rayhunter
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EFForg
Carrier unlock
Bought an Orbic RC400L off eBay, and was able to successfully get Rayhunter installed, now looking to see if I can use this here in Canada, but the device appears to be locked, and can't seem to find a way to get it unlocked.
Found a website that says it can provide an unlock, but have reservations on if its possible, and if so, how as I can't see of a way to enter the code like you would on a phone.
Never mind the fact that all my credit card companies flagged the transcation.
I definitely wouldn't use any of those websites, they are all sketchy as heck . When you say the device appears locked what do you mean? Can you share a screenshot if possible?
I definitely wouldn't use any of those websites, they are all sketchy as heck . When you say the device appears locked what do you mean? Can you share a screenshot if possible?
It means the device is locked to a specific cellular service provider/carrier. Example is purchasing a mobile device like this from a cellular providers store it will come with their logo & services when the device is is turned on. The device needs to be unlocked, & removed from that, because everytime the device is turned on it's provisioned to connect to those specific cellular networks & can't be used with any other provider.
I have just started with this project & I am concerned that this will be an issue when there are specific hardware requirements, & not all issues with the hardware sourced on discovery have not been fully disclosed/addressed, as we are unsure if it may or may not be a concern. So I am looking forward to some clarification asap, due to current events making it critical to fast track this project to its full function as intended.
I know what locked means, I mean when you say it appears locked what about it appears locked.
not all issues with the hardware sourced on discovery have not been fully disclosed/addressed, as we are unsure if it may or may not be a concern.
Can you please clarify what issues you see with the hardware that we haven't disclosed or addressed other than the possible locked status?
As the device was new in box, the main screen shows the network operator as Verizon.
Inserting a Telus, or Bell SIM card doesn't connect, despite being able to see the available networks on the Settings > Internet > Mobile Connections > Network Operator sub menu
I was able to get my Bell SIM to work for a few minutes, but not since restarting it.
If Verizon needs to push the unlock, wondering how that can happen in the case that I'm in an area not serviced by them.
not all issues with the hardware sourced on discovery have not been fully disclosed/addressed, as we are unsure if it may or may not be a concern.
Can you please clarify what issues you see with the hardware that we haven't disclosed or addressed other than the possible locked status?
Only that the device is carrier locked. I found out that Verizon will automatically unlock these devices as long as they are not registered as active or stolen.
I was just needing more clarification as there is limited info on the FAQ for this situation.
The fact is that we don't have a lot of information about this. I'm using a verizon branded new device with a non verizon sim card and it works just fine but there doesn't seem to be a good way of checking/confirming whether a device is locked or not. We aren't being purpousfully obstuse, its just not something we have relaly looked in to.
Now that I have been researching more into this, its totally understandable. Due to time constraints, I needed to make sure all basic requirements for this project are covered before starting. I did contact Verizon & they seemed helpful when it came to carrier unlocking the device. So I picked up 2 Orbic RC400L to do testing on, & ordered some prepaid SIM cards. That will be the route I will be going with this. I will share my findings here.
My Verizon hotspot was already unlocked, and I thought Verizon was under an FCC agreement to not lock devices on the 700mhz /band 13 spectrum (?)
Verizon is required to automatically unlock phones after 60 days, regardless of whether the customer requests it, due to FCC conditions related to their acquisition of 700 MHz spectrum and the TracFone acquisition.
One thing that could be tested, is to get a prepaid “warp” SIM from US Mobile, put it on the $10/mo 2gb plan , just to “activate” it with Verizon and be automatically unlocked in 60 days. MVNO should qualify. They’ll unofficially let you do a data device on a metered plan. The ICCID is accepted by the RL400 , locked or no. As long as it’s a “warp” sim. (The physical sim kit contains a Verizon “warp” and an AT&T “dark star” sim). However the device will be blocked if you’re on unlimited starter or on unlimited premium ……. I can confirm the SIM works, but not whether this will unlock it . As mine wasn’t locked.
What I’d be curious about is whether it will count as an activation and start the 60 day timer being registered in Canada even if roaming data packets are denied on the $10 plan. (Formally adding international roaming add on is $15/mo, and this can be cancelled once it’s unlocked.)
