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The AT&T 3G MicroCell Owner's Thread

Supposedly a member of the ATT forum has been given a patch from ATT network engineering - he reports excellent results. Not sure how true it is (I tend to believe hiim though as his posts sound authentic), or if this patch will see the light of day to the masses.

There is hope though.
 
I picked up a MicroCell the other day since coverage at home is spotty at best--more typically, it's horrible.

So far, it seems to be working well. We regularly have 4-5 bars, texts go through quickly (that wasn't the case before), and I've made a few calls that actually went through and sounded fine.

However, I've noticed that I now have to enter area codes for numbers I never had to before--including my own home landline (I called it from home, just to test things.

Is this right?
 
hoffmant said:
I picked up a MicroCell the other day since coverage at home is spotty at best--more typically, it's horrible.

So far, it seems to be working well. We regularly have 4-5 bars, texts go through quickly (that wasn't the case before), and I've made a few calls that actually went through and sounded fine.

However, I've noticed that I now have to enter area codes for numbers I never had to before--including my own home landline (I called it from home, just to test things.

Is this right?
Click to expand...

I've had to use area codes with all any number I call from my at&t phone for quite some time now.
 
Anyone in Austin have issues with their MicroCell? I have two in the Houston area and have no problems. I cannot for the life of me get the one in Austin to get a 3G lock. I was able to get it activated, or at least the web site says it is, and I do get the txt msg saying it's activated. I get GPS lock fine but no 3G lock.

FWIW, I'm in the Lake Austin area.

TIA!
 
Err, I just did a speed test and got 109kbps for my upload speed on my MicroCell. Maybe it's an iPhone thing. Because mine definitely isn't capped at 56kbps.
 
I had a case open for 2 weeks, where I spent 90 minutes on the phone with an engineer testing the microcell, moving around the house and collecting info. They called me yesterday saying that they sent me a patch and now it should be working properly. I have not tested it with voice calls yet, but the speed test says: 554.2 kbps !!
 
LSUMaze said:
I had a case open for 2 weeks, where I spent 90 minutes on the phone with an engineer testing the microcell, moving around the house and collecting info. They called me yesterday saying that they sent me a patch and now it should be working properly. I have not tested it with voice calls yet, but the speed test says: 554.2 kbps !!
Click to expand...

But what is your upload speed?

That sounds like your download speed. Download isn't the issue.
 
I'm officially pissed. :mad:

I've had my 3G MicroCell for over a month now, & I absolutely loved it up until three days ago. I can send/receive text messages, but when people call it goes straight to voicemail, & I have to attempt calling someone four or five times before it goes through. It is working on my mom's 3GS.

Any ideas? I've tried resetting my phone settings, reseting the MicroCell itself, etc., & still no progress.
 
makefunnyfaces said:
Any ideas? I've tried resetting my phone settings, reseting the MicroCell itself, etc., & still no progress.
Click to expand...

This should fix it --Try unplugging it, then go to att's website and unregister the microcell, plug it back in and re-register it just like when you first set it up. It should be back working after the obligatory 20-30 min.
 
jayman30 said:
This should fix it --Try unplugging it, then go to att's website and unregister the microcell, plug it back in and re-register it just like when you first set it up. It should be back working after the obligatory 20-30 min.
Click to expand...

How do you unregister it from the website? I don't see any options there.
 
winterny said:
That was me posting about the 56Kbps cap on the at&t forums that you had quoted ....

Even if you are using WiFi for data, that 56Kbps cap causes other problems:
1) Even background data like location services or visual voicemail can use enough bandwidth to cause stuttering in your voice phone calls, and some people find they have to turn 3G data off in order to make voice calls without stuttering.
2) MMS always goes over 3G data, even if there is WiFi, and as others have noted, it's very slow, and sometimes times out completely because it's so slow.

