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+-- Forum: PinePhone (https://forum.pine64.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=120)
+--- Forum: General Discussion on PinePhone (https://forum.pine64.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=127)
+--- Thread: Trying to diagnose what's wrong... (/showthread.php?tid=13093)
Trying to diagnose what's wrong... - m16a1 - 02-12-2021
Hello.
I got a PinePhone a few weeks ago and haven't had any luck getting it activated.
I added the phone to my Tello account and requested a GSM sim card. Tello runs on Sprint CDMA and T-Mobile GSM, so I figured the T-Mobile side might work.
Put the card in, went through the online registration process and was immediately told to call Customer Service.
3 calls, 2 chats and 10 email exchanges later, still no joy. I've combed forums trying to figure out what to try next and I'm pretty much at my wit's end.
Running Manjaro Phosh B5 installed on the eMMC, phone was originally a KDE Plasma edition, but that install got hosed on day 1...lol. At the current time, nothing is working...calls, texts, data, etc. I should have access to all of these in my Tello account, which is paid up.
I have also downloaded the Multi Boot and tried several different systems, no joy.
I keep getting a message in Modem Manager that says "Modem must be registered in mobile network to connect to Internet." Occasionally, I will get a flurry of activity in which the status bar at the top flashes either "4G" or "3G" on and off, very quickly, for about 3-4 seconds, then the bars disappear and the 3G/4G goes away.
Changing the APN does nothing. I've pulled and reinserted the sim, restarted the phone, turned the phone on and off 100 times.
I'm open to suggestions!
RE: Trying to diagnose what's wrong... - C0ffeeFreak - 02-12-2021
(02-12-2021, 07:53 PM)m16a1 Wrote: Hello.You activated the sim in another device, correct? Then you transferred it into the Pine Phone? I wouldn't try to activate a sim card in the US in the Pine Phone. Because it's not whitelisted by any carrier it could get blacklisted. Activate the sim in another mainstream device and then put it in the Pine Phone.
I got a PinePhone a few weeks ago and haven't had any luck getting it activated.
I added the phone to my Tello account and requested a GSM sim card. Tello runs on Sprint CDMA and T-Mobile GSM, so I figured the T-Mobile side might work.
Put the card in, went through the online registration process and was immediately told to call Customer Service.
3 calls, 2 chats and 10 email exchanges later, still no joy. I've combed forums trying to figure out what to try next and I'm pretty much at my wit's end.
Running Manjaro Phosh B5 installed on the eMMC, phone was originally a KDE Plasma edition, but that install got hosed on day 1...lol. At the current time, nothing is working...calls, texts, data, etc. I should have access to all of these in my Tello account, which is paid up.
I have also downloaded the Multi Boot and tried several different systems, no joy.
I keep getting a message in Modem Manager that says "Modem must be registered in mobile network to connect to Internet." Occasionally, I will get a flurry of activity in which the status bar at the top flashes either "4G" or "3G" on and off, very quickly, for about 3-4 seconds, then the bars disappear and the 3G/4G goes away.
Changing the APN does nothing. I've pulled and reinserted the sim, restarted the phone, turned the phone on and off 100 times.
I'm open to suggestions!
RE: Trying to diagnose what's wrong... - rocket2nfinity - 02-13-2021
Could also be your signal is just too weak, or maybe the internal antenna is disconnected. That's happened to a few people.
RE: Trying to diagnose what's wrong... - m16a1 - 02-13-2021
(02-12-2021, 11:14 PM)C0ffeeFreak Wrote: You activated the sim in another device, correct? Then you transferred it into the Pine Phone? I wouldn't try to activate a sim card in the US in the Pine Phone. Because it's not whitelisted by any carrier it could get blacklisted. Activate the sim in another mainstream device and then put it in the Pine Phone.
"Blacklisted" doesn't sound good. If that's the case, will moving to a different T-Mobile MVNO change anything? I did not attempt to activate in another device...
(02-13-2021, 01:33 AM)rocket2nfinity Wrote: Could also be your signal is just too weak, or maybe the internal antenna is disconnected. That's happened to a few people.
Is that a DIY fix, or do I have to return it?
Let me ask another question. I ran across this VoLTE profile thing. I entered this code in terminal:
$ echo 'AT+QMBNCFG="select","ROW_Generic_3GPP"' | atinout - /dev/EG25.AT -
When I entered that, it went to a prompt with a blinking cursor ( >_ ) and never resolved. From what I could tell, it should return "OK". I don't know if that means anything or not. In fact, besides listing the profiles, nothing like that worked.
RE: Trying to diagnose what's wrong... - linux_n - 02-23-2021
(02-12-2021, 07:53 PM)m16a1 Wrote: Hello.I was also interested in the tello carrier for pinephone. Did you ever get the tello working with your pinephone any updates? If not which carriers service worked on your pinephone?
I got a PinePhone a few weeks ago and haven't had any luck getting it activated.
I added the phone to my Tello account and requested a GSM sim card. Tello runs on Sprint CDMA and T-Mobile GSM, so I figured the T-Mobile side might work.
Put the card in, went through the online registration process and was immediately told to call Customer Service.
3 calls, 2 chats and 10 email exchanges later, still no joy. I've combed forums trying to figure out what to try next and I'm pretty much at my wit's end.
Running Manjaro Phosh B5 installed on the eMMC, phone was originally a KDE Plasma edition, but that install got hosed on day 1...lol. At the current time, nothing is working...calls, texts, data, etc. I should have access to all of these in my Tello account, which is paid up.
I have also downloaded the Multi Boot and tried several different systems, no joy.
I keep getting a message in Modem Manager that says "Modem must be registered in mobile network to connect to Internet." Occasionally, I will get a flurry of activity in which the status bar at the top flashes either "4G" or "3G" on and off, very quickly, for about 3-4 seconds, then the bars disappear and the 3G/4G goes away.
Changing the APN does nothing. I've pulled and reinserted the sim, restarted the phone, turned the phone on and off 100 times.
I'm open to suggestions!
RE: Trying to diagnose what's wrong... - rocket2nfinity - 02-24-2021
Checking the antenna connection is very simple. Just remove the back cover and look for the cable snaking down the left side. Make sure it's plugged in to the socket at its terminus
You have also encountered the crust problem it seems. If your modem disappears, reboot phone.
RE: Trying to diagnose what's wrong... - C0ffeeFreak - 02-24-2021
(02-13-2021, 07:29 AM)m16a1 Wrote:It's possible. It depends who is handling the activation. Many are owned by the same company and use the same back end. American Movil. Just activate it in another device first.(02-12-2021, 11:14 PM)C0ffeeFreak Wrote: You activated the sim in another device, correct? Then you transferred it into the Pine Phone? I wouldn't try to activate a sim card in the US in the Pine Phone. Because it's not whitelisted by any carrier it could get blacklisted. Activate the sim in another mainstream device and then put it in the Pine Phone.
"Blacklisted" doesn't sound good. If that's the case, will moving to a different T-Mobile MVNO change anything? I did not attempt to activate in another device...