Well , I read that the VOIP feature might not work due to carriers not recognizing the L5 as a legitimate ( I dont remember exactly what word was used ) device in one of the threads on here.
So I wondered exactly what kind of freedom do the carriers have to chose what kinda of services they have to provide ( or not )
And then that poster brought up the google apple question . And so I wondered how plausible it was . And if there are laws protecting companies like purism in a sea of corporate giants.
I guess that’s a highly propriety extension. If your modem is standards compliant, voice and data services should work. Now the situating is, that the modem has no connection. So your device connects to the carrier via wireless and says “Hi, I’m the legitimate owner of SIM card 0815. Trust me on this!”
The carrier trusts the device if it signed some binary on it. That’s how I imagine this works, and why it can only work with selected devices.
What bothers me, Caliga, is that Purism won’t let us know what to expect when people bring up these issues. People like you here have to take your time and try to explain things to people like me so we keep the cool with the project. And, again, people who look for information to decide on whether to pre order or wait are not being told they may have to solve a possible problem in order to use the phone.
From Purism’s perspective the phone needs to happen for any meaningful change in the consumer space to take place. They are in a tough position because this space is something all the major players do not want. If Purism is free with their comments on speaking about things, they become accountable for those things. The internet empowers a lot of people. Trolls who have all the time in the world to find every possible thing said, and then use it to stir a pot are all too real today.
Combine this with the difficulties of swimming upstream and you have a very cautious Purism making sure they don’t shoot themselves in the foot. Also because of the complexity of security and privacy, explaining things to every customer would be a full time job for MANY people, and would cost a significant amount of money. All something Purism is probably not in a position to leverage just yet.
Thanks for explaining . I have only a end user knowledge of how all that works . So again , thanks .
Im sure it will ease concerns im sure people have to know there are laws in place to protect the little guy manufacturers like Purism brave enough to navigate uncharted waters.
I cant wait to get my L5 . I know Purism is taking their time to make sure they " get it right " and I appreciate that as well .
This is not the only one about this issue. After reading there I realized I may have a complicated homework to do after receiving my L5. I am not talking to anybody about this phone until I know what to tell on this respect.
I wonder if the skepticism here is counterproductive and makes people think a modem should support all possible bands their carrier uses. It seems strange that a modem targeting the US market would not provide at least medium-decent coverage in the US. I wonder how many reluctant buyers actually went to cellmapper.net and checked all the bands used by the modem against their neighborhood. It really doesn’t seem like there are white patches all over the place.
Life-Hack for others who want to get an overview of what that actually means:
Zoom out to see all US
select provider, e.g. AT&T or Verizon and LTE
toggle between ALL bands and only e.g. B2
you’ll see a difference in coverage, but you also see that it’s not dramatic. And it’s also just that one band of many. For AT&T it appears like just B2 should cover like 98% of populated areas.
Im so giddy about this device . I cant believe im in on the project !
I’ve been waiting for a linux cell device since I was trying to install early efforts of ubuntu touch to no avail on my HTC HD2 back in 2011 or so ?
I always wondered why no one was making a Linux cell phone . Now understanding the complexities of an open source freeware market and how far linux has come in general in these short years since I get it but the future is now !!
After all these years Im finally in the shipping quarter of a working linux phone. Its almost surreal and unbelievable to a point .
I just cant stop watching every librem 5 video on youtube over and over !! hahaha
This is what Purism says in their FQA:
“Will I be able to communicate from my Librem 5 to other phones?
Yes, you will be able to make regular unencrypted phone calls to any phone number. You will also be able to communicate securely by using the phone dialing application and messaging application, that can run on the Librem 5 phone, Android based phones, and iOS based phones, and any computing device.”
So, after this answer is hard not to think the L5’s modem is going to be able to communicate to any phone anywhere. That’s why people jump when someone suggest its modem may have some difficulties to work in some areas in USA.
Anyone who takes that to mean “from anywhere” is not thinking this through nor using the context clues available to see the implication of network coverage being required for phone calls as it is with all current phones (satellite phones require the satellite network to cover them to make a call and land lines require physical access to the network).
Oh! I see… Maybe I need help trying to understand what an “unencrypted regular phone call” means in the context of the question asked. OK. I’ll try reading this text backwards maybe. I may find some hidden clues as you suggest.
Anyway… I’ll wait for the phone. I am not in a hurry after all. I’ll take it from there whenever happens.
No what you need to understand is that it says that it will be able to communicate with any phone, but that it does not say that it will be able to do so with any network. So basically it is saying that the phone used on the other end will not be an issue. Just because it will be able to communicate with any phone does not mean that it will be able to do so under any circumstances.
Oh boy! So… Would you make an “unencrypted regular phone call” to a PHONE NUMBER (what I left out of my quotes, sorry) that DOES NOT BELONG TO A NETWORK? Does it make any sense to ask that question? Are you playing with words here? Do we really have time for this?
Please don’t overcomplicate it. Obviously, both phones need to be connected to a cell tower in order to make and receive calls. That is an implied prerequisite of all mobile phones ever, just like “the batteries of both phones must not be empty when attempting to make a call”.
Using a wireless connection as a fallback when no cell tower is available is a nice-to-have. I never had it, I never missed it.
Being able to connect with a network is an assumed (and obvious) prerequisite. Just like having your L5 charged and not having your L5 smashed with a hammer is. Are you going to Smash your L5 with a hammer and then complain that you cannot call any phone with a phone number despite the FAQ saying that you could?
Also the question that is 2 places below this one is “Will my existing SIM card work? What countries and networks will be supported?” which seems to address your issue of compatibility with networks.
First paragraph: almost useless.
Second paragraph: BINGO!!! Now you see what I’m saying. At the very end you read: “If you require an LTE band that is not supported by either of the modems, then LTE will not be available to you.” So I may face a situation not contemplated in the answer given to the question cited by me before. I insist that statement needs some work. Many of us may stop right there and someone may feel mislead in the end (wrongfully mislead I should say).
Anyway, it looks like the modem is going to cover a big deal of bands. I just hope they explain this as clear as possible so there’s no place for misunderstanding.
I really do not find the FAQ confusing. I immediately understood that the answer to the question about the compatibility with other phones was about compatibility with other phones and that for the answer about compatibility with networks I must look under the question that is about compatibility with networks.
Besides they can still call any phone number even if no network in their own area is supported because they can go to another area that has supported networks and then use those networks to call any phone number. The answer never says that they will be able to call from anywhere or without supported network. If someone assumed that was what was meant then that is their own fault for misinterpreting, made even more their fault by the fact that their misunderstanding is addressed clearly on the same page.
The only advice that I could give to such people is to read carefully and read a lot of the available information on something before deciding to spend money on it. Do not read half a FAQ, fill in the missing information with assumptions, and then buy something expensive based on that.