I strongly suggest anyone with a Microcell call and complain about it, get a case #, hopefully they will realize they need to fix it. The direct number for AT&T's "tier 2/3" tech support is: 866-246-7344
Click to expand...
I too have turned off the data but still encountered the stuttering. I have been working with apple and ATT engineering on this issue since the launch of iphone 4 only to be told that there was no update forthcoming after all concerning the stuttering on my iphone 4 (no problems with my other 3G phones that family members had) with the ATT microcell although both apple and ATT acknowledge the problem. I bought my microcell last May so with my case number in hand, I went to the local store and spoke to the store manager about all of the time I had spent with this thing and exactly what it was doing. She looked it all up on her computer to verify ATT engineering's notes on my case number and then proceeded to give me a full refund after 3.5 months of ownership. I don't miss the thing at all.
 
BullittMustang said:
How do you unregister it from the website? I don't see any options there.
Click to expand...

There's an option under "Your 3G Microcell Information" called "Disconnect Your 3G Microcell Device"

286445e6d7.jpg
 
I posted this before but I just wanted to reiterate my experience with the microcell. So far placing and receiving calls has been pretty good (knock on wood). My gripes are the mms limitation which has been mentioned here before, sometimes my 3GS has a hard time reconnecting to the microcell when I get back into the house and there's been one time I had to reset the unit when the last light on the bottom was flashing. If anyone has a way to make the reconnection more consistent please let me know. It really only happens about 5-10% of the time but it's still annoying nonetheless. Other than that I'm pretty happy with it. I'm glad I didn't pay for it though.
 
alleyooptroop said:
I posted this before but I just wanted to reiterate my experience with the microcell. So far placing and receiving calls has been pretty good (knock on wood). My gripes are the mms limitation which has been mentioned here before, sometimes my 3GS has a hard time reconnecting to the microcell when I get back into the house and there's been one time I had to reset the unit when the last light on the bottom was flashing. If anyone has a way to make the reconnection more consistent please let me know. It really only happens about 5-10% of the time but it's still annoying nonetheless. Other than that I'm pretty happy with it. I'm glad I didn't pay for it though.
Click to expand...

The problem you have occasionally I have all the time. The lower light starts flashing every day and I have to power cycle it. I just got a letter from the FCC confirmation my complaint with ATT, so hopefully I will get some real support as a result, opposed to ATT closing support tickets because they happen to call when I can't answer the phone.
 
Ok so I didn't have the time to go through all 30 pages. So how much does this cost. I can get a M-cell tower but I dont want a monthly charge. I get 1 bar to sometimes 3 bars of coverage in my house. So what are the options? Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!
-Dave
 
I joined the MC owners group just recently. I have to say that I really hate the thing. It took a week to work. I finally got it to register after having to mess with my router for a few days. It registered and activated after 4 days of nothing. BUT it wouldn't broadcast a 3G signal. It stayed that way for 7 full days and then it finally worked? But the signal was terrible. I unplugged it and let it reset to hopefully boost the signal. That didn't help. I get 3 bars of AT&T 3G signal and now on the MC I get 3 bars of M-Cell coverage. I even loose signal with it. I've watched the signal drop to 1 bar and I've also watched it loose total signal and I switch back to the regular network. What a piece of junk.

Could this be normal or could it have something to do with my router? This is already my second one. The first one never activated.
 
Drag'nGT said:
I get 3 bars of AT&T 3G signal and now on the MC I get 3 bars of M-Cell coverage. I even loose signal with it. I've watched the signal drop to 1 bar and I've also watched it loose total signal and I switch back to the regular network. What a piece of junk.

Could this be normal or could it have something to do with my router? This is already my second one. The first one never activated.
Click to expand...

Is the MicroCell very close to your wireless router? If so, you may be getting some wireless interference between the two. Try placing them farther apart.
 
bludragon06 said:
Hey thanks for the link to google. I am so glad you are here or else I would never get any answers. I didn't ask what it was but if it cost monthly or not. I checked the AT&T sight and didnt get anywhere. But thanks for the sarcasm. :mad::confused: What a goob!
Click to expand...

If you are going to be a lazy s.o.b. and come right out and say that you are not going to read through the thread, but want people to cherry pick info out of the thread for you, you are not going to get any sympathy.

On the first page of a google search, there are several articles which detail the prices. Everyone else has been able to find the costs associated with the microcell. Perhaps that task is too mentally straining for you?
 
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