What is happening with 3G?
Peckmom3's profile

Tutor

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11 Messages

Tuesday, March 4th, 2014 10:30 PM

Microcell says address is wrong on GPS!! HELP!

Okay, a week ago the 3G light on my microcell started flashing green so I did what I always do when that happens- I rebooted it. A few minutes later the 3G light was blinking red and I got a text message from AT&T saying: 

 

ERROR 102- The registered address does not match the actual device location.

 

and an email reading:

 

There was an error activating your 3G MicroCell. The address you entered during online activation does not match the GPS information provided by the MicroCell.

 

So I called AT&T and they waked me through several rounds of unplugging, reregistering, etc. All those attempts failed and they mailed me a new microcell. Well the new one arrived the next day and after registering it and making sure that all information was correct, I plugged it it and got the same result. The top 4 lights solid green with the bottom 3G light blinking red and I got the same text message and email. 

 

I've been on the phone with AT&T every single day since and no one can help me with this problem. I get ZERO cell service at my house without this microcell so this is a real problem. Nothing on my end has changed- same internet service, same location of microcell in the house- right in a window- same everything. This issue was sudden and unexpected because one minute it was working fine and the next minute nothing. 

 

Any help would be so appreciated! Thanks.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

10 years ago

Where are you? AT&T is trying to figure out if this is a local or regional service area issue. We have at least two documented issues from MO. Connecting directly to your RG (modem) is called a priority connection (detailed in my Guide, link in my sig) and is used mostly as a troubleshooting method to rule out the router as the cause. There's nothing wrong with leaving your connection that way but the preferred method is behind the router for security reasons. Spoofing your address does work in some cases but the MicroCell will periodically confirm the physical location of the MicorCell via GPS or a local macrocell (tower), if one is available, during the night time maintenance window so don't be surprised if one morning you wake up witha blinking green 3G light. AT&T is aware of the locational issues and is trying to resolve it.

 

Do us a favor and send a PM to CustomerCare (link in my sig) detailing your issue, your account information, what you have done to correct it, and most importantly, your location. Also include an alternate way for AT&T to contact you if you don't want to be contacted here via PM.

Teacher

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16 Messages

10 years ago

gilmoregirl Im so glad to hear you got it back up and running. I gave your method a try, but no such luck just yet. 😞

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

10 years ago

@ Cyunide - thanks for the kind words. I didn't see your post this morning above or I would have acknowledged your compliment sooner. Yeah, being a volunteer sometimes sucks Smiley Sad so your comment makes it worthwhile. I still haven't heard back from AT&T yet but as soon as I do.....

Professor

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2.2K Messages

10 years ago

@ Otto - Item of note:  In the interest of clarity, I think it important to not refer to a RG (residential gateway) as a modem.  A RG is a combination of a modem and a router.

 

Connecting a Mcell to a RG is not a priority connection (actually called "Alternate Connection" in the User Guide).  You aren't really bypassing the router in a troubleshooting effort as it would be if your router and modem were two separate entities and you were connecting your Mcell directly to the modem, bypassing the router.

 

Not trying to stir things up but I think it's necessary to make sure people who post here don't get confused.

 

 

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

10 years ago

Thanks for the clarity. I'll go back to using the modem and router. Even though technically speaking, they aren't modems either  Smiley Wink

Tutor

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4 Messages

10 years ago

Having the same activation issues......3 calls with tech support (oxymoron). Nothing nada, flashing 3G light. My error code is FTC:101. Everything on Activation is working (including GPS matching) up to Activating, then it immediately (without delay) throws the error and thats where it stops.

 

 

Up till 2 or 3 weeks ago unit has been working fine for over a year, their have been no equipment or cable changes to setup since initial installation.

 

I am waaaayyy out in BFE NW Oklahoma and without the MicroCell.............ZERO signal in the house and only maybeeeee 1 bar out in the front yard, kinda makes the phone nothing but an expensive brick...monthly.......Smiley Mad

 

Tech support is very ...........well...to say..................uneducated and moronic?

 

When you have worked in electronics over 30 yrs and many in the computer & digital radio era, to follow these people in the execution of their very limited and mostly ineffective 4th grade level "troubleshooting scripts" is ..............well very painful to endure.

