Mine is working as advertised. I couldn't rely on WiFi calling, it just stopped working too often. I'd pick up the phone to make a call and see it had turned itself off. I'd have to fiddle with the settings and sometimes reboot to get it back all the time wondering how long it was off and how many calls I'd missed. The cell spot gives me five solid bars all the time.
New Personal Cell Spot
- Thread starter RicKaysen
- Start date
Well it gives you high speed data also and then there isn't an issue with dividing the WiFi for calling and then no worry about prioritizing the WiFi.
When I was with AT&T, I had one of these, they are just 3G though and useless for data.
Personally I would prefer, in this order..
The LTE booster (window unit)
This cell spot
Then the WiFi booster.
I don't use WiFi calling though.
The LTE booster boosted my speed about 5 times and I would imagine the cell spot would boost it even more.
It isn't converting your ISP to LTE. It is giving you a mini cell tower in your home, it just uses your internet to create the signal, doesn't really mess with your internet at all. My old one worked fine on a very low speed internet and the microcell wasn't enough to interfere with even slow internet speeds.
It doesn't boost or extend anything like the booster and WiFi one do, it creates your own little tower.
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raino
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I really don't see how this LTE Cellspot benefits the majority of customers. If your phone is on WiFi, that takes care of data speeds. For calls and texts, there's WiFi calling which, again, can be powered independently of this device (at most, with the ASUS router they loan out for better QoS on WFC.) Unless TMO wants to openly declare that WFC is a hugely unreliable solution for domestic coverage and/or they can't make it work and this Cellspot replaces it, it's pointless for the majority of their customers.
I would kinda understand if these were band 12 compatible. But they're not.
I would kinda understand if these were band 12 compatible. But they're not.
It doesn't benefit the majority of customers, but neither do the booster or the WiFi router. It is for people with very little signal at their house or no signal at their house, it the location they have this.
No, WiFi doesn't take care of data speeds for all. Again, I use a very slow internet speed at home. I have lots of data with TMO that I want to use and is much faster than my WiFi
No booster, extender or cell spot is for the majority of customers and aren't made to be.
Cell coverage for everyone is spotty at my house. With AT&T and my 3G phone, no issues with connection, calling, texts, etc.
When I got an LTE phone, my signal was almost non-existent. Because it was an LTE phone and the tower I connected to before wasn't an LTE tower, my phone hopped over that tower and connected to a weak LTE signal, and that made my phone unusable. For a time I could turn off LTE on my phone, it was a PITA to do it every time I got home or rebooted, but that kept me on 3G and connecting to the close tower with a good signal. Then they stopped the ability to turn off LTE and I went to a bad signal, missed calls, texts wouldn't send or come in, calls dropped, couldn't make calls many times.
So I got the microcell. Even with LTE turned on, it would connect to the microcell and not hop to a weak LTE signal. It wasn't usable for data, so I used WiFi for data, again, very slow WiFi and had no issues.
Now this one is just like that, but it is LTE, which means you don't have to use WiFi calling, which means you don't have to use WiFi data if you don't want to and if you have slow internet speeds at home, you can still have LTE data. This is like getting a new tower out up near you that give you good signal when you had bad or none, before.
If the majority of customers need the cell spot, the WiFi booster or the LTE booster, the company has network issues.
I like the LTE booster best because I can take it to the lake, it isn't dependent on internet and it you don't have to use WiFi calling or make sure the phone you do have isn't older and doesn't have WiFi calling capability. If you have several in the house, you don't have a lot using the WiFi, which can slow WiFi down. There is a chance that I am going to cancel my home Internet and just tether what I want from a phone line. I have a lower signal here, this just turns my low LTE signal into a strong LTE signal.
The cell spot will do the same, but will also work if you have no signal at your home, the booster requires that you have at least one bar of signal.
The WiFi router is completely different. That just optimizes your WiFi and does nothing to give you a signal when there is zero signal. Your phone doesn't have to be connected to WiFi and you can use your TMO data when you have the cell spot, but that is not the case with either WiFi router.
It is literally a portable tower and the actual phone doesn't even have to deal with WiFi. They are just two different things.
This is also more than calling, this is about LTE data also. Some people have unlimited data and if they don't have a signal good enough for a booster, this is their option and they can use their data also. It really has nothing to do with WiFi calling. In fact, you don't have to use WiFi calling if you don't want to and you don't have to use WiFi calling.
