Skip to main content

Review: T-Mobile’s $25 Personal CellSpot is a no-brainer for Magenta customers and handover Wifi calling may even win some converts

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8jEi-g9hHI]

In all of the hoopla over the new iPhone 6/Plus, T-Mobile in the US and EE in the UK got themselves a pretty big exclusive (for now). T-Mobile has been offering Wifi calling for years but it’s recently come to the iPhone – and with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, gets even better with cell/wifi handover. (T-Mobile partnered with Gogo to enable texting and voicemails on participating airline journeys as well).

Wifi calling, for some, may be the type of feature that makes or breaks a carrier relationship. With it, you can make calls anywhere there is a wifi signal. That means basements, country homes and even foreign countries are all now open to making and receiving calls from your carrier phone number…

This isn’t just any call quality either. This is HD voice (if the other party also has it) and it sounds as good as any call you’ve ever made on your mobile device. Calls into Google Voice and Skype also sound pretty amazing.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and the latest Android phones now have new radios that allow a handoff between Wifi and Cell towers so that if you are coming home from work and happen to go into your basement, your call won’t drop. The radios on the iPhone 5/s/c won’t hand off, you’ll need to redial. For a family like mine, this is the type of feature that will allow us to cut the copper POTS line once and for all. Not only was our basement off limits to seemingly every carrier, but so was the back side of my house which included my office.

Acer-AC1900

T-Mobile sent me their ‘free’ (read: $25 deposit that you’ll never want back) Personal CellSpot Router (you can buy without T-Mobile account for $99) which actually is just an ASUS AC1900 Router with some T-Mobile stickers and an almost invisible T-Mobile branded firmware. You have to be a T-Mobile customer to get one of these and frankly at a retail price of $200, it is a pretty compelling offer (read: no-brainer).  To be clear, you don’t need this router to make Wifi calls or even do Wifi handoffs: Wifi calling works over any old wifi connection. But T-Mobile wants you to have the best router out there and it is hard to find more gushing reviews than you do from this one.

IMG_2100

The specs on the AC1900 router from ASUS:

  • Up to 1900 Mbps, 802.11AC(1300Mbps over 5G) + 802.11N(600Mbps over 2.4G). Broadcom TurboQAM™ technology increases wireless-N data rate to600 Mbps for 33% faster performance
  • 1 x Gigabit WAN port, 4 x Gigabit LAN ports, 1 x USB3.0/1 x USB 2.0 support Printer/HDD/(3G/4G dongle) sharing.
  • AiRadar with Beam forming technology to ensure maximum WiFi coverage. Dual-core processor for fast and responsive performance with Wi-Fi, Ethernet and USB devices.
  • AiCloud to bring you multimedia sharing from outside network and Smartphone
  • Enhanced ASUSWRT interface for Easy 3steps setup through Tablet, Smartphone and PC

I didn’t have time to benchmark everything about the router, but it if you’ve ever configured a non-Airport wireless router, it is pretty easy to set up. The web interface:

T-Mobile said they’ve done some fine-tuning on the router to help with QoS (to make sure phone call packets get the highest priority). This means that if your router is saturated with Netflix/Gaming/YouTube/Torrent/etc traffic, your calls will still sound as good as always. From the web interface, the configuration looked standard (below) and I wonder whether it screws up T-Mobile’s behind the scenes QoS stuff if you mess around with this.

9to5-image 2014-09-17 at 6.57.46 AM

I didn’t try. Some of you might be concerned that T-Mobile may use your connection to hook up your neighbors with service. T-Mobile told me that currently, there is no plan to do so. You have to let people on your Wifi to do this by giving them your password. If T-Mobile did something like this in the future and you didn’t like it, you could throw your router in a box and send it back to get your $25, but I genuinely don’t think it is a concern.

One downside of Wifi calling is that it counts against your phone’s plan minutes just like AT&T/Verizon/Sprint charge you minutes for using a home Femtocell. On the surface, this seems douchey because you are using your ISP after all but T-Mobile does have to route the call and handle voicemail (and you are getting a “free” router you ingrate). Most T-Mobile customers will have unlimited minutes so I don’t believe this is a big concern.

So I didn’t actually try Wifi handover on an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus because mine is somewhere between here and China. But T-Mobile was nice enough to send along a LG Flex (jeez, that thing is huge) which has the same type of handoff radios as the iPhone 6/6 Plus have. I can confirm that on the T-Mobile iPhone 5s, wifi calling works well. T-Mobile says that every smartphone they sell will have Wifi compatibility.

