Cheap $20 a month Stand Alone Unlimited Rural Internet through AT&T Wireless

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

This looks very interesting, But how do you figure out if there is ATT coverage at your home?


We all have tracfones and- This may be a really dumb question , but how do I make sure we aren't in an ATT dead spot before ordering one of these ATT OBD2 hot spot devices

Not a dumb question at all! It's the smart question. :thumbsup:

Start here with the AT&T coverage finder, then, as someone mentioned, borrow someone's AT&T phone to verify it at your house. The coverage map is a good start, but they are NOT 100% accurate, and there can be dead spots that are not shown.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I use the OpenSignal app on my phone. It shows what networks have signal in your location and signal strength. And direction to towers.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

I use the OpenSignal app on my phone. It shows what networks have signal in your location and signal strength. And direction to towers.

Not all phones are capable of all bands. If you have a Sprint phone, for example, it won't ever see AT&T or Verizon's 700 MHz signal. It simply does not have the hardware (antenna and filters) to receive the 700 band. So, you could install that app on your Sprint phone, check your location, and see NO 700 MHz, even though you are a quarter mile from a transmitter and have a booming signal.

Similarly, a T-Mo, Verizon, or AT&T phone will never see Sprint's 2500 MHz signal. They simply don't have the ability to receive it, even if it's the exact same model number.

So, while it may be useful for playing with on your own carrier, it's not a reliable method of determining coverage for another carrier.

Their maps aren't accurate, either. I just looked up my house, where I know I have decent Verizon coverage, non-existent Sprint or AT&T (as measured by engineering tools, not a phone), and their map shows no coverage for Verizon or Sprint, and weak coverage for AT&T.

 

[downsizingnow48]

Thanks for the correction. Learn something on TBN everyday.

 

[zimy]

I checked on the ZTE site and it's supposed to do all of the AT&T bands, just like the phone, and should be capable of 100 Mbps. I had wondered it it were limited to particular bands or were a lower category device, not capable of higher speeds, but that's not the case.

The most likely reason for the limitation is that the ZTE is accessing a different band than the phone, and that band doesn't have the capacity of the other bands. For example, if the ZTE has poor antenna (it probably does), it may be camping on the 700 MHz band, which would have lower speeds than 1900. 700MHz has better penetration than 1900, so the device will see a better signal on that band. If the phone sees 1900 well enough, it will "prefer" to stay on 1900 even if there is a better signal on 700. The ZTE may not see 1900 well enough to stay there, so it hands off to 700.


What kind of phone are you using for the comparison?

The zte mobley doesn't do carrier aggregation (CA)which is why it will be slower than an expensive flagship smartphone. Nice smartphones like samsung galaxies and iphone's have carrier aggregation. (they can connect to different frequency bands simultaneously to increase data speed) The mobley can only connect to one band at a time. If the band its connected to is super fast then it will be fast, if the band is slow it will be slow. The nicer smartphones can connect to 2 or 3 slow bands simultaneously to give the appearance of a single fast connection. (I googled it)

 

[BigBlue1]

I checked on the ZTE site and it's supposed to do all of the AT&T bands, just like the phone, and should be capable of 100 Mbps. I had wondered it it were limited to particular bands or were a lower category device, not capable of higher speeds, but that's not the case.

The most likely reason for the limitation is that the ZTE is accessing a different band than the phone, and that band doesn't have the capacity of the other bands. For example, if the ZTE has poor antenna (it probably does), it may be camping on the 700 MHz band, which would have lower speeds than 1900. 700MHz has better penetration than 1900, so the device will see a better signal on that band. If the phone sees 1900 well enough, it will "prefer" to stay on 1900 even if there is a better signal on 700. The ZTE may not see 1900 well enough to stay there, so it hands off to 700.


What kind of phone are you using for the comparison?

Thanks for the info. I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S6 Active.

Rob

 

[BigBlue1]

The zte mobley doesn't do carrier aggregation (CA)which is why it will be slower than an expensive flagship smartphone. Nice smartphones like samsung galaxies and iphone's have carrier aggregation. (they can connect to different frequency bands simultaneously to increase data speed) The mobley can only connect to one band at a time. If the band its connected to is super fast then it will be fast, if the band is slow it will be slow. The nicer smartphones can connect to 2 or 3 slow bands simultaneously to give the appearance of a single fast connection. (I googled it)

I read that somethwere else too. Could well be what I'm experiencing. Oh well, I'm getting 20-30 Mbps with the Mobley here at home so I'm happy with it.

Thanks,
Rob

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

The zte mobley doesn't do carrier aggregation (CA)which is why it will be slower than an expensive flagship smartphone.

True, but it's still a Cat 3 device, and is capable of 100 mbps. It's a Qualcomm MDM925 modem.

I think the band selection is the most likely reason for being capped like that. Living in a rural area, it's not likely that CA is active where he lives. But, it's possible.

Thanks for the info. I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S6 Active.

Nice phone! I'm an RF engineer working for one of The Big 4 cellular operators, and until about a year ago, I worked in device testing. All of the carriers test phones (at least the big sellers) to make sure they aren't going to harm the network, or give us a bad name. The Samsungs are always the best in radio performance. Operating systems are more of a user preference, but radio performance can be quantified in a lab, and Samsung leads the pack.

 

[Xfaxman]

Do I have to activate it before it will receive a signal?

The Power led is green but real dim. No signal, tried three different windows.

It is broadcasting Wi-Fi to my computer.

 

[newbury]

Do I have to activate it before it will receive a signal?

The Power led is green but real dim. No signal, tried three different windows.

It is broadcasting Wi-Fi to my computer.

I believe people have reported that if bought from AT&T with a plan it came activated. Others have had to get it activated.