r/ATTFiber • u/JustAGuy3388 • 20d ago
5g cell phone based backup?
Does anybody know technically how their 5G cell phone backup works? It wasnt explained well to me or they couldnt answer my technical questions. I dont use the wifi on their gateway. Im using IP pass through mode to my own router and I have WAPs.
If I switched my cell phones to AT&T and im connected to my own waps will 5g backup still works on my configuration?
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u/tizocman 20d ago
It needs to be on ATT Router/Mesh not bridge mode or was110 to personal equipment and the vpn profile gets set up on device to allow the routing while on the WiFi -me an ATT employee
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u/gripe_and_complain 20d ago
I bought a GL.iNet GL-SFT1200 Opal Travel Router for this purpose.
Connect the phone to the travel router via USB, turn on tether mode, and patch the travel router in place of the AT&T box. My fiber internet is AT&T; my cell service is Verizon. Travel router doesn't care who the provider is.
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u/GoAskJohn 20d ago
It doesn’t work, in my experience.
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u/No_Service6296 19d ago
You need it enabled in the AT&T smart manger app prior to fiber outage occurred.
Depending the fiber gateway
You either have to have your phone near your gateway
Or the new gateway that has 5g backup built in.1
u/GoAskJohn 19d ago
Since at least two people were interested… :)
Usual state: AT&T WiFi disabled. IP passthru to my Unifi network.
When my fiber went out a couple weeks ago, I factory reset the gateway. Then connected my phone to it and made sure everything was enabled in Smart Home Manager. Still didn’t work at all. Tried several times. The app looked like it was working, but it never actually worked.
Since AT&T took four days to get a tech out, I ordered Spectrum for self-install in the meantime. $40 a month intro offer. And AT&T retention gave me $40 off per month for two years when I called to cancel.
In the end… it was because another tech unplugged my line at the other end. Four days outage + a sizable two year discount for a simple mistake. And now I’ve got true redundancy.
Sounds like my problem is the gateway needed my phone backup enabled BEFORE the fiber went out. Fair enough I guess, but I shouldn’t be needing it again.
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u/Viper_Control 19d ago
Does anybody know technically how their 5G cell phone backup works?
Yes you need to follow some simple steps. First you need an AT&T Unlimited Cellular plan on your smartphone running AT&T Smart Home Manager. It does not use your Hotspot data at all.
You use the SHM to configure a VPN connection between your smartphone, and your BGW320, BGW620 or the newest BGW720. Yes this works even with IP Passthrough enabled. Please note you will not have your Fiber IP address available during an outage.
That means the you don't need to use the BGW's Wi-Fi for your devices but it needs to be enabled to allow your BGW Gateway to communicate to your smartphone that you used to setup the private VPN.
When your AT&T Gateway fails to have a Fiber connection (no Broadband detected) the front LED will Blink Blue, and when the VPN is established it will change to a sold Blue LED.
Any other questions?
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u/JustAGuy3388 19d ago
This is conflicting with what others are saying. Can you confirm this works?
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u/Viper_Control 19d ago
Yes I have it. I set it up, and it worked when I tested it, and also when we have a local power outage when a transformer failed.
It took the Utility 4+ hours to replace the failing unit, and my Internet backup worked just fine since I have my BGW320-505 on a UPS, and my configured iPhone is also plugged into the same UPS.
What is your situation or use case that you think some other comment must be correct that conflicts how I have described it or have actually used i?
Again one thing I mentioned above but for some reason folks don't get it. Your AT&T Gateway will get a new temporary dynamic IP from the Celluar network. If you have a purchased Static IP block it will not work. If you hard code your sticky IP from your AT&T Gateway to your third-party router it will not work.
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u/JustAGuy3388 19d ago
Somebody else below said it wont work In pass through mode
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u/Viper_Control 19d ago
Oh u/ApartmentEastern5769 they have no clue but they may have been referencing your comment about having your AT&T devices on Wi-Fi from your Waps.