Once unlocked, a $2/mo sim from Telnyx (dot com) allows usage almost anywhere in the world. And you can just set a 100mb data quota on it. It’s registered to the network, would be active on the cellular network, anywhere in the world you are but data transfer would be denied after 100mb. That’s not the traffic being watched by ray hunter anyway.
I ordered 3 of the sims from telnyx , one just for the ray hunter. Because they do not care how I spend my data allowance either. Hotspot. Laptop. iPhone. All the same.‘it’s pretty expensive data. But it’s explicitly global, multi carrier, and I am actually allowed to use the orbic. It would work in Canada
This works out to $7.80 a month in the USA or Canada. There doesn’t seem to be a downside to capping it at 100mb and it being denied from going over.
But do set the quota because it would be about 62$ for every 5gb.
In the event you wanted to use it as a hotspot for real, you can easily slide a lever and give it a bigger quota . I already have a LTE card in my laptop (a snapdragon with the same MDM9207, incidentally. I can send it AT commands, do various naughty things on it, not sure if I can get a shell and just run rayhunter on that) so I prefer this over just paying Verizon $80/mo whether I use it or not.
That just might work, have a family member in Arizona atm, will see about ordering one, and having them send it to along to me.
If that does unlock it, than we might be able to leverage it when travelling, as our current SIM cards card 200GB a month at LTE/5G speeds and then down to 3G afterwards
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That just might work, have a family member in Arizona atm, will see about ordering one, and having them send it to along to me.
In this case you could mail them the Orbic , have them stick the usmobile sim in it, it only needs to register on the US network. Then just keep it active for 2 months (doable at $10/mo), wait 60 days and ask Verizon to unlock it. It doesn’t need to ever be on network in Canada. Because of the FCC agreement they’re not allowed to deny your unlock request (important) and the way it’s written, have to do it even if you don’t ask.
there are other Verizon MVNOs, it’s just that data devices are a grey area on usm as long as it’s not an unlimited plan. They don’t expressly forbid it , and at times, offer people on their Reddit board to DM them about activating such a device.
Whereas other MVNO(resellers) are actively hostile to it.
Problem re: unlocking may just be for those outside the USA that ain't able to get a Verizon SIM.
Cuz I'm shure that Customer Support at Verizon will be sketched out at best if someone from Germany were to call and ask to get 10 - 100 Units unlocked in one go who never was a client of them to begin with...
OFC sites offering Unlock-Codes are anything between shady to outright scams, and I'm just glad this stuff died almost two decades ago in the EU, even tho that doesn't help in this case. But also because BNetzA [the local regulator] bans forced bundling of Routers and Modems & other CPE as it's illegal as per §73 Telco Law here.
I am interested in chasing down this carrier lock, and finding out where it is enforced. To do so, I am hoping that someone has an RC400L that has been unlocked by Verizon after the 60-day period, who can provide a firmware dump for comparison with mine. Please let me know!
I'm pretty sure that the carrier lock isn't enforced at all. I don't think I've run into it on any of my devices and I'm not sure I've heard from anyone who has either. Can anyone confirm that they have had an issue with a locked device?
I'm pretty sure that the carrier lock isn't enforced at all. I don't think I've run into it on any of my devices and I'm not sure I've heard from anyone who has either. Can anyone confirm that they have had an issue with a locked device?
Mine is definitely locked. Does not work with a SIM tested as working in another modem, still says Verizon on the status page instead of my local carrier:
ah interesting, thank you, it's good to have that confirmation. Now lets figure out how to unlock this damn thing! :)
ah interesting, thank you, it's good to have that confirmation. Now lets figure out how to unlock this damn thing! :)
Happy to run a recursive diff on your vs my firmware, if you would be prepared to tar yours up and share? Trying to think what others places might exist to enforce a network lock. There are a few fairly small firmware files for the dsp that might be plausible to replace, or possibly delete, to unlock the device.
But they may require something like a signature over the imei or an hmac of it for another firmware to accept it. Not ideal to duplicate imei, of course!
