1/15/2024 0 Comments Does att signal booster worlOn the MF279 the level of "throttling" during peak evening hours is much less (averaging 8.7mb/s down and 4.3mb/s up) than the Z700A, but still there (off peak speeds average 9.87mb/s down & 5.21mb/s up). Our Up Speeds were always much higher than our down speeds. Speeds between 7am and 3:30pm were mediocre (878 kb/s down & 16.13mb/s up). If you are ATT which matters more? The customer who is using a $800 iPhone after work on a $100/month plan or a customer who has a $199 modem as part of a family plan that runs $20/month? Highest speeds on the Z700A were always between 10pm and 6am (1.23mb/s down & 18.43mb/s up). Our slowest speeds were always between 4pm and 9pm daily leading me to believe that ATT throttled these units during peak usage hours. On the Z700A we averaged 530kb/s down and 14.56mb/s up (this is basis 6 tests per day over 60 days in 20 day increments of controlled time of day testing). ![]() Since the greatest improvement to either "modem" was when the internal antennas on the Z700A were removed, it leads me to believe that there is something in the network architecture or firmware that forces the unit to not recognize the boosted signal and seek out the direct tower signal. So while our phones realized an improvement of 14.6%, our Wireless "modems" only saw an improvement of 2.68% on a safe basis and a max improvement of 8.04% in a direct connection downstream of the weBoost Amplifier (again, a very UN-recommended setup). ![]() Connecting the MF279 directly downstream of the weBoost amp resulted in a consistent -103dbm (however, this set up is greatly frowned upon by weBoost Tech support). Connecting the MF279 directly to the Yagi (no amp) resulted in a consistent -109dbm. The Z700A had some ms156 antenna connectors, connecting the Yagi directly to those (no amplifier) and actually removing the internal antennas resulted in a -87dbm on that unit. On a clear dry night, we can hit -105dbm. However, both the Z700A and the MF279 only improved from -112dbm to -109dbm. With the weBoost powered up, our ATT iPhones all improved from -103dbm to -82dbm. My theory is that the firmware in the two ATT units prefer (seek out) the signal from the tower. While we do not have direct line of sight, our property sits 42 feet higher than the base of the tower with limited trees between. I have worked with the Z700A and MF279 utilizing a weBoost 4G Connect with a Yagi antenna aimed directly at the closest tower (2.1 miles as the crow flies). I haven't paid off my Home Base yet on my two year plan but it may be worth it to me to eat what's remaining and get the new device on a new two year plan. ![]() Reportedly AT&T was close to barring new mobile hotspots from the unlimited plus plan, but that hasn't happened yet. Antennas that plug directly into a device are always going to be less expensive than those that need an electronic booster to push the cell signal into the house and rebroadcast it so the device can pick up the signal. ![]() It has the same functions as the Home Base but reviews say it will do those things better, but more importantly for me it has antenna ports. That's why I was interested when I learned recently that AT&T is discontinuing the Home Base and replacing it with a thing called AT&T Wireless Internet (ZTE MF279). Just can't bring myself to pay what good signal boosters cost. I haven't used the landline replacement feature yet and to do that I would like to move the Home Base to a different part of the house but that's on the opposite side from the cell tower which would dramatically reduce the cell signal. To be honest since my Home Base works reasonably well I haven't done anything.
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