Particle Tachyon RoW - 5G compatibility in India (Airtel/Jio/Vi)

Tachyon
1

Hi everyone,
I'm planning to buy the Particle Tachyon (RoW version) for a project in India.

I noticed that the official compatibility table lists Vodafone (Vi) for India with 2G/3G/4G, but it doesn't mention Airtel, Jio, or 5G support in India.

I have a few questions:

  1. Has anyone successfully used the Tachyon (RoW) with Airtel in India? If so, does 5G work?
  2. Has anyone tested it with Jio? Does it connect to 5G or only LTE?
  3. Has anyone used it with Vi 5G?
  4. Are there any APN or modem configuration changes required for Indian carriers?
  5. Is there an updated compatibility list beyond the one currently published in the documentation?
  6. does tachyon only support esim or does it have a varient with nano sim support ?

Since the modem appears to support the Indian 5G bands (including n28 and n78), I'm trying to understand whether the lack of Airtel/Jio/5G in the compatibility table simply means they haven't been officially validated yet, or if there are known compatibility issues.

Any real-world experience or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

2

There does not appear to be support for Jio in India.

Vodafone India does support 5G, that's an error in the table that will be fixed.

The Tachyon does have a programmable eSIM and you can program your own 3rd-party SIM into it. See: eSIM Setup & Provisioning | Particle Developer .

3

What about Airtel 5g in India is it supported ?

4

Only Vodafone in India at this time using the Particle SIM on the Tachyon.

5

Can I ask why only Vodafone is listed?

From the specifications, I can see that the RF module supports bands n1, n3, n8, n28, and n78, which are also used by Airtel and Jio. Additionally, the module supports both Standalone (SA) and Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G.

Given this, is there any specific reason why Airtel and Jio are not listed as supported carriers? Is this due to carrier certification, compatibility testing, or some other limitation?

6

It's not a hardware compatibility issue; you can use a 3rd-party eSIM with other carriers.

We don't directly contract with each local carrier because that would be crazy worldwide. We have a partner company that has those contracts, and they happen to only have a contract with Vodafone in India. The partner also varies by Particle device; other devices like the M-SoM and B-SoM support Airtel in India, for example. Also it can vary over time; there is a possibility that Airtel will be added in India for the Tachyon in the future.

7

Understood. Just to clarify, does this mean I can't use an Airtel or Jio eSIM with the Tachyon through Particle's managed connectivity service?

However, if I use a physical Airtel or Jio SIM card instead, I should be able to use those networks, right?

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

8

The pre-configured Particle eSIM for Tachyon only supports Vodafone in India.

If you follow the instructions for installing your own eSIM for another carrier in the Tachyon, you can still use Particle console features other than billing, with your own eSIM. Of course you will have to pay for your own eSIM through whatever system they provide.

There is no 4FF SIM card slot on the Tachyon.