No Connection to Carrier from Pinephone 3G Model
#1
I got my Pinephone 3G Ram Model and can't get a mobile connection.
The Signal strength is always at 0.

The same SIM Card is working without problems on my old Braveheart edition.

I Tested multiple distros, some could read out the carrier name but all have 0 Signal.
Also factory test says "Not Registered" and signal strength of -90db.


Could my modem be broken?

Currently postmarketos is installed.
How to debug this?

Thank you.
#2
(09-27-2020, 04:16 AM)merlin Wrote: I got my Pinephone 3G Ram Model and can't get a mobile connection.
The Signal strength is always at 0.

The same SIM Card is working without problems on my old Braveheart edition.

I Tested multiple distros, some could read out the carrier name but all have 0 Signal.
Also factory test says "Not Registered" and signal strength of -90db.


Could my modem be broken?

Currently postmarketos is installed.
How to debug this?

Thank you.
On the OS wiki under postmarket builds there is a test build. It is used to test the hardware. Flash it to an SD card and test.
#3
(09-27-2020, 04:16 AM)merlin Wrote: I got my Pinephone 3G Ram Model and can't get a mobile connection.
The Signal strength is always at 0.

The same SIM Card is working without problems on my old Braveheart edition.

I Tested multiple distros, some could read out the carrier name but all have 0 Signal.
Also factory test says "Not Registered" and signal strength of -90db.


Could my modem be broken?

Currently postmarketos is installed.
How to debug this?

Thank you.


A few questions to try to help resolve your issue.
  1. Which carrier are you using?
  2. Did you put a PIN on your SIM card with the SIM Lock feature on your BH?
  3. Did you manually enter APN settings on your 3GB?
  4. Do you have another SIM card to try on your 3GB? If so, are the results any different?
#4
Thank you both for your Support.

#On the OS wiki under postmarket builds there is a test build. It is used to test the hardware. Flash it to an SD card and test.
I did this already: Also factory test says "Not Registered" and signal strength of -90db.

#Which carrier are you using?
Current SIM is Sipgate.

#Did you put a PIN on your SIM card with the SIM Lock feature on your BH?
All my SIM Cards have no PIN Set

#Did you manually enter APN settings on your 3GB?
No, this SIM with this provider worked out of the box in BH Edition (and does so now).
As I thought the implementation of the Modem didn't change, so could there be differences?

#Do you have another SIM card to try on your 3GB? If so, are the results any different?
Yes, I tested my O2 Sim Card also. the result is exactly the same.

Currently I tested newest Versions of PostmarketOS (Phosh), Mobian, Arch Linux (My Default OS) and played aroud with all images om the Multiboot Test image (Sailfish).
Everywhere the same issue.
#5
I checked journalctl output on Arch:


Code:
Sep 30 18:45:27 alarm ModemManager[3532]: <warn>  [modem0] couldn't load list of own numbers: Couldn't get MSISDN: QMI protocol error (16): 'NotProvisioned'
Sep 30 18:45:27 alarm ModemManager[3532]: <warn>  [modem0/sim0] couldn't load list of emergency numbers: uninitialized emergency numbers list
Sep 30 18:45:27 alarm ModemManager[3532]: <warn>  [modem0/sim0] couldn't load operator name: Couldn't get home network: QMI protocol error (16): 'NotProvisioned'
Sep 30 18:45:27 alarm ModemManager[3532]: <warn>  [modem0/sim0] couldn't load operator identifier: Couldn't get home network: QMI protocol error (16): 'NotProvisioned'

This happens after the initialisation:

