ATT Cell Booster causes ATT Cordless phones to not work

That's not surprising given the strength of the new radios. 18" is the minimum distance the Cell Booster should be from a WiFi source and I would imagine that the same, or greater, would be for a cordless phone as well.

Thanks so much for the info.  

Hopefully, AT&T will let users know so that they can plan accordingly.

Didn't realize that the transmitter in these things was so strong.  It was in the same spot that my 3G Microcell was in - clearly not the same box!

Thanks again,

Phil

I've had nothing but issues since AT & T went to the new cell phone booster.  I've had the same issues you describe.  I have a cordless phone in the same room as the cell phone booster and it cuts out repeatedly during a phone conversation.  I discovered completely by accident that if I walked into another room all was good.  I was so irritated with it before finding out that it was only the phone in that room I had Spectrum, (my land line supplier) out to check my phone line and replace my phone router.  With the previous cell booster, I had consistently 4 bars of servive on my cell phones, now I get four bars occasionally, most of the time it's two bars.  Additionally, since I got the NEW cell booster my ResMed CPAP machine no longer connects with  the MyAir APP.  I spent 3 hours on the phone one day trying to resolve the issue and they just kept telling me to check things I'd already done and some of them we did over again just to prove that it didn't work.  The strange part is that the new cell booster worked for about 10 days when I first got it and then stopped communicating with the APP.  They offered to replace the booster, so I did have it replaced under warranty and the same thing happened with the new one.  It worked for a few days and there was communication between the APP and the machine, then it stopped after a few days.  If I travel and go to snother area the machine communicates fine with the APP.  It's a cellular issue that AT & T refuses to address, but it's important to me because I started the CPAP therapy because I have very severe sleep apnea, I stop breathing 47 times per hour during the night and the APP tells me how effective the therapy was the night before. I'd really like to have the old cell booster back, this one is a real piece of junk.

@jdbernie  Is the Cell Booster setup correctly, i.e. at least 18" away from any WiFi device and probably a cordless phone? The Cell Booster uses the LTE band only. If you have another device that uses the same LTE bands, it's possible that the Cell Booster's signal is stronger due to proximity and it will interfere.

AT&T's previous femtocell was 3G only but that service was terminated around the end of February. If you had 3G devices that depended on the MicroCell for cellular connection, they won't work with the new Cell Booster now because it is LTE only and AT&T doesn't use the 3G band for consumers anymore.

Have you contacted ResMed about their MyAir app and it's compatibility with AT&T's post-3G network?

What does the light pattern on the Cell Booster look like and how is it setup?

OttoPylot, thank you for wanting to help, but the items and actions you have mentioned have already been checked for correctness and I'm aware of the conflicting issues.  I have a nephew worked for AT & T and is quite familiar with the working of the cell booster and he seems to think that either the manufacturer of the CPAP machine, (ResMed) did not update their equipment to handle 5G when they developed their latest version or the cell booster is not doing it's job.  I am blaming the cell booster because I've taken my ResMed CPAP machine to Buffalo, NY, Cleveland, Ohio, Ann Arbor, Mi, and even Mackinac Island in the Michigan upper Penninsula and the CpAP machine updates the data on the APP and works perfectly in those locations.    I know we don't have a strong signal in my location due to a lack of cell towers, but that's exactly why I have a cell phone signal booster. Based on my experience I'm almost ready to send it back to AT & T because it is doing very little with regard to boosting my cell phone signal and it doesn't work with the CPAP machine ---sooooo, why do I have it taking up space?  AT & T cutomer service and technical assistance have been useless in ttrying to help and they refuse to let me speak wit ha supervisor, one was supposed to call me with regard to this issue and as expected I never got a call.  Sorry for belaboring this but I'm really frustrated with AT&T.  I've heard that the CPAP machine does communicate with he APP for people that have T-Mobile so I'm almost ready to try a different provider. 

@jdbernie

The only reason you need is a cell booster is if your phones are not capable of Wi-Fi calling. If your phones are not capable of Wi-Fi calling replace them with ones that are.   AT&T's list of Wi-Fi calling compatible phones includes all iPhones 6 and newer. As well as unlocked Samsung phones, and pixel phones 3 and newer.  While it is not a huge selection, it at least allows you to purchase an unlocked phone, and still use all the features that are available with AT&T service. 

 Then you can unplug the cell booster and sell it on eBay. 

@jdbernie  The Cell Booster is LTE only, it has nothing to do with cellular 5G, or WiFi for that matter. You need to check with the ResMed mfr to see which bands the CPAP machine uses. If it's not LTE capable, with the bands that the Cell Booster supports (see my Cell Booster Technical Guide), then it won't work. The previous femtocell (MicroCell) was 3G only and it worked with just about anything because most devices, at that time, offered 3G and so did AT&T. 

