For those of you that are on a Cricket mobile internet plan and thinking of upgrading from Quectel EC25 to EP06A… I did that on a Spitz x750 and Cricket suspended my account saying that the device is not compatible. It worked for a brief moment and I was getting way better speed with carrier aggregation enabled.
Not sure if AT&T has the same issue… but I’ll be switching to T-Mobile soon.
A.
For the record, even switching back to the previous modem (EC25) doesn’t work anymore. Here is the text message I got from Cricket: “Cricket Free Msg: This device is not eligible for activation on the Cricket network. Cricket’s High-Definition Voice network requires use of a compatible device. For more information go to 3G Network Shutdown | Great Big Network | Cricket Wireless or see your Cricket store rep.”
I’ve talked to customer support, no way to get the service reactivated, doesn’t matter if it is with Quectel EC25 or EP06.
I’ve just switched to TMobile… EP06A is working fine, zero issues. I don’t get carrier aggregation, but I’ll test that again later.
Cricket is owned by ATT. Their network needs your device certified.
You should use the ATT certificated version which uses EC25-AF.
I understand that. What I am saying is that, even after going back to EC25-AF, Cricket refused to reactivate my account stating that even the IMEI associated with the EC25-AF modem is NOT compatible. I did point out the fact that it is a certified AT&T device, they didn’t care.
I’m pretty sure it only worked at first because their network takes time to propagate the block. Think of it as a demo period while it works, and then the block gets turned on.
All the Quectel modems have the same IMEI range. I’m pretty sure Cricket just blocks all non phone / tablet devices (ie not of the big phone brands) to avoid people tethering laptops on their network via routers.
I assumed it would work since they use AT&T network and EC25-AF is certified for AT&T. I was using their “simply data plans” which should be designed for hotspots. It took them 2+ months and me swapping out the SIM card to block my account.
By the way, if this is the case, I should probably update the title of this post to “DO NOT USE CRICKET with a Quectel modem device”
Thanks!
Well if they refuse to authenticate your device then they are doing it on purpose no? They want you to buy only their hotspots with their crap software on them to track what you do, and then also add a huge markup to the device compared to OEM.
I have seen a few ISPs around the world let users send in their IMEI to let them use non standard devices on their network, but give you a warning that speed and stability might me affected due to an unknown untested device.
Those don’t work either. I just bought a V2 from GL-Inet’s Amazon store, and it came with the EC25-AFFA and neither AT&T nor Cricket would recognize the IMEI.
I couldn’t even sign up for service.
Had to return it.
They have specific data only plan for mobile hotspots / routers, so I don’t think that’s the issue. If you’re trying to use a phone plan, they’ll kill the service though, I’m sure.
They have a 20GB a month plan for $35 going up to a 100GB a month for $90.
Based on my trying to get my v2 to work, I wonder if anything with 3G support got purged from the IMEI compatibility database in January.
I am not sure if this relates. But trying to find out what is the reason.
Spend a lot of money to get certified to use AT&T network and do not want to have problems.
It doesn’t make any sense to me either. It’s just ridiculous.
I went into an ATT store today to see what I could learn, they knew nothing of consequence except to tell me the netgear routers are all they sold. Anyone have any idea what modem is in the netgear RM1100?
I’d love to see a SPITZv2 with the same modem.
OP here: I’ve been using T-Mobile with the upgraded modem (EP06A) for more than a month. No issues, I do get carrier aggregation and overall performance is way better than what I used to get on Cricket with EC25AF.
No T-Mobile service where I need to set this up, it’s insanely remote. Otherwise, I’d 100% go with T-Mobile over ATT.
There’s T-Mobile 5G about 23 miles away but ZERO options for line of site.
Frankly, I don’t even need really fast data - just data… and I’d have it if ATT hadn’t decided to remove the SPITZv2 IMEIs from their compatibility list.
why don’t you just change the imei?
So it doesn’t get arbitrarily kicked off the network? I see people talk about how they got shut off or something after doing this. It’s my understanding that changing the IMEI on the device isn’t exactly proper.
Plus, the SPITZv2 is AT&T Certified.
I just want to legit sign up for service with the stock device and its IMEI because it’s a remote cabin, and I can’t just go there to change it. I just need it to be a legit device, with a legit data plan, doing it’s job 365 days a year, especially when I’m not there.
I’m new to this, so are these IMEI fears unfounded?
Is changing the IMEI legal in the USA?
Ian told me I should let you know something.
The to IMEIs i have for 750v2 have incorrect check digits. While TMobile doesn’t seem to care, both AT&T and Cricket consider the IMEI invalid if it’s wrong.
Basically, the IMEI was “invalid”, but when I calculated the check digit, and put that in, they recognized it and replied with:
Apologies! This 4G LTE Wireless Gateway GL-X750V2C4 is not compatible with the Cricket Network due to network changes. Please visit cricketwireless.com/3Gnetworkshutdown for more details or see your Cricket store rep.
I replied to your email with the details that I had sent to support - subject line “Just purchased a GL-X750V2C4, ATT reports imii invalid?”… immi because I seemed incapable of typing when I sent it.