Replicant

Is there an error log I can consult to help address this issue?

Thank you so much for all of the time and energy. I immensely appreciate any support you may be able to provide.

From what I know, 2G and 3G is dead in USA. You probably can't do anything about this. They're disappearing from many parts of the world. Because of this, Replicant developers are moving away from these old Galaxy devices.

You might want to read this blog post: https://blog.replicant.us/2024/03/replicant-status-and-report-of-the-37c3-and-fosdem-2024-conferences/

Even if AT&T still provided 2G/3G, they have a whitelist of what phones are allowed on their network. Those devices are typically carrier-branded and definitely do not include the Galaxy S3. AT&T has become increasingly hostile towards devices with custom software.

T-Mobile and their MVNOs remained the last option for those in the USA that wished to use Replicant. About a year ago 3G was shutdown. 2G was still available for calls and texts and, if you were lucky, very slow data in select cities. Starting this month, 2G is quietly disappearing. For USA Replicant users this means as cellular phones, supported devices are mainly useless. Wifi remains the only functional communication method.

You could try using the 4G model of the Galaxy S3 (GT-I9305), but it's still unlikely to work in the USA given no VoLTE functionality. However, I'm not sure if the modem was operational to begin with under Replicant for the 4G variant.

It would be great if anybody has some idea of how to keep Replicant-supported devices and this project alive for those in the USA, but as it stands the outlook is grim.

Candace Tanner,
Thank you so much for your astute response.

This appears to be an issue indeed. I would like to place a link to the relevant forum issue on the Purism/PureOS forum: https://forums.puri.sm/t/at-t-troubleshooting-librem-5/23875/

I am surprised this is this is not protected underneath the United States' Net Neutrality and Common Carrier protections. It seems against it in principle—if not against their written language.

Thank you all so much for all of your time and efforts keeping this project alive.
If it is ever possible to utilize Replicant to make phone calls within the United States—please let me know.

Edit: As a side note, would it be possible to remove and/or provide warnings to the recommended device list? Users may want to understand that these devices no longer support cellular technologies within most jurisdictions.

Best of wishes,
Mercy

You're welcome, I'm happy to help.

For the moment, if you're willing to switch to T-Mobile or a MVNO that uses their network, you may be able to make cellular calls. This will depend entirely upon whether your local 2G towers have been turned off yet. It is early in T-Mobile's 2G shutdown, so there's a decent chance you can still find a working tower, but you might require the inconvenience of traveling to another city to find one. I wouldn't trust their coverage map, since any day the tower you're using could be turned off. Unless T-Mobile changes their position on removing 2G (which short of a public outcry, will not happen), eventually there will be no location in the USA that you'll receive service. So keep that in mind.

It would seem that network carriers have the final say on what cellular technologies they'll provide. For evidence of this, look at the roll-out of VoLTE across cellular providers in the USA. There is NO universal standard; each company chooses how it gets implemented. It's a mess, and most people would rather simply buy a new phone from the carrier of their choosing than questioning why it's so complicated and poorly thought out.

If you really think about it, getting rid of 2G doesn't make sense for a plethora of reasons, especially since 3G is non-existent in the USA. 2G uses hardly any radio bandwidth and can easily operate alongside 4G and 5G, even more so since 2G was already cut back. Termination of 2G will make almost all devices older than a few years unable to have cellular connection, which is horrible considering that this means no emergency calls can be made. This will effectively result in the creation of huge amounts of E-waste. Not to mention the safety issues inherent of less nearby operable phones. Imagine too, how the lack of both 2G and 3G availability will pose difficult situations for those who don't want to, or can't, purchase a newer phone. It'll be a surprise when international travelers find out their cellphones won't connect in the USA and they would have to buy another. 4G VoLTE and 5G, poised to be the only options moving forward, with no fallbacks, is looking to offer little in the way of personal freedoms. To top it all off, the reasoning given as to why the towers are being shutdown is "the equipment is old". Amazing how they can set up a whole new 5G network, but not maintain robust tried-and-true communication technologies.

I'm aware this goes beyond Replicant, but seeing as its cellular devices crucially depend on networks that are actively being killed, it seems like the right time to assess what's happening and what will happen.