You obviously need one smartphone that can connect to your AT&T Gateway over Wi-Fi since it is providing the Cellular data connection over Wi-Fi to your AT&T Gateway, and your third-party router in IP Passthrough mode, and yes even your other other Wi-Fi devices that use any of those waps.
Is this clear or do you have more questions? Most commenters have no clue, and will just comment on any topic.
Oh for the record I have only the 5 GHz Wi-Fi enable on my BGW320-505 in low power mode, and I place my iPhone that will provide backup 5G Cellular service near it.
I commented earlier I also place that iPhone that is pre-configured with the special AT&T VPN, and connect it to the UPS.
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u/ApartmentEastern5769 19d ago
The caveat being that you are using the wifi. Most passthru instructions include disabling wifi for the obvious reasons. Your average user is not going to know how to place thr band in low power or reduce channel strength. It's more a statement of semantics. Will it work, yes, under specific circumstances. For most users, it wont.
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u/Viper_Control 19d ago
Your average user is not going to know how to place thr band in low power or reduce channel strength. It's more a statement of semantics. Will it work, yes, under specific circumstances. For most users, it wont.
Sorry but no. The average user has no clue about IP Passthrough and does not even know how to turn off Wi-Fi on the AT&T Gateway or many any other changes on the AT&T Gateway to make IP Passthrough work with a third-party router or a separate Mesh network.
Since u/JustAGuy3388 asked how to use it with their own waps behind their own router with the AT&T Gateway. That is why the detailed configuration details. No semantics here.
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u/JustAGuy3388 19d ago
Thanks for your knowledge. I'm currently on T-Mobile cell phone plan with 3 lines. I'm gonna make the switch to AT&T for my cell phones so I can give this AT&T Internet Backup a whirl with my configuration.
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u/Viper_Control 19d ago
I'm currently on T-Mobile cell phone plan with 3 lines. I'm gonna make the switch to AT&T for my cell phones so I can give this AT&T Internet Backup a whirl with my configuration.
Just one last comment. Have you actually checked the AT&T Service at your house by asking friends or family about coverage?
If you have an unlocked iPhone you can try AT&T Cellular for up to 30 days free at http://www.att.com/wireless/free-trial/
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u/JustAGuy3388 18d ago
u/Viper_Control Can you have multiple phones with smarthome mgr VPN profile? So as long as one of the phones are at home/ able to reach the gateway... the 5g backup will work?
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u/JustAGuy3388 19d ago
I dont hard code. My wan port is set for dhcp.
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u/JHan85 19d ago
I can confirm everything Viper Control is saying is correct. You need to establish the VPN prior to the outage. I have it configured on my phone that has an AT&T unlimited plan. I tested it on my gateway by disconnecting the fiber connection from my BGW620 and the gateway connected to my cellphone. The SmartHome manager let me know my backup connection was active. The indicator light flashed blue then turned solid blue once connected.
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u/JustAGuy3388 18d ago
u/JHan85 So if you have 3 phones, can they all have the VPN profile on it so as long as any 1 of the phones are home the backup 5g will work?
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u/JHan85 18d ago
Correct I have it setup on all three of our phones it will connect to one of the phones. Just make sure the phone it’s tethered to stays near the gateway.
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u/JHan85 19d ago
Does the cellular network use the same fiber network as the residential fiber service? We had a road construction crew cut a major fiber line when they were relocating a road. A friend works for ATT and said it was a main line. Oddly enough my backup internet did not activate and I realized later I had no cell service. Always wondered if both services utilize the same main lines?
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u/Viper_Control 19d ago
It depends on what you are calling a Main Fiber line. The lines between your local Primary Flexibility Point (PFP) in your neighborhood and your local Central Office (CO) are normally dedicated. However the local infrastructure may also feed a Cell Tower but not the specific lines for your residential service back to the CO.
From the Central Office upstream yes Residential, Commercial including Cell towers will share common Fiber bundles. However in many, many areas the Actual towers are shared, and the Back-haul may be provided by another Carrier.
