Karoo is designed to work with or without a 3G SIM card. However, wireless carriers often require that device manufacturers register their products with them before they allow use of those devices on their networks. This is a long process and Hammerhead is working to get Karoo operational on most large carriers like Verizon(WCDMA Only) etc.
But the following companies allow Karoo to work on their networks. While we do not officially endorse any of them, data-enabled SIM cards from any of them should enable 3G connectivity from your Karoo.
1. FreedomPop - https://www.freedompop.com/
2. Cricket Wireless - https://www.cricketwireless.com/
3. Google Project Fi - https://fi.google.com/about/ (setup instructions)
For other cellular carriers, when their SIM is installed you may have to tweak the APN settings that is specific to the country and carrier. We recommend that you use data from the following sites
On the Karoo, go to Settings > Cellular Data > tap + icon on top right, this will bring up a screen like this below, fill in the details from the website above, and then save.
Comments
15 comments
I thought T-Mobile SIM cards were what you used during development. What happened?
Hi Nicholas Weikel, see the update above with APN settings
Telstra card in Australia works fine, but you'll need to set the APN. Check what your phone uses and select the same one.
Is freedompop in the UK compatible??
I can't seem to get a data connection although there is a signal strength bar so clearly something has happened.
I just picked up a verizon micro SIM card in the US and tried it in my Karoo. Available networks that show up are Tmobile and ATT. So it would appear the SIM card is recognized and interacts with the Karoo software. However the CDMA piece is missing I think. Any input from Hammerhead on when you might add this? It was one of the reasons I bought this thing. Thx
Three sim works fine in the UK. No need to enter any APN settings, just loaded automatically.
I've tested Telenor HU; Vodafone HU and T-mobile HU SIM Cards in Hungary. None of them worked at all. The "Cellular data" option in the Settings menu is disabled (grayed out), so I don't have the option to change the APN settings. It's like the SIM slot is not recognizing the SIM card at all. Can it be a hardware problem or that's normal, because of the carriers are not on the compatible service providers list?
I would like to use my Karoo on both of my bikes but the wheel sizes are different. Since I can only apply the wheel calibration number for one bike does that mean that speed and distance will be off when using on my other bike?
If you have a speed sensor on both bikes with different wheel sizes then yes I believe it will be off unless you adjust the wheel circumference setting for each time you swap over.
One potential work around would be to only connect the wheel sensor on one bike and then use GPS only as the distance calculation for the other bike.
Hi Anyone have any idea of a UK sim that will work in the Karoo while I'm traveling through France ?
Yup. A three pay as you go is fine and uses you UK allowance no extra charge. In fact I think pretty much all UK Sims roam for free now. Three works straight out of the box. As does ee. Have used both. No setup required just make mobile data and roaming is switched on.
Thanks Alastair and are you able to confirm it improves things, I take it with navigation?
Well its handy if you want to change route. Also I find that although you have maps and route stored it sometimes goes a bit weird if you reach the edge of what you have stored. With a Sim in it just updates on the fly and maps are completely stable. And of course your strava uploads are instantaneous. I prefer to run with a sim in all the time.
great my EE sim shall be installed and left on . thanks again. I'd really like to side load Komoot for my Charity solo ride through France in May but am not confident I can do all the technical bit as i'd like to have the audio cues it offers ,just incase I get distracted by the scenery !
Anybody in Italy using a SIM card?
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