Stand alone mobile hotspot dropping constantly in Las Vegas

It might help if you identified the specific device. Anyway, there are two connections in play here, the connection of the hotspot to the cellular network and the connection of devices to the hotspot’s WiFi. You should be able to connect to the hotspot’s WiFi whether the device is connected to cellular or not. If not connected to cellular, you just get no internet. It sounds like your issue is connecting or staying connected to the hotspot’s WiFi. Since you say you get 5 bars, it sounds like the device is connecting to the cellular network just fine but not seeing the 5g and 2.4g WiFi networks from your devices might indicate the hotspot’s WiFi is going bad. 

I have an AT&T Turbo 2 hotspot.  I bought it a month ago.  It has 5 bars but the 5g doesn’t show up on any devices and after a few minutes the 2.4 will drop. 

“If your'e still not able to get a good connection, use our Troubleshooting and Resolve Tool to get a more personalized solution.”

this took me to a general page with no troubleshooting tool.

there are no blocked devices.

Thank you!  The reset on the device definitely helped.  Still a few pauses so going to run it longer to see if it starts dropping again.  But for now it is working 

We're glad to hear that your concerns were resolved, @Clline.

Feel free to reach back out to us in the future, if you need assistance.

Thank you for contacting the AT&T Community.

Lynn, AT&T Community Specialist

Darn, thought it worked, but back to dropping every few minutes.  At least both the 2.4 and 5 show but neither works very well.  Someone said antennas are being replaced in the area.  Does anyone know how to check that?  In 89134 zip code.  At this point, I can’t run my business this way so looking for any further help.  I can’t keep resetting every 15 minutes.  Doesn’t even run that well after reset. All was working fine until this week.

Someone said antennas are being replaced in the area.

Even if that were true, that has nothing to do with connecting to the hotspot WiFi. Again, two connections in play, hotspot connecting to cellular and devices connecting to hotspot WiFi. Your problem is the latter and that’s totally between your devices trying to connect and your hotspot device. Your hotspot device has its own antenna. Antennas on towers are not involved. There is probably something wrong with your hotspot device. 

So I bought another hotspot and tried it.  It is having the same problem so I don’t think it’s the hotspot device.  

We appreciate the updated, @Clline. 

What's the model number of your newly purchased HotSpot? 

Here are some things may be affecting your signal: 

• Electronics. ~ Electronics near your HotSpot can impact not only the Wi-Fi signal, but the incoming LTE signal because of electromagnetic interference. 
• The walls & building design. ~ Have you noticed areas in your home where Wi-Fi drops or where calling is an issue? Thick or concrete walls, metal frames, and even rooftops can affect the signal and in turn, your HotSpot connection.
• The number of devices connected. ~ The more devices connected to your Hot Spot, the slower speeds will be.  Each device shares a portion of the inbound signal. If you stream, game or download, your speeds drop further.
• The distance between you and the HotSpot. ~ The further away you are from the Hot Spot, the weaker your signal gets. A good indicator is the Wi-Fi meter drops on the device.

The fix: 

• Move the HotSpot away from electronics, place it on a hard surface (off the ground/floor, and elevated).
• Place the HotSpot near a window to improve LTE signal reception. Also, not all home designs will affect the LTE signal. Feel free to test different spots and/ or place the HotSpot in a central location. This can help improve Wi-Fi coverage.
• Reduce the # of devices connected to the HotSpot. If a device is being used to stream, game, or download, overall speeds will drop. If a device is not in use, turn it off. 
• Keep your device within 50-75 feet of the HotSpot. Depending on your home environment, the signal may reach out further.

In addition, some AT&T Hot Spots have the option to adjust settings to improve your Wi-Fi range and band. This can help improve your MiFi experience. If you are in an apartment or you are close to your HotSpot, we recommend using the 5GHZ frequency. This frequency provides a strong signal in local areas. Test different bands and ranges to determine what works best for you.

Change the Wi-Fi Band:

• Select the Wi-Fi icon.
• Select Wi-Fi Band.
• Select either 2.4Ghz or 5GHz.

Improve Wi-Fi Range:

• Select the Wi-Fi icon
• Select Wi-Fi Range.
• Select either Long, Medium, or Short. (If you are using your device for your home, long is recommended).

Keep us updated on how this information helps. 

Sydne, AT&T Community Specialist

Thank you for the suggestions, but I tried all of those.  Except the range as it doesn’t allow changing that.  It all worked fine until about a week ago.  The 2.4 works better than the 5.  I have no new electronics and it is not near any.  I have moved it all over the house.  I have tried it with 1 device.  Any other ideas? 

Thanks for your response, @Clline. 

Based on the information provided, we'd like to carry this over in a DM. 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, please gather all of your account details as we'll need it to perform our investigation. 

We'll chat soon! 

Sydne, AT&T Community Specialist

Hi Clline, we are here to help with your AT&T Turbo Hotspot 2 connectivity concerns!

We recommend checking your Wi-Fi basic settings to enable the 2.4 GHz/5GHz switch by logging in the hotspot portal (http://hotspot.webui) from your connected device's web browser, then navigate to Wi-Fi>Wi-Fi basic settings. Here is also our device support tool to check your device connection and help troubleshoot. 

If this doesn't help, you can always check for available software updates by logging in to the hotspot portal and navigate to system>software update to ensure your hotspot is running on the latest software. This also known to help with connection concerns. 

We also recommend checking out more info on improving your hotspot connection which includes:

• Placing your hotspot on a hard surface (off the ground/floor, and elevated). Avoid speaker systems as they are a big interference to your hotspot connection.
• Moving closer to the hotspot device and reducing the number of connected devices as the more devices connected to your hotspot, the slower speeds will be. 

For additional help, check out our helpful troubleshoot & resolve tool to help fix your hotspot connection concerns. You'll need to sign in under Fix my wireless to get personalized help. 

Feel free to reach back out to us if you have additional questions and let us know if this worked for you.

Thank you for posting on AT&T Community Forums!

Rhoda, AT&T Community Specialist