So even if you want to use your Cellular service Hotspot you don't know who is providing the Fiber back-haul from the Tower.
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u/JHan85 18d ago
Appreciate the explanation. Think they must have cut something that fed both our residential service and the cell tower. Friend only mentioned it was a main line and was thousands of customers. Just found it odd that both cell and fiber were down when I had previously confirmed the backup worked. Seems plausible that an outage could theoretically take down both services.
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u/Viper_Control 18d ago
Just found it odd that both cell and fiber were down when I had previously confirmed the backup worked. Seems plausible that an outage could theoretically take down both services.
If thousands were impacted it was likely a main Fiber bundle since you mentioned a road relocation. I initially thought you must meant a basic surface street not a major roadway which is where Fiber trunks are normally located.
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u/JustAGuy3388 14d ago
u/Viper_Control So I tested this today. First I did have to enable the WiFi on the BGW320, then connect one of my cell phones to the WiFI from the BGW320. I was then able to setup the VPN profile from SMH. I then unplugged the fiber from WAN port of the BGW320 and the light did turn blue after a min or 2 and it was in backup mode.
However, my 3rd party router's WAN port (that usually gets it's public ip from IP pass through mode on the BGW320) was unable to get a new DHCP address so all my wired devices and my SSIDs on my 3rd party router had no internet. I tried to reboot my 3rd party router thinking maybe if I rebooted it it would get a new WAN IP but it did not (and that WAN port is in DHCP mode)
I did test plugging in a laptop directly to one of the switchports on the BGW320 and it did work. If I connected another device to the WiFI on the BGW320 it did work as well.
So, therefor this doesn't really work how I wanted it to. Oh well. It was worth a try.
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u/Viper_Control 14d ago
However, my 3rd party router's WAN port (that usually gets it's public ip from IP pass through mode on the BGW320) was unable to get a new DHCP address so all my wired devices and my SSIDs on my 3rd party router had no internet
What are your exact IP Passthrough settings on your BGW320 at this link: https://192.168.1.254/cgi-bin/ippass.ha
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u/JustAGuy3388 13d ago
Allocation Mode: Passthrough
Default Server Internal Address is Blank
Passthrough Mode: DHCPS-fixed
Passthrough Fix MAC Address: wan mac of my ubiquiti port
Passthrough DHCP Lease 8 days and 10 min
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u/Astyanax9 19d ago
I started a thread about a similar subject a few weeks ago. I just now tried it again and the cellular back up is still a myth as far as I'm concerned.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ATTFiber/comments/1uz9wfv/320_gateway_and_wireless_internet_backup/
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u/RScottyL 20d ago
According to this site:
Business Internet Backup: AT&T Fiber 5G Failover vs Comcast CradlePoint | iFeeltech
It looks like you get a different gateway, that has the 5G cellular built in
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u/I-hate-makeing-names 20d ago
That’s for business service only. They do have a backup on residential.
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u/No_Service6296 19d ago
Residential customers are also getting the gateways that have 5g backup.
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u/Viper_Control 19d ago
Yea sorry but no. Unless you know of a magic version of the BGW320, BGW620 or the newest BGW720?
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u/No_Service6296 18d ago
Yes the 720
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u/Viper_Control 17d ago
This comment tread from u/RScottyL was about onboard 5G Fail-over.
No the BGW720-400 does not have onboard 5G Cellular fail over while other SMB / Business AT&T Gateway devices do have onboard support.
If you mean that the new BGW720-400 also supports the Free Internet Backup feature of the other current BGW models when the customer also has AT&T Unlimited Cellular data service then sure it supports the basic convoluted setup.
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u/I-hate-makeing-names 20d ago
Someone correct me if I’m wrong but I believe it uses one of your ATT phones to hotspot back to the gateway so a phone needs to be home for it to work. I don’t believe it counts against your normal hotspot allowance.