J.D. LaubIt is up to buyers of the Librem 5 to test the phone with their own cellular network provider. For people who wish to avoid testing, Purism offers its AweSIM cellular network service in the US, which is compatible with the Librem 5.
The following is a list of the cellular providers which community members have tested with the Librem 5:
| Location | Provider | Bands provided | Modem | Calls | SMS | Data† | Notes | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | AT&T |
GSM: 850, 1900 (PCS) UMTS/HSPA+: B2 (1900 PCS), B5 (850) LTE: B2 (1900 PCS), B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1), B17 (700 bc), |
BM818-A1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Using 3G | dylanlesterpvcs 1 2 |
| USA | Truphone US (on AT&T) | ditto | BM818-A1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | works | amarok |
| USA | Red Pocket GSMA (on AT&T) | ditto | BM818-A1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | "works fine in the L5" | amarok |
| USA | Consumer Cellular (on AT&T) | ditto | BM818-A1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | works | laubster |
| USA | PagePlus (on Verizon) |
CDMA: LTE: B2 (1900 PCS), B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1), B13 (700 c) |
BM818-A1 | No | Yes | No | Had to change APN settings; got LTE SMS to work, but no calls or data. | TLG |
| USA | T-Mobile |
GSM: 1900 (PCS) UMTS/HSPA+: B2 (1900 PCS), B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1) LTE: B2 (1900 PCS), B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1), B12 (700 ac), B66 (1700/2100), B71 (600) |
BM818-A1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Reports that LTE works well. | In use, Golbats-Everywhere |
| USA | Ting X3 SIM (on T-Mobile) | ditto | BM818-A1 | No | Yes | Yes | Golbats-Everywhere | |
| Australia | Telstra |
GSM: 900, 1800 (DCS) UMTS/HSPA+: B1 (2100), B5 (850) LTE: B1 (2100), B3 (1800 +), |
BM818-E1 | Yes | Yes | n/t | Only LTE tested. "Voice Calls work well. SMS works great!" | HD-OZ |
| Australia | Telstra |
GSM: 900, 1800 (DCS) UMTS/HSPA+: B1 (2100), B5 (850) LTE: B1 (2100), B3 (1800 +), B28 (700 APT) |
BM818-T1 | Yes | Yes | OK (slow) | SIM already activated in another phone; using APN telstra.internet
|
irvinewade |
| Australia | Vodafone |
GSM: 900 UMTS/HSPA+: B1 (2100), B8 (900) LTE: B1 (2100), B3 (1800 +), B5 (850) |
BM818-T1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | SIM already activated in another phone; using live.vodafone.com
|
irvinewade |
| Austria | A1 Telekom |
GSM: 900 (E-GSM), 1800 (DCS) UMTS: B1 (2100) LTE: B7 (2600), B20 (800 DD) |
BM818-E1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Using already activated SIM and needed to modify the APN settings. "LTE is working fine too." | dale6667 |
| Germany | Aldi Talk / Medion-mobile |
GSM: 900, 1800 (PCS) UMTS/HSPA+: B1 (2100) LTE: B3 (1800 +) |
BM818-E1 | yes | yes | yes | Reports that voice calls, SMS and LTE works well. | Dogwood user and a Purism Staff member |
| Poland | Orange |
GSM: 900 (EGSM), 1800 (DCS) UMTS: B8 (900), B1 (2100) LTE: B1 (2100), B3 (1800), B7 (2600), B20 (800) |
BM818-E1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tested with "nju mobile"-branded pre-paid SIM | |
| Sweden | Tele2 |
GSM: 900, 1800 (DCS) UMTS: B1 (2100) LTE: B3 (1800+), B7 (2600), B8 (900), B20 (800 DD) |
BM818-E1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Drops to 2G during phone calls, cutting all internet access.* | lipu |
| Sweden | Telia |
GSM: 900 (EGSM), 1800 (DCS) UMTS: B1 (2100) LTE: B3 (1800 +), B7 (2600), B20 (800 DD) |
BM818-E1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Using a prepaid SIM card; temporarily changes from 4G to 3G during calls.* | skalman |
| Location | Provider | Bands provided | Modem | Calls | SMS | Data† | Notes | Sources |
n/t = Not Tested.
BX = Cellular bands with strikethrough are not supported by the installed cellular modem.
† Data needs to be enabled by going to Settings > Mobile > Mobile Data.
* Purism developer Sebastian Krsyszkowiak says this is caused because the Librem 5 doesn't support VoLTE:
There’s no VoLTE, so it drops to 3G when in call. This would mean that there’s no 3G reception where you live, so it makes it drop all the way to 2G (but data should still work, although much slower - unless there’s something wrong carrier side of course).
Please add to this table and modify it if more columns are needed.
Protocols and bands supported by the different cellular modems in the Librem 5:
BroadMobi BM818-E1 (for Europe):
- GSM: 850, 900 (EGSM), 1800 (DCS), 1900 (PCS)
- UMTS/HSPA+/WCDMA: B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B5 (850), B8 (900)
- FDD-LTE: B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B3 (1800), B5 (850), B7 (2600), B8 (900), B20 (800)
- TDD-LTE: B38 (2600), B40 (2300), B41 (120M, 2500)
BroadMobi BM818-A1 (for the Americas):
- GSM: 850, 1900 (PCS)
- UMTS/HSPA+/WCDMA: B2 (1900), B4 (1700), B5 (850)
- FDD-LTE: B2 (1900), B3 (1800), B4 (1700), B5 (850), B12 (700), B13 (700), B17 (700), B25 (1900), B26 (850), B66 (1700)
- TDD-LTE: B41 (200M, 2500)
BroadMobi BM818-T1 (for Asia, Australia & New Zealand):
- GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
- CDMA: BC0 (800)
- UMTS/HSPA+/WCDMA: B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4 (1700), B5 (850), B8 (900)
- LTE-FDD: B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B3 (1800), B4 (1700), B5 (850), B7 (2600), B8 (900), B28 (700), B66 (1700)
- LTE-TDD: B34 (2100), B38 (2600), B39 (1900), B40 (2300), B41 (200M, 2500)
Thales Cinterion PLS8-E (for Europe):
- GSM: 900, 1800
- UMTS/HSPA+/WCDMA: B1, B3, B8
- FDD-LTE: B1, B3, B7, B8, B20
Thales Cinterion PLS8-US (for the Americas):
- GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900
- UMTS/HSPA+/WCDMA: B2, B4, B5,
- FDD-LTE: B2, B4, B5, B17
The Cinterion PLS8 modems will cost extra, because Purism is having to custom manufacture their M.2 cards. Birch, Chestnut and Dogwood were only shipped with the Broadmobi BM818 modems.