Yes I installed the BM818 tool, and used it to find the existing firmware version so I could cut and paste it to my email. I even provided the order number from when I bought the phone as I read somewhere that support@puri.sm required it.
I fiddled with the BM818 tool turning it off and on a few times and rebooting etc. I get this:
root@pureos:~# bm818-volte-check
chat: Mar 05 18:22:03 +BMRAT: FDD LTE
BMRAT state active FDD LTE
yet voice calls are forced to 3G.
The NZ telcos used to only enable VoLTE for approved devices. This has been relaxed and now at least my Pixel 6a (which was purchased in Australia and is not on their approved list) works with VoLTE. Before chasing their head network engineers I thought I would at least get the firmware up to date.
Yes I included the existing firmware version (it’s different for the different regions) and provided the order number and the L5 serial number as given on the invoice. I described being in NZ and the reason I wanted the firmware. They should have been able to work it out. If they could not work it out then I would have expected someone to get back to me to ask within a day or two. It has been a week. If they are too busy, I am prepared to ask the community here on the forum. Which I have done above.
Reading the firmware upgrade instructions, the file has firmware for all 3 of the modem versions and I choose when I run the upgrade program. It should not be necessary to know which version I have to provide the file.
I would ask your carrier if they will actually support the L5. Here in Canada, having VoLTE on the L5 isn’t possible because they don’t recognize the L5 as a qualified device, I would suspect that this is happening in many other places around the globe, so before you go beating your head against a wall trying to make it work I would find out if they will support it first. My workaround will be (once HSPA is turned off here) will be to port my number to chat.jmp as they offer SIP accounts then I will just use the 4G data only to do texting and calls.
I happen to have recent (although I don’t know if they are the most recent) BM818 firmware files from Purism. And I don’t even have a Librem 5. As luck would have it, someone challenged me on whether these were actually available on the forums … and they were.
In any case, I’m not sure the version number 1.00000002 make sense. I’ve got a zip file from Purism: BM818-reflash.zip . It contains two debs:
Or, more accurately, the modem variant, which in turn determines the supported bands, which relates to but is not strictly limited by the region in which you might intend to use the modem.
I used to have issues with the modem data connection going stale, requiring a hardware switch flick or restarting the modem and the network manager service.
After upgrading the modem firmware, I’ve had no issues with the data connection anymore.
Here is an update. Purism support has still not replied to me.
I was able to install the firmware and have tried using the 3 telcos in NZ. Two telcos seem to work with VoLTE, which are One.NZ (ex Vodafone NZ) and 2Degrees. The other one, Spark, now has worse behaviour. It seems to attempt to use VoLTE, fails and doesn’t fall back to 3G.
Thanks to those who have helped.
I have been struggling with the ring tone volume and have missed some calls as it’s too quiet. I can’t so far find a way of increasing the volume.
However that would depend on having a louder ringtone file available. You can amplify an existing sound file using audacity but you would want to do that on a full size screen i.e. prepare the file elsewhere and copy it on. If you already have a suitable audio file on your phone but it is in the wrong format then you can install soundconverter on the phone and use SoundConverter in batch mode (soundconverter -b ...) to convert one file e.g. from mp3 to ogg.
Hi everyone, I’m new here. I recently got my Librem 5 and from what I understand, I should update the firmware (blob) periodically. Is that right?
If so, I’d like to know if there’s a really basic guide for novices like me. I’ve read all the posts in this thread and from what I understand, for example, to update the Smart Card firmware, I should go to the Texas Instruments website and download it from there. I also read that for some update I need PC connection. Is it possibile to have only command line Librem 5 instructions? Would be it easier for me. It’s complicated for me to surf TI or other websites, looking for the right page and right updated firmware, download and update it and I’m afraid of messing things up!
I would like to know:
Which Librem 5 firmware needs to be updated? Everyone into the L5 or some firmware is better to leave untouched?
How do I know if the updatable ones need to be updated or are already up to date in my device?
What is the simplest, foolproof procedure?
Thank you.
The firmware is there to enable the respective components to work correctly. A new device from Purism is not expected to need any firmware updates. There are much newer versions of firnware from the manufacturers of components, but there is no way to know whether they are better or worse for Librem 5 specifically in comparison to those which Purism includes in the device.
If your calls are unstable, you could contact Purism for support. Or you could start a topic here in the forums asking for help with that issue. Maybe updating the firmware is the solution, maybe not.
I have no answer here, it would be very useful if the there was a page in the official Librem 5 documentation that listed all current firmware versions, with also the answer to all your questions.
It would be great if there was a script or application that checked all Librem 5 firmware, so that users can easily know if all their Librem 5 firmware is up-to-date.
Welcome to the forums, @action. The answer to your question is “no.” If some firmware should at some point need to be updated, then such will be publicized here in the forums. If you recently bought your Librem 5 directly from Purism, any firmware should be already at the recommended version.
You do however need to apply software updates on a regular basis. Check the PureOS Software app daily for updates (and apply them), or if you prefer, use the Terminal app to check for updates using the appropriate command: sudo apt update, and if there are any available updates, follow that with sudo apt upgrade.
If you ever find that the device is malfunctioning in some way, just ask here.
P.S. Your device is likely still running the “byzantium” version of PureOS. A new version (“crimson”) is eminent, so there probably won’t be that many incoming updates to byzantium anymore. It’s possible to upgrade to crimson now, but there may be a few remaining bugs, so I would hold off until it’s fully ready.
“Dawn” is the OS version that follows crimson, and according to developer @dos, it’s absolutely not ready for daily use. Anyone telling an inexperienced user that they should use dawn now is being irresponsible. (@carlos!)
Given that no one has a crystal ball to predict the future, do you think there is a reasonable possibility that all current closed firmware (blobs) will become open source in the near future (e.g. through reverse engineering)?
