Has Hammerhead said anything about how they will handle the phase out of 3G cell service in the US?

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Michael Heinz

So, I was looking (again) into getting a sim for my K2 - but nobody seems to want to sell me one in my area, and the FCC has said that carriers are phasing 3G out by the end of 2022.

https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/plan-ahead-phase-out-3g-cellular-networks-and-service

Has Hammerhead released any statement about this and how it will impact the K2?

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    Friedrich Preuß

    Can't you just use 4G?

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    Michael Heinz

    This seems to say that the K2 requires a 3G sim. Is that not true?

    https://support.hammerhead.io/hc/en-us/articles/360002913013-Known-SIM-Cards-Compatible-with-Karoo

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    Friedrich Preuß

    This article is about the Karoo (1), not the Karoo 2. 

    I have a 4G SIM in my Karoo 2.

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    Michael Heinz

    OHO! Interesting, and thanks for letting me know. That’s the only page where they discuss SIM requirements - and people were still adding comments there a few months ago.

    Does the K2 require a voice SIM the way the K1 did?

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    Ali

    Hi Michael, Karoo 2 can connect to a 4G SIM. You can find related information here:

    https://support.hammerhead.io/hc/en-us/articles/360056822014-What-Cellular-Bands-does-Karoo-2-support-

    https://support.hammerhead.io/hc/en-us/articles/360052360273--Installing-a-SIM-card-

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    Joe Wang

    On my Karoo 2 the little cellular connection icon at the top of the screen says '4G' next to the signal strength. Ride upload and live tracking work fine as long as there is service.

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    Michael Heinz

    Ali, thanks for the links - but for the record, the instructions on installing a SIM card don’t mention 3g, 4g, or 5G, which is why I searched the hammerhead site for more information - and both those articles you linked to also link to the “Known SIM cards” article that says the SIM has to be 3G.

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    Michael Heinz

    Thanks to Joe, Ali, and Friedrich for the info. I couldn't understand why the K2 would only support 3G SIMs!

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    Trey Coursey

    Are there any companies/providers that sell a sim that is not MONTH to MONTH...but could pre-purchase say 10GB of data...and if you were careful use for many months?  I'm not adding a $20 a month SIM for a unit that should have connectivity to my phone...(another post).

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    Frank Skeele

    Has anyone had any real experience regarding Karoo 2 battery life when allowing tracking?   - is it better to subscribe to a cellular sim to allow tracking versus hotspot connection to a mobile phone?  Looking at rides of 7 hr duration or more.  I really hate it when my computer dies before I finish an epic ride!  Have been using Strava beacon to allow tracking.  Wondering if its worth it to have a dedicated tracking to my Karoo2 (fwiw I'm in USA) .  What cellular providers are USA Karoo2 users using with reliability?

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    Friedrich Preuß

    I have a SIM installed and tracking enabled, but have not compared it to WiFi hotspot.

    With low display brightness I'm slightly below 10%/hour. This should be enough for 7h+. I guess using WiFi all the time consumes more energy.

    —

    About cellular providers: I'm not in the US, but my provider has the option for free additional data SIMs (both physical and eSIM, shared with data of main SIM) for up to three or four devices. Probably intended for tablets or Apple Watch.

    Of course, not every provider has this option. But many people don't know at all that this sometimes available. Worth checking.

     

     

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    Robert Dredge

    @Frank Skeele - I'm in the US and I use Google Fi as my cell phone provider.  They provide additional SIM cards for free where you only pay for the data you consume...$10 per 1Gig.  I have a card in both my Karoo 1 and Karoo 2.  Data usage is low per month...maybe 200-300mb, so only $2-3 per month.  Similar to what Friedrich is experiencing, my battery consumption is 8-10% per hour with SIM, multiple device connections and Garmin Varia.  I've done long rides and never run out of battery, but keep a power bank available just in case to plug in.

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