AT&T MicroCell Troubleshoot Manual

MicroCell
™
Informational Document for
Technical, Operational, and Troubleshooting Issues v1.7
by Otto Pylot
Page 5 of 23
The MicroCell can support up to four voice or data users at once and can be shared
with up to 15 UMTS mobile phones (but they must all be on the AT&T service).
There is no monthly cost to use the MicroCell unless you choose to opt for the
unlimited in-home use plan. Pricing and rebates may vary from time to time.
You can have multiple MicroCells on one account at a single location to extend
coverage.
Nominal setup: modem -> router -> MicroCell.
The MicroCell needs to be no more than 18” away from a window with an
unobstructed view of the sky and at least 2’ away from a WiFi source. The MicroCell
can be oriented in such a way that the side of the MicroCell is horizontal to the
window if you are having trouble getting a good GPS lock. In other words, if you are
looking at the lights on the front of the MicroCell, the right or left side is facing the
window. The reason is that the antennas are located on the top of the pc board and
sometimes a 90 degree orientation is enough to render GPS fixing variable. GPS
connectivity must be maintained at all times.
If you need to use a GPS extension antenna to locate the MicroCell away from a
window they can be found online. The connector is a MCX type. One adapter that is
available is from L-Com (Part#CA-MPNFCN19) and allows one to connect a 70 Ft
type high quality "N" cable to an external GPS antenna, but others that are not so
expensive are available from Amazon and you can even find one specific for the
MicroCell.
Alternate setup: modem -> MicroCell -> router.
This is usually reserved for troubleshooting because it by-passes the router
altogether which eliminates one source of connection issues. You can use the
connection if it solves your problem without any harm, but the MicroCell will have a
direct connection to the internet and this configuration may adversely affect other
connected network devices, especially their bandwidth.
Minimum Router requirements:
DHCP enabled
Ports 123 UDP, 443 TCP, 500 UDP, and 4500 UDP must be open (Public and
Private ports).
IPSec Pass-Through is enabled
Block Fragmented Packets is disabled
NAT duties handled by only one device if you have a separate router and
modem (gateway)

AT&T MicroCell Specifications

General

Brand	AT&T
Model	MicroCell
Category	Extender
Language	English