meant to replace a home Internet connection. They wouldn't allow you to kill LTE bandwidth by substituting it as your home replacement Internet. And it clearly states on the website that it doesn't include LTE. This is why you won't get LTE connection while connected to the microcell. If you want LTE, disconnect from it. Your question has been answered. You are clearly at an impass. Bad network connection but you may get LTE or good microcell connection for voice and 4G data but no LTE. You can't have both.
 
bohbot16 said:
What speedtest results do you get on WiFi at home vs LTE at home? Just trying to understand the difference better.
Click to expand...


Heres the difference, at least where I live. Im in Va Beach, Va
 

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Stayfly2407 said:
You mean impasse
Click to expand...

If we are going to start splitting hairs, sure. What cable company do you have. Might wanna cough up some more money for the next tier of data speeds. And 15 down isn't that bad. It's still fast enough for most web browsing and streaming. I had 15/15 with Comcast for years and it was perfectly fine.
 
Stayfly2407 said:
No, you all are misunderstanding me. My microcell connects to my iphone5 with no problem. I'm not asking about data, the point if the microcell is to boost your cell signal which it does but if I'm on the phone it's no longer on LTE it switches back to 4G. I don't want to use wifi anymore because LTE is way faster than the broadband Internet in my house plus I have unlimited data. So wifi is no longer needed
Click to expand...

I get what you're trying to do but it won't work because the microcell requires wifi to work anyway. But yes as the others said LTE is data only so the microcell will not oost your LTE signal. Ive thought through all of this myself and stuck with my vzw unlimited lte for these reasons

----------
Stayfly2407 said:
Heres the difference, at least where I live. Im in Va Beach, Va
Click to expand...


Those LTE speeds are impressive but take into consideration the ping. Your low wifi ping will mean that the real world differences wont be very significant
 
Last edited:
To OP, even if you could boost LTE, you probably wouldn't see speeds like you see elsewhere around town. Your home internet speed is not that slow anyway and for all practical purposes would not see any difference. 14 Mbs is more than fast enough to stream HD movies, etc. Plus your lower home ping time is better than the AT&T time. Just because you may get 5 bars at home does not mean you would get 50 Mbs DL speeds. My guess, it would be lower if in a residential area.
 
bohbot16 said:
If LTE is faster than your WiFi when the MicroCell is turned off, then you probably have such a good signal in your home now that the MicroCell is unnecessary.
Click to expand...

No, AT&T would prefer that you stay connected to your microcell -- it's actually a femtocell; microcells cover larger areas and are often outdoors -- in order to free up capacity on their macro sites. Femtos are as much about macrocell capacity for all subs as they are about reliable coverage for individual customers.
 
bohbot16 said:
So if you're getting 5 bars of service at home like in your LTE speedtest screen shot, why bother with the MicroCell at all?
Click to expand...

I stepped outside in my driveway to get 5 bars of LTE. When i go in the house LTE switches back to 4G
 
Stayfly2407 said:
I stepped outside in my driveway to get 5 bars of LTE. When i go in the house LTE switches back to 4G
Click to expand...

The femtocell is locking your iphone to it and forcing you to use 4G. I'm not sure if there is a way to use the femtocell AND receiving LTE at the same time.
 
Mrfatboy said:
The femtocell is locking your iphone to it and forcing you to use 4G. I'm not sure if there is a way to use the femtocell AND receiving LTE at the same time.
Click to expand...

which is what i said. you cant. LTE is network only, the microcell allows only 3G/4G. the OP wants it both ways and cant.....he has to choose one way or another. the microcell cannot and will not receive an LTE signal.....it doesnt even have an LTE radio in it. i dont see the issue here. its been explained over and over. it cant be done. when i had at&t, i was able to get a weak (2 bar) LTE signal in my area. however, the phone refused to stay on it and favored the stronger 4G signal (5 bars). this is to preserve battery life. once he steps inside, the LTE signal drops, in favor of the stronger 4G signal.
 
adam044 said:
Microcells eat your battery
Click to expand...

I've found that they make my battery life better, as my phone gets 5 bars and doesn't have to work as hard as when it has a weak signal. I've only ever used them with WiFi for the data.
 
adam044 said:
Microcells eat your battery
Click to expand...

Microcells don't hurt battery life. They only can help by giving your phone a signal to lock on to. A phone drains the battery more when there is no signal because it is constantly searching for one.
 
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