The AT&T is NOT a cellular booster, inspite of if name (mis-name). It broadcasts an LTE signal that your phone will connect to as long as your phone meets AT&T's post-3G cellular requirements and then use your internet connection to connect that cellular signal to AT&T's Mobility Servers. The supporting App also needs to be able to support the new protocols as well. This is more than likely a ResMed issue

Do keep in mind that if the ResMed device is 3G as far as its cellular connection goes, T-Mo and Verizon are also shutting down their 3G cellular network as well so you really need to discuss with ResMed so it that is the case, you can prepare for it.

Also, the Cell Booster has nothing to do with WiFi.

And, as @formerlyknownas mentioned, if your phone can do WiFi-C (WiFi Calling) that is really the preferred method for improving poor in-home coverage if your phone(s) are WiFi-C capable (which is not to be confused with WiFi).

Most AT&T Support folks have not a clue as to how the Cell Booster actually works other than what they have on their support scripts. Some have even resorted to linking to my Cell Booster Technical Guide as their "support" help.

@ OttoPylot:  The ResMed machine is somewhat LTE capable.  Here's all the specs:  2G - 900/1800 @ 33.0 Max RF;  3G - 850/900/1700/1900/21// @ 23.5 Max RF and 4G LTE Cat 1 - 700/850/1700/1900 @ 23.0 Max RF.  The confusing thing is that when I received both the first and second "cell boosters" as they are referred to, they both worked for abbout 7-10 days and then quit communicating with the machine.  So logic has lead me to conclude that there's something going on in the machines.  If the issue was that the 5G rollout caused a compatibility issue between the two machines, then I would have no communication from the day I got the new signal booster.  The inconsistency is what leads me to believe there is an issue with the signal booster. 

Please understand that everything you have told me makes sense to me except for this one inconsistency.  The reason I've been referring  to this as a 5G issue is because the signal booster was portrayed as being a 5G signal booster that rplaced the original 3G booster that I previously used. I totally agree that AT&T support folks have no clue on how this cell booster works and I appreciate your explanation. As to using the cell booster verses WiFi calling, I have no issue with that.  My phone is capable of WiFi calling, but that is not the important issue for me.  The MyAir APP tells me how I did with my CPAP the night before and indicates to me when my equipment either ceases to become effective and needs replacement or refitting, etc.  My sleep apnea is severe, and as I first posted, I quit breathing 47 times per hour without it.  to me it's important to know what's going on when I sleep.  I've tried to contact ResMed and cannot even find a phone number in order to call them for support, nor a website.  My cotact is only through the Medical Equipment supplier and both ResMed and the supplier are even more clueless about the operation of the CPAP machine than AT&T is about their cell booster.  No matter how this turns out I really want to thank you and all the forum members for their help and suggestions.  I really do appreciate being educated on some of the particulars of how the cell booster operates.

@jdbernie  No. The Cell Booster was never marketed as being 5G compatible so don't get hung up on that. Did you purchase online from AT&T or did you go into a store?

Somewhat LTE capable is not going to cut it. It either meets AT&T's LTE requirements or it doesn't. It also may be that the ResMed doesn't work reliably with the Cell Booster because the Cell Booster will not communicate with a non-mobile device or the App is not updated for the new requirements. 

This sounds like a ResMed issue so there would be very little, if anything that AT&T can do. Why it worked before is odd but it could still have been the app and not the Cell Booster. You might want to consider looking into another type of CPAP device as the other providers are moving away from 3G and their requirements for 4G/LTE going forward may be the same as AT&T's. There's just no telling but it might be something you may want to start looking into before you're forced to switch devices or to another carrier that will be more compatible. It also may be as simple as who ever developed the app for what ever kind of phone you have.

Thanks for your help.  I think I've reached a dead end here.  There are two major brands of CPAP machine out there.  One is ResMed and the other is Phillips.  Phillips has had a recall on their machines due to a safety issue and all ghe other units out there are unknowns, new entries into the market with little reliability data or reviews on performance.  These machines range in price from about $800- $1300.  Usually the patient is stuck with whichever machine their insurance company will provide because they cover the majority of the cost, so unless I'm willing to return the  ResMed machine that is currently the latest model and less than 6 months old and pay for a different machine out of my own pocket I'm out of luck.  I know of no way to contact the APP developer or to find out how to troubleshoot the APP  and you are saying it's not AT&T's issue even though the problem didn't exist with the other (3G) cell booster and the performance of the new cell booster is sub standard compared to old one.  I'd reslly like AT&T to answer the question as to why both the cell boosters I have had worked for a short time and then quit working.   The APP hasn't changed it's the same one with the same festures that I've been using since 2018.  The other thing that nobody has addressed is why I can get the APP to work in other areas of the country without the cell booster but not at my home using the cell booster.