Below we have gathered useful information for customers that have issues with getting a correct SIM card from US operators.
1. SIM card size
Our devices use a mini-SIM (2FF) SIM card size. Obtain SIM kit with the correct SIM size from your operator.
2. Choosing a plan
Our device requires calls/texts services enabled, data is not required. Depending on a carrier, it can be M2M or IoT plan or a normal plan that includes SMS texts and calls. You may contact our US Partner eSquared to get the right SIM & plan for your device.
3. IMEI number
If your cellular operator requires IMEI number for a SIM card activation, you can check the IMEI on SMSEage device in web-GUI > menu Settings > tab Sysinfo.
4. Operators
a) T-Mobile
- If you have troubles getting the right SIM kit, ask for "T-Mobile 3-in-1 SIM Starter Kit"
- no other problems were reported by our US customers
b) AT&T
- If you have trouble getting the right SIM, ask for IoT AT&T SIM.
- If you have a problem with the activation of a consumer SIM, please register the SIM with an IMEI of the normal phone (use any mobile phone that is currently not used for AT&T), and once the SIM is registered move it into the SMSEagle device
- SMSEagle NXS-9700-4G and NXS-9750-4G devices are certified by AT&T
- SMSEagle MHD-8100-4G and NXS-9700-5G devices use radio modules certified by AT&T. This information is often required when activating SIM by AT&T customer service.
- Messaging & voice plan should be associated with a SIM
c) Verizon
- currently only SMSEagle NXS-9700-4G and NXS-9750-4G devices are certified for use in Verizon network.
- according to official information from Verizon all the standard M2M price plan options are available (including unlimited text)
- if you have a problem with the activation of a consumer SIM, please register the SIM with an IMEI of the normal phone (use any mobile phone that is currently not used for VZW), and once the SIM is registered move it into the SMSEagle device
d) Sprint, US Cellular
- no problems were reported by our US customers
e) virtual operators
- some customers use virtual operators like Mint, Ultra Mobile, Red Pocket, AlarmSIM, Tello, or Twilio Programmable Wireless. Contact a virtual operator of your choice for more details on their plans and SIM availability.
💡If you experience any problems with getting your US SIM to work, please submit a support ticket to obtain help. You may also contact our US Partner eSquared who has experience in providing & activating the right SIM for SMSEagle devices.
Other helpful tips for US customers
- Use a delay between SMS texts (can be set in menu Settings > Application) to prevent blocking by spam filters.
- Send messages from each modem to the other modems every 1 hour (this creates an artificial "chat" traffic) so the line is not cold.
- Encourage the recipients to reply as one-way text will get a number blocked more quickly.
- Consider using MMS instead of SMS.