HELP - 3G light is flashing, microcell was previously working fine

[Frogis]

Hello,

   I figured it was worth posting here so I have yet to have success with anything else. 

Background

I live in an area almost exactly inbetween three AT&T cell phone towers, so subsequently my phone is constantly switching singnals from one tower to the other giving me very inconsistent service.  After diagnosing the problem with AT&T about six months ago they sent me a micro cell free of charge, and it worked absolutely fantastic until....

The Problem

About a week ago my microcell's 3g light started flashing, this had happened once or twice before so I performed a simple reset but it did not fix the problem like before.

•   I tried resetting my modem, router, and microcell
•   hard resetting my microcell for 30 seconds
•   de-activing and re-activating my microcell twice
•   checking my power cord to make sure it was the right voltage
•   getting a replacement microcell sent to my house
•   setting up my microcell in the alternate arrangement (modem-->microcell-->router)
•   updating the firmware on my router

and none of these fixed the problems.

My current internet is about 30mbps DL and 10mbps upload so that isn't the problem

The ports on my router are all opened, and nothing has changed to effect that

After going extensively through the forums I am kind of at a loss of what to try next.  Any suggestions from people on the forums?

I am currently located in the East Bay of California (Alameda, CA)

Thanks very much.

-Frogis

[OttoPylot]

You need to send your issues to CustomerCare ( see link in my sig). The more CustomerCare gets these kinds of complaints (written if you will) the sooner they will get the engineers on it. Give them your issues, what you have done to correct it, your account information, the best way they can contact you, and your location.

[lostingames]

I'm having the same issues, started yesterday.  Century Link verified my modem was working, I reset my entire network, tested my line, did all the resets, re-activations, etc... no luck.

I'm on the east coast, North Carolina.  So it's not just a west coast issue.  Unfortunately I have no land line and I'm an EMT.  So now I have to stay elsewhere until this  is corrected.  I've been a customer for four years now, but I'll be looking elsewhere when my contract is up.

I've always had good customer service, so hopefully this will get fixed soon.

[Frogis]

I spoke with urgent care last Friday 5/16/14, and they told me the new M-cell issue is a national problem they are attempting to fix. No info on when we all get our cell phone reception back, but at least they know there is a problem and are trying to fix it.

I will update when I hear more.

[lostingames]

Thanks, Frogis!  I'll be watching for your updates.

I signed up for service in Kentucky and the coverage was great.  Moved back to North Carolina and I get zero coverage at my home. 

I've had a few outages in the past, they only lasted a few hours.  This has been two days for me and I can't have that.  I've either got to pay for a land line or find a carrier that can provide me adequate coverage.

It's a shame, customer service has always been top notch.  I would miss that.

[OttoPylot]

This is a regional issue, as is most of the issues that affect the MicroCell. Or more specificially, a MicroCell Service Area issue. For some reason, most of these types of issues are mid-West/Eastern seaboard related. And as to why that is, I haven't been able to find out. I have not had any issues at all here in the San Francisco Bay Area (there may have been one reported but the OP hasn't posted back).

I will be talking to the Admins tomorrow to get a status update. However, AT&T is very reluctant to reveal what the actual problem is or what they did to correct it, regardless of what one is told by Support (Urgent Care). Don't be surprised if your MicroCell just starts working again without any explanation. AT&T is doing some backend work that may or may not be affecting the MicroCell's connectivity is certain regions. That's why it is important when you pm CustomerCare that you give them your location.

I have been keeping in touch with the Admins on a daily basis so they are aware of the issues, but again, reporting them to CustomerCare via a pm is the best way. The priority status of the problem is directly related to the number of complaints they get so starting a "paper trail" is the most efficient way.

[lostingames]

Thanks, Otto!
I did send a pm with all my information and all actions I had taken regarding the microcell.

Guess this teaches me not to try to save money and take a land line also.

