Tutor
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3 Messages
M-cell not working, not displayed in my phone
I have an old white Microcell (Cisco DPH153). I got it several years ago and it worked well for at least a year, when a Tower was added in my area and I no longer needed it. We moved a few months ago to a house where I have weak signal. (It was decent for a few months but when I updated to the new iOS it got much weaker.) I have an iPhone 8. Now nearly every call is dropped or extremely poor quality. I pulled out my old Microcell, reactivated it (twice — I’ve done the whole process twice now), and it still isn’t working. The lights are solid green but I phone indicator does not say “M-cell” or anything like that and my signal is never more than one bar. What’s weirder, it did seem to work for about one minute two days ago. For that one minute “M-cell” appeared on my phone and I had good signal strength — then it went away again. Any suggestions? I’m so frustrated I’m ready to drop AT&T after 10 years and try a different carrier.
Accepted Solution
Official Solution
Avedis53
Professor
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2.2K Messages
6 years ago
Since you have an iPhone 8, why aren't you using WiFi Calling instead of the Mcell? It is a much better solution for weak cell tower signals than the Mcell. Are there other cell phones being used in your home that are not WiFi Calling capable?
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Avedis53
Professor
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2.2K Messages
6 years ago
Since you marked my response as a solution, I'm assuming that you have WiFi Calling phones? Have you activated WiFi-C? Is it working for you?
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RebekahS
Tutor
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3 Messages
6 years ago
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Avedis53
Professor
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2.2K Messages
6 years ago
To activate WiFi Calling on your iPhone, go to: Settings : Phone : WiFi Calling and enable the toggle. You will need to enter your Emergency Address directly below that toggle. This is so E911 can find you if you call for emergency services. You may need to power cycle your phone after doing this. I don't believe I had to do this when I activated WiFi-C, but I added this step just in case.
Let us know if you have successfully activated WiFi-C. I think you'll find it to be an improvement.
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OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
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24.2K Messages
6 years ago
@Avedis53 - I'm beginning to think that there are some account issues for some on the iPhone platform. We've seen three very similar issues in the past two months (even this poster physically moved so there may be other factors at play). We haven't seen any issues at all moving from 10.3.3 -> 11.0 -> 11.1 so I'm not sure why some iPhone users are having issues.
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Avedis53
Professor
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2.2K Messages
6 years ago
I did not have any issues with WiFi Calling on our iPhones as I migrated them up to 11.1. Just sayin.........
Like I keep preaching, phones, network hardware and their associated firmware continue to evolve yet the Mcell remains the same after 7 years and as a result, problems are bound to arise. The Mcell has no upgrade path to deal with all these changes and I believe as time goes on, it will become increasingly problematic for users who continue to depend on it. My advice to anyone who uses a Mcell is to bite the bullet and adopt WiFi Calling, even if it means you need to buy a phone that is WiFi-C capable.
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OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
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24.2K Messages
6 years ago
@Avedis53 - don’t know if it’s the MicroCell, the associated accounts or what. According to the Admins there hasn’t been a noticeable increase in complaints so it must be some sort of localized issue. Until more complaints are received AT&T is not going to spend a lot of time on this, as usual. WiFi-C is the way to go but phones are expensive and until that tipping point is hit for capable phones, AT&T still needs to support the MicroCell (whatever that means).
Sittin’ in the airport waiting to head up your way.
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Avedis53
Professor
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2.2K Messages
6 years ago
I understand that not everyone can afford to throw money at this problem to ultimately move past the inherent shortcomings of a Mcell. Personally, I would rather spend a little more money on a new phone that embraces current technology than throw good money after bad and buy another Mcell that has the same problems as the old one.
Safe trip and good luck house hunting!
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OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
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24.2K Messages
6 years ago
@Avedis53 - I agree.
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RebekahS
Tutor
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3 Messages
6 years ago
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