AT&T Microcell M-Cell not working with iPhone 5
Hi, has anyone tried their iPhone 5 with the AT&T Microcell? mine won't work, I have tried switching LTE on and off and it's the same, the iPhone 5 does not see the M-Cell. Thanks
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The Apple Support Community will permanently close on November 20, 2026. Starting today, the site will no longer accept new posts and is available in a read-only state.
You can continue to find trusted guidance and support on the official Apple Support site.
We want to thank the community members who have contributed their time and expertise to help others with their Apple products.
2 replies
Hello Megalaser/others...
I've --HAD-- the same issues as you. I bought a microcell when they first came out/offered in Kansas CIty area, maybe 2 years ago. My Microcell worked great for maybe 6 months till I upgraded from 3gs to a iphone 4. It stopped working when I bought the iphone 4 and upgraded to IOS 5.0, then 5.1. It (microcell) still did not work with the 4S. I purchased iPhone 5 and microcell still did not work. All the time calling ATT customer -DONTcare.
I noticed that a lot of blogs said their Mcell did work,, while others (like mine) did NOT work. I spent hours with ATT --upgraded/escalated- tech support in California,, still not working. but they (ATT tech support CA) did say to --DISABLE-- the Automatic Hand out. https://www.att.com/3gmicrocell/unauth/login.do?target=FOAMM (log in and deactivate). THey said the Iphone 4s and 5's do not reconnect after having handing off to a real cell tower vs Mcell. So, if you disable hand off, she said, once locking into a Mcell (like when you get home),, the Iphone does NOT release from that Mcell till you go 500-1000 feet from your Mcell device. That said it still did not work. I called them (ATT escalated support) last friday and for the first time got a decent answer, that you and others may find helpful. The EARLY generation Mcell devices are --NOT-- the same as today's. The newer ones are HARDWARE upgraded from the originals, and better interact with the newer phones. They suggested I go to ATT and purchase a new Mcell. I did do that. I then deactivated the old Mcell, and then activated the new/purchased Mcell. It has worked like a champ for over 6 days with my Iphone 5, son iphone 5, wife 4s and daughter 3Gs.
All I can say, since the new Mcells are returnable in 14 days from day of purchase,, you can try a brand new Mcell to see if that corrects your issue. It did mine.
I'm going to -try- to return my old Mcell back to ATT later this week. Wish me luck ! !
FYI,, Kansas CIty is a 4gLTE market. I usually get 1-2 bars of cell strength if NOT connected to Mcell, in my home/neighborhood. I have all settings (settings-general-cellular) turned ON, and with new Mcell,, all (phone, data, etc.) works great.
Good Luck to ALL! !
AT&T Microcell M-Cell not working with iPhone 5