Sailfish in the USA

Thanks. I knew this was going on internationally but I haven’t heard MMS will be discontinued in the US. MMS is still used widely in the United States, especially in “texting” from iPhones to non-iPhones if the message exceeds SMS character limits. If Jolla still wants to expand to the US market as they indicated at the outset of this year, they may yet have to engage with MMS.

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Another satisfied customer in the U.S. on T-Mobile!!!

I received my phone. It came with the latest Android 11, fully patched on it, so that simplified things. I ran it with my SIM for 30 minutes or so, including having my wife send me a photo via MMS. Worked beautifully. I then flashed SFOSX upon it and restored from backup. To be thorough - I’ve had issues in the past with notes causing my backups to not restore properly. As a result, with my relatively few notes, I simply took a screen snapshot of them, deleted them all, performed the backup, then moved the microSD card to the 10 iii and restored from backup.

I did have issues with SIM in slot 1 and getting cellular connectivity. I removed the microSD and moved the SIM to slot 2, then set the correct APN for T-Mobile USA (fast.t-mobile.com, etc.) and voila - everything connected well.

I tried to send an MMS, to no avail. It does not work, as has already been reported.

The OS is buttery smooth. It’s a good white wine that is described as buttery smooth - smooth. The browser is so smooth. I saw someone asking for a video of the browser. I may do that tonight even though I am not a podcaster type with the pro setup for such videos, just so those of you unconvinced of the browser’s smoothness can see how smooth it is. It is that good that it is worth it for me to do a video.

Then the pièce de résistance - I enabled the VoLTE, paired one of my Bluetooth headsets (Etymotic Blu2), and went for a drive through three of the spots that 100% dropped my calls on the Xperia 10. I had one dropped call at the very far side of a known area, and I was stuck in traffic merging from three lanes to two. I am convinced that if I had proceeded through that zone at 45 mph, the call would have handed off to the next tower seamlessly. But even with that call dropping, there wasn’t the 10-second delay that the X10 had where “no service available” message comes up, the phone connects to 4G, then finally allows me to reestablish a 3G phone call. With the 10iii, I had Cellmon running and I watched the signal drop precipitously from 72% to 32% to 1% and then the call dropped. The message appears at the bottom of the screen to Call Again, which I pressed and the call immediately connected. Behind that I could see Cellmon jump to 52% then 72% again on the new tower. I was far less interrupted with this drop than any of the other call drops.

Through the other two zones, my signal strength on 4G stayed 97% - 100% and the calls did not break up at all.

Given the 10iii is not working on all available T-Mobile USA frequency bands, I am thoroughly shocked at the call quality and signal strength and coverage in the Chicagoland suburbs thus far. I have not yet driven outside of 5 miles radius. I will do so tomorrow and report back.

I was able to, at red lights of course, surf the internet while being on the phone call and it was just as speedy and smooth as not being on a call.

I pulled up an email that came in while I was driving. Clicking on alerts and having the app open so quickly and the message displaying so quickly is just a treat.

I was so ecstatic with the person with whom I was performing the test call that they started laughing. “It’s just a phone.” is what that person said. Of course, they didn’t understand the monumental victory this is, especially in the USA for which neither the phone nor the OS has been targeted/optimized.

This weekend we are driving out of state to attend a wedding. My T-Mobile service on interstate travel has been erratic. We will travel routes upon which I have experienced poor cell service or no cell service in the past. I will test the phone during that and report back.

I have even experienced delightful Android app compatibility that has plagued me in the past. The Ubiquiti Network Application app for monitoring and controlling UniFi networks has not worked for a year and a half on my 10, even with updates to SFOS and the app, itself. It works flawlessly on this.

I used Aurora store to install the JP Morgan Chase banking app. I don’t have Google services and haven’t even bothered with the workarounds. I just tried it on a whim. The Chase website would not let me log in with the native browser. I had to download Firefox before Chase’s site would let me in. I could enter my credentials, get the one-time code texted to me, then successfully authenticate. But at the next screen it would said that I needed the app or to check the laptop/desktop requirements for the website. However, I downloaded that app and it worked straight away, despite a warning about not having Google services or something along those lines. I just acknowledged the error and my banking information appeared. LOVE IT!

I should note, I opened the APKPure App and it reported that it did not have network connectivity. I had to use the utility to restart network services, then the Android app had network. I’ve gotten used to this from the X10, and do look forward to this being permanently resolved.

The Axis Companion Classic app that I use for work also works nicely. Over cellular I can watch the four cameras that fit on the screen at once in real-time. I can scroll through the various cameras on a 16-camera site and the application’s performance is smooth. I can click on any one camera, select a recording and play it back in high quality and the graphics playback is perfectly smooth on this phone.