Mine is definitely locked. Does not work with a SIM tested as working in another modem, still says Verizon on the status page instead of my local carrier:
naw this device will say "verizon" on that page no matter who the carrier is.
go here instead:
mine arrived unlocked, i guess , as id said earlier and im fine w/ providing a dump, what exactly do you need me to do ?
i did quick googlefu to ask the next obvious question, youre not in south africa are you? because this device doesnt support, and therefore cant capture, any frequencies in your country and itll say "NO SERVICE" even if its unlocked.
Thanks for the telnyx tip! I’ll be checking to see if mine is unlocked or not and if it’s not, I’ll be joining this journey!
Mine is definitely locked. Does not work with a SIM tested as working in another modem, still says Verizon on the status page instead of my local carrier:
naw this device will say "verizon" on that page no matter who the carrier is.
go here instead:
mine arrived unlocked, i guess , as id said earlier and im fine w/ providing a dump, what exactly do you need me to do ?
i did quick googlefu to ask the next obvious question, youre not in south africa are you? because this device doesnt support, and therefore cant capture, any frequencies in your country and itll say "NO SERVICE" even if its unlocked.
Thanks for the response. I am in South Africa, and I did think of the frequency overlap (or lack thereof initially), but was convinced there was some overlap when it identified the network of the SIM that was installed. In retrospect, that could indeed simply have come from the SIM itself (with a lookup against a list of MNC to Network Name adding to the illusion).
The second SIM I tried which is the "known good" SIM is from Telkom SA, but all I get is the MNC on the page you indicated:
So, it may very well be the case that there is no network overlap, and I'm wasting my time with this hotspot. Thanks for your help, pointing out my assumptions.
Edit to add the same screenshot with the initial SIM that led me astray:
And to be explicit for anyone else reading this, neither of these worked, but most likely due to lack of compatible bands in South Africa.
Okay so I ordered the Orbic off Amazon using the link from the manual. I was able to put in a Telnyx SIM and it just worked after a little bit of time! So I'm not sure if it came unlocked or what.
Mine wouldn't work with my tmobile Sim card so I got it working using the US Mobile pooled plan for now. We'll see how it goes in 60 days.
In the meantime, be aware that US mobile won't let you activate the line using the Orbic's IMEI. Customer service said "The device you have used to submit the port request does not contain the mandatory HD Voice calling feature required for the services to be activated on the black Warp SIM card."
But if you use a phone's IMEI to activate the line and then put the physical sim card in the Orbic when you need it, it appears to work anyway.
I bought a Orbic RC400L carrier unlocked from amazon.com and received it today up here in Canada, loaded RayHunter on it no issues.
I bought a prepaid Koodo sim card for the month activated and confirmed worked on my iPhone before inserting it into my orbic, inserted it, but just says no service.. went into the Orbic network manager just shows "Telus" and everything else is grayed out.. can't input anything. Restarted the device still says no service.
I also tried to select carrier manually in the network settings page, which is did bring up Bell,Rogers,Koodo, but failed to register on all them.
Seems to be no luck up in here in Canada getting this to work.. hopefully in the future something will work.
I suggest to try the TP-Link M7350 which is usually not carrier locked and supports a much wider range of bands.
https://efforg.github.io/rayhunter/supported-devices.html
Has anyone gotten Telnyx to work on the RC400L? I managed to briefly get Telnyx to display the RC400L was on the network, but now it's ceased working. Any ideas? I called Verizon and they told me it's not locked.
I'm having the same issue (Canada), and even though I change the APN setting nothing works (No Service). I can still see Network Operator is set to Verizon but no way to change it. Running latest rayhunter firmware
@shayanb
I figured out what the issue was, Telnyx doesn't work on Orbic in Canada due to frequency capabilities of local carriers Telnyx uses as an MNVO.
I'm using fizz mobile now. I still don't have data access due to frequency support variations but it is connected to a tower now and is able to receive SMS messages/update time. Its all I really needed.
it would be nice if we can find a cheap device that works natively in canada, or ideally globally.
it would be nice if we can find a cheap device that works natively in canada, or ideally globally.
@cooperq Orbic works fine using Fizz Mobile, only issue is no hotspot/data access, but it functions great otherwise. It's discovered suspicious fkery in Vancouver. See attached image.