iphone 4s and microcell

I have more of an annoyance than a problem.... I use an AT&T Micro-cell at home because my iphone is my only phone and my reception is poor in my house. It worked beautifully with my iphone 3G, it would automatically connect when I walked in the door and had no problem keeping signal strength. However, when I upgraded the the 4S last week i noticed it will not automatically connect. I have to turn on airplane mode for about 15 seconds, turn it off and then it will connect. Also it seems to disconnect after a period of time, almost as if it's timed out and I have to do the airplane mode trick again. I've reset the micro-cell and it didn't seem to make a difference. I just wondered if anyone else has noticed this problem?

Forgive me if this is repeated, looked a few pages back and didn't see anything regarding this.

Originally Posted by moodypickle

I have more of an annoyance than a problem.... I use an AT&T Micro-cell at home because my iphone is my only phone and my reception is poor in my house. It worked beautifully with my iphone 3G, it would automatically connect when I walked in the door and had no problem keeping signal strength. However, when I upgraded the the 4S last week i noticed it will not automatically connect. I have to turn on airplane mode for about 15 seconds, turn it off and then it will connect. Also it seems to disconnect after a period of time, almost as if it's timed out and I have to do the airplane mode trick again. I've reset the micro-cell and it didn't seem to make a difference. I just wondered if anyone else has noticed this problem?

Forgive me if this is repeated, looked a few pages back and didn't see anything regarding this.

I dont have anything to solve this issue for you. However I can say that this same problem was happening with the iPhone 4 im guessing it was never fixed with the release of the iPhone 4s... its a problem with at&t's microcell IMO... I would call them up and tell them your having problems with it..

Keep in mind the 4S (and the verizon model iPhone 4) use the qualcomm baseband instead of infineon. I am guessing AT&T needs to tweak somethings on their microcell. When you called AT&T and asked for support, what did they tell you?

You DID call them right?????????????????

Just curious how expensive the microcell was... Is there a service fee? I live in Atlanta but there is a dead spot seemly right where I live.

Originally Posted by ghostface147

Keep in mind the 4S (and the verizon model iPhone 4) use the qualcomm baseband instead of infineon. I am guessing AT&T needs to tweak somethings on their microcell. When you called AT&T and asked for support, what did they tell you?

You DID call them right?????????????????

I have not called them yet, that is my next inquiry. Like I said its more of an annoyance than a problem, since I can in fact get it to connect. I just have to turn it to airplane mode momentarily. Once I talk to AT&T I will let you know.

Originally Posted by chris3896

Just curious how expensive the microcell was... Is there a service fee? I live in Atlanta but there is a dead spot seemly right where I live.

To be honest I don't know what the current prices are but I was able to get it for free. I received a letter in the mail in april thanking me for being a loyal customer and offering me a free microcell. There is no service fee, i did have to agree to a year "contract" to use it but there were no fee's involved. If you buy it, its just the one time fee for purchasing it.

Originally Posted by moodypickle

I have not called them yet, that is my next inquiry. Like I said its more of an annoyance than a problem, since I can in fact get it to connect. I just have to turn it to airplane mode momentarily. Once I talk to AT&T I will let you know.




To be honest I don't know what the current prices are but I was able to get it for free. I received a letter in the mail in april thanking me for being a loyal customer and offering me a free microcell. There is no service fee, i did have to agree to a year "contract" to use it but there were no fee's involved. If you buy it, its just the one time fee for purchasing it.

I think you got a lucky deal... because I believe at&t does make you pay a monthly fee to have it.. I looked into one last year and it was a monthly fee

i believe there used to be two different ways to sign up. You got a reduced price on the microcell if you signed up for the unlimited calling feature, which you would have a monthly fee. I however did not do this because my minutes are fine, I just needed added signal strength. If you don't sign up for it the microcell costs more but there isn't a monthly fee. According to at&t's website under the FAQ you still have the choice to sign up for the service or not. The following is from the site:

Do I need to subscribe to an AT&T Unlimited MicroCell Calling feature?
No. While highly recommended for maximum benefit, a subscription to AT&T Unlimited MicroCell Calling is not required. Your normal wireless from AT&T minute plan rates will apply.