I paired my Logitech Bluetooth keyboard with the phone. Its performance has not changed - in SFOS-native applications the keyboard works flawlessly. In Android apps, I can type and the phone keeps up with my speed, however I cannot use any key combinations, therefore no capital letters or symbols from Shift+(a number key) can be displayed. I have seen this since my Xperia X, 2x 10X, 10+, 10ii consistently, so I don’t think it’s the phone. :slight_smile:

I turned on Location, installed MLS Manager and ran Here and it properly located me very quickly.

In summary, I completely agree with @cyberlyra and wholeheartedly recommend this phone for purchase and use in the USA. I will answer questions you may have as best as I can.

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I am so happy to hear this is working for you too, @Ras72 ! Thank you for the detailed update! Let us know how the out of state drive goes – i have one of those coming up soon too. In the meanwhile, I have done the northeast corridor (CNJ-DC) several times on this phone now without dropping service.

“It’s just a phone” <–lol, been there!! :wink:

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Y’all sound like there will just be SMS left.
Presumably they are moving to RCS messaging, aka IMS-texts.
IMS being the overcomplicated subsystem that serves VoLTE.

I have just set up my Xperia 10 III with Google Fi!! It works great and no issues in the Denver area with SIM 1. VoLTE works so far and MMS messages are delivered to the Google Web portal, so amazing functionality for everything!

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Ok something must have happen last night… Im.on Red Pocket with an X2A duel sim.and I cannot get voice calls I could never get 4g prefered to work with mms. So I had always kept in on 3g perfered…

now im DOA… I can get internet and text messages in 4G mode but when i try to make a call… It just give me the jolla dropped call sounds before the number even dials…

Im at the end of my rope with teying to get this phone to just do the basics. In this case I wonder if its the hardware or is it software since I have so many issues with this os…



Has your service provider perhaps shutdown 3G support? You’ve posted in the Sailfish in the USA thread, so I assume you’re in the US where this seems to be happening now with the major carriers. If Red Pocket runs on one of these carriers that has shutdown 2/3G support then that could explain why you can use 4G for internet and messages, but not 3G.

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I am in the us. Red pocket uses T-Mobile and AT And T. Just reading around it seems they killed 3G a couple of days ago.

So is the Sony XA2 not 4G?

Sorry I dont understand phone Tech all that well…

Just read this Status of Xperia Phones after 3G Shutdown (3G Sunset) by US Wireless Carriers | Sony USA

looks like my awesome little sony had had its voice turn off…

Sooo can I transfer my sailfish license to another phone?

Sailfish on XA2 is not able to do calls on 4g. This would require Voice over LTE technology (VoLTE), which currently is not available.

So That means no more sailfish for us in the US? Are there any alternatives or options for US users??

im sorta stunned. I.cant believe im the only person in the US that has lost access to sailfish.

Currently I am going to need to get another phone and I want to get something thatbI can put this os on.

Anyone have any suggestions ??

Ok so this is what has happened to me 2 days ago with my Xa2… So all these years using sailfish and now im Dead in the water…

I don’t have a secondary phone so I have not been able to receive or send calls. Since no one hardly calls It may have been out longer but dang I am not sure what to do or what phone I can get that is not expensive to run sailfish here in the US. Any Suggestions?? Thanks

The only possible option you have at the moment if you wish to stay with Sailfish in the US is the Sony Xperia 10 III. This has a beta version of the VoLTE functionality on it that users can enable if they want to try it out and help test it. Look here:

I don’t know whether it would be available on your service provider, but you can find the latest results of community user testing on various networks and in various countries here:

Basically at the moment its at your own risk as the VoLTE functionality on this phone is still in Beta mode.

Its also only on the Sony Xperia !0 III. Jolla have plans to bring it to the Xperia 10 II next, but nothing has been said by Jolla about VoLTE availability on any other supported phone, including the XA2 - so we may get it on this model at some point, or we may not.

And before you say anything, Yes Jolla are way behind the curve on this one and perhaps should have done something much sooner with regard to VoLTE - but we are where we are and history cannot be changed.

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Hi @808 , we’ve been talking, worrying, and strategizing about the 3G shutdown and its implications for SFOS USA users on this forum for several months. Perhaps because you were on an MVNO you didn’t get the text messages from the carriers warning you that the XA2 would no longer function as of June 2022? Receiving those messages from T-Mobile kicked off my quest to find the next US-compatible device many months ago.

