I hate having had to pay AT&T $150 for a Cisco 3G Microcell, but I did so out of frustration with the crappy signal we have here in north vancouver, washington.
After authorizing the device, I added my wife’s and my cell number to the account.
Then I plugged the Microcell into power and my network via Ethernet.
After about 30 minutes, the cell picked up GPS (for E-911) and 3G.
I placed the unit at the top of our stereo rack, next to a window about 6′ off the ground.
The iPhone 4 switched to “AT&T M-Cell” instantly, at a full 5 bars.
Elizabeth’s 3GS didn’t switch, so I rebooted her phone and it fixed the problem. She had 5 bars also.
I called her and went upstairs. The worst signal I had was 1 bar in the hallway, with my hand wrapped around the iphone. I set it on the banister and it jumped back to 5 bars.
I then went out into the back yard into the furthest corner from the microcell and still had two bars and a clear connection to her.
She then walked across the street to get the mail and kept the connection to the microcell. She then went down the street to the corner while we kept the call.
She came home, her on 5 bars, me on 3, but both with a strong audio quality call.
I hung up and we both reset to AT&T network. After about 15 seconds, I switched back to the microcell and about 15 seconds later, her 3GS switched back also.
First test – Success!