I’ve been looking to purchase a sim card for use with the uconsole. When looking at Verizon/ATT/etc they want the IMEI number. When I enter it, it says its invalid. Am I using the wrong number? I queried it using the AT commands.
It’s also available on the inside of the uConsole, on the SIM7600G-H chip, if that helps. Could you send a screenshot of the error message? (blank out any identifying information, of course)
This screenshot is from ATT, but I received a similar error from Verizon.
I got the same for mine. To my knowledge, SIMs shouldn’t be locked to a specific IMEI, so if you have another phone (ideally one not already on the network, so, say, an old one), you should be able to put that IMEI in and use that SIM once you get it.
@Schmitty - did you ever get your SIM activated? I bought a Verizon SIM myself and am trying to activate it on Verizon and had the same problem. Tried an old phone IMEI as well and no luck.
The 4G module should work with your SIM. activating the module depends on the distro you loaded:
For users of the Clockwork distros, follow the instructions provided in the link.
For users of the community distros, ensure you have the uconsole-4g-cm4 script, plus the Raspberry Pi GPIO and modem drivers. The ak-rex distros may have the necessary packages installed. But if you do not have the script, find it through this link.
https://opendevelopment.verizonwireless.com/design-and-build/approved-modules?vendorId=776
Thanks mterencelao
I don’t think my issue is the module. I’ve been able to bring that up and communicate with it. It’s activating the Verizon SIM (on their website) that seems to be the problem. Verizon isn’t accepting the IMEI of the uconsole’s SIM7600G-H chip. I tried an IMEI from an old iPhone and that won’t work either.
I’ll try chatting with Verizon support today and see how that works. Any other thoughts here on activating the SIM with Verizon (or another provider?) are appreciated!
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um… with updated firmware… I just threw a t-mobile sim in mine… went to network manager… added a broadband connection… t-mobile has a pre-made profile in network manager… easy 5 steps… left all values default… and had internet in under 2 minutes…
after the debacle of trying to activate a Asus Zenfone8 on the Verizon network… I will never try that again… what you have to do…and for the record… I did not go through with this… I gave up…and it was like 3 or 4 years ago… i switched to t-mobile… who will put just about anything on and tell you “it might not work” … but it does… for Verizon you had to submit a ticket for a level 2 network engineer to approve access to their network… or it will not activate. because the IMEI is not from the list of pre-approved devices…
Quick update - I spoke to Verizon who said the IMEI is not compatible with their network. I gave them an IMEI from an older iPhone that was on the Verizon network and was able to activate. Right now voice calling works (gnome-calls) and I can send text messages. Can’t seem to receive text messages yet - will try to figure it out a post here. Also don’t know yet how to get an internet connection, but working on it
Got internet working - flashed to 9011 then started with a fresh uconsole image. After initial setup, configured Mobile broadband with NetworkManager GUI (had to add the item to the panel). Configured with vzwinternet as APN. Eventually got mmcli -m 0 to say “connected” in green with registration status.
ping -I ppp0 8.8.8.8
worked as well. Tried to surf the web a little and it was pretty slow, but that’s ok for now - at least I got something working!
So I can make and receive calls now, connect to Internet, and send SMS messages. Just can’t receive them yet which is weird
Negative, I ended up getting a sim for IoT devices and using that. It works but its slow. I don’t really use my uConsole away from wifi.
Another update - for some reason I no longer can make calls or send messages. I am going to try flashing OS SD card and start over (for the 3rd time!). Also thinking I’d like to set the 4g board to factory settings, even if I can’t revert the firmware version. Checking how to do that - I know there’s a RESET AT command in the SIM7600 manual somewhere
the calls and messages ending is most likely because they pinged your device IMEI and it wan’t what it activated with… I had that happens when I was swapping phones… worked for like 24hr… have a little more confidence in your work, it isn’t you when you can’t activate an unapproved device on Verizon. and an unapproved device, typically they will never let you get 4g internet with it… try a t-mobile value pay as you go brand sim… but if you really want to do Verizon… make sure you set up your broadband using these values… Correct answer: Community Forums - need help setting up UML290 4g modem on SuSE Linux... - Verizon Community
Thanks DeRock25,
I just purchase a Cm4 uConsole with the cellular module and based on your comments on this thread, will go with the T-Mobile Pay-as-you-go SIM. So the steps I have based on your post:
- Update firmware
- Install SIM
- Add Broadband Connection in the Network Manager (NM)
- Use T-Mobile profile in NM
- Internet access should work
A few additional questions. Which firmware do I need to be updated to? Is this the uConsole firmware or for the cellular module? Also, cmilkosk said he could not receive SMS texts. Do you have full call and text capability using T-Mobile’s SIM? Sorry for the questions, but want to make sure I have the best chances of success configuring my 4G module. Thanks
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Check out Mint Mobile. It is what I use - no issues. It runs on the T-Mobile Wholesale network.
Their pricing is the best you are going to find, even if the coverage is not Verizon level coverage. Until the end of the year they have some incredible deals, but I typically go with the $15/mo for 5GB, as I have had this sim for 4 years now and no longer qualify for these deals.
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- updated the cellular firmware.
- I use “Modem Manager GUI” for my texting and it seemed to work fine for me(t-mobile), sending and receiving. I used it for a few hours, then put my sim back in my phone. Your results are not guaranteed. I am using a version of the CPI Obsidian image I customized a bit as the base here.
Everyone is all security this and that… but if you are storing sensitive info on a system that runs off an SD card… I just… am not worried about security myself on this device…
- lets not gloss over, when you want to use the module… you have to activate it… then restart the MM daemon… I wrote some scripts for mine just write them in geany and make them executable
#! //bin/sh
uconsole-4g-cm4 enable
sleep 15s
sudo systemctl restart ModemManager
sleep 10s
mmcli -L
(to start)
then
#! /bin/sh
uconsole-4g-cm4 disable
(to stop it)
If you don’t stop the service before shutdown… your shutdown will hang up for like 40 seconds sometimes…
If you run the the on at startup… it is known to kill battery… so… do what you like. and read the specs on the uconsole 4g card… it is like mas 150mbps max… so… don’t expect a ton of speed… but it worked solid for my browsing…
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Thank you T313C0mun1s7, that’s a great option for me, as I’d like to pay as I need service, as I feel like the SIM internet access will just be as a backup for wifi,
Thanks DeRock25 as I should have my unit this week, so looking forward to getting this up and running as soon as I can. I may bug you again if I run into any issues. I’m not so worried about getting top speeds, but like to know I can still connect to the internet when away from wifi. Thanks for all the help!
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I went and snagged one of these 1 year unlimited’s… I dunno your general experience… but I experienced a few things.
- 20% lower signal strength between t-mobile sim and mint - at my house and office (personal problem really)
- the instructions to activate using mint APN name on their support website didn’t work at all… have to use the t-mobile APN settings and it works.
- during the day I watched about an hour of 480i tv streamed from my home server via Plex… sent some regular texts… did a apt update/upgrade and in 1 day I used 1gb…
- you can text but no MMS GUI… only options I saw were cli… (this I didn’t look to far…so there may be a solution… not super interested though at this point most polished was a python cli)
with that in mind… the internet while out and in the car… was pretty reliable and I was able to browse… call… chat… as required…
if you have any tips on how yours works to compare
hope this helps anyone interested