Fortunately as @Steve_Everett put it, the Xperia 10iii works beautifully on US carriers and IMO is the best, most effective and seamless SFOS experience since the XA2. Based on community tests so far we are able to get 4G LTE service on TMobile USA (and associated MVNOs) and GoogleFi, so you could probably even keep Red Pocket service if you’d like. Jolla’s licenses are device-specific so you can’t ever transfer between phone models. But based on everything we’ve found in this forum, I highly recommend biting the bullet, finding a 10iii on eBay and purchasing the associated 50 Euro license for SailfishX. I’ve tested 10 and 10ii and IMO the 10iii is worth it for the connectivity problems it solves.

I know it hurts to give XA2 up. I loved my XA2 and I agree, it was a workhorse. But with the networks sunsetting 3G it won’t work for anyone in the USA regardless of what operating system is installed.

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Same here, I would maybe realize it after a few weeks (or maybe not) if voice services suddenly stopped working :slight_smile:

Maybe forwarding your number to a SIP provider would be a temporary work around?

The Xperia 10 III was extremely cheap on eBay a few weeks ago, I paid maybe $450 for a brand new, boxed phone.

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How do you access the Web portal on your phone though. At least for me on 4.2, I had to build a workaround, but google found and closed that workaround recently

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I am back from the road trip. I’ll write more about that tomorrow. The big news for tonight is that I am successfully sending and receiving photos on MMS on T-Mobile USA on the 10iii using 4.4.0.64.

Using MMS Log app, I watched the errors, then messed with the MMS settings. I decided, out of desperation really, to change from fast.t-mobile.com to epc.tmobile.com and IP6 only, and that was the magic combination.

I have successfully sent MMSes containing a text message with a photo from my phone to a couple of other people, and they confirmed receipt and sent me multiple MMSes with photos attached.

And @808 - last year I observed a tower climber up on the T-Mobile tower nearest where my wife works. That same day, her 3G coverage/calling near that tower disappeared. My theory was they were starting to peel off 3G radios to the barest of minimum for coverage and replacing them with 5G radios utilizing those frequency bands. I theorize that for the next month, you could travel to a different metro area and you would still get a 3G call out on your XA2. But yeah, the 10iii is the best SFOS experience yet - by a long shot.

I used GPS this weekend and I turned it on initially in SW suburb of Chicago, then turned it off until I was in mid-MO. It snapped right to where I was in MO within two seconds. I had installed MLS Manager before I got on the road, so that may have helped. It truly has been the most pleasurable, though not yet perfect, SFOS experience I have ever had. For the first time, I am starting to consider that I may have a device that will beat out the N9 for my favorite phone - and that’s saying a lot in my book.

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Thank you all for the info! I will keep my eye out for 10^3.
But man that phone is massive. It could double as a snow shoe in a crunch.

It took me a min to get use to the XA2’s size after coming of the Jolla phone and before
that; the venerable N9.

As stated in a private message. For all my criticism of this OS… I am missing it and it’s uniqueness. I am going to go to a Nokia 950 Lumia for a hot minute and ponder how much I will miss the OS I have been using this for almost forever… the old saying is true. You don’t truly appreciate what you have until it’s gone.
image

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I thought the Sony Xperia 10 III would be too big, but when I got it I found that, despite its 6" screen size, its actually physically not that much bigger than the XA2 overall. Its narrower, thinner, and about 12mm taller than the XA2. This is mainly because it as a higher screen to body ratio than the XA2. But, overall, its a way better phone than the XA2.

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I’ve been watching and wading through the threads while enjoying my 10iii, wondering how SFOS was faring. Sounds like the 10iii has become the all-around best device yet for Sailors. Even being stuck on Android now, I have also been very pleased with it myself.

I have some curiosity to sate, though. Any other Mint users receiving communication about the 3G sunset? I received both the 6700 and an email, the 10iii seems to be identifying as a 3G device to them. Seems strange, I know the modem inside is looking for some different LTE bands, and its 5G is incompatible with our networks, but I don’t recall a single time where I haven’t been on either LTE or LTE+. If I don’t have LTE, afaict, I just don’t have a signal. And I’ve been using VoLTE the entire time, and this is on Android. All signs seem to point to a false positive, but it does concern me.

@davidrasch @cyberlyra Funny you mention RCS replacing MMS, Google ended up disabling it due to rampant abuse of its ability to push ads in India. I have doubts we’ll see MMS support end any time soon when such a service can be abused. I use Simple Messenger which has no RCS implement, and I refuse to ever enable RCS in that respect. And yet, even in that regard, I’ve not had good luck with MMS on my device. I set a photo to a client recently regarding a data transfer, they came in later in the day and informed me that no message ever arrived to them. I also had a coworker send me my schedule in an emergency, and it’s been almost 24 hours since that event with my phone having received nothing. So, even with regard to Android, MMS is unreliable. I suffered so much trying to make it ever work on Sailfish, and it’s hilarious that I still have issues on a new device and differing OS. Maybe my phone number’s cursed.