What is happening with 3G?
amberleigh007's profile

Tutor

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7 Messages

Friday, September 11th, 2015 11:58 PM

Microcell will not connect to iPhone 6 :( M-Cell

I've had the white M-cell 3g for about 2 1/2 years without a problem, until I upgraded to the iphone 6. I have been obsessively scouring the internet like it's my job for the solution to no avail. So far I've tried:

 

1. Disconnecting wifi / mcell, turning off phone

2. Resetting mcell

3. toggling airplane mode off / on

4. De-activating M-Cell service through my online account then re-activating.

5. Deleting all numbers and re-adding them

6. Disabled the "handover" function or whatever it's called

7. Turned off LTE 

8. And just about every combination of the above you can do

 

I am losing MY MIND. All of the lights are lit up green!! Full Bars!! Somebody please help me 😞

 

 

 

 

Contributor

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1 Message

9 years ago

DEACTIVATE your M-Cell and then REACTIVATE it again. That's all you have to do. http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/iphone-6-att-microcell

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

9 years ago

Deactivating/reactivating is one of the troubleshooting methods mentioned in the Tech Guide. Sometimes turning off and then on again the phone also works by forcing the iPhone to re-establish what's called the "cellular neighborhood". This is an Apple id issue that can usually be corrected by either method.

Contributor

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1 Message

9 years ago

I am having this same issue on my new 6s+. Microcell has worked forever and just stopped when I got my new phone. Nothing else changed. Help!

Tutor

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6 Messages

8 years ago

Thanks OttoPylot for helping me figure out why my iPhone 6 & my wife's iPhone 6 would not connect to the new MicroCell DPH 154. I had an older DPH 151 MicroCell for several years since our iPhone 4s in 2010 and noticed that our iPhone 6s were not connecting to the MicroCell recently.

 

I thought the problem was that the older DPH 151 MicroCell had gone bad.

 

However, after 30 + hours trying to connect with the new MicroCell DPH 154, I finally realized that the newer 700 MHz / AT&T HD Voice / VoLTE - WILL NOT CONNECT to the MicroCell DPH 154 no matter how hard you try!!!

 

My final proof came when I disabled the LTE option in settings / Cellular and immediately my iPhone 6 connected with the MicroCell !!!

 

When I reenabled the LTE option on my iPhone 6 - the MicroCell disconnected.

 

I truly hope that folks will find this information useful and won't waste time troubleshooting a problem that cannot be solved.

 

By the way, I returned the DPH 154 to the AT&T store and received a full refund when I explained that the MicroCell is useless for iPhone 6 that use the newer AT&T HD Voice / VoLTE.

Tutor

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6 Messages

8 years ago

One more bit of information.

 

As OttoPylot explained in his wonderful MicroCell Informational Document - the MicroCell only operates at 850 and 1900 MHz.

 

Again, the new HD Voice / VoLTE works only at 700 MHZ for the iPhone 6.

 

This explains why so many people have been pulling their hair out recently trying to get the MicroCell to connect - because IT CAN'T !!

 

And...the "problem" started when AT&T upgraded more and more people to HD Voice / VoLTE.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

8 years ago

The MicroCell has always been a 3G device only. Even the new DPH-154 is still only 3G. However, that has nothing to do with the iPhone 6 and 6S. They will still connect to the MicroCell but at 3G only. The problem is that some iPhones have difficulty handing off from an LTE connection to the MicroCell's 3G radio. Handing off is explained the Tech Guide (see link in my sig).

 

The instructions state that the MicroCell will work with any 3G, 4G, or LTE handset but that doesn't mean it transmits at those bands. The outside of the DPH-154 box states, " 3G, 4G and 4G LTE reference handset compatibility only. AT&T MicroCell is designed to provide 3G voice and data service on compatible handsets".

 

You misunderstood the technology and its capabilities/limitations. iPhones of any model have no problem connecting to the MicroCell (DPH-151, DPH-153, and DPH-154). However, the phones with the newest hardware take a little more tweaking because of the new hardware and the added WiFi capability.

Tutor

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6 Messages

8 years ago

Sorry OttoPylot - the iPhone 6 with the new AT&T HD Voice / VoLTE will NOT work unless you disable the LTE on the iPhone 6.

 

I wouldn't have believed it either until I saw it with my own eyes.

 

This easily explains why so many folks have recently started having problems with MicroCell and iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S.

 

I can't wait until you upgrade to a newer iPhone so you will be able to prove it to yourself.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

8 years ago

The LTE issue started for some iPhone users (pre iPhone 6) when AT&T started to upgrade their LTE network to expand coverage. It became complicated once AT&T started to roll out WiFi Calling (WiFi-C) because the phone has to be capable of VoLTE (iPhone 5 is not VoLTE capable) which is necessary for HD Voice (what AT&T used to call VoLTE but has since expanded it a bit). What ever AT&T was doing with LTE made it much more difficult for the iPhone to hand-off from an LTE connection to the MicroCell's 3G radio. For WiFi-C to work properly when in range of the MicroCell one has to enable Airplane Mode which disables the cellular radio so the iPhone 6 and above can connect to your WiFi for calling. I can connect to LTE outside of my home, transition to 4G and then eventually the MicroCell 3G when home. Not everyone has difficulty transitioning from LTE to the MicroCell 3G so the problem is not universal.

 

AT&T should be more transparent in their MicroCell documentation in regards to the celluar connectivity so that users don't just assume it will connect at 4G/LTE just because AT&T has dropped 3G from the name. As I said, it is mentioned on the outside of the box but it should be clearly stated somewhere in the documentation. Of course that also assumes that user will carefully read the instructions or all of the legalese listed on the box.

 

I have been after AT&T for almost a year on the LTE issue. They have been very tight-lipped about what they were doing claiming that it is proprietary information, which is probably is. I'm trying to get AT&T to upgrade and train support to be more aware of potential issues when it comes to some LTE users and the MicroCell. Nobody is claiming that there aren't some compatbility issues with the MicroCell and the expanded LTE coverage, but it is not universal which makes it more difficult to troubleshoot.

 

If you have an iPhone 6 or above, you should see if WiFi-C will work satisfactorily for you so you don't need to use the MicroCell at all. That being said, if you need a mixed environment because you have non-WiFi capable phones, you will need to enable Airplane Mode on your iPhone 6 to disable the cellular radio for WiFi connection.

Voyager

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2 Messages

8 years ago

If you have an iphone 6, why not try ATT Wifi calling and ditch the microcell altogether?  It became active last month for iphone 6 and 6s devices.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

8 years ago

I suggested that in post 19 but reminders are always welcome.

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