5 ms·

She just needs a microcell/femtocell. Talk to your provider, explain to them you get poor service at your home or place of work, and they'll send you a free In

She just needs a microcell/femtocell. Talk to your provider, explain to them you get poor service at your home or place of work, and they'll send you a free Internet-in cellular-out radio AP. She doesn't need a tower-based booster if she's got fiber/cable/DSL, those only serve to amplify weak signals and she's too many miles and too many mountain ridges away from the nearest tower, she wants something with RJ-45 input, a little GPS antenna so the cell supports e911 location data, and it will broadcast LTE (or now 5g) cellular data. I work at a shop with metal walls located in a river valley. It's a cellular data black hole. People used to climb the hill up the driveway to make and take calls, but various people called their ATT, Verizon, and T-Mobile providers and all three shipped us femtocells. Mow the users and the contractors/customers who come to visit can't even tell that their phones have switched to data over our ISP instead of a tower, it just works - including 2FA codes and MVNOs. She may have to switch to first-party Verizon service instead of using an MVNO.

kmoser 1y ago
It seems t-Mobile no longer offers such hardware: https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/4g-lte-cellspot-setup-and-help https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/4g-lte-cellspot-se...
- mikestew 1y ago
  Maybe T-Mobile doesn't need to. I've used their WiFi calling for, what, going on ten years probably. Works a treat, including getting short code SMS. Ergo, I don't know the use case for femtocell for T-Mobile. That's why I was surprised to learn via TFA that WiFi isn't the solution in all cases.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 1y ago
    We moved to a T-Mobile femtocell precisely because their wifi calling was absolute shit in our experience. Dropped calls, no group SMS, no SMS/RCS images, frequently no calling service at all. The femtocell fixed all of that for us, and it has remained fixed.
  - kmoser 1y ago
    The use case is anywhere Wi-Fi and cell coverage is spotty or nonexistent. There are probably plenty of t-Mobile customers in that position.
    - mikestew 1y ago
      The use case is anywhere Wi-Fi and cell coverage is spotty or nonexistent. Not in TFA, it’s not.
Spivak 1y ago
I'm surprised the major cell providers are cool with letting randos operate cell towers that back into an unknown untrusted ISP and their customers will automatically switch to when in range. It's unbelievably chill for companies that are usually so concerned about their image and controlling the whole experience end to end.
- Suppafly 1y ago
  >I'm surprised the major cell providers are cool with letting randos operate cell towers that back into an unknown untrusted ISP and their customers will automatically switch to when in range. A lot of office buildings have these in them. I think the personal ones are how they get around some of the issues with government requiring them to build networks to certain coverage. They just don't build it out and when someone complains they offer them one of these.
  - reaperducer 1y ago
    A lot of office buildings have these in them. I think the personal ones are how they get around some of the issues with government requiring them to build networks to certain coverage. They just don't build it out and when someone complains they offer them one of these. Also because a lot of office and residential towers have people high above street level, and the buildings have radiation-minimizing windows so that no cell signal can penetrate. The cell companies put their sites 30 feet above the street, not 600+ feet up.
- zinekeller 1y ago
  Eh, assuming it's 4G LTE (or above), it's literally the same thing as Wi-Fi calling. This is technically called IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Multimedia_Subsystem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Multimedia_Subsystem), and is powered by "magic" DNS (no kidding, everything points to 3gppnetwork.org) and literal IP + IPSEC. Even when your phone is connected to Wi-Fi, it enters a special mode called IWLAN which powers your Wi-Fi calling, SMS, and RCS. The only actual factor here is if the ISP that you have versus your mobile network has a good peering.
lisper 1y ago
> She just needs a microcell/femtocell. Those come with their own set of problems. In particular, they have to be able to receive a GPS signal, which is often not possible in mountainous terrain. I had a microcell for years and it was nightmarishly unreliable. Not only would it regularly (but randomly) just stop working, it would give absolutely no indication of why it was not working.
- PaulDavisThe1st 1y ago
  They do not have to receive GPS, but it causes issues for e911 service if they do not. It has no impact on anything else, at least not the T-Mobile version.
  - lisper 1y ago
    The one I had, an AT&T Microcell, which was the only model offered by my cell provider, refused to work without a GPS signal.
    - EvanAnderson 1y ago
      Similar experience here a few years ago w/ a Verizon microcell device. It wouldn't service clients w/o a GPS fix.
    - reaperducer 1y ago
      The one I had, an AT&T Microcell, which was the only model offered by my cell provider, refused to work without a GPS signal. Strange, because my AT&T Microcell didn't require a GPS signal. I kept it in the cabinet under the sink deep inside a large apartment building where there's no way it could get a GPS signal. I haven't used since I moved a few years ago. Perhaps it's changed.
      - lisper 1y ago
        See: https://paulstamatiou.com/review-att-3g-microcell https://paulstamatiou.com/review-att-3g-microcell "After giving the MicroCell some power and ethernet, it will start blinking the 3G and GPS LEDs. Wait, what.. GPS? Yep. To limit the MicroCell from working outside of test markets (or out of the country too), it must get a GPS lock on your location. AT&T suggests this should take no longer than 90 minutes. It took me about 5 hours." And this was the fundamental problem: there was absolutely no way to know if progress was being made or if it was going to run forever. It was literally a real-world Halting Problem.
memcg 1y ago
I have a 4G LTE Network Extender provided free by Verizon. My only issue is calls drop as I leave my property. I called 911 in January and gave my address before the call dropped as I moved my car from my driveway to the street. The 911 operator called me back once I was back in range. A few months later Verizon asked me to edit the location data with my address. Hopefully, I won't need to test anytime soon.

