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Microcell and repeater
I have been using a microcell for several years now and have been through all the various problems and solved some myself and some with a little help on this forum.
I and my wife both have Iphone 6 Plus phones. I upgraded my phone to the iOS 9 Public Beta 3 yesterday and activated wifi calling and it works great. I am going to upgrade my wifes today, and we will both be using wifi calling now. I also have my father on my plan and he has an Iphone 4s and he lives across the street from me about 300 feet away. He will still need to use the microcell to have service.
I also have an outdoor wireless network that broadcasts wifi over my 5 acres and reaches very well to his house as well. I set this up using a point to point network with Ubiquiti Nanostations. I have an indoor router that the microcell is currently connected to. I have a switch that the Ubiquiti is connected to.
My question is this: I have a spare router or two and am thinking of using one to repeat the outdoor network at my Dads place and then try to use that router to plug the microcell into and see if it will work. The reason for this is with the MC inside my house it will work at my Dads but he usually has to walk outside to pick it up. If i could get it to work the way I am thinking then he would have better service inside his house.
What do you think?
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guitargain
Scholar
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187 Messages
9 years ago
Okay, I took an old Linksys E3200 that I have. I had to flash DD-WRT onto it to do what I needed to do. Got that going and set it up as a wireless repeater. I took it over and plugged it all up at my dads and plugged the microcell into the router and voila it works. So to be clear I have a modem/router from the phone company. I have a point to point network outside with two ubiquiti nanostations with one being the station and the other the AP. The AP is plugged into my switch. The Linksys that is now at my dads is set up as a wireless repeater to repeat the outdoor point to point network and the microcell is plugged into ethernet ports on the router, and it works.
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guitargain
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187 Messages
9 years ago
I did find an old thread where i see that Avedis has used a repeater with good results so i think I will try it and see what happens.
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OttoPylot
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24.2K Messages
9 years ago
Do let us know how it works. Using a repeater can work under certain circumstances.
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guitargain
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187 Messages
9 years ago
Will do buddy.
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OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
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24.2K Messages
9 years ago
I would think if you are extending the phone signal to be within the MicroCell's range, it should work unless his phone tries to lock on to the macrocell (tower). An interesting experiment.
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OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
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24.2K Messages
9 years ago
As a side note, WiFi calling may be available on iOS 8.4 in some updates. Settings -> Phone, and it should be under the Calls tab. iOS 9 is slated for a Fall release which is about the time I predicted that WiFi calling would readily be available on AT&T's network. They could be doing a soft rollout in select areas for now.
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guitargain
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187 Messages
9 years ago
But will wifi calling be available on an Iphone 4S is the question.
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OttoPylot
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24.2K Messages
9 years ago
Nice workaround. What is the "wireless" distance"? Flashing DD-WRT will probably freak some folks out but I love the proof-of-concept. Let us know how stable it is after a period of time.
WiFi calling on the iPhone will only be available on iPhone 5c/s and above. My iphone 5 for example will not be WiFi calling capable regardelss of the iOS.
To be clear, AT&T/Apple apparently is testing WiFi calling in some areas but certainly has not made a public statement about it so hold tight. I still say that we won't see anything official about it until after iOS 9 is released around Q4 which is when I think AT&T will have some sort of announcement.
My bro-in-law has T-Mobile and is able to do WiFi calling on his iPhone 6 (in fact I just got off of the phone with him). Calling is clear if not a bit "hollow-sounding". However he says that the call quality is totally dependent on your WiFi connection and how busy it is. It doesn't always work well.
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guitargain
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187 Messages
9 years ago
I hear you Otto. I am keeping the microcell in case, but I believe that wifi calling will be a part of iOS 9. I can't see them putting it into the beta then taking it away when it's been such a hot topic. I haven't used it much yet but the calls I have made so far are clear with no hollow sound at all. I am sure it will not be as good on networks that are not that good to begin with, but then again the microcell is very finicky that way too. I will post back after awhile to report how the microcell is working for my dad. I had to remove my wife and my number from it because if the number is in there it will default to the microcell. We have NO macrocell where we live so I always disable handoff because there is no chance of it working anyway.
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OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
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24.2K Messages
9 years ago
Yep. It will be interesting to see what happens when someone has a MicroCell, leaves WiFi enabled on their phone, and then attempts a WiFi call. I haven't played with WiFi calling on the iPhone so I don't know if it's automatic if WiFi is enabled or the call is prioritized depending on the stronger signal of the two. I would imagine that it's an either/or situation. Either use the MicroCell and leave WiFi disabled or disable the MicroCell and leave WiFi enabled on the phone. Interference between the two could be a problem.
I'm anxious to see if there will be a flood of MicroCell's on eBay/Caigs List once WiFi is established on AT&T for WiFi capable phones. Now that AT&T is very close to eliminating subsidized phones they are in a position to make a ton of money for those who want/need to upgrade their phones to a WiFi capable phone. I do find the timing very interesting with the elimination of subsidized phones and the impending launch of WiFi calling.
Gee, I could be out of a "job" in the next few months
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