Agreed. "Support" usually amounts to little more than "your device connects to our data network" - and that boils down to "Do you have the right kind of radio built into the phone (GSM/CDMA/3g/4g/5g/etc.) and properly configured? It's not like they're going to provide tech support much beyond making sure that connection works properly. Not unless you're buying it from them, and quite possibly not even then.
Well, maybe that's not entirely far - there's some places (and particular techs) that will really
Why would any provider specifically "support" a phone? Just get a SIM and put it in.
The USA still has a mix of GSM and CDMA networks. Also, even among the two GSM carriers, T-Mobile and AT&T use some differing spectrum bands. The question could've been better phrased as "Which networks are this phone compatible with?", but the point still remains: network compatibility is kind of a big deal, and there's a big ol' goose egg where that information should've been.
Librem directly offers a $99 a month unlimited everything plan with some privacy features. I think that may be your only official choice, although I suspect you may be able to swap an activated GSM carrier sim and get data only services from them.
Librem directly offers a $99 a month unlimited everything plan with some privacy features.
That's an incredibly lousy price. Mint mobile has an unlimited plan for $30/mo, if you prepay for a year in advance. Even if you just go directly to one of the 3 major carriers and "sign up" for the overpriced service they offer the general public, you'd be hard-pressed to hit the $99/mo price point for a single line of service (on T-Mobile, $105/mo gets you four lines). .
You're not wrong, and for most people Mint or the networks are indeed the far superior value. That being said, you're not comparing apples to apples either. Puresim offers privacy features as part of the package, and I don't get the impression there are any little asterisks next to "unlimited" as there are for Mint.
i Iasked Ting if their network would support this phone. Their reply:
"Looking at the Pinephone it has the right band frequencies to work on our GSM network but the one thing I wasn't able to confirm is if it had the VoLTE software on it. Our GSM partner is sunsetting the 3G network this year and you'll need a phone that is capable of using VoLTE to connect your communications. It might be worth reaching out to Pinephone directly to see if they have any information regarding the VoLTE abilities on an MVN
Providers? (Score:2)
I did a quick scan of some of the articles and did not see any mention of providers who support this phone. Does anyone know?
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Why would any provider specifically "support" a phone? Just get a SIM and put it in.
Re: (Score:2)
Agreed. "Support" usually amounts to little more than "your device connects to our data network" - and that boils down to "Do you have the right kind of radio built into the phone (GSM/CDMA/3g/4g/5g/etc.) and properly configured? It's not like they're going to provide tech support much beyond making sure that connection works properly. Not unless you're buying it from them, and quite possibly not even then.
Well, maybe that's not entirely far - there's some places (and particular techs) that will really
Re: (Score:1)
Why would any provider specifically "support" a phone? Just get a SIM and put it in.
The USA still has a mix of GSM and CDMA networks. Also, even among the two GSM carriers, T-Mobile and AT&T use some differing spectrum bands. The question could've been better phrased as "Which networks are this phone compatible with?", but the point still remains: network compatibility is kind of a big deal, and there's a big ol' goose egg where that information should've been.
Re: (Score:1)
Librem directly offers a $99 a month unlimited everything plan with some privacy features. I think that may be your only official choice, although I suspect you may be able to swap an activated GSM carrier sim and get data only services from them.
https://puri.sm/products/libre... [puri.sm]
Re: (Score:1)
Librem directly offers a $99 a month unlimited everything plan with some privacy features.
That's an incredibly lousy price. Mint mobile has an unlimited plan for $30/mo, if you prepay for a year in advance. Even if you just go directly to one of the 3 major carriers and "sign up" for the overpriced service they offer the general public, you'd be hard-pressed to hit the $99/mo price point for a single line of service (on T-Mobile, $105/mo gets you four lines).
.
Re: (Score:1)
You're not wrong, and for most people Mint or the networks are indeed the far superior value. That being said, you're not comparing apples to apples either. Puresim offers privacy features as part of the package, and I don't get the impression there are any little asterisks next to "unlimited" as there are for Mint.
Re: (Score:2)
And what does that even mean "a provider supporting that phone"?
Re: (Score:2)
i Iasked Ting if their network would support this phone. Their reply:
"Looking at the Pinephone it has the right band frequencies to work on our GSM network but the one thing I wasn't able to confirm is if it had the VoLTE software on it. Our GSM partner is sunsetting the 3G network this year and you'll need a phone that is capable of using VoLTE to connect your communications. It might be worth reaching out to Pinephone directly to see if they have any information regarding the VoLTE abilities on an MVN
Re: (Score:2)
Depends on the radio module you order. There is a forum post that goes over expected compatibility of each variant.