Code:
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Registered 'voice' (version 2.1) client with ID '3'
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Allocating new client ID...
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Registered 'pdc' (version 1.0) client with ID '1'
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Allocating new client ID...
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Registered 'loc' (version 2.0) client with ID '1'
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Allocating new client ID...
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Registered 'uim' (version 1.46) client with ID '2'
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Allocating new client ID...
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Registered 'wms' (version 1.10) client with ID '1'
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Allocating new client ID...
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Registered 'nas' (version 1.25) client with ID '3'
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Allocating new client ID...
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Registered 'dms' (version 1.0) client with ID '1'
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Unregistered 'wda' client with ID '1'
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Releasing 'wda' client with flags 'release-cid'...
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Allocating new client ID...
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Reading expected data format from: /sys/class/net/wwan0/qmi/raw_ip
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Writing expected data format to: /sys/class/net/wwan0/qmi/raw_ip
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Registered 'wda' (version 1.16) client with ID '1'
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: <info>  [base-manager] couldn't check support for device '/sys/devices/platform/soc/1c10000.mmc/mmc_host/mmc1/mmc1:0001/mmc1:0001:1': not supported by any plugin
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Allocating new client ID...
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Reading expected data format from: /sys/class/net/wwan0/qmi/raw_ip
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    unknown [0x36] (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    unknown [0x30] (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    unknown [0x2d] (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    dsd (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    rfrpe (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    unknown [0x2d] (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    dsd (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    rfrpe (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    pdc (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    coex (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    imsa (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    imsp (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    csvt (1.1)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    wda (1.16)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    tmd (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    ts (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    csd (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    ims (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    sar (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    loc (2.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    test (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    pbm (1.4)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    uim (1.46)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    cat2 (2.24)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    voice (2.1)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    at (1.2)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    auth (1.3)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    wms (1.10)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    qos (1.12)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    nas (1.25)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    dms (1.0)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    wds (1.67)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0]    ctl (1.5)
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] QMI Device supports 30 services:
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Checking version info (20 retries)...
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] created endpoint
Sep 30 18:45:25 alarm ModemManager[3532]: [/dev/cdc-wdm0] Opening device with flags 'version-info, proxy'...
#6
I read a lot on EG25 and found a thread for updating the Firmware.

https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?...647&page=5
Is this something I should try?
#7
You're probably as good a judge of that as anyone. It doesn't seem to be a risk-free procedure, so I'd want to be fairly sure it wasn't just a SIM compatibility issue before trying it. At least one person who was having trouble with a SIM that worked in other phones but not in the PinePhone has reported a new SIM from the same telco worked with no problems.
#8
(10-04-2020, 05:44 AM)merlin Wrote: I read a lot on EG25 and found a thread for updating the Firmware.

https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?...647&page=5
Is this something I should try?

@merlin, In my firmware flashing account in the (https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?...647&page=5) thread of using biktorgj's firmware flashing/recovery software, my Braveheart's modem had always failed the factory modem tests and the sim card was never detected in the initial and enhanced PMOS factory tests as well as various OS's Mobian, UBPorts, and PureOS.

Does the modem test fail with the PMOS factory test or is your (known to be working sim card) detected by the PMOS Factory test or any of the other OS's you've tested?

If the answer is yes to the former and no to the later then IMO your reflashing using biktorgj's method as described in my https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?...647&page=5 account might be worth trying.

Please note that in my BH's case although the process (from all indications) completed successfully the firmware flashing did not fix the EG25.

I'm sure there is some risk in flashing but if your modem's firmware is corrupted then not sure what one would be clinging to unless it could possibly bork other functionality in the device.  Others might have an opinion on this risk if any.  Good luck and let us know how you fare.

ref: (https://github.com/Biktorgj/quectel_eg25_recovery)
#9
Hi @LazLong ,
thank you your reply.

the Modem test does work on both devices.
Braveheart shows on registration my provider, 3GB Model shows not registered.

Here is a picture of braveheart factorytest:
https://www.edius.de/test/pp/pinephonebh.jpg
and here from 3GB Model:
https://www.edius.de/test/pp/pinephone3g.jpg

Currently I can see 2 differences:
1. BH uses an older Firmware
2. BH uses LTE BAND 3 and and the newer firmware tries BAND 20

(also the signal strength is a little higher -71/-79 dBm)

So my idea is to try a downgrade to the braveheart version.

Do you think this is a good way?
#10
(10-06-2020, 12:06 PM)merlin Wrote: Hi @LazLong ,
thank you your reply.

the Modem test does work on both devices.
Braveheart shows on registration my provider, 3GB Model shows not registered.

Here is a picture of braveheart factorytest:
https://www.edius.de/test/pp/pinephonebh.jpg
and here from 3GB Model:
https://www.edius.de/test/pp/pinephone3g.jpg

Currently I can see 2 differences:
1. BH uses an older Firmware
2. BH uses LTE BAND 3 and and the newer firmware tries BAND 20

(also the signal strength is a little higher -71/-79 dBm)

So my idea is to try a downgrade to the braveheart version.

Do you think this is a good way?
I hope others will weigh in on this as I should note my BH PP's modem is still broke!  Thus my counsel in this matter should be highly suspect.  Ha!

That said I'm interested to compare the firmware versions on my BH and 3GB PP with yours later tonight and will let you know if theres a
difference or if discover anything else.

Also, I should mention that at one point I contacted Quectel customer support and that might be a resource for you.  They made available an EG25 flashing utility and firmware.  I did not use it as I ended up flashing the EG25 using biktorgj's method.

They also recommended their Quectel forum.  https://forums.quectel dot com/c/knowledge-base


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