Hello everyone!
I’m looking for recommendations for cellular providers compatible with the Librem 5. While I’m aware of AweSIM, I’m interested in exploring other options, particularly prepaid plans.
If you have had positive experiences with any providers, please share your suggestions!
Thank you all so much.
Edit: It appears my current provider (AT&T) is not supported:
Dear all: for tested providers, please add info to the wiki list: Cellular Providers · Wiki · Librem5 / Librem 5 Community Wiki · GitLab
It appears prehaps TMobile is the only currently know network supporting the Librem 5:
https://docs.puri.sm/Hardware/Librem_5/Cellular_Networks/Supported_Networks.html
I mean in the best way possible, but that Wiki is a bit inaccurate and currently contradicts the actual Librem 5 documentation.
However, I would love for it to be edited in the future to help provide better support for users.
Provider info needs updating every now and then, no surprise there. The info should not be left to these random threads. It’s community wiki - you can fix it. You can use a separate wiki thread for ideas for bigger changes.
If you can specify the ways in which it is inaccurate then various community members can update it.
I’ve briefly tested Ultra Mobile, which uses T-mobile’s network, and is now actually owned by T-mobile. VoLTE calls, SMS, MMS , and data all worked well. As I’m not using the L5 as my main phone, it was only a short test.
Freedom Mobile works fine.
AT&T does not work. Similarly, unless I am mistake Mint Mobile no longer supports phones that cannot support its application.
These are at least the two big issues I am aware of.
Can you comment on that, @amarok?
So as a corollary, you are saying that Mint Mobile doesn’t allow dumb phones (i.e. you know, actual mobile phones to make phone calls) on its network at all?
So as a corollary, you are saying that Mint Mobile doesn’t allow dumb phones (i.e. you know, actual mobile phones to make phone calls) on its network at all?
I might be misataken in this. Mint mobile officially requires the Android application and it is the only way listed on their SIM card kit:
https://www.mintmobile.com/how-to-activate-your-mint-mobile-plan/
However, I looked at Google, and it appears they have a separate URL that might work.
https://my.mintmobile.com/activation
I have a Mint mobile prepaid SIM and will attempt to activate it and then respond again if it is supported.
Thank you so much for all of your time and support.
I’ve been using Librem 5 as my phone since 2023. There are other people who get in situations such as:
… but I think actually maining Librem 5 as the only phone like how I have been living, you might need to be ready to pull out the big guns. AI is almost conscious. The almost-conscious enemy is going to backstab you when you try to deny him his opportunity to use you freely as a spy.
I solved it by letting them use me as a spy anyway. I just wanted to use Librem 5 no matter what. And that led me to realize, SMS technology tied to phone is a scam. I use an SMS provider that supports web logins over HTML and JavaScript. This is nonfree JavaScript so the whole entire thing is moral compromise and hypocritical tomfoolery. But, using nonfree JavaScript to do my SMS and calling means that I can use my Librem 14 to do wifi calling and texting, and use only data from the SIM on my Librem 5. So the SMS from the SIM card on my Librem 5 died a while ago and never came back, and now the Librem 5 doesn’t get the SMS messages anymore because of the programming errors in the chatty tool. There’s a way to fix it with command line, but I got bored of that. Instead, what I do is to log into a browser on the Librem 5 and do my SMS and calling from in the browser if I need to. And, if I need to take an important call, then I answer with the Librem 14 so that I know all systems will be fully operational.
But, then you can have problems like when the NSA/CIA/FBI or whatever pushed an update to the web browser I was using on my Librem 5 so that it no longer opens. Then I have to start using a new web browser this month. You kind of sort of have to be constantly vigilant and on the move, looking to find whatever works for you, within the confines of constant moral compromise and hypocrisy. At least, that’s what works for me.
A coworker told me that it didn’t make sense to him that I was using a Librem 5. He said that he wasn’t nefarious or dangerous, so his personal data did not matter at all. But I told him that my personal data matters and I need to use a Librem 5 because I am likewise not nefarious or dangerous, but the other machines like Android and iOS were trying to radicalize me into becoming nefarious or dangerous and I don’t want to do that. I just want to be more of like a chill guy who lives his life, does cool tech projects, and has some good friends.
I don’t know anything about that; it sounds unlikely that an app would be the only way to activate service. If the phone is your only device, for instance, meaning you don’t even have home wifi, how would you download the app if your phone service isn’t yet activated? Maybe I’m misunderstanding the Mint Mobile requirement… can’t access the link at the moment because…
===
… due to VPN? Browser privacy addons? 
See: Back to 1990 on My Librem 5 - #5 by amarok
I can confirm that that web site is accessible to me on a desktop on the other side of the planet. So I suppose it is some difference between your environment and my environment. PrivacyBadger certainly blocked some trackers but not enough to stop the web site working.
I think the way AirVPN works raises flags for some websites.
I could change servers and try again, but I’m heading to bed now. 
Web site does say:
Activating a trial or Share the Love Kit?
You’ll need to download our Mint Mobile app to activate and manage your trial.
I don’t know what a Share the Love Kit is but I’m willing to bet, based on the name, that it will overpromise and underdeliver. 
Theoretically speaking, it could activate in steps. So, in the first step, you can get on the mobile data network but you can only access a very small number of sites, sufficient to download and install and run the app. Once you then run the app, the app does the second step, and you then have normal access to the internet. That would be quite evil but that certainly doesn’t rule it out as a possibility.
The problem with that, assuming that this is your only device, is that if this is a brand new spyphone then you might never get through all the Duopoly BS of activating a new spyphone … before you get to the point of being able to download and install apps. (In other words, that “very small number of sites” would rapidly balloon to a large and unknown number of sites if you have to be able to e.g. create a freemail account to use with your spyphone registration, access said account, …)
The world loves an app a vector for collecting usage data.
I’ve been daily driving my Librem5 using AT&T.
Good. Guess AT&T isn’t restricting the BM818 after all.