Teacher
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10 Messages
Very weak cell signal despite being in metropolitan area
I live in Reston, VA. (Northern VA, ~25 miles from Washington, DC). You would think we would have solid AT&T signal strength here. In my first floor home office I frequently only have one dot strength (Apple iPone5) and miss many calls. Since I work 90% from a home office, I need to have cell service. Anything I can do to improve the situation (besides buying a booster from AT&T for $150, which I will not do). A collegue with Verizon service and an iPhone has an iOS software option to route calls over wifi. I cannot find it anywhere. Does AT&T somehow block or not support this option. Note that signal strength was better last year, so I am guessing that AT&T adjusted a removed a local cell tower. Thanks in advance for any advice. -Tom
tim horton
Professor
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1.3K Messages
6 years ago
AT&T has wifi calling which can route your calls through wifi. You need a iPhone 6 or other wifi calling capable android phone models.
Also you can using Google Voice type service to get free voip calls.
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ATTHelp
Community Support
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210.3K Messages
6 years ago
Hello there @oceanexpress,
I live in an area with almost no coverage so I know how you feel! I am glad you reached out to us here for more options on improving your reception.
As far as WiFi calling – your device is not supported to on our carrier at the moment. I apologize about this. This is a new feature we’ve recently rolled out. In some cases, WiFi calling is a better option than our Microcell cell booster because it’s newer technology.
I also understand you’re not interested in purchasing the cell booster. However, the iPhone SE is compatible with WiFi calling and has the same form factor in terms of the body compared to the iPhone 5. All of the internals are up to spec with Apple which makes it a fast and great option for anyone who likes this particular iPhone model. Just something to consider if you want a new phone!
I recommend using the free AT&T Mark the Spot app to report dropped calls, network issues, and receive network improvement notifications. We utilize this feedback to better target network optimization and enhancements. Problems are clustered together to highlight areas for investigation.
Best regards.
Adrian, AT&T Community Specialist
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