We're an enterprise customer. I'm considering upgrading our supply of BRN402s with Ethersims before sending them into the field. Converting them to this super sim SHOULD increase their access to towers beyond AT&T. Has anyone tried this and determined that it is actually beneficial?
It is technically feasible and it does work, however I can't state for certain how well it will work in your specific scenario.
One minor technical caveat with the BRN402 4FF SIM slot: To switch from external SIM to internal (MFF2) you must change the software setting AND remove the physical SIM card from the SIM card slot. If you select internal SIM in software and still have a physical 4FF SIM installed, neither is used, and the device won't be able to connect to anything.
Also, even though the EtherSIM in BRN404 and BRN404X on an Enterprise plan can connect to Verizon, I don't think the BRN402 with 4FF EtherSIM can. The reason is that Verizon requires manufacturer IMEI registration, and the IMEI doesn't change with the SIM, so the BRN402 would not be registered with Verizon. I am not 100% sure this is correct, so check with your sales engineer if this is important to you.
When you mean upgrade, are you referring to the BRN404X?
if so, upgrading would enable Verizon and T-mobile in addition to just AT&T on the BRN402.
Ah, I mean that I will stop using the internal SIM and install one external Particle Ether Sim EtherSIM Global IoT SIM Card – Particle store into the BRN402. @rickkas7 mentioned the possible IMEI issue with Verizon, but my hope is that we would at least pick up T-Mobile since these sim cards are Twilio super sims.
We have customers that do this - you'll need to be on DeviceOS 4.x, and ensure the external SIM is set. That's a sticky setting, so only needs to be done once.
Verizon is not enabled on the BRN402, but T-Mobile works yes. Same modem as the BRN404 which uses EtherSIM.
I use the physical ethersims on my BRN402s, which enables t-mobile. In my area, t-mobile coverage is significantly better than AT&T.
In summary: Adding external Particle Ethersim (Twilio super sim) to a BRN402:
- adds access to T-MOBILE
- access to VERIZON would still be restricted (due to IMEI registration)
- requires one-time Cellular.setActiveSim(EXTERNAL_SIM);
- requires DeviceOS 4.x
This sounds like a WIN for the BRN402s. Thank you everyone!