My ATT Cell Booster Pro First Impressions

@abudwill  A lot of that is already covered in my AT&T Cell Booster Technical Guide, link is in my sig line. It mostly refers to the Cell Booster but operationally, the Pro is the same with just a couple of extra features. I used my iPhone 12 as well to determine LTE signal strength as I tested it throughout my home and the initial results are in my Tech Guide.

The whitelist advantage of the CBP has not been rolled out so that it is available, and working, for all CBP users, so any user with an AT&T cellular account, who meets the post-3G cellular requirements will still have access to your CBP if within range. There have been lots of issues with that feature to date. AT&T Support on that, like anything Cell Booster/Pro related, is of no real help.

Coverage is an issue and one that I have mentioned continually since I started testing the Cell Booster for AT&T back in January. It appears that coverage is analogous to coverage with 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi. One can go further with slower speeds (2.4GHz) and the other one (5GHz) can't go as far but has better speeds. 3G vs LTE. Depending on where you have it located (centrally and elevated somewhat), the size of your home, etc definitely affects the coverage/useable area. The MicroCell (3G) was much better in that respect. And, if your outside cellular signal is a bit stronger at times than the CBP's signal, your phone will attempt to connect to that which can cause call quality issues. This becomes more apparent as you move around your home. Always leave WiFi enabled so that data will use WiFi and the CB/P will only be used for voice.

Reliability and coverage are the biggest issues with the Cell Booster (either one). WiFi-C (WiFi Calling) is still the preferred method for improving in-home coverage for most folks. I only re-activate my Cell Booster every couple of months just to keep my account active and to receive any updates (which there has only been one since launch). I keep it online for about 2 weeks and then it goes back into the closet. I then go back to WiFi-C which works perfectly in our 3500 sq.ft. 2-story home on about a 1/2 acre. We also have a mesh WiFi system so WiFi is very strong and reliable in our home.

If you decide to use two Cell Boosters for increased coverage keep in mind that they should be at least 50' apart (further if possible) and you won't be able to easily and seamlessly hand over a call from one to the other if you move around your home while on a call.

@OttoPylot Agree - I think everything I talked about is in your guide. A great guide by the way, I read in detail before purchasing. Thought I would give things a whirl myself hoping for a better result.

I wish we could see diagnostic data from the units. From what I understood in your guide, during the activation process the booster will set/adjust its signal power level based on the type of signal it sees from outside towers. This makes sense - don't want to overwhelm airspace promoting devices pairing to a nearby femtocell vs the proper towers. But the detail driven part of me questions if that happened properly - what if my boosters tx power is inappropriately low? Would seem to jive with observed experience vs marketing claims.

I'll admit I am not a radio expert. Wi-Fi operates at 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. Your guide notes the booster pro operates on Band 2 (1930 - 1990Mhz), Band 14 (700Mhz), Band 66 (AWS-# 2110Mhz - 2200Mhz). Radio from my Wi-Fi at 2.4Ghz reaches middle of my street. I always thought less frequency meant waveforms were further apart - therefore travel further and are less susceptible to interference. If the cell signals are operating at less at 2.4Ghz I would expect them to travel further than my 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi signals. But - I am way over generalizing and don't understand the implementation / how the cell radio waves are interpreted - this could very well be an apples to oranges comparison!

I am wise enough to know the people at ATT smart enough to assist aren't accessible and my best bet is to reposition my booster and make the best of it.

Thanks for the awesome guide.

@abudwill  Thanks. In theory, every time the Cell Booster is powered off or resets, it goes thru the Initial Activation process. Part of which is detecting the local tower, registering the bands/frequencies the FCC has approved for that service area, checking on signal strength for handing off, and adjusting the Cell Booster for maximal output based on the tower at that time. That should stay fairly consistent but can change a bit for various reasons. The Cell Booster doesn't actually use the local tower for calls but does need to maintain and update that information, as well as for maintenance checks. It's all automatic and there is no way for the consumer, or even AT&T to override that. 

My example of 2.4GHz/5GHz WiFi is just to show that there are differences in coverage and strength depending on frequencies used, and hopefully that helps to explain why the MicroCell's 3G signal just seemed more robust and reliable that the LTE signal of the Cell Booster.

As far as the bands listed in my Tech Guide go, those are just the general bands and frequency ranges that AT&T uses for the Cell Booster. There are specific frequencies within those ranges that can be used for different reasons but I opted to not mention those to keep the overview as general as possible and still maintain some level of accuracy.