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Avedis53's profile

Professor

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2.2K Messages

Monday, February 18th, 2013 4:49 PM

Mcell requires power cycle every day to regain connection to iPhones

While I didn't encounter this problem initially when I started up my Mcell a few months ago, it has now become a daily ritual that I hope someone here can help me with.

 

My setup:

 

Motorola SB 6120 modem -> Netgear WNR3500L router -> Mcell

 

The Mcell is connected to the router with a pair of Netgear Powerline 200 Nano Adapters because my modem and router are located in the basement with no exposure to window for the Mcell to see a GPS satellite.  The connection is good.

 

My Charter ISP connection is 30 mbps down and 4 mbps and is rock solid.

 

What's happening and what I've done so far:

 

Usually once a day I will no longer see the AT&T Mcell indication at the top of my iPhone 5.  When I check my wife's iPhone 4S she has also lost the AT&T Mcell indication.

 

Turning the phones off and then on does not bring back the Mcell connection.  Switching Airplane Mode off and then on does not bring back the Mcell connection.

 

The Mcell has all solid green lights when I go to check it after seeing the lost connection.  If I power cycle the Mcell, the phones will then show an Mcell connection again until the next time they lose the connection which is usually once/day but not at any particular time.

 

I have the latest firmware on all devices.

 

When I check my router's admin page after a lost connection, the router indicates that the Mcell's IP address has not changed and it remains the same after power cycling the Mcell.

 

On the WAN page for my router, I have set the MTU size to 1492 and set the NAT Filtering to "Open" instead of "Secured".  No improvement after doing so.

 

Suspicious of the Powerline Adapters, I tried disconnecting and reconnecting the Ethernet cable from the Mcell to the Powerline Adapter to mimic a temporary loss of connection to the router to see if that affected the Mcell connection.  The Mcell connection was not lost.

 

I have not set any open ports or a static IP address for the Mcell yet.  Is what I'm experiencing indicative of this solution?  Does anyone have any other thoughts as to what try next?

 

I don't want to waste my time with an AT&T Level 1 tech support person because their suggestions are almost always worthless.  I have better luck contacting user forums and that is why I'm posting here.

 

Thank God I was able to convince AT&T to give me a Mcell for free because if I paid $200 for it, I'd be very upset right now.

 

Thanks In Advance!

 

Avedis53

 

 

___________________________________________________________

MicroCell Technical Guide by Otto Pylot


I am not an AT&T employee.

Professor

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2.2K Messages

11 years ago

Geez Otto....this thread is getting popular....

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

11 years ago

Yes it is, unfortunately Smiley Sad We may have to start a new one. Thanks for your contributions btw.

Explorer

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27 Messages

11 years ago

It's been just about a month since we received a replacement microcell and it has worked well. (The connection actually dropped today, though that seems to be because of thunderstorm activity.)

 

The replacement microcell is version 2.0 hardware according to the label on the bottom of the device, while the defective unit was version 3.2. Not sure that matters at all, but I thought I'd mention it.

 

Also, when talking to technical support I asked if they were familiar with people complaining of batteries not lasting as long when using a microcell, and I was told, yes, that may occur because of the microcell and cellphone maintaining a connection constantly and not being able to use a lower power state.

 

Everyone at AT&T was very helpful and followed up to make sure we received the replacement device and that it was working.

 

Thanks to Otto and everyone in the forum for your help as well,

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

11 years ago

@Stephen570 - I'm glad that AT&T came thru and you're up and running (relatively trouble-freeSmiley Wink). Some phones, even within the same model, have better power management than others. I find that my iPhone 5 lasts about 3 days before I need to recharge it. But that was also true when we recently went on vacation for a week and were not around our MicroCell. My wife's old Samsung 3G lasts about 7-10 days (but she doesn't have a data plan).

Explorer

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27 Messages

11 years ago

It appears I spoke too soon.

 

The microcell is dropping frequently -- as often as every few minutes. I don't know how long it's been doing it since we just noticed it yesterday.