[OttoPylot]

FWIW, I never gave up my old AT&T landline. At the time I needed it for DSL ( I don't have cable) and the only reason we got a MicroCell years ago was for our kids, who, as you probably know live on their cell phones and needed the coverage in the house. Our ISP has since taken over the landline so the minimal cost of the landline is now rolled into our internet bill. Our landline has never failed us even with power outages because the CO keeps their equipment on emergency generators because line voltage is so small that the phone stays active even in a total power failure. So, we really have the best of both. Continuous phone coverage regardless with the landline and excellent celluar phone in the home with the MicroCell.

[lostingames]

Anyone had any good luck yet? 

I did get a response from a Customer Care Manager.  She was kind enough to send me instructions on resetting the Microcell, etc....

Obviously she either sent the standard reply or she didn't fully read my email.  I had explained in my email that I had carried out all the steps and more.

Day 3 for me... I'm definitely provider shopping now.  I'm not paying $35 a month for a land line.

I want to be ready, in case this ever happens again.

[OttoPylot]

All I can tell you is that AT&T is working on it. Doesn't help I know but that's the best I can do for now.

[lostingames]

Thanks, Otto.  I was just hoping someone had some good news about their service.

I found a provider that will give me unlimited usage for calls and slow data for $40 a month, no contract.  I don't really care about the data, so I'm considering this for the future.  I know the coverage is good at my house, they let me bring home a phone and test it.

I'm crossing my fingers for all of us!

[OttoPylot]

There's testing going on now as we speak but it is a slow process to find, isolate, and fix the bug so it will probably be some time. What is odd is that I've never had or seen these issues out here on the West Coast so it's got to be regional and not a national problem. Still, that doesn't help those affected.

[walkintheson]

I am in Massachusetts... North of Boston.

Mine has been down for 2 weeks... the first week was spent with phone support giving poor support, not knowing about the problem and bungling the solutions...

The last week has been typical scripted answers... with little actual useful advise...

On Saturday afternoon the microcell just started working, and it worked through Sunday. Yesterday I swapped out the microcell unit (the one that was plugged in was a warantee replacement, but came damaged, so I wanted to send that unit back, and keep my original unit that was purchased new less than a year ago, since the microcell itself seems to not be the issue)... when I swapped the unit, I couldn't get a connection again and the 3G light is still blinking...

Again, support has no idea what made the unit function for a day or two, and won't look into it any further... now they say that 5/22 is the next updated date, but it will likely be longer since 3rd party contractors are now involved...

Question... how can a company as large as ATT have such difficulty in fixing something that has clearly happened before...

I was with Verizon for ~9year... 6 of those with their "Coverage Extender"... I never once had an outage like this... the only time it failed to work was in a time of a power outage when it couldn't work because internet service was down...

Anyone have a "real" update and a sense for whether this will be a repeat issue going forward?

[OttoPylot]

Nobody knows for sure when the MicroCell's receive updates or what they are for. Not even Support. The connection issues (blinking green 3G) are regional problems and AT&T is working with the engineers and IT to isolate and fix the problem. It's much more complicated than you think, and time consuming. AT&T will not publically announce when a fix is expected or what the actual problem was (is). Part of the reason is that this is a regional issue so different areas (depending on the severity) will see the fix/update sooner than others. I would document your issue by sending a pm to CustomerCare detailing your issue, what you have done to correct it, your account information, the best way for them to contact you, and, most importantly, you location. I will make sure the Admins see your post.

[walkintheson]

Thanks Otto Pylot

PM has been logged...

I wanted to get it out here too... was hoping that someone may have some insight on why service came back for a couple days and then dropped again, and whether something could be easily done to get it back again...

Seems to be more knowledge here than available by calling Tech Support...

[OttoPylot]

If your service came back and then stopped, it could be something that AT&T was doing to fix it but the fix didn't hold. It might not be a bad idea to make sure your ISP hasn't done any upgrades or maintenance on their system. The blinking green 3G light can have lots of causes and, to be honest, a lot of times it has to do with the ISP and how they are handling the traffic to the AT&T servers.