It all appears to be a systemic "failure" (the "nicest" words I can come up with). Or the new NSA software has got a bad case of "bugs" and no trained exterminators are available!

Just waiting for the sunspot "kill shot" to end the misery.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

10 years ago

I can certainly understand your frustration but try to keep it a bit more civil. I have been notified that your posting was picked up by the Admins and has been forwarded to CustomerCare. My feeling is that there was a system failure somewhere that has prohibited the locational database from properly communicating with the received GPS coordinates when verifying location during the maintenance window (usually late at night). This results in the blinking green 3G light and loss of communication to the AT&T servers because GPS and location don't match.

 

Normally, once verification is done, you could take your MicroCell to your summer home for example, and set it up. Even though the physical address and GPS coordinates are different, AT&T knows that this is a valid MicroCell because the sn is tied to your account (primary phone number) and the new GPS coordinates and physical address match. That being said, there is definitely a failure somewhere in the system. We've had customers who used another address and been able to re-activate. However, that may only work until the next maintenance cycle is attempted. This is probably an IT issue and only seems to be affecting certain accounts in various regions. I'm out on the West Coast and we don't have any reported issues at all from Wash. down to Calif.

 

I realize how serious this is, especially for those who don't have landlines anymore, and I'm not trying to make excuses for AT&T. They are very much aware of this issue and are trying to isolate and fix the problem as soon as they can. That's really all I can say at this point in time. Hang in there.

Tutor

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7 Messages

10 years ago

I have tried to read through this entire thread but I see lots of duplication.  I would like to throw my hat into the ring. 

 

First off I see that there are no complaints of issues on the west coast, this is not true.  I live in Pendleton, Oregon.  Last Saturday my 2 plus year old 3gmicrocell refused to connect to my att cellphone.  I power cycled it and had the flashing red light appear on the 3g light. (May have been red before but didn't notice it until after I power cycled it).  I also got a text message from Att reporting that my device was not at its registered location.  Additonally Att saw fit to give me a first and final warning email that my device was not at its registered location. 

 

On Saturday (3/15/2014) I called the included phone number.  Customer support me through the trouble shooting steps.  No change.  She said she was going to refer me to next level but they were back logged.  In the mean time I had done a search and found references to port blocking.  We agreed to a call back at 1230 on Monday at which time I would inform her of what I found out from my ISP (Wtechlink.com).  So on Monday morning I emailed to the ISP the issue and asked for an appointment  they offered to test the microcell as they have used one in the past.  However, upon arrival the person I needed to work with was called out on an emergency issue.  I returned home and was contacted by another ISP support person.  They had made no changes to the system that would account for the problem.  They did agree to change my dynamic IP address to a Static address just to check and see if that would solve the problem.  Needless to say, no change in the status of the flashing red light.

 

At about 1230 I got the expected call from Att and reported my findings and status.  She whet ahead and linked me up with what I assume is the next level of tech support.  We went through the usual trouble shooting steps.  She deactivated and re activated my account and then asked me to wait 5 minutes and power cycle the device.  I did so so and left for several hours. 

 

Upon return the same flashing red light.  Awhile later I got a call from a person (third level?) who said he was working on the issue.  He said the microcell is working fine and that the problem is on their end. He reported that mine was not an isolated case.  I reported to him the work done with the ISP and he said either a static or dynamic address would work fine and I could save money by going back to a dynamic address.  (I have his name but didn't post it here).  He also asked that I leave the device on so they could do testing. 

 

Last night (Thursday, 3/20), with a continuous flashing red light, I contacted ATT via a chat session to determine the status of the problem solving.  Guess what?  I get to run through all of the trouble shooting steps once again.  Chat person (name if needed) finally decides it is a problem with the microcell and wants to forward me off to warranty and replacement.  I explained the previous efforts.  Apparently there is no tracking in place except as attached to a celphone number.  He insisted that it was a faulty microcell.  I thanked him for his time and disconnected.

 

I then called the support phone number that came with  email and text message.  Repeated the trouble shooting steps once again or maybe even several times as I had lost count by this point.  I explained once again all of the previous attempts and relayed my conversation with third level (my term).  She forwarded me on the second level once again and well you know what happened next, so I won't repeat to you the trouble shooting steps again. 

