*UPDATED* USA: T-Mobile (and MVNO) settings for a fully functional UT device

rik

Updated Nov 6, 2023

Last year when T-Mobile shut down their 3G servers (and said they were going to shut down their 2G servers as well) we thought it was the end of the road until UT would support 4G calls (VoLTE). In fact many have left UT as their daily drivers because of the lack of telephony functionality since that time.

However, the T-Mobile 2G servers are still functioning until April 2024, so they can be used for calls as a stopgap. Note that time is running out, hopefully UT will support VoLTE calls before 2G is shut down!

Also note that in 4G mode cellular data works fine, but calls do not auto-negotiate down from 4G to 2G and so incoming calls will be missed. Previously when the 3G network was still up, UT would auto-negotiate down from 4G to 3G when a call was coming in, meaning the phone could be kept in 4G mode. But with 3G servers offline and no auto-negotiating down from 4G to 2G for calls it means leaving the phone in 2G only mode is the only way to reliably receive and make calls. Data speeds are slow, but that saves your MB! So use 4G mode for speed (but no calls) or 2G mode for calls and slow speed

Until relatively recently, we used to have to set multiple APN entries (one for cellular data, a second one for MMS), and this was confusing because many providers only have a single APN, so we had to use a mixture of APNs from multiple carriers to get around the problem. Thankfully, we can now correctly use the Internet + MMS APN type in UT, so it is much more simple to set an APN correctly.

Below are some collected APNs for T-Mobile and T-Mobile MVNO carriers in the USA:

T-Mobile USA APN Settings

Used For: Internet + MMS
Name: T-Mobile
APN: fast.tmobile.com <NOTE: do not use t-mobile.com it will not work!>
MMSC: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
<Proxy, Proxy Port, User Name, Password ALL BLANK>

Alternative:
Used For: Internet + MMS
Name: T-Mobile
APN: epc.tmobile.com
MMSC: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
<Proxy, Proxy Port, User Name, Password ALL BLANK>

US Mobile APN Settings

Used For: Internet + MMS
Name: US Mobile
APN: pwg
MMSC: http://pwg.mmsmvno.com/mms/wapenc
<Proxy, Proxy Port, User Name, Password ALL BLANK>

Mint Mobile APN Settings

Used For: Internet + MMS
Name: Mint Mobile
APN: wholesale
MMSC: http://wholesale.mmsmvno.com/mms/wapenc
<Proxy, Proxy Port, User Name, Password ALL BLANK>

Tello APN Settings

Used For: Internet + MMS
Name: Tello
APN: wholesale
MMSC: http://wholesale.mmsmvno.com/mms/wapenc
<Proxy, Proxy Port, User Name, Password ALL BLANK>

To make sure the settings are applied, after changing APN entries please reboot.

Note that, yes, it is known that 2G audio isn't great for calls, but hey it is a functioning phone!

Please reply here with other MVNOs that may work in the USA, I will keep updating this post to stay current.

mw4jet

@rik I saw your posts on Telegram and figured I would give this a try. I had just reflashed my OP6T back to android 12 to peddle on Ebay, so I reflashed to UT and find no change from what I had before, Calls in and out, SMS in and out, no MMS at all. I have it in 2G on US Mobile.

Do you have any other MODS on the device? I had done some fiddling to the phone before but it's all stock UT now. I have a Pixel 3A but I cannot try it on US Mobile as it was supposed to be unlocked but it only works on AT&T so I cannot try that one.

rik

@mw4jet said in USA: T-Mobile (and MVNO) 2G settings for a fully functional UT device:

@rik I saw your posts on Telegram and figured I would give this a try. I had just reflashed my OP6T back to android 12 to peddle on Ebay, so I reflashed to UT and find no change from what I had before, Calls in and out, SMS in and out, no MMS at all. I have it in 2G on US Mobile.

Sorry I have lost track of your specific issues, but MMS photos should be working on US Mobile (T-Mobile). You do have wifi disabled when attempting to download a MMS, correct? Additionally, if it is a group MMS then you need the group pre-created (this is "fiddly": you need to look in the error log to find what phone numbers are part of the group message, then manually create the group with those numbers, then again attempt to download). I think @rocket2nfinity has an OP6T and can confirm that MMS is working in 2G mode.

Do you have any other MODS on the device? I had done some fiddling to the phone before but it's all stock UT now. I have a Pixel 3A but I cannot try it on US Mobile as it was supposed to be unlocked but it only works on AT&T so I cannot try that one.

Sorry you got a carrier locked one. For me, yes I did some "fiddling" in the past, but am now at "stock RC channel".

mdl

@rik Thank you very much for posting this. I just purchased a Pixel 3a for use on T-Mobile, not knowing that it would not work. This answers a lot of questions. Is there a table somewhere that shows which things work on which carriers? Which carriers are fully supported on UbuntuTouch? (meaning I don't have to fall back to 2G for simple phone calls)

rik

@mdl I am sorry to disappoint you, but from our testing your ONLY option for UT to work with USA carriers is the above T-Mobile (or mvno) settings. ATT, Verizon, and T-Mobile all dropped their 3G networks last year and I don't think (??) anyone has gotten ATT or Verizon to work in 2G mode. 4G (LTE), as noted above, is not yet supported by UT Until very recently, we all thought there was NO carrier working with UT after the drop of 3G networks. Thankfully T-Mobile still works in 2G, so that is as successful as we are right now!

wizardi3

T-Mobile is phasing out 2G this month.

rik

@wizardi3 said in USA: T-Mobile (and MVNO) 2G settings for a fully functional UT device:

T-Mobile is phasing out 2G this month.

Do you have a source for this? According to their own site (link in first post above), "We’ve also shared that we plan to retire T-Mobile’s older GSM 2G network as well, but no date has been set. We will update this page with any additional information in the future."

wizardi3

@rik https://www.tmonews.com/2021/09/t-mobile-unveils-official-network-shutdown-dates/

AppLee

@wizardi3
Your article is dated 2021 and stipulates:

The information doesn’t reveal a timeline for T-Mobile’s 2G shutdown.

rik

@wizardi3 of course it is not certain, but in our discussions on the "North America Carrier Issues" telegram group, our speculation is that there isn't a lot of motivation for T-Mobile to shut down the 2G network. It's frequency spectrum doesn't conflict with pending 5G (that is why we understand US carriers have discontinued 3G: to free up the frequency band for 5G). Also, there are existing 2G industrial and commercial customers (warehouses, package tracking, etc.) that they make money from.

So, it certainly can be the case that they will shut down the 2G band with little warning, but we are hopeful that it will last long enough. In the meantime it remains the only way to have a working UT phone in the USA, so we will stay with it until we can't

wizardi3

@rik T-Mobile would not activate my Nexus 5, I will try their prepaid plan and just get a sim and see if it works. Local staff was not helpful on the future of 2G only talk about 5G which is not yet available from any carrier in my area.