Light Phone II

[t-w]

Hi there, just wondering if the light phone II will work on public mobile network?  It's not in the options to choose on the phone compatibility checker.  Anyone had any experience (good or bad) with this?  Thanks!

[Korth]

@computergeek541 

I understand the difference between UMTS and LTE, I was simplifying a bit because I didn't want to sidetrack even more, the post was already long enough, lol.

I'm pretty confident that if a phone doesn't explicitly list a compatibility spec then it's because it doesn't support that compatibility spec. If the OEM doesn't say B5/850MHz then it's safe to assume B5/850MHz is not supported. The phone almost certainly lacks 850MHz radio hardware and/or 850MHz radio license - I think it unlikely they'd "forget" to mention valuable (and costly) FCC/CRTC certifications which allow them to expand their market audience.

[computergeek541]

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@Korth wrote:

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@Jb456 wrote:

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Phone radio = B2, B4, B12, B13, B17, B25, B26

Telus radio (Frequency Check)= B5/B2, B12/B13/B17/B29, B4, B7, (n66)

The phone lacks B5 (850MHz) so it might work but it won't work well, at least not as well as every fully-compatible B5/B2 phone on the network. This would affect talk and text and UMTS 3G.

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 The manufactuer's website doesn't say that the phone lacks UMTS band 5. It doesn't say anything at all about the UMTS bands. UMTS band 5 and LTE band 5 aren't the same thing.

[Korth]

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@Jb456 wrote:

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Phone radio = B2, B4, B12, B13, B17, B25, B26

Telus radio (Frequency Check)= B5/B2, B12/B13/B17/B29, B4, B7, (n66)

The phone lacks B5 (850MHz) so it might work but it won't work well, at least not as well as every fully-compatible B5/B2 phone on the network. This would affect talk and text and UMTS 3G.

It supports most Telus 4G (and HSPA+ "3G") bands but misses out a couple of dedicated downlink bands, so 4G data would be moderately fast but not maximally fast. This would be a non-issue on Public Mobile because the primary 4G bands can easily sustain PM's 3Mbps "3G Speed".

[Edit: @t-w You can check the Canadian Cellular Towers Map - zoom in on your area, click on your local towers - Telus/Bell/SaskTel towers equipped for 1900MHz are compatible with this phone on PM, towers owned by Rogers or other operators are not compatible with PM.]

The phone also needs to be unlocked (ie: not carrier-locked), of course.

And it needs to be SIM-compatible (ie: uses any of the three standard SIM card form factors which are all supported by PM, does not use eSIM-only).

[computergeek541]

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@Jb456 wrote:

@computergeek541  that is why I included the screen shot of lightphone website that says Public Mobile.

Anyways here is a post on these forums  I found.

Confirmed working.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/Light-Phone-II-Not-Receiving-Incoming...

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I believe that the manufactuer likely just cut and pasted some information or just assummed that the phone must work at Public Mobile because it works at Telus Mobility. Them only listing LTE specs doesn't inspire much confidence, nor does them saying "Public Mobile (Ontario)". Clearly, there will be someone at this company who does understand the need for 3g frequencies and might that person might even know that Public Mobile isn't just in Ontario, but whoever put up this website doesn't seem to have understood either of these things.

The report of a customer using one provides much more confidence, at least to me, of this device's compatibility with Public Mobile.

[Jb456]

@t-w  If you look at link below it is a post from a Public Mobile member confirming the phone works on here.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/Light-Phone-II-Not-Receiving-Incoming...

You should be good to go!

If you are a new member joining Public Mobile. Don't forget to use a referral code for a $10 signup bonus. 

Have a good evening.

[Jb456]

@computergeek541  that is why I included the screen shot of lightphone website that says Public Mobile.

Anyways here is a post on these forums  I found.

Confirmed working.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/Light-Phone-II-Not-Receiving-Incoming...

[computergeek541]

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@Jb456 wrote:

@t-w

Appears it will. If it is North American version.

Reddit post person says he is on Telus which owns Public Mobile and it works.

https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPhone/comments/h7ex2h/does_light_phone_2_work_in_canada/?utm_source=am...

Also on the lightphone site compatibility checker it says it will.

https://www.thelightphone.com/compatibility-checker#:~:text=The%20Light%20Phone%20II%20is%20in%20Eng...

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But what if only working at Telus Mobility because of LTE compatibility? As you already know, VoLTE is not offered by Public Mobile.  I highly doubt that anyone would make an LTE-only phone, but it's not impossible, nor do we know any of the HSPA frequencies that this device is compatible with becaue the manufacturer's website doesn't tell us.

[computergeek541]

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@t-w wrote:

Hi there, just wondering if the light phone II will work on public mobile network?  It's not in the options to choose on the phone compatibility checker.  Anyone had any experience (good or bad) with this?  Thanks!

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The manufactuer says that there are two versions of this phone. You would definitely need to get the North American version of this phone. Some information here: https://www.thelightphone.com/compatibility-checker

However, since the manufactuer doesn't seem to find a need or understand that they should also be listing UMTS/3g/HSPA specifciations, I wouldn't recommend purchasing this device because of the lack of information.

[Jb456]

@t-w

Appears it will. If it is North American version.

Reddit post person says he is on Telus which owns Public Mobile and it works.

https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPhone/comments/h7ex2h/does_light_phone_2_work_in_canada/?utm_source=am...

Also on the lightphone site compatibility checker it says it will.

https://www.thelightphone.com/compatibility-checker#:~:text=The%20Light%20Phone%20II%20is%20in%20Eng....