US Mobile, via T-Mobile, won't support Pinephone Pro - SOLVED, SIMPLY
07-02-2023, 05:34 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-02-2023, 05:40 PM by rocket2nfinity.)
(07-02-2023, 08:22 AM)jovval Wrote:(07-02-2023, 01:27 AM)rocket2n Wrote: T-mobile (and US Mobile) usually do not ask, nor care about your imei as long as it's not black listed. So, you should get one of their trial sims and drive around with it, particularly to a populated area, and see if it works. It should. The modem is perfectly compatible, it just lacks a few bands such as band 71, that are necessary for rural areas.
The way to register your Pinephone on Verizon's network with US Mobile is to provide the imei of a Verizon compatible cellphone. A cheap flip phone will do. US Mobile controls their access list. So, they let you swap your sim with another phone (your pinephone). Verizon itself and most MVNOs won't allow that. There are quite a few of us on US Mobile for that reason. They usually know what a Pinephone is, and yes it shows up as a data device, not a cellphone.
And use Cellmapper or a similar service to determine the actual coverage of your area by a service provider. The cell companies will just go by their map which is not reliable. Cellmapper provides field data gathered by users. They have a webpage in addition to their android app.
Regardless of which provider I use, I still have support telling me that they my stand-alone modem will not work.
Good to know about Verizon. I do have a SIM for Verizon from US Mobile.
Instructions to change the IMEI - https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=16752
I do have the IMEI from my old Verizon flip phone. I presume I have to follow the above link's directions to use Verizon (and benefit from a 100 days free usage from US Mobile).
You do not need to change the IMEI of the Pinephone modem with US Mobile. You only need to register the IMEI of the Verizon phone when setting up the black sim, then stick it in your Pinephone
You can try one sim and then do an internal port to the other to compare. Just register the sim on either network and stick it in the Pinephone. It should just work. VoLTE is initialized out of the box.
Troubleshooting is much easier in the Telegram Pinephone channel by the way. Plenty of knowledgable people around there to help you.