MC5720 issues (WWAN) (techy stuff)

[laowai]

In a perfect world, Verizon would have EV-DO coverage in China. However, this world is not perfect and there is no such coverage. In fact, I am limited to one choice for CDMA service (China Unicom) and they use RUIMs for their WWAN cards.

This leaves me in a wonderful position where I want nothing more than to be able to get online (using their 153.6kbps service if I am lucky) and use the hardware that I already have.

********The Following is probably illegal in the US, but not here**********

The idea is to do one of two things:
1) Use my pull at China Unicom to get them to add the ESN to their database and let me activate. (edit - this is not possible because there is also a network lock on the card itself!)
or
2) Subscribe like a normal customer and clone the UIM info to the 5720. (edit - looks like this is the way to go!)

After talking with some very nervous Verizon techs, they have no idea what sort of locks they put on the card.
I need to know:
1) Is the only issue with the compatibility the ESN, or is there a network lock as well? - answered by a MUCH BETTER Verizon tech
2) Is it possible to clone a RUIM to a hard-coded?

Going to get it done this week anyways, but knowing what hassles lay in store would be nice.

As usual, Lenovo/IBM have no idea regardless of what level I talk to. Same goes with Sierra Wireless who say they just make cards and don't lock them.

So, therein lies the issue. Is it possible to clone a RUIM to a hardcoded? If the answer to this is "yes", then everything's all good on my end.

(in respect to US laws, despite them not applying to me, please no discussion on "how to", assume this is all hypothetical)

[laowai]

After much hunting for both people and phone numbers. Two things are certain.

1) It is possible to rewrite the internals
2) China Unicom is willing to add the ESN, but I have to get the PRL changed on my own.

This is essentially the same situation as has happened before here. Importing a nonRUIM-CDMA phone locked to Sprint or Verizon and being able to use it on a RUIM-based network. In theory, it works, in practice? We shall see.

Furthermore, here's a fun question for the legal experts out there: Changing an ESN in the US is 100% illegal, same in the UK and a few other places. If, one was hypothetically to send their card to a country where such a thing was not illegal, and happened to receive it back and something had been changed (like the ESN), would this fall into the gray area of unenforceable jurisdiction?

[laowai]

Welp, the story comes to a close after talking to senior tech at Sierra Wireless.

The calibration needed to get a card to work on a network is pretty [censored] intensive. There is no firmware available for this card either, as it was never certified on China Unicom's network, which would mean I beg for a SDK and write my own, but more likely than not just end up bricking the thing in the process.

PRL volume would need to be changed, which isn't too difficult, but the calibrations are the key here and it's something that just isn't going to happen.

If you are in the US and want to swap over to sprint, it's not a big issue, as the card was certified for the Sprint network and the firmware exists. Call up Sierra Wireless (canada office) and you will end up talking to people who actually are willing to help with this. As for me? End of the line on this adventure.

[NathanA]

Does China Unicom for sure use the same spectrum for their CDMA services as the various AMPS/CDMA carriers do in the US (800MHz "cellular" / 1900MHz "PCS")? I'm pretty sure that the Sierra EVDO cards being installed in the US-model ThinkPads (xxxx-xxU) are specifically tuned for US frequencies, and I would be greatly surprised if there were anything that you could do to alter that. PRLs are easy to take care of. Physically altering the radio RX/TX of the card is quite another feat.

I also have to admit to being quite stunned at the news that the Verizon Sierra cards are "locked" to Verizon. Out of all of the major US cellular carriers, Verizon (and AirTouch before it) has consistently been the most liberal when it comes to subsidy locks. Unlike Sprint which are literal handset Nazis (all phones have a unique MSL code generated from the ESN, and they will not activate a non-Sprint phone on their network/ESN has to be in their database), in the experience that I've had with Verizon -- unless they have changed recently! -- all phones have a generic MSL set in them (000000, or 123456, or something else easy to guess), and they are happy to activate any US CDMA trimode handset on their network. Heck, they even have a form on their customer portal website that allows you to type in the ESN of your new phone and it is updated in their systems instantly, without the need to talk to a CSR!