I can report that the radios work as advertised. I was able to make a call from down the street and walk into my house (where the phone picked up the Wifi of the ASUS router) and continue the call as I lost T-Mobile service in our downstairs bathroom. It all works pretty seamlessly and you can pretty much “set it and forget it.” Except you don’t even really have to set it.

The ASUS router is insane in its reach. I live on about 4 acres and currently have 4 routers covering the property (Apple Airport, DLink, Linksys and Verizon Actiontec). The ASUS somehow covers all but the corners of the 4 acres.

IMG_2103 IMG_2105

I’ll update this post once I get my iPhone 6 with some screenshots of how that works.

Wrap-up:

If you are a T-Mobile customer, go ahead and drop the refundable $25 on this router. It is worth it. It is likely stronger than your current router and will extend your signal not just for Wifi calling but also for other devices in your house. It can even be combined with an Airport (though I’m not sure the extra hop is worth the signal strength improvement). The ASUS AC1900 is a top-of-the-line wireless router that gamers and other high end wireless users often pay $200 for even if they aren’t using the Wifi calling.

As far as T-Mobile’s Wifi calling feature, it is one of those “game changers,” and as cliché as it sounds, yet another example of John Legere’s T-Mobile cornering the market on carrier innovation. Sprint and AT&T have already promised Wifi calling in the future but as we know, carriers often take their time when enabling features. AT&T for instance disgracefully took years to implement Apple’s built in Wifi hotspot and even disabled Facetime for many customers while it “figured out” the built-in IP technology.

I’m not oblivious to the fact that T-Mobile’s network isn’t as widespread as Verizon or AT&T. It clearly isn’t. But by opening up their network to Wifi calling early and indeed pioneering the practice and indeed forcing the other carriers to do so, T-Mobile has in many ways evened the coverage playing field and, more importantly, done right by their customers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBRcBSuPks4

Press release follows:

T-Mobile Launches Un-carrier 7.0 Un-leashes Wi-Fi Worldwide

Enables every T-Mobile customer and smartphone to call and text over any Wi-Fi connection
for seamless coverage where no carrier network reaches – even at 30,000 feet

Unveils T-Mobile Personal CellSpot for personal coverage wherever customers choose

San Francisco, California – September 10, 2014 – Get ready for a whole new way to think about mobile coverage. T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS) today rewrote the rules of wireless again with Un-carrier 7.0 “Wi-Fi Un-leashed,” breaking several major announcements that together deliver coverage where no cellular network has gone before.

With every major smartphone maker adopting it, Wi-Fi calling and texting has reached a tipping point, and T-Mobile is getting 100% behind it as only the Un-carrier can – to deliver unprecedented coverage to its customers to places where no cellular network can reach.

With Wi-Fi Un-leashed, T-Mobile announced that it’s lighting up Wi-Fi calling and texting for every Simple Choice customer on every new smartphone it sells. Now 100% of new smartphones in T-Mobile stores will be Wi-Fi calling and texting capable, and 100% of T-Mobile customers will be able to get a Wi-Fi calling and texting capable smartphone if they don’t already have one. To make it easier for customers to take advantage of these new capabilities, T-Mobile is opening an exclusive enrollment window in JUMP!, the Un-carrier’s revolutionary upgrade program, so customers can immediately upgrade to a new Wi-Fi calling ready smartphone.

“Wi-Fi Un-leashed is a game changer.  This is like adding millions of towers to our network in a single day,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “The difference between us and the traditional carriers is that they’ll do everything they can to make more money off you. We’ll do everything we can to solve your problems, and today, that’s about uniting Wi-Fi with our data strong network for unprecedented coverage.”

In contrast to the carriers, who lock customers inside walled-off, proprietary networks to monetize them, T-Mobile has taken a typically disruptive Un-carrier approach with “Wi-Fi Un-leashed” by tapping every available technology to deliver coverage in places unreachable by any cellular network – and by making it incredibly simple.  There’s no app to install or separate IDs to remember.  Just use your phone.

In addition to enabling T-Mobile customers to use any public or private Wi-Fi connection they can access like a T-Mobile tower for calling and texting, the Un-carrier has rolled out next-generation Wi-Fi calling and texting on its network.  This new technology is designed to deliver high-quality HD voice, fast call setup times, fewer dropped calls and seamless voice coverage between T-Mobile’s nationwide Voice over LTE (VoLTE) network and Wi-Fi with compatible smartphones.

