Are all Sierra MC series modems Unlocked??

IoT Modules MC/EM Series
1

Just like the tittle says!! Are all Sierra MC series modems come unlocked or they have to be unlocked?

Thanls

2

Hi,

Depends what you mean unlocked, I presume you mean locked to a network? Technically no the units are not locked to a network in that can work on any network without SWI supplying codes to unlock them. The only limitation is if you have received a unit configured for say Verizon it will almost certainly not work on Sprint.

Regards

Matt

3

Except for the Japanese variants like the MC7330, which may very likely come locked to Docomo.

4

Alex,

The Japanese variants are just specific to Japan, its like saying the MC7750 is locked to Verizon, it is not locked to the network it is just a network specific product, technically there is nothing stopping you loading different firmware onto to the unit to use it with a different network on the assumption said firmware is available.

Regards

Matt

5

Hi Matt,

If my MC7330 configged with FW: TEPCO,DOCOMO,5.5.26.11_5.4 .
Does it means the SIM card have been locked by Docomo?
Have to use dedicated docomo SIM card,right?
Thanks~

6

Alex,

No it just means that the unit has a Docomo approved firmware and configuration in it. Whether it works with another SIM card (for instance the APN’s will be set as per Docomo requirements) in the area you are running it in or not is another matter.

Regards

Matt

7

Hi Matt,

Usually,there are two kinds of SIM card–1.8V and 3V.
Does the FW will control the VSIM voltage?
What’s the Docomo SIM card VSIM setting? Thanks~

8

All units which are 3V/1V8 (which is most units on the market) are designed to detect the type on power up, additionally the spec for the 1V8 SIM card says that it should be able to operate against a 3V SIM in the same way a 3V SIM can operate against the previous 5V standard.

I do not know what the Docomo spcific settings are and it is not the easiest thing to find out unless you are intimately involved with the firmware generation and approval process but generally operators do not want anything super complicated implemented, they all have to follow the same standards the module vendors do.

Regards

Matt

9

The MC7330 is specific to Japan because they use some very peculiar frequencies, but they also use a lot of frequencies that are common in EU for example. There shouldn’t be anything preventing a user from using a MC7330 with Sierra’s default firmware in another country or operator. But that is not really true, at least from my experience. The MC7330 I got, sold by Sierra directly to a customer in the US, was explicitly network-locked to NTT docomo; I had to network-unlock it to be able to test the module with other operators out of Japan.