Cell booster issues

Hi, KimmieB22! Allow us to offer some helpful suggestions to get your Cell Booster connected!

First, make sure your device is set up and activated. Then make sure connections are securely connected. Do not bend the cable, this can damage the wiring and cause issues with the connection. Reset your modem one more time by pressing and holding the red reset button for 30 seconds. 

Next, navigate to the wireless support article and scroll down to the bottom of the page to find step-by-step help with Cell Booster setup & troubleshooting. You can also find more solutions and support here in the Forums.

Give these tips a try, then come back and let us know if these suggestions helped.

Jonye, AT&T Community Specialist

@KimmieB22  

1. Who is your ISP and what kind of internet service do you have?

2. How is the Cell Booster setup?

3. Do you live in a rural area, city, apartment, etc?

4. Did you double check that your address and information is correct on the app and that it matches your cellular account?

5. You may have to power off the Cell Booster completely and leave it alone for a day or two. Multiple attempts to deregister/register the Cell Booster may lock up your Cell Booster account because the request needs to go all the way through the system. Otherwise, there will be conflicting requests which will lock the system up.

6. Support can be useless because most of them do not even fully understand how the Cell Booster works and their scripts really don't solve anything.

7. Have you completely powered off your phone, let it sit for a minute or so, and the power it back on while in close proximity to the Cell Booster? It could be that your phone needs to register the Cell Booster as part of its cellular neighborhood. The LTE light should flash white if connection to your phone is made and your phone should indicate LTE. Make sure your iPhone is set to LTE if that is an option. If the option is not available, then your iPhone will only use LTE.

8. Enable WiFi but not WiFi-C.

9. Read my Cell Booster Tech Guide, link is in my sig line.

10. I'm assuming you have a postpaid AT&T Cellular Account.

Thanks OttoPylot. Service is through local phone company/DSL with speed that is higher than recommended. CB is plugged directly into DSL router, away from any WiFi devices with GPS in the window. CB does NOT come up on the app but when I try to register it, it says it’s already registered. Can’t delete it if it doesn’t show up. 

we are in very rural Alaska, in a single family home. Email from AT&T has the correct physical address for the CB; account address is a PO Box because we don’t have rural mail delivery. 

items 5-10, answer is yes. 

@KimmieB22, we want to help get your Cell Booster working for you. 

Let’s meet in a Direct Message so that we can troubleshoot more with you to get your Cell Booster working. Please check your Direct Message Inbox (it’s the chat icon next to the bell icon in the upper right corner of the Forums)

In the meantime, look through our find and fix AT&T Cell Booster to see it leads to a solution. 

Find step-by-step help with Cell Booster setup, use, and troubleshooting.

We look forward to meet with you in a Direct Message to find a solution for your Cell Booster. Thank you for contacting AT&T Community Forums.

Lorie, AT&T Community Specialist

@KimmieB22 Did you ever have the MicroCell or is this your first femtocell from AT&T? You address may be the issue. PO Boxes are not allowed as your physical address must agree with the GPS coordinates sent by the Cell Booster and that may be what is hanging up the system. 

DSL can be tricky with the Cell Booster (I had DSL years ago when I first started using the MicroCell) because your line needs to have stable speeds and be very clean. What exactly are your "up to" speeds? 

Depending on your provider, you may have to get into your router and see one, if it sees the MAC address of the Cell Booster and two, the minimum router requirements are being met. For that, you will have to work with your provider or the mfr of the router as AT&T can not help you with specific router setups.

Can you do WiFi-C (WiFi Calling)?

This is the first microcell I’ve had through AT&T/this location. Others I’ve had were in NC through Verizon. 

yes, I can do wifi calling

@KimmieB22  It could be either your physical DSL connection or your ISP. If you use ISP-supplied equipment it could be a default setting in the router that is interfering with the connection to the AT&T Mobility Servers.

You need to determine if the router you are using is meeting the minimum router requirements as listed in my Tech Guide. And for that you'll need to work with your ISP and/or the router's mfr.

If WiFi-C works well for you then that really is the preferred method of connectivity.

I had trouble connecting my ATT cell booster. My previous one worked fabulously. This Is the new 5G one that was sent to replace the original. I can activate it but that is all. I have had my internet technician out to check modem. Everything checked. It doesn’t connect to my phone and give it the boost that the original did. I have been on phone with ATT technical support team for three days. Each time ending with them suppose to have a supervisor call me back to resolve issue. I have yet to hear from them. HELP

@Mullanev  To be clear, the Cell Booster is LTE only. It is not 5G, nor will it be. It is also not a cellular booster but a femtocell just like the 3G MicroCell was.

 What does the light pattern on the Cell Booster indicate and did you receive an email/message from AT&T that said you are connected and ready to go? 

If your phone connects to the Cell Booster, the 4G/LTE light will flash white and your phone will indicate LTE. If all of the lights are a solid white, and AT&T says you are good to go, then you may have to turn your phone completely off, wait a couple of seconds, and then turn it back on and let it reboot. Do that in close proximity to the Cell Booster. It could be that your phone just need to register the Cell Booster as being part of its cellular neighborhood.

Your phone also has to meet AT&T's post-3G requirements. See my Cell Booster Tech Guide, the link is in my sig line.

Can you do WiFi-C (WiFi Calling) because that really is the preferred method for improving poor in-home coverage.