With Wi-Fi Un-leashed, all T-Mobile customers can also make free Wi-Fi calls to the United States from anywhereoutside the country – all using their existing T-Mobile number with no app to install and no additional IDs or numbers to manage – wherever they have Wi-Fi.

Full-Bars Personal Coverage Wherever You Choose
In a classic Un-carrier move, T-Mobile introduced another radically simple idea−give customers the power and freedom to personalize their coverage wherever they choose. The Un-carrier unveiled the T-Mobile Personal CellSpot, a new device that enables everyone to put the capabilities of a personal T-Mobile tower in their house.

With 57% of American wireless users saying they often drop calls in and around their home, the Personal CellSpot delivers a full-bars T-Mobile experience − in your basement workshop, small business or anywhere else you have broadband – using state-of-the-art Wi-Fi technology. What’s more, it can completely replace your existing Wi-Fi router or operate right alongside it.  And, the T-Mobile Personal CellSpot comes with unique patent-pending technology that prioritizes voice calls for crystal clear HD voice.

Starting September 17th, every Simple Choice customer with a broadband connection and a Wi-Fi-calling ready smartphone can get a T-Mobile Personal CellSpot completely free of charge with a $25 refundable deposit. The only thing left to do is decide where you want your personal full-bars T-Mobile experience.

“For years, the big phone company utilities have told you where you can and can’t have coverage. And wherever their networks can’t reach, you’re SOL,” said Legere. “With T-Mobile Personal CellSpot, we’re putting an end to that old way of thinking. Now, you can decide wherever you want your own T-Mobile tower− giving you amazing full-bars experience where no carrier network has reached before.”

Coverage at 30,000 Feet
In a closely related move, T-Mobile extended “Wi-Fi Un-leashed” to the skies through an exclusive, new partnership with Gogo, the world’s leading in-flight connectivity service.  Through the partnership, T-Mobile customers will be able to send and receive unlimited text and picture messages, and even get visual voicemail, on any Gogo-equipped flight on U.S.-based airlines – that’s more than 75% of domestic flights carrying close to 300 million people last year.

And again this new service is absolutely free to all customers of the Un-carrier. Starting September 17, just enable Gogo in-flight texting once, then you can message just about anyone from anywhere you’ve got Gogo.  See www.t-mobile.com/gogophones for steps to enable Gogo in-flight texting and a list of compatible smartphones.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Comments

  1. Pudge Wagzs (@Iwagsz) - 10 years ago

    Looking forward to a IPhone 6 test drive and Wi-Fi calling.

  2. Bruno Fernandes (@Linkb8) - 10 years ago

    Some people act as if VoIP is new. What’s new is integration into the iPhone and potential seamless handoff.

    If you wanted to cut your POTS you could have done that 12 years ago like I did.

    The feature that would truly get me excited is access to the messages and dialer apps in iOS for all VoIP implementations, even if only through extensions built into a third party app. I won’t hold my breath for that.

    So here’s the big thing with Carrier-based WiFi calling. You’re paying your cell monthly plan rates for VoIP calls that from any VoIP provider are only a tiny fraction of the price. This is a great savings for companies like T-Mobile, while an overpriced convenience for customers. It’s positive all around, but honestly, it should come with a discount in your plan price. Not using your plan “minutes” isn’t a discount, it’s lip-service.

    • Tim Jr. - 10 years ago

      So if they don’t provide it .. it’s saving YOU money? how? How is that COSTING you anything if you already have WiFi / Internet? You make no sense? Discount you? for what? Extending your cell service to include VoIP?… So Vonage and other VoIP companies should be PAYING people?

      DURRRR

      You make no sense..

  3. Craig Hart - 10 years ago

    At&t offers this thing called a Micro Cell which connects to your internet and acts a mini cell tower. I have had one in my house for two years now and it was completely free.

    http://www.att.com/att/microcell/#fbid=rpK71OVvR4I

    • Seth Weintraub - 10 years ago

      AT&T often charge for this (if your area has adequate coverage for instance) so T-Mobiles is quite a bit better even if it is $25 – you are getting a pretty awesome router too.

    • nsxrebel - 10 years ago

      Yeah, I remember AT&T had these when I was with them up until the beginning of this year.

      The thing was, AT&T wouldn’t just give it to you nilly willy, it was like pulling teeth. Unless you had like no kidding, no service in your home, you would have to pay for it, as AT&T wouldn’t give it to you.

