Still Have AT&T Reception Problems at Home? Femtocell Still Coming Eventually…
We mentioned AT&T’s femtocell way back in February, but we don’t blame you if it doesn’t ring a bell. In a nutshell, femtocell is a box you add to your internet setup at home that lets your route the AT&T service you’re paying for through the broadband connection you’re paying for — and you’ll get to pay for the privilege as well.
Yeah, makes no sense to us either, but the bottom line is our sibling site WMExperts picks up an update from Slashgear that says it should be here by the end of the year.
No word on pricing for the femtocell unit, but it was reported earlier that the unit would cover approximately 5,000 square feet and allow up to four simultaneous, secure voice or data connections.
June 26th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I wish they would hurry up. AT&T service sucks ***. It’s BS if we have to pay monthly for it. I would rather pay a 1 time fee and be done with it. Actually, I would rather AT&T up their service.
June 26th, 2009 at 8:03 am
So like T-Mobile’s free UMA service?
June 26th, 2009 at 8:08 am
Didn’t one of the carriers offer these at a reduced cost if users would allow all of the carriers subscribers access to it? Not sure I’d go for that deal because I get Max bars at home but some who get 1 or 2 might. Plus, the range is pretty weak.
June 26th, 2009 at 8:24 am
i have almost no service inside my house so this would be great unless the price is ridiculous. I am definitely not paying a monthly fee. Pay a fee to get a service on top of the fee i already pay to get it. Not gonna happen
June 26th, 2009 at 9:49 am
It will probably be 5 dollars a month like sprint charges for the Airrave, At&t is all about copying the price of vz and sprint.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:51 am
@Johnny h
I had Tmobile UMA until February 09 and it was $10 per month. And it didn’t work all that well. I believe this technology could work better because the box takes care of the ip routing and the phone can just switch cell towers as it’s used to normally doing.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:56 am
This is ridiculous. I paid a monthly fee and they want us to pay more to get proper coverage? This is totally bull. AT&T, optimize your cell tower coverage! Optimize the sites power. Geez.
June 26th, 2009 at 9:59 am
I’m not sure if this means anything, but I updated my carrier file to enable tethering on AT&T At the link below and my signal strength on 3g got WAY beter. I used to get 1 or 2 bars in my basement and now I consistently get full bars. Not sure if something was messed up in my old carrier file or what.
Http://help.benm.at/help.php
June 26th, 2009 at 10:58 am
No thanks… That’s all I need is another radio in my house causing cancer.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
@Michael Denney:
You forgot the smilie on your above comment.
OTOH, if you were serious, the radio closest to you would be expected to do the most damage, and that would be your phone. Adding another radio in your home would do nothing compared to just stop using a cell phone.
But then there is still no generally accepted evidence of radio waves causing cancer, even cellular radios.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
@Joe McG:
Bars are generally regarded as useless on the iPhone.
If you turn on Field Test mode, and then you can switch back and forth between bars and numerical dBi readings by tapping the screen where the bars should be. If you exit field test mode with the home key while dBi numbers are showing you will preserve this ability in every day use.
It makes it possible to evaluate signal strength accurately rather than using the lying bars.
To access Field Test Mode, go to phone icon, then to keypad and dial STAR3001pound12345PoundSTAR * 3001 # 12345 # *
June 26th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Oops, I mean just type this (ignore spaces)
and then touch CALL
June 26th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Damn blog software: the first char is a star.
June 26th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Well, if this was $5-10, I’d probably get it. Since there’s no 3G anywhere around here in Maine, but then again, what would be the point, since I have Wifi…
July 15th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Talk to AT&T tech support about iPhone issues and inquired about femtocell. Was told it was USB and calls made on device would not use mobile minutes. If that’s true, tech support isn’t very reliable for info, you’d need to leave the attached computer on all the time, which sucks. Not using mobile minutes is probably how they are justifing charge monthly fee. No word on 3G support through device.
Verizons femtocell is a $250 up front with no monthly charges but it does not support evdo data transfer. When (not if) Verizon gets the iPhone I am definitly jumping on that bandwagon.
July 17th, 2009 at 10:45 am
You shouldn’t have to pay extra to get a signal for a service you are already paying for.
I suggest you contact UnwiredSignal.com directly to inquire about Cell Phone Signal Boosters and the effectiveness of these devices.
I prefer Unwired Signal (unwiredsignal.com) because they specialize in fixing cell phone signals, and not only do they have affordable pricing, but also free customer service. Call them and give them the exact details of your cell phone signal booster situation and they will recommend exactly the right product for you.
Here is the link to their signal booster category FYI:
unwiredsignal.com/c=132&cn=Building+Cellular+Signal+Boosters
July 28th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
There is a website that has posted a comparrison of most name brand cell phone signal boosters. In the left column click on brand name link in left column to get info on that brand vs. wilson. This is either performed or confirmed by an independent testing facility and their name is there somewhere. Here is the cell phone signal booster comparrison page on UnwiredSignal.com:
http://www.unwiredsignal.com/?view=Wilson-Competition
July 28th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
In my area, there is excellent coverage on a tree covered, uninhabited island 600 yards away while my house (and many others) suffer very low signal strength. I looked into cell repeaters with external antennas (YAGI or Omni). The Wilson amplifiers have the best specs but seems very pricey. ZBoost is a contender, available thru several sources with mix and match options. Look here for some good deals: http://www.solidsignal.com/cellular/
The placement spacing between indoor and outdoor is of some importance to avoid interference. Generally 40′ between ant. is a good spacing, probably less if indoor ant. is on the backside of a YAGI.
Forget ATT customer service! They did not even know about any femtocell development at all. I depend on my cell service for my livlihood, so I’ll pony up for a repeater system that I OWN instead of burdening my WiFi system, which already has VOIP.
August 7th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I keep getting no signal and when somebody calls they hear phone as switched off inspite of having full signal bars!pls help
August 8th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
I have Tmobile’s UMA service for over a year. I also have one of their athome phones that gives youa wired line.
All 3 are free to use at home.
Use the Tmobile router. The phones dont work with other routers well.
Calls rarely if ever drop. The cell phone has perfect quality. The other party cannot tell you are on a cell phone.
I have the at home services as I need a proper phone to make work based calls when I am telecommuting. I am on the phone up to 6 or seven hours a day and I never have problems from these T mobile phones.
I am going to get a UPS and get rid of my Verizon land line.