AT&T Community Forums

Amherst, Ohio - Microcell - Flashing 3G Light

Hello All...

My name is Mike and I live in Amherst, Ohio - Approx 25 miles west of Cleveland...

I do have TWC as my Cable provider...Am using a leased Scientific Atlanta 2100 Modem, Linksys WRT54GS V7 Router and the DPH151-AT AT&T 3G Microcell...

The reason I need a microcell is that I live in an aluminum sided house and the reception is terrible inside the house. For my work, I have recently been required to attend many weekly conference calls and need a solution that provides solid phone reception.

A couple years ago, when AT&T had the Samsung Galaxy Tablet/Samsung Galaxy SII deal, my wife and I opted for it and also spoke to the local AT&T Store manager about our reception issues...In comes the AT&T 3G Microcell...

I took it home and activated it with no issues...Over the course of a week, it did provide a boosted signal for my smartphone, but decreased the reception of the 2 Nokia 6010 phones in use at that time...

As I was the only one affected, I elected to take down the microcell, box it up and put it away in the closet...

Approx a week ago, I upgraded my pone to an LG G2 and got my wife, who is resistant to change, to start using my Samsung Galacxy SII...She now loves it...

Net, Net is that her reception is almost non-existant and mine is 1-2 bars at most...

Pulled out the Microcell and I had never disconnected it, so disconnected it and went through the activation process again ...All was fine until it came to the 3G light...

This configuration was Modem>>Router>>Microcell...I went through all the troubleshooting listed several times to no avail...

Changed configuration to the Modem>>Microcell>>.Router and same issue...The dreaded flashing 3G light!!!

In reading many of the posts, I believe the issue to be TWC blocking port 4500, but is there anyway I can test for sure???

Also, in looking into alternatives to the Microcell, I ran across the Cell-Fi...A bit of a pricey solution at $575...Do you think AT&T would split the cost with me to buy into this solution???

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks In Advance...

Mike...

Responses

OttoPylot

ACE - Expert

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24.2K Messages

10 years ago

No. I left those addresses blank on purpose because the information I have is old and those addresses may not be accurate anymore due to changes/upgrades. It's more of an example of what the MicroCell is doing at the various stages of activation.

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Avedis53

Professor

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2.2K Messages

10 years ago

I do not own any Wilson Electronics hardware so I can not speak from personal experience. I do know that Wilson is a reputable manufacturer of cellphone boosting equipment. Having said that, I'd guess that a Wilson DB Pro would be your best bet.

Keep in mind that this equipment solution is more involved regarding installation. You have to mount an external antenna, run Cat 6 cable inside to the signal booster, then run Cat 6 cable from the signal booster to the indoor antenna that mounts on a wall. There is a kit that has the basic components but you may find that you need multiple indoor antennas to provide adequate coverage depending on the layout of your house. You may also find that you need to use a Yagi antenna outside instead of the omni-directional antenna.

A basic DB Pro kit plus the optional lightning surge protector(which I would recommend) is going to run about $400. If you need additional add-on accessories, like an external antenna mounting kit or more indoor antennas, then it will cost even more.

Before taking an approach like this, you should go to Wilson Electronics and read up on their equipment and installation instructions.

Hopefully, you can resolve your Mcell issue first.

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Avedis53

Professor

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2.2K Messages

10 years ago

Concerning port checking webpages, there are serious limitations to how well they may work. If you check your network behind the router, you will almost always show blocked ports, even if they aren't.

The best way to use these types of port checkers is by connecting your computer directly to your modem, taking your router out of the loop, disabling any firewall software on your computer and then run the port checker to see if your ISP is blocking a given port. Even then I wouldn't trust the results entirely.

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OttoPylot

ACE - Expert

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24.2K Messages

10 years ago

Agreed.

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msmeck

Tutor

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10 Messages

10 years ago

Hmmm....Funny - I just got home from working all night...Went to check the blinking 3G light and to my amazement it IS SOLID!!! But, of course no one will say they did anything...It has been sitting there for several days now blinking and suddenly, after I start raising a fuss, it starts working...

Oh Well...So far I am happy - my phone, which usually has 1 -2 bars is now a steady 4 - 5...

Wooo Hoooo!!!

But, I would really like to know what was done to remedy this...

Thanks for all your comments and guidance...

Mike...

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msmeck

Tutor

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10 Messages

10 years ago

When I looged in to see the Activation - It states that Step 4 - Activation - Final MicroCell account profiles are being created. Once completed, your device will be fully activated and ready for use. and give a time counter, which is currently at 13:17:35???

My LG G2 immediately connected to it???

Mike

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