ATT micro cell signal booster

Can anyone out there tell me everything that I need to know about ATT micro cells? The signal at my house is really poor - mostly 1 bar - and the prices on these things have come down a lot recently.
 
I do know that the device requires a wired ethernet connection and has a range of ~40 feet. ATT store wants $150 for theirs.
 
I would like to know:
 
Am I forced into buying the thing from ATT or can I shop prices online?
Will any device that I buy online work with ATT cell service?
What is a fair price?
What is your experience as far as range and reception?
Any recommendations?
 
Mike.
 

I have one. I ended up disconnecting it as my cable modem was really bad one day, and i was dropping calls left & right.
 
I bought one from eBay, didn't work right, so I bought one directly from AT&T. Might have been user error, dunno. But for the $70 I "saved" buying it online, it was a hassle, so i'd say just go get a legit one.
 
For range, hard to say, but it seems to connect when i'm within 25 feet. I only need it for my office location (which is of course a dead zone), so I've never actually paid attention.

IVB said:

I have one. I ended up disconnecting it as my cable modem was really bad one day, and i was dropping calls left & right.
 
I bought one from eBay, didn't work right, so I bought one directly from AT&T. Might have been user error, dunno. But for the $70 I "saved" buying it online, it was a hassle, so i'd say just go get a legit one.
 
For range, hard to say, but it seems to connect when i'm within 25 feet. I only need it for my office location (which is of course a dead zone), so I've never actually paid attention.

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It sounds like the range is less than I imagined, I was hoping that it could help me when I'm in the yard. Do you know if it is phone specific or can guests in your house use it?

mikefamig said:

It sounds like the range is less than I imagined, I was hoping that it could help me when I'm in the yard. Do you know if it is phone specific or can guests in your house use it?

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Apologies I was unclear: I've noticed that it works within 25 feet, I don't really pay attention other than that as the regular signal penetrated just fine elsewhere.
 
But, the phone issue is the problem. You have to register phones to it, and I think there's a max of 5. Guests *cannot* use it.
 
I was researching 4G extenders as they're not phone specific and HUGE range. Materially more $$, I think it was $500 or more just for parts, but they were third party and used a roof mounted antenna with wires run into a few rooms to cover dead zones. The reviews were stellar and I would have done that if I needed more than a single room of coverage. Or if I cared about guests more

My new phone has the ability to route your calls over wifi.  Might consider skipping a local cell and getting a phone that can use your wifi.  I have an LG G3 and Sprint.  The only caveat is that I have good reception at my house so I haven't used it and for all I know it sucks.  Also, I love that my phone goes into deep sleep when I'm not using it and it uses almost no battery.  Like 0.2% per hour.  My phone has been sitting on my desk all day (almost 10 hours now) and still has 98%.  I have made only one short call on it and turned the screen on a couple times after espn did it's little chime telling me my baseball team scored.

Lou Apo said:

My new phone has the ability to route your calls over wifi.  Might consider skipping a local cell and getting a phone that can use your wifi.  I have an LG G3 and Sprint.  The only caveat is that I have good reception at my house so I haven't used it and for all I know it sucks.  Also, I love that my phone goes into deep sleep when I'm not using it and it uses almost no battery.  Like 0.2% per hour.  My phone has been sitting on my desk all day (almost 10 hours now) and still has 98%.  I have made only one short call on it and turned the screen on a couple times after espn did it's little chime telling me my baseball team scored.

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It's late for that kind of thinking, we're already invested in two Iphones but thanks for the info. I didn't know that wifi phones existed.
 
Mike.

mikefamig said:

It's late for that kind of thinking, we're already invested in two Iphones but thanks for the info. I didn't know that wifi phones existed.
 
Mike.

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Apple iOS supports wifi calling too, at least on Sprint.  Not sure if/what the hardware requirement is.

I thought wifi calling (and transitioning from tower ->wifi) was a carrier specific thing, only currently on Sprint & T-Mobile? (and needing the right hardware)

IVB said:

I thought wifi calling (and transitioning from tower ->wifi) was a carrier specific thing, only currently on Sprint & T-Mobile? (and needing the right hardware)

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I'm sure it is carrier specific.  But here are the hardware/software specs on sprint.  Seems like he may have 2 reasons to switch carriers, poor reception and no wifi connecting.
 
iOS Devices: Wi-Fi Calling is only available on iPhone 5c, 5s, 6, and 6 Plus models.  It requires iOS version 8.3 and the Carrier Version 19.1 or higher. To update to iOS 8.3, go to Settings>General>Software Update. To update the Carrier Version go to Settings>General>About which will trigger the update. Complete this step after the 8.3 Upgrade.
 
 
EDIT
Just activated the feature on my phone.  It works fine.

IIRC, AT&T is still planning on a 2015 launch, they just haven't declared specifics.

Lou Apo said:

  Seems like he may have 2 reasons to switch carriers, poor reception and no wifi connecting.

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Good point but I contacted AT&T today about the lack of service at my house and they are sending me a micro cell free of charge. They agreed that I am in an area known to have poor service and apologized for the inconvenience.  I just got an email that it has already shipped.
 
I wish that I had complained ten years ago!
 
Mike.

mikefamig said:

Good point but I contacted AT&T today about the lack of service at my house and they are sending me a micro cell free of charge. They agreed that I am in an area known to have poor service and apologized for the inconvenience.  I just got an email that it has already shipped.
 
I wish that I had complained ten years ago!
 
Mike.

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Good to hear.  I guess this means that anyone with an ATT phone in range of your microcell will end up using your internet.  Do they tell you what the micro cell range is?  I suppose if it is only a couple hundred feet then it is unlikely that anyone else will be close enough for long enough to make a connection.

Lou Apo said:

Good to hear.  I guess this means that anyone with an ATT phone in range of your microcell will end up using your internet.  Do they tell you what the micro cell range is?  I suppose if it is only a couple hundred feet then it is unlikely that anyone else will be close enough for long enough to make a connection.

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No  it doesn't work that way. Phones need to be registered to the microcell online service to access it.

My friend had one of these.  Same situation with bad coverage.  Every few months it would lock up so he RMA'ed it to AT&T and got a new one.

sda said:

My friend had one of these.  Same situation with bad coverage.  Every few months it would lock up so he RMA'ed it to AT&T and got a new one.

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I'm not surprised that they want their customers to have good signal strength. They're in the business of selling bandwidth and marketing ads and if you can't get connected then you can't buy bandwidth downloading movies and music and stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if some day they don't give the phones and tablets away just to get you connected.
 
Mike.