      I believe AT&T”s MicroCell was actually a mini Cell tower, not a WiFi router.

      With T-Mobile, the CellSpot is a WiFi router, so calls are over WiFi. It is FREE, with a $25 deposit, which you get back when you return the equipment.

      If you already have a WiFi router, then there’s no need to get this from T-Mobile. Just about any modern WiFi router will work. With AT&T, you NEED their Micro Cell to have similar service at home, that is, until they roll out their WiFi calling sometime next year.

    • dcj001 - 10 years ago

      I called the T-Mobile that is near me today. I asked about the Cellspot, and I was told that, for a limited time, they are taking orders with no deposit required, for post-paid T-Mobile customers. I have a pre-paid account. So, unfortunately, I am ineligible for the promotion.

      I use an Airport Extreme. So I do not need a router. But, if I were to need one, I would buy the Cellspot for $99.

  4. Jason Walker - 10 years ago

    2 questions:
    1 this will allow me to have better texting abilities in my home? That’s what it sounds like at parts of the press release.
    and 2. will this work on a 4s or is it time for me to finally upgrade?

    • Seth Weintraub - 10 years ago

      yeah texting also works over Wifi with this so yes better. You also get Texting in planes via Gogo. It is a T-Mobile software thing and since they didn’t sell the 4S it isn’t supported.

      • Jason Walker - 10 years ago

        Yeah i was pretty sure the 4S wouldn’t be supported. Oh well time for a 5S I guess! Thanks for the reply!

      • beastliest - 10 years ago

        Seth, any reason as to why the iPhone 5 isn’t supported then? They did sell it.

      • dcj001 - 10 years ago

        @Beastliest

        I believe that the iPhone 5 isn’t supported because the iPhone 5 does not support 4G LTE for T-Mobile. When I went with T-Mobile, this was the reason that I upgraded from an iPhone 5 to an iPhone 5S – for T-Mobile’s 4G LTE.

      • dcj001 - 10 years ago

        Basically, it appears to be a hardware component issue.

  5. chrisl84 - 10 years ago

    I had seen earlier reports this router had a range of 3000 square feet. I guess that was slightly over stated but a solid 4 acres is still real good.

    To use QoS this has to be plugged directly into your model correct, to use as a range extender for a Time Machine would not allow for the QoS? Or am I wrong in that?

    • chrisl84 - 10 years ago

      Modem*

      • chrisl84 - 10 years ago

        Hmm, further edit….depending on how that 3000 square feet was implied. 4 acres might actually blow it away.

    • Four acres is slightly more than 174,000 square feet. To say that 4 acres is “still real good” is a fairly dramatic understatement. ;o)

      • Xwpis Onoma - 9 years ago

        You are correct: 1 Acre = 43,560 sq. ft. So 4 acre is 174,240.

  6. If you go to the t-mobile site, I cannot locate where you can get this for the $25 dollar deposit, I can only find where you can buy it for $99. Has anyone been able to locate the $25 dollar deposit option on the web?

  7. beyondthetech - 10 years ago

    I agree it’s a no-brainer, because just knowing that my “free” router from my cable provider (Cablevision Optimum) is actually sharing out my bandwidth for other customers, I’d rather return it to the Optimum Store and pay the $25 “deposit” to T-Mobile for this CellSpot router.

    Even if T-Mobile updates the firmware to allow any T-Mobile user to use it as a mini-cell tower (which I actually hope they do), it’s probably going to be a lot less demanding than the free Wi-Fi hotspot for other cable modem subscribers I’m providing to right now against my will (or people who have handed out their Optimum ID to friends to get Wi-Fi), and who knows what the hell they’re surfing over my connection.

    Interestingly, I went to T-Mobile’s website, and they seem to be offering it for the $99 price, not the $25 deposit. On the line with T-Mobile Customer Service, and of course, they’re new to it (“CellSpot? What is that?”), so she’s transferring me to Technical Support who is equally clueless and put me on hold for the past 50 minutes.

    Hopefully they doesn’t think I’m trying to ask for the Signal Booster kit, which is still available for people is weak signal areas (those are still free on request if you qualify or complain enough).

