What is happening with 3G?
CharlieSchorner's profile

Explorer

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29 Messages

Sunday, November 4th, 2012 8:12 PM

Is the MicroCell Service Down?

Around mid-morning on November 1, my MicroCell went offline and has not been able to connect since. Everything else on my network is behaving normally and I've had no interruption in my Internet service. So, I was wondering if someone might know if there's a problem with the service in general? Perhaps something weather-related? If not, is there a way I can verify that my device is ironies not malfunctioning?

 

Thanks!

 

Charlie

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

11 years ago

@joelsplace:

 

Here's the link to the MicroCell Troubleshooing Guide. It may help:

 

http://www.wireless.att.com/media/en_US/swf/3Gmicrocell/ATT3GMicroCell-Troubleshooting.pdf

 

To answer some of your questions, the blinking red 3G light means that there is a hardware failure. Either due to a real failure or, more likely, it was an update by AT&T and when the MicroCell tried to reset itself, the reset failed so the MicroCell "thinks" it's a hardware failure. A hard reset (using the reset button on the back, held down for 30 seconds) sometimes will clear the problem. A blinking green 3G light can have multiple causes. If the internet light is green and solid, you have internet connection which means the MicroCell has been assigned an IP address. Four main lights, Power, Internet, GPS, and 3G all have to be solid green.

 

Yes, a router is a switch in a sense. But if  you have a another ethernet switch between the router and the MicroCell (to make more ethernet ports available to your LAN) you may encounter problems. The MicroCell is really finicky and doesn't like anything between it and the internet. Security issues? I don't know. You can try priorty setup which is used mainly for troubleshooting but some folks find that works best for them. Priority is: modem  -> MicroCell -> router. That basically takes the router out of the chain and connects the MicroCell directly to the internet. The modem has to be in bridge mode either way so that all it does is pass traffic. All of the routing and firewalling needs to be handled by the router. You may even had to do port forwarding to a static assigned IP address for the MicroCell based on its MAC address. That's what I do with my Apple Extreme Base Station.

 

The MicroCell is a totally closed system with no access at all except by AT&T. As a side note, if you try to take the MicroCell apart, there are activation clips inside and if one comes loose, it will pernamently disable the MicroCell. I've seen reports where a cat knocked over the MicroCell onto a hard floor loosening one of the clips and bricking the MicroCell. If it rattles, it probably won't work.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

11 years ago

The "service" doesn't go down in that sense of the word, unless it is weather related due to towers being out in your area. What is the light pattern on the MicroCell? Is the 3G light blinking red or green? Is the GPS light green, etc?

Explorer

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29 Messages

11 years ago

Power, Internet and GPS lights are on steady green, the bottom light that looks like bars (is that called the 3G light?) is flashing green as if the box were trying to make a connection but is not able to. All other Internet services appear to be normal, there is no abnormal upload or download traffic. The MicroCell box has a valid IP address via DHCP.

 

I guess I don't understand what this has to do with cell towers in my area. The reason I have the MicroCell is because I can't "see" any actual cell towers from my house.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

11 years ago

The MicroCell uses your internet connection to "find" a tower in your area so that you can make cellular calls. A blinking green 3G light means that it can't establish a connection to a nearby AT&T tower. There may have been an update to the MicroCell in the middle of the night causing you to lose connection. Power cycle your system (MicroCell, router, modem) and see if that works. If not, try a priority setup: modem ->MicroCell -> router. That puts the MicroCell ahead of your router to eliminate any issues that may be router related.

Explorer

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29 Messages

11 years ago

Thanks for the info! I've been power-cycling regularly, so I guess that's not the solution. I'll try the alternate configuration when I get home later and see how that goes, but since nothing has changed with my router, and everything has been fine for over a year, I'm not sure that will make a difference. Worth a try, though. The only other thing I can think of is that my ISP may have installed some sort of  filter to block this type of traffic.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

11 years ago

This is the link for the MicroCell Troubleshooting Guide:

 

http://www.wireless.att.com/media/en_US/swf/3Gmicrocell/ATT3GMicroCell-Troubleshooting.pdf

 

You might want to see if your ISP is blocking any of the ports required for the MicroCell to work correctly. What has worked very well for me is to setup my router to port forward to an assigned static address for the MicroCell based on its MAC address.

Explorer

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29 Messages

11 years ago

Thanks for the link to the troubleshooting guide. I'll look that over this evening. I too used to reserve an IP address for the MAC address of the MicroCell but no longer needed that since I switched to a more modern modem.

 

And now, the MicroCell box is between the modem and router, so that's no longer relevent. Everything on my network is happy with that situation and all lights on the MicroCell are green, except the 3G light is still flashing after 30 minutes.

 

I'll check with my ISP to make sure they didn't change anything. Is there any way to know that the cell tower is able to respond? I'm way out in the country and I wouldn't be surprised that I'm the only MicroCell user in the area.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

11 years ago

There is no way to tell which tower AT&T is going to use just like there isn't any way to run diagnostics on the MicroCell. It's a totally closed system. If priority mode doesn't work then that may indicate an issue with your ISP or how they have your modem configured. Reserving an IP address is a good thing to do especially if you combine that with port forwarding.

Explorer

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29 Messages

11 years ago

Thanks for that info! My ISP has been known to tinker with things without telling you, so I wouldn't be surprised that they've closed some ports. Of course, the fact that they also offer cell phone service and have a tower right across the road from my house might factor into the situation.

 

Since the MicroCell is now in front of the router, I can't forward ports or reserve addresses. The modem now serves up the addresses and is as closed as the MicroCell box.

 

I'll be sure to let you know what I find out.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

11 years ago

Port forwarding to a static IP seems to work best in a lot of situations so depending on what you can find out from your ISP that be the way to go. However, if they are blocking some of the ports listed in the Troubleshooing guide you're screwed Smiley Frustrated

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