kmoser 1y ago

It seems t-Mobile no longer offers such hardware: https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/4g-lte-cellspot-setup-and-help https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/4g-lte-cellspot-se...

mikestew 1y ago
Maybe T-Mobile doesn't need to. I've used their WiFi calling for, what, going on ten years probably. Works a treat, including getting short code SMS. Ergo, I don't know the use case for femtocell for T-Mobile. That's why I was surprised to learn via TFA that WiFi isn't the solution in all cases.
- PaulDavisThe1st 1y ago
  We moved to a T-Mobile femtocell precisely because their wifi calling was absolute shit in our experience. Dropped calls, no group SMS, no SMS/RCS images, frequently no calling service at all. The femtocell fixed all of that for us, and it has remained fixed.
- kmoser 1y ago
  The use case is anywhere Wi-Fi and cell coverage is spotty or nonexistent. There are probably plenty of t-Mobile customers in that position.
  - mikestew 1y ago
    The use case is anywhere Wi-Fi and cell coverage is spotty or nonexistent. Not in TFA, it’s not.

Spivak 1y ago

I'm surprised the major cell providers are cool with letting randos operate cell towers that back into an unknown untrusted ISP and their customers will automatically switch to when in range. It's unbelievably chill for companies that are usually so concerned about their image and controlling the whole experience end to end.

Suppafly 1y ago
>I'm surprised the major cell providers are cool with letting randos operate cell towers that back into an unknown untrusted ISP and their customers will automatically switch to when in range. A lot of office buildings have these in them. I think the personal ones are how they get around some of the issues with government requiring them to build networks to certain coverage. They just don't build it out and when someone complains they offer them one of these.
- reaperducer 1y ago
  A lot of office buildings have these in them. I think the personal ones are how they get around some of the issues with government requiring them to build networks to certain coverage. They just don't build it out and when someone complains they offer them one of these. Also because a lot of office and residential towers have people high above street level, and the buildings have radiation-minimizing windows so that no cell signal can penetrate. The cell companies put their sites 30 feet above the street, not 600+ feet up.
zinekeller 1y ago
Eh, assuming it's 4G LTE (or above), it's literally the same thing as Wi-Fi calling. This is technically called IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Multimedia_Subsystem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Multimedia_Subsystem), and is powered by "magic" DNS (no kidding, everything points to 3gppnetwork.org) and literal IP + IPSEC. Even when your phone is connected to Wi-Fi, it enters a special mode called IWLAN which powers your Wi-Fi calling, SMS, and RCS. The only actual factor here is if the ISP that you have versus your mobile network has a good peering.

lisper 1y ago

> She just needs a microcell/femtocell. Those come with their own set of problems. In particular, they have to be able to receive a GPS signal, which is often not possible in mountainous terrain. I had a microcell for years and it was nightmarishly unreliable. Not only would it regularly (but randomly) just stop working, it would give absolutely no indication of why it was not working.

PaulDavisThe1st 1y ago
They do not have to receive GPS, but it causes issues for e911 service if they do not. It has no impact on anything else, at least not the T-Mobile version.
- lisper 1y ago
  The one I had, an AT&T Microcell, which was the only model offered by my cell provider, refused to work without a GPS signal.
  - EvanAnderson 1y ago
    Similar experience here a few years ago w/ a Verizon microcell device. It wouldn't service clients w/o a GPS fix.
  - reaperducer 1y ago
    The one I had, an AT&T Microcell, which was the only model offered by my cell provider, refused to work without a GPS signal. Strange, because my AT&T Microcell didn't require a GPS signal. I kept it in the cabinet under the sink deep inside a large apartment building where there's no way it could get a GPS signal. I haven't used since I moved a few years ago. Perhaps it's changed.
    - lisper 1y ago
      See: https://paulstamatiou.com/review-att-3g-microcell https://paulstamatiou.com/review-att-3g-microcell "After giving the MicroCell some power and ethernet, it will start blinking the 3G and GPS LEDs. Wait, what.. GPS? Yep. To limit the MicroCell from working outside of test markets (or out of the country too), it must get a GPS lock on your location. AT&T suggests this should take no longer than 90 minutes. It took me about 5 hours." And this was the fundamental problem: there was absolutely no way to know if progress was being made or if it was going to run forever. It was literally a real-world Halting Problem.

memcg 1y ago

I have a 4G LTE Network Extender provided free by Verizon. My only issue is calls drop as I leave my property. I called 911 in January and gave my address before the call dropped as I moved my car from my driveway to the street. The 911 operator called me back once I was back in range. A few months later Verizon asked me to edit the location data with my address. Hopefully, I won't need to test anytime soon.