  8. Toro Volt (@torovolt) - 10 years ago

    I’ve been doing this for years now since most of my time is spent at the office or at home where I have access to WiFi. Total phone bill is almost $0 . It is unfortunate that Apple didn’t called the iPod “iPhone WiFi” ;-). VoIP is the future and Cell Carriers will eventually become Data providers and this new feature get us closer. The Bria voip App will incorporate this feature, perfect for my iPad Mini LTE. !

  9. Mark Hendren - 10 years ago

    In the QoS screen if you click on the “QoS Configuration” there are other options for user defined QoS rules and priorities. Can you screenshot those to see if they made adjustments there?

  10. k1mgy - 9 years ago

    Placing calls is good, but no mention of receiving calls. The more critical need is to be reachable in a location without coverage.

    • Xwpis Onoma - 9 years ago

      You do not seem to get it! If you are in a location with NO coverage, you will NOT be able to receive NOR making calls. The point with WiFi is that ANY WiFi signal accessible by you will enable your phone to send AND receive in locations were cellular signal is not sufficient or even non existent. Any WiFi signal coming from ANY router will work but having a special T-Mo branded and optimized router simply is an extra layer of comfort. Problem is and I commented on that earlier, T-Mobile WiFi calling is ONLY available to T-Mobile branded phones and not any unbranded/unlocked phone. I.e. my Lumia 820 purchased from Europe (unbranded, unlocked) will not allow me to use this feature.

  11. Bone Datt - 9 years ago

    I don’t really care for Wi-Fi calling except during international travel, but my trusty Motorola WR850G router is 10 years old and is starting to show its age; so getting the Cellspot was a no-brainer. I didn’t have to pay a $25 deposit and setup was a breeze. I have about 14 devices at home that connect via Wi-Fi and none of them needed reconfiguration. I just set the Cellspot to the same SSID as my previous router and that was it (worked like I never changed routers). I use an HTC ONE M7 which supports Wi-Fi calling but doesn’t support handover. This is why I don’t use the Wi-Fi Calling feature often. When I do decide to upgrade my device, I would like to have one that supports LTE/Wi-Fi handover and also supports adequate amount of LTE bands (including the new T-Mobile band 12)

  12. tigershirtmiles - 9 years ago

    Does this work over secured WiFi to which we don’t have the password? We have secured Wireless at work (us grunt employees don’t know the authentication password) but have zero T-mobile coverage.

    • No, you would actually need to be connected to the WiFi network in order to use WiFi calling. It’s not magic, so it can’t just hack into a secure WiFi connection. :-P

      As for the Personal Cellspot, the Personal Cellspot itself is a wireless router that requires a broadband connection. If you have some kind of wired internet connection to plug into, then you can use it to create a new wireless network that will give you T-Mobile access, as well as general internet access.

  13. So I’m curious… As a T-Mobile customer, what can this “T-Mobile Personal Cellspot” do that my current WiFi connection can’t? Do I get any new abilities by switching over to this from my current router, or is it just basically a really good router for a ridiculously good price?

    • Seth Weintraub - 9 years ago

      it is the latter

      • Thanks for the quick reply! It sounds like a great deal, so I’m definitely considering it. :-)

        By the way, this router supports Wireless-G as well, right? I know, I’m so old-school most of my stuff doesn’t even support Wireless-N lol

  14. Xwpis Onoma - 9 years ago

    I couldn’t get my (European bought) Lumia 820 to work with WiFi calling so I went to a T-Mobile store to ask for help. The response was so disappointing: “Your phone has to be a T-Mo branded phone to work with wifi calling”. Sure enough the store employee was quick to offer me an “upgrade”, e.g. minimum down payment of $150!?! This is soooo LAME T-Mobile, you make such a big fuss about all this and it turns out it’s a marketing scheme, gimmick you could say, or as I call it a scam. Shame on you T-Mobile, you lost another customer and I’ll make sure I’ll take away with me many many more. Good bye!

  15. lsratdownload - 9 years ago

    Hi Seth, now that your iPhone 6 / 6S has arrived, are you able to test VoWiFi and VoLTE handoff in both directions? Sarah Reedy at LightReading mentioned it, and Walt Mossberg at Re/code tested it, but not using the Personal CellSpot router. Thanks.

    It’s a shame that Lock4GLTE is only available as a jailbreak option for iPhone 6 / 6 Plus – for areas with widespread LTE coverage, it can save the battery hit with SRVCC / Single Radio Voice Call Continuity.

Author

Avatar for Seth Weintraub Seth Weintraub

Publisher and Editorial Director of the 9to5/Electrek sites.


Seth Weintraub's favorite gear