Originally Posted by moodypickle

i believe there used to be two different ways to sign up. You got a reduced price on the microcell if you signed up for the unlimited calling feature, which you would have a monthly fee. I however did not do this because my minutes are fine, I just needed added signal strength. If you don't sign up for it the microcell costs more but there isn't a monthly fee. According to at&t's website under the FAQ you still have the choice to sign up for the service or not. The following is from the site:

Do I need to subscribe to an AT&T Unlimited MicroCell Calling feature?
No. While highly recommended for maximum benefit, a subscription to AT&T Unlimited MicroCell Calling is not required. Your normal wireless from AT&T minute plan rates will apply.

interesting last year when I called they told me it was a fee no matter what

Originally Posted by noaim

interesting last year when I called they told me it was a fee no matter what

They actually never even offered me the plan with a fee. I just walked in with the letter, signed that would keep it atleast a year and walked out with it. I asked what would happen after a year and they said nothing they just need me to agree to stay with AT&T for a year to get it for free basically. Like most things with AT&T it probably just depends on the service rep you talk to and their mood that day.

Originally Posted by moodypickle

They actually never even offered me the plan with a fee. I just walked in with the letter, signed that would keep it atleast a year and walked out with it. I asked what would happen after a year and they said nothing they just need me to agree to stay with AT&T for a year to get it for free basically. Like most things with AT&T it probably just depends on the service rep you talk to and their mood that day.

well im probably going to end up getting one then..

My 4S is working fine with a Microcell. It won't switch TO the Microcell during a call originated elsewhere- but it's not supposed to be able to do that; it can only go _from_ Microcell to antenna.

I got mine for free. They cost ~$200. I said I had very poor service at my home. After asking to speak to a supervisor, and insisting that my neighbor had gotten one for free (which he did, at a store) they ran some tests on my phone, making it switch antennas, making test calls, etc. It was determined that I had very weak signal strength and they arranged for me to pick up a Microcell locally, free of charge. I think it took 1.5-2 hours of polite persistance on my part to convince them I needed it and they should not charge me. Just keep going up the chain of command till you get someone who with help.

Originally Posted by Nanci

My 4S is working fine with a Microcell. It won't switch TO the Microcell during a call originated elsewhere- but it's not supposed to be able to do that; it can only go _from_ Microcell to antenna.

I got mine for free. They cost ~$200. I said I had very poor service at my home. After asking to speak to a supervisor, and insisting that my neighbor had gotten one for free (which he did, at a store) they ran some tests on my phone, making it switch antennas, making test calls, etc. It was determined that I had very weak signal strength and they arranged for me to pick up a Microcell locally, free of charge. I think it took 1.5-2 hours of polite persistance on my part to convince them I needed it and they should not charge me. Just keep going up the chain of command till you get someone who with help.

well my 4S does work fine, once its connected. It just doesn't auto-connect any longer and seems to lose connection to the microcell randomly, but sometimes it stays connected. I've never had it drop during a call though. I browsed through the forums on att and it seems alot of people are having similar problems. I guess you are a lucky one!

As a sidenote, i think its awesome they gave you one. I think everyone should give that a try. I honestly have no idea why I was chosen to receive one for free. I had been considering one but never even reached out to inquire about it yet when I received the letter in the mail.

I just got the Microcell free from AT&T last week. Coverage is pretty good here but I have been dropping calls inside my home and figured I'd try and score one for free. During the setup process it said that 2G phones are not compatible. Soon after, I noticed my 4s displayed 5 bars and M Cell at the top. Placed a few calls and texts and its fine. Awesome voice quality. However, calls take long to go through and sometimes texts fail to send. I definitely agree that AT&T needs to tweak the MicroCell for the 4s.

Maybe the microcell needs a update or take it into att and exchange it ?


Sent Into Orbit from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk

We have two iPhone 4S's and an AT&T Microcell. Both reconnect immediately when returning to the house. However, as another poster said, it does take a few additional seconds for calls to connect when using the Microcell.

I sold my microcell a few weeks ago but got it free about a year ago. Never did work great with the iphone 4. Most of the time it wasn't connecting. Saw no improvement with the 4S.