Does anyone know if this modem will work with librem5? Will it work with the kernel compiled for the phone?
It should work but I don’t know if any additional driver downloads/configurations would be needed. It would be nice if we could get some official answers/clarifications on alternative modem compatibility out of the box. As phones start shipping I think we will find out in due time regardless.
I didn’t order till the specs were finalized so I won’t see one for a while. still. I will happily try it once I have it regardless.
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The Quectel EM06 can be found on eBay for roughly $80 but I hate to spend that kind of money and it not work.
Anyway Quectel_EM06-E and Quectel_EM05-E are already compatible with the Australian & New Zealand RCM compliance requirements and with the EU CE(RED) compliance requirements:
Quectel_EM06-E_RCM_Certificate on: 2018-07-12 Amount: 1
Quectel_EM06-E_CE(RED)_Certificate on: 2018-07-12 Amount: 1
Quectel_EM05-E_RCM_Certificate on: 2019-08-14 Amount: 3
Quectel_EM05-E_CE(RED)_Certificate on: 2019-08-14 Amount: 4I have an interesting option for those seeking to consider a modem not offered as a substitute for use with Librem 5, at least for ATT and possibly for Verizon as well.
This is Sierra Wireless EM7565 which is an M.2 card modem with B slot (SATA use then for the slot of the M.2 card usage as versus e-PCI M.2 cards not workable). This modem is planned for ATT, Verizone(LTE anyway), Vodafone as well as others and is MULTI-regional (Global!!) with LTE band supports for B1,B2, B3, B4,B5, B7, B8, B9, B12, B13, B18, B19, B20, B26, B28, B29, B30, B32, B41, B42, B43, B46, B48 and B66 as well as G3 B1, B2,B3,B4, B5, B6,B8,B9 and B19.
"There is a open source Linux in-kernel driver supporting MBIM interface and it is called cdc_mbim…First install the libmbim and libmbim-utils Linux library using your system package manager "
The story appears confused as the package Sierrawireless_airprime_em_series_datasheet20170901 (pdf) states e-PCI, but the manual clearly states “slot B-compatible” indicating it will work with the SATA card slot unlike the general ePCI cards. See https://ltefix.com/shop/modems/sierra-wireless-airprime-cards/sierra-wireless-em7565-cat-12-m-2-modem/ (manual p. 16)
The modem is pricey as might be expected, but it does not require jockeying back and forth for travel.
A thought for those who want multi-regional flexibility.
Price listed on site $173. I expect that if the modem availability persists, the price may well be lower by the time that most of us receive our Librem 5 units.
I contacted sierra wireless a while back and if I remember correctly they dont have m.2 cellular modems with voice support nor is voice support listed on the modem you referenced.
As noted elsewhere on the site, supposedly plans for voice-enabled has been on Sierra’s menu and was to have been implemented as is noted here from 2016: https://forum.sierrawireless.com/t/em7455-voice-enabled-firmware/8657
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I’m surprised they didn’t mention that possibility in my communication with them . They simply told me " We do not have any cellular baseband modems with voice capability . " When I inquired about a specific modem and then asked if any of their baseband cards had voice at all .
That’s good news . I’m glad several companies are taking notice of this emerging technology and are building their own tech to compliment .
I’ll probably just sell the broadmobi BM818-A1 on ebay down the road when an american manufacturer creates a similar product.
i’d be ok with the price knowing it’s more compatible with the major networks
AT&T Services are member of:
https://www.globalcertificationforum.org/membership/operator-membership/operator-members-list.html
And Quectel EM06-A is GCF certified on 15-May-2019:
https://www.globalcertificationforum.org/pub_product/8010.html
I hope this helps. This is just informational (without confirming anything).
Pure Talk (which uses the AT&T network) sims work with the Librem 5. Calls, text messaging, data, and MMS/SMS all work. When you call to activate with a Customer Service Rep, they will ask for the IMEI from the modem and tell you that the phone isn’t compatible. IT WILL WORK!
You will have to contact Purism support to enable VoLTE and MMS/SMS. They will email you a site where you can download the script to run in the terminal that will produce an app on the phone to enable VoLTE. As for MMS/SMS, that can be enabled from the settings within the Chat app.
Hello. I wanted to update this post that PureTalk does not make calls on the Librem 5, at this time. The representative at PureTalk told me that the IMEI didn’t say whether or not it was compatible. I was on hold with “technical services” for over 30 minutes today before I gave up.
I am going to try again later, but it is not looking promising.
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Did you ever get this working again?
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Hello. I switched to AweSIM. It is the only service that has worked for me at my home and elsewhere, consistently.
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If you can find a good soft phone client that will run in Linux ARM64, you don’t need any voice-capable modem on your Librem 5. If the SIM card has only data, you can still make and receive phone calls via a voip account. I have this working on my Android phone using an app called Voiper. But it won’t do text messaging. I was unable to find a soft phone App that runs in ARM64 Linux.
I also got my Librem 5 phone dialer to make voip calls. But the call audio was extremely terrible.
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The default calls app does this, you just add the SIP account and it just works for making and receiving calls.
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Is it really working well now? When I tried it, I had to set up an outdated codec in my voip account to get it to work. A thread in this forum acknowledged at the time that one of the experts at Purism couldn’t get it working well either as they had to load and use that same crappy codec also, as the only way to make it work.
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I didn’t have to do anything special with my SIP provider, just creds and go.
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Who is your SIP provider?
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