Skip to content

GitLab

  • Menu
Projects Groups Snippets
    • Loading...
  • Help
    • Help
    • Support
    • Community forum
    • Submit feedback
  • Sign in / Register
  • L Librem 5 Community Wiki
  • Project information
    • Project information
    • Activity
    • Members
  • Packages & Registries
    • Packages & Registries
    • Package Registry
    • Container Registry
    • Infrastructure Registry
  • Analytics
    • Analytics
    • Value stream
  • Wiki
    • Wiki
  • Activity
Collapse sidebar
  • Librem5
  • Librem 5 Community Wiki
  • Wiki
  • Cellular Providers

Last edited by Joao Azevedo Jun 17, 2022
Page history

Cellular Providers

It is up to buyers of the Librem 5 to test the phone with their own cellular network provider. For people in the US 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; note that VolTE is still work-in-progress. The table is sorted alphabetically by countray and provider but keeps USA at the top and international at the end:

Location Provider Bands provided Modem Calls VoLTE 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), B30 (2300 WCS)

BM818-A1 Yes Yes Yes Yes

Using 3G (dated info);

[AT&T 3G was scheduled to shut down on Feb 22, 2022; 4G data works, VoLTE with BM818-A1 works on At&T. But user needs to enable VoLTE on the Librem 5]

dylanlesterpvcs 1 2

Edited on 06-17-22 by João Azevedo to add status information on VoLTE

USA

PureTalk (on AT&T)

ditto BM818-A1 Yes Yes Yes Yes

Post-3G-shutdown (info per @N8W): VoLTE working after enabling in terminal; 4G data works.

Due to AT&T's device whitelisting, status needs reconfirming.

USA

Surfroam (on AT&T)

ditto BM818-A1 No No No Yes

Data only (prepaid). Data roaming must also be enabled.

[AT&T 3G was scheduled to shut down on Feb 22, 2022; 4G data works.]

amarok

USA

Truphone US (on AT&T)

ditto BM818-A1 Yes (until AT&T's 3G shutdown) No Yes Yes

works now, but AT&T may not allow L5 activation; prepaid SIM now discontinued; existing SIMs still usable. Cost varies by region/country. MMS not supported by Truphone on any device/network.

[AT&T 3G was scheduled to shut down on Feb 22, 2022; 4G data works, but unclear whether Truphone will implement VoLTE with any network for its prepaid SIM.]

Due to AT&T's device whitelisting, status needs reconfirming.

amarok

USA

Red Pocket GSMA (on AT&T)

ditto BM818-A1 Yes (until AT&T's 3G shutdown) No Yes Yes

works now, but AT&T may not allow L5 activation;

[AT&T 3G was scheduled to shut down on Feb 22, 2022; 4G data works, but VoLTE with BM818-A1 still experimental, not yet implemented.]

Due to AT&T's device whitelisting, status needs reconfirming.

amarok

USA

Consumer Cellular (on AT&T)

ditto BM818-A1 Yes ??? Yes Yes

works;

[AT&T 3G was scheduled to shut down on Feb 22, 2022; 4G data works, but VoLTE with BM818-A1 still experimental, not yet implemented.]

Due to AT&T's device whitelisting, status needs reconfirming.

laubster

USA

PagePlus (on Verizon)

CDMA: BC0 (800), BC1 (1900 PCS);
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 Mint Mobile (on 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

odh

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 Yes

Reports that LTE works well.

Passes T-mobile's IMEI compatibility checker

In use, Golbats-Everywhere

USA Ting X3 SIM (on 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 No ??? Yes Yes

Golbats-Everywhere

USA

US Mobile (on T-mobile)

ditto BM818-A1 Yes ??? ??? Yes Data and 3G calls work.

dln949

Australia

Telstra

GSM: 900, 1800 (DCS)
UMTS/HSPA+: B1 (2100), B5 (850)
LTE: B1 (2100), B3 (1800 +), B28 (700 APT)

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

Canada

SaskTel

UMTS: B2 (1900), B5 (850 MHz)
LTE: B4 (1700 MHz), B13 (700 MHz), B41 (2500 MHz)

BM818-A1 Yes ??? Yes Yes Postpad account; temporarily changes from 4G to 3G during calls.* [spacesurfer]
Germany

Aldi Talk / Medion-mobile

GSM: 900, 1800 (PCS)
UMTS/HSPA+: B1 (2100)
LTE: B3 (1800 +)

BM818-E1 yes yes yes yes Reports that voice calls, SMS, MMS and LTE works well. VoLTE works on the Librem 5 with this carrier. But VoLTE on the Librem 5 needs to be enabled by the user. João Azevedo's Evergreen
Germany O2 **GSM:** 1800 (PCS)
**UMTS/HSPA+:** B1 (2100), B8 (900)
**LTE:** B20 (800 DD)
BM818-E1 yes yes n/t yes Voice, data, SMS and MMS work well Guido's Evergreen
Germany Telekom **GSM:** 900 (E-GSM), 1800 (DCS)
**UMTS/HSPA+:** B1 (2100)
**LTE:** B3 (1800+), B7 (2600), B20 (800 DD)
BM818-E1 yes no yes yes Voice, data, SMS and MMS work well Evangelos's Evergreen
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
Portugal

Altice / MEO

GSM: 900 (E-GSM), 1800 (DCS)
UMTS: B1 (2100), B8 (900 GSM)
LTE: B3 (1800 +), B7 (2600), B20 (800 DD)

BM818-E1 Yes No Yes Yes Tested with Altice/MEO family pack. This carrier does not support VoLTE nor Visual Voicemal. Calls, SMS, MMS and LTE work well on a Librem 5. João Azevedo's Evergreen
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

International

Surfroam

Varies by region & modem Any No No No Yes Data only (prepaid). Data roaming must also be enabled. 2G/3G/4G (varies by networks). Cost varies by region/country.

amarok

International

Truphone

Varies by region & modem Any Yes ??? Yes Yes Prepaid SIM & Top-ups now discontinued; existing SIMs still work until balance depleted. 2G/3G/4G (varies by networks). Cost varies by region/country. MMS not supported by Truphone on any device/network. amarok

Location

Provider

Bands provided

Modem

Calls

VoLTE

SMS

Data†

Notes

Sources

n/t = Not Tested.
B_X_ = 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).

The BM818 has VoLTE support but it is not enabled by default. This is still a work in progress.

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.

Clone repository
  • Apps
    • Mupen64plus
    • PPSSPP
    • snes9x
  • Benchmarks
  • Building uuu and Jumpdrive
  • Cellular Providers
  • Contribute
  • Development History
  • Development History
    • Librem 5: 3rd Party Videos
    • Librem 5: Purism Videos
  • Documentation Syntax and Style
  • Documentation and wiki info
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Hardware
  • Hardware
    • Baseband modems
View All Pages