 

Finally he decided a case number was in order (CM20140321-85230098) and texted the number to my phone (I do have some flaky cellphone coverage at my house).  He said he set a resolution timeline of next wednesday (3/26) and I should expect a call back.

 

Obviously I have not had to endure what many above have gone through.  But it has been frustrating none the less.

 

My microcell has been at the same location since its original deploment in December of 2011.  It has not moved from the south facing window sill it sits on. It has worked without any real issues until 3/15.   I do know that when I set my house as my home location on my mobile TOM TOM GPS it actually says I live down the road about 1/4 mile when I leave and return home.  Yes, this  semirural area but there have been no rural address changes in many years. 

 

Hopefully this way too long dialog will add to the database for the problem.  There appears to be a lot more going on then tech support makes known.

 

Thank you

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

10 years ago

You are the first to report from Oregon so thanks for posting your location.

 

The flashing red 3G light is usually indicative of a MicroCell hardware failure, which is probably why AT&T wants to send you a replacement unit. My guess is that it won't correct the problem. The flashing red 3G light can also indicate that the MicroCell didn't properly reset itself after an update and the unit thinks it's broken. There is definitely an issue with what I call the locational database in which the received GPS coordinates don't match what is in the database, an error is generated, and connection to the AT&T servers is denied. It's possible that AT&T tried to push something to correct the initial problem but that didn't register properly in the MicroCell and hence the red flashing 3G light (the MicroCell usually reboots itself after an update and that's what's causing the red flashing 3G light).

 

Rural areas, or brand new areas, are the most difficult to initially get the MicroCell registered because the physical locations (address, zip code) aren't readily available to AT&T. Analagous to updated Google Maps. However, the fact that you had service at your location means that your GPS coordinates matches what AT&T had in their database and now it's lost or the two systems are not communicating properly with each other. There's a lot of other factors involved here as well, billing accounts, IT, etc, so the problem could be in any of a number of system.

 

Support is usually the last, if ever, to know exactly what is going on and they do their best to help, but a lot of times if it's outside of their scripts, they are flying blind. They have to document that they've gone over the common trouble shooting steps with you to show their superiors that they really tried to help you. That information is supposed to be available to any other support person you talk to but, as you have seen, that's not always the case. That's the reason why I put together my Guide (link in my sig) to give folks an idea of what's going on with AT&T's VoIP service (MicroCell), the myriad of things that have to come together to work correctly, and what you can do to correct the most common problems. But as you'll see, one symptom can have a multitude of causes so trouble shooting can be a daunting task at times.

 

This is an AT&T problem and probably nothing you can do on your end until they can isolate, identify, and correct the problem. I know this isn't what you want to hear nor does it help much but AT&T aware of the issue and they are scrambling to try to figure it out. It almost seems like it's a cascading problem because it started mostly in the mid-West and East but now it seems to be heading Westward, at least in you case.

 

I will make sure the Admins know of your post and hopefully someone will contact you. In the meantime, send a pm to CustomerCare (link in my sig) with your problem, what has been done to correct it, your account information, the best way to contact you, and most importantly, your location.

Mentor

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13 Messages

10 years ago

I have sent a PM to Customer Care as well but figured I should share my experience here:

 

I live in Golden Valley, Minnesota (a Minneapolis suburb).  My MicroCell has been working normally for years (with the exception of one outage last May).  However, within the past week or so (I'm not sure of the exact day) the 3G light has been flashing green and I no longer get the MicroCell signal on my phone. The Power, Internet and GPS indicators on the MicroCell are lit solid green.  It's just the 3G light that is flashing.

 

Here is what I have tried so far without luck:

 

1) Power Cycle MicroCell (multiple times)

2) Power Cycle Router (multiple times)

3) Power Cycle Cable Modem (multiple times)

4) Connect MicroCell directly to Cable Modem instead of the router

 

Here is some additional information:

 

- My Internet connection is Comcast Business Class 50Mbit down/10Mbit up service

- The "AT&T Speed Test" on the support site reports 56.96Mbit down/11.63Mbit up

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