 

It's not the same problem as with the last unit. That one never appeared to go down by the lights on the front, but the signal would drop and phones would not be able to connect to it until the microcell was power cycled.

 

This one will have all lights but the power light go out at the same time and then come back up like the normal power up sequence. The internet connection appears to be solid (I've been listening to internet radio or watching Netflix when this has happened), and bandwith is more than adequate as well.

 

I tested what the behavior would be if the internet connection dropped by disconnecting the ethernet cable and only the light below the power light went out. So, whatever is happening doesn't appear to be related to connectivity.

 

Any thoughts before I contact support?

 

Thanks.

 

 

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

11 years ago

That is very odd. If it was your power light momentarily going out I'd consider replacing the ac adapter, but that would be too easy. The light below the power light is the internet light so it makes sense that it would go out if you disconnect the ethernet cable. However, without internet connectivity, the other lights should go out as well, but maybe not right away. This could be the same issue you had with your previous MicroCell. I'm not convinced of the "accuracy" of the lights on the MicroCell. Is your router/modem plugged into the same outlet as the MicroCell. Maybe the outlet is faulty and your're getting brief power outages or drops which would affect the MicroCell's connection but not the power. I have mine (gateway, router, MicroCell) connected to an APC UPS which gives me consistent power and time to properly shutdown my internet should we lose power.

Explorer

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27 Messages

11 years ago

Great minds think alike -- I have the cable modem, router, and microcell on an APC UPS as well.

 

In addition to the lights indicating a different problem than that with the last unit, when the lights come back up on this one the cell phones reconnect to the microcell network (while a powercycle of the microcell was required in the previous case).

 

The ethernet cable tests ok and the location has been good for obtaining a GPS signal.

 

I'm going to plug the microcell directly into the cable modem and keep an eye on things through the weekend. I'm also going to call the cable company and ask if they've had any problems with connectivity or routing issues.

 

Thanks, Otto.

 

 


Otto Pylot wrote:

That is very odd. If it was your power light momentarily going out I'd consider replacing the ac adapter, but that would be too easy. The light below the power light is the internet light so it makes sense that it would go out if you disconnect the ethernet cable. However, without internet connectivity, the other lights should go out as well, but maybe not right away. This could be the same issue you had with your previous MicroCell. I'm not convinced of the "accuracy" of the lights on the MicroCell. Is your router/modem plugged into the same outlet as the MicroCell. Maybe the outlet is faulty and your're getting brief power outages or drops which would affect the MicroCell's connection but not the power. I have mine (gateway, router, MicroCell) connected to an APC UPS which gives me consistent power and time to properly shutdown my internet should we lose power.


 

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

11 years ago

Do you lose connection at anytime of the day or is it during a specific time frame? Being as you have cable internet access, maybe it's a capacity issue for your area, resulting in your ISP to have to make some routing changes. It only takes a split second at times to lose connectivity to AT&Ts servers which would result in a lost phone connection. Your internet use may not notice it but the MicroCell might. It shouldn't be that way but .......

 

Have you tired port forwarding to a static assigned IP addres for the MicroCell based on its MAC address? If you are briefly losing internet, then a DHCP assigned address for the MicroCell may take longer than normal so the MicroCell justs shutsdown until it's told (re-booted) to look for a connection. Speculation on my part but the MicroCell can be flaky at times.

Explorer

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27 Messages

11 years ago

Just a quick update:

 

I've had the cable company out and they've tested the wiring in the house and the lines outside (I saw them go from pole to pole) and will be continuing to monitor over this weekend.

 

I've also had the microcell display a flashing red 3G light -- after a couple power cycles it went green.

 

There does not seem to be any issue with any particular time of day. I'll wait until I talk to the cable company again before coming to any conclusions.

Professor

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2.2K Messages

11 years ago

I've had the flashing red 3G light also.  Just once and a power cycle cleared it.  I've been running essentially trouble-free since replacing my Mcell.  I've had a couple of flashing green 3G lights since replacing my Mcell but they did not require a power cycle to clear.   It was during the day so I doubt it was an update from ATT but who knows?

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