If they treat their broadband cards differently, then that is disappointing news indeed.

-- Nathan

[laowai]

snipped

Unicom uses the same frequencies as the US, which is why I had hope. The fun thing here is that I just got off the phone with SW in the UK and what Canada told me might have been incorrect.

This is going to turn into a massive hunt of fun to make it work, but the fact that it CAN work and just doesn't pisses me off more than anything else. A copy of SW Product Support Tool would fix it in like a minute and I would be up and going, but they can't hand that out to the public.

The hunt continues to make this [censored] thing work. I'm going to bug SW USA and VZW more tonight.

[laowai]

Update on data hunting.

If you want the part for cheap, you are best to go to Premiere Wireless (www.pws.bz) for it. They sell at an OEM level and are also willing to do individual sales. HOWEVER, you will need to find a way to get the IBM firmware on the actual cards.

After talking to a bunch of liars over in US tech support for Sierra Wireless. The only issue is in fact the PRL. If you can change that, you are home free. However, changing that without network support requires a CCT machine which is part of the dev kit that SW provides to OEM. (PW is full of honest people). Due to the difficulty in doing this there IS NO NETWORK LOCKOUT. Change the PRL and you are free.

VZW is basically useless at this point, as is IBM as all they will do is try to get me to buy more crap that I do not want or need.

Also, that card that IBM is charging $750 a pop for? OEM price is $200. You are paying $550 extra for a locked card with an IBM firmware, what a great value!

The best best would be getting a MC8775 with a SIM slot module actually. But [censored], I want my 5720 to work

[GomJabbar]

Also, that card that IBM is charging $750 a pop for? OEM price is $200. You are paying $550 extra for a locked card with an IBM firmware, what a great value!

You seem to be exagerating a bit. IBM has the card for $489.60. Still pricy, but not $750!
WWAN CARD TOSA RMWARE UPDATE Product: 41W1177 $489.60

You can buy the same 5720 on ebay for $33.33 with Buy It Now.
IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad Wireless EVDO Card 39T5664/41W1177

At any rate, it seems the real problem is that you bought a notebook with hardware that you couldn't use. You should have saved your money and not gotten the EV-DO option. There are any number of PC Cardbus EV-DO cards that you can add after the fact.

IBM/Lenovo are not the bad guys here. It is the cellular carriers in the US. I.e. Verizon, at&t (Cingular), Sprint, T-Mobile, et al.

[NathanA]

Well, you didn't hear this from me, but...

I can confirm that the MC5720 cards shipping in ThinkPads are, in fact, not MSL-locked. Mine came with the MSL code set to the default of 000000 (which is what I expected I'd find anyway; as I have said many times in the past, Verizon is unique in that they do not subsidy-lock any of their handsets and activate just about any CDMA handset on their network...in fact, if you want an OTA PRL update to even WORK on Verizon, the subsidy lock code HAS to be set to 000000 or it won't download.)

In addition, if you are absolutely sure that your provider uses the same cellular and PCS channels as in the US, that there is no real information on the R-UIM that is needed during association/registration with the tower and that giving them your ESN is sufficient, and that all you need to do is change the PRL on the MC5720, well, that is accomplished easily enough with a recent copy of QPST software. You will just need your provider to supply you with the PRL file in IS-683 format. Alternatively, you might try to create a blank PRL (or one with at least your provider's SID) with the "preferred only" bit NOT set, and with any luck the card will find your provider's tower and "roam" on to it.

Again, you didn't hear this from me.

-- Nathan

[laowai]

Thanks for that tip.

Anything good for "browsing" available networks?
The funny thing is that this chipset is the same that is used over here. There might be a few things that need to be tweaked, but oh well, that's the challenge.