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Modem Alternatives (Verizon certified)

Home Forums Mayfly Data Logger Modem Alternatives (Verizon certified)

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    • #17716
      dan@wachusett
      Participant

        Hello EnviroDIY,

        I am wondering if there are other modems that can operate on the Mayfly 1.1 that are certified on the Verizon network? The new EnviroDIY modems are not certified on the Verizon network, so I can’t use those.

        Unfortunately, working for a government agency means that I cannot choose the cellular provider that I want, I must go with the provider on state contract, which happens to be Verizon.

        The Digi modem (XB3-C-A2-UT-001) has been out of stock for months and it doesn’t seem like its coming back anytime soon.

        I found a possible option here: https://www.airgain.com/Documentation/Skywire/1002188_Skywire_Modems_Comparison_Chart.pdf,

        However, I am no expert on this subject and someone more knowledgeable would have to review these modem specs to see if they could integrate with the Mayfly.

        If anyone else has used a non-Digi and not-EnviroDIY modem on a Mayfly 1.1 board (that is in stock), please let me know what modem and how you modified any of the sketches.

        Thanks,
        Dan

      • #17717
        Sara Damiano
        Moderator

          As of a few years ago, the Skywire were _NOT_ compatible with the Mayfly. They use the XBee footprint, but they’ve re-arranged some of the pins so that it won’t work with the Mayfly – 0.5 or 1.x. At the time, each Skywire variant used slightly different pin-outs so you couldn’t even exchange between them directly.

          I don’t know of any other cellular modems that are directly compatible.

          If you’re willing to use jumper wires, you can pick any modem break-out you want.

        • #17718
          dan@wachusett
          Participant

            Thanks for the quick reply Sara. I might be willing to use jumper wires, but realistically, I lack the time and expertise to figure this out on my own in the near term. If someone else has done this and wants to share a fairly detailed how-to, I could probably follow along.  I may circle back on this at some point in the future, time permitting.

          • #17720
            Matt Barney
            Participant

              We’ve had success using the EnviroDIY modem on Verizon (though I recognize that the modems are currently out of stock). See this thread for details on the SIM and APN.

              • #17746
                dan@wachusett
                Participant

                  Matt, I did see that thread about the SIM and APN details, and have no doubt that the modems will work. The trouble is that our Verizon rep (as of January 2023) does not see the EnviroDIY modem IMEI numbers in their device database, therefore they will not “activate” them on our plan. We have SIM cards operating on the Verizon network now using the Digi modems, and we plan to keep using those SIMs with the EnviroDIY modems if they ever get added to the device database. Do you have a contact at Verizon that was able to activate the EnviroDIY modems on your account? Maybe if I talk to that person I can get further than I did with our rep.

                  Thanks,

                  Dan

                  • #17750
                    Matt Barney
                    Participant

                      We purchased NimbeLink’s Verizon SIMs, and we activate them and purchase service directly from NimbeLink, so never had to deal with Verizon itself.

                      I did contact SIMCom (maker of the modem chip on the LTEBee modems) about Verizon certification, and they said they were still awaiting it. Then they notified me once they received Verizon certification (last August), and at that point, our NimbeLink Verizon SIMs ‘just worked’. For what it’s worth, my contacts there were johnfaucher@simcom.com (sales) and martin.chang@simcom.com (tech support).

                      -Matt

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