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npaladin-2000
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I have the window unit, I'm lucky if it picks up a single bar. While I wouldn't mind the ISP unit, my neighbors would be able to use it too, I'm in a condo complex. And I'd rather not provide their cellular backhaul. What I'd really prefer to do is switch WiFi calling to WiFi preferred at home (or on certain SSIDs) and Cellular preferred everywhere else. There's a Tasker plugin that used to work for this, but it hasn't been updated and doesn't work with Marshmallow. Or Lollipop. Or unrooted Samsungs.
raino
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How well is this femtocell doing then, when powered by your slow home internet? Is your, say, 1mbps home internet amplifying your TMO signal into 10-12mbps? I'm using made up numbers, but the point is that is this femtocell amplifying your carrier signal on the back of a weak home internet connection?
raino
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There's no app for this? I've never used a WFC-capable Android phone on TMO, but even BlackBerry 10 has a (TMO-specific) app that allows for exactly this type of switching
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npaladin-2000
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I have the window unit, I'm lucky if it picks up a single bar. While I wouldn't mind the ISP unit, my neighbors would be able to use it too, I'm in a condo complex. And I'd rather not provide their cellular backhaul. What I'd really prefer to do is switch WiFi calling to WiFi preferred at home (or on certain SSIDs) and Cellular preferred everywhere else. There's a Tasker plugin that used to work for this, but it hasn't been updated and doesn't work with Marshmallow. Or Lollipop. Or unrooted Samsungs.
No they couldn't use it. You enter numbers of people that can connect to it.
npaladin-2000
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That is what I used with AT&T, I use the booster with TMO now.
The AT&T microcell gave me normal AT&T 3G speeds. That is why I used WiFi and kept a low data package. It doesn't amplify the signal, it makes the signal. Again, you can have zero cell service and use the femtocell and then have cell service. Had AT&T had the LTE one, I would have upped my data and dumped the WiFi for LTE data on my phone.
The LTE booster with TMO, not connected to internet, increased what was about a 5 mbps LTE speed to about a 25-30 mbps speed.
Got a link? Because what I read when it first came out, said no, you can have like around 18 connected and you pick them.
Also just like the AT&T one, you log in, enter the AT&T phone numbers that can connect. The hand off is automatic, there is no logging in for the user, but if their number isn't entered by you, they don't connect.
raino
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Any AT&T customer could connect to my microcell without logging in, but I had to enter their phone number to be able to automatically connect. No one could connect unless I went to the Web interface and added them as allowed.
No I didn't describe this unit. I described my AT&T 3G one, which is like this, but 3G and I described my TMO LTE booster.
No I didn't describe this unit. I described my AT&T 3G one, which is like this, but 3G and I described my TMO LTE booster.
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Now if TMO is going to do differently than all femtocells and forego the owner allowing who connects, that will have to eventually change.
First, if there are too many around that can connect, it can bump you off. Second, for a business that might want this and allow just anyone to connect, this isn't bug enough, not enough connections at the same time allowed.
Also, if I'm not mistaken, just like the AT&T one did, it counted against minutes if you didn't have unlimited calling. There are TMO plans with limited minutes. They couldn't allow anyone to connect when it uses minutes.
First, if there are too many around that can connect, it can bump you off. Second, for a business that might want this and allow just anyone to connect, this isn't bug enough, not enough connections at the same time allowed.
Also, if I'm not mistaken, just like the AT&T one did, it counted against minutes if you didn't have unlimited calling. There are TMO plans with limited minutes. They couldn't allow anyone to connect when it uses minutes.
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raino
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FWIW, found this on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/tmobile/comments/3revp8/state_of_the_us_femtocell_how_the_cellspot/
I think the expectation there would be that if the business anticipates >16 connections, they would order more units.
I don't see what the issue is here? This is just a signal amplifier. TMO doesn't restrict people with limited minutes off WFC either, right?
I think the expectation there would be that if the business anticipates >16 connections, they would order more units.
I don't see what the issue is here? This is just a signal amplifier. TMO doesn't restrict people with limited minutes off WFC either, right?
It isn't an amplifier, it is a mini cell tower, that is the difference. You have no TMO service, plug this in and you have TMO service.
The booster requires some TMO service, but the LTE cellspot doesn't. With the AT&T one and something I read about this one seemed the same, that it counted minutes through your microcell.
Now the technology on that could have changed at this point, BUT.. If they aren't going to have it work the same way others do, it will be a problem. I wouldn't have it and everyone around connecting and then I might not can connect when I need to make a call. That would be a bad move on TMO's part if they do that.
The booster requires some TMO service, but the LTE cellspot doesn't. With the AT&T one and something I read about this one seemed the same, that it counted minutes through your microcell.
Now the technology on that could have changed at this point, BUT.. If they aren't going to have it work the same way others do, it will be a problem. I wouldn't have it and everyone around connecting and then I might not can connect when I need to make a call. That would be a bad move on TMO's part if they do that.
They had a plan at one time with AT&T that you could get unlimited minutes for the microcell, so any calls while connected to that didn't count against plan minutes.
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