Connecting a Raspberry Pi-3 via T-Mobile GSM SIM with SIM800 Board and SAKIS3G

Question

I want to preface this by saying I am learning Raspberry Pi. This is my first real hands on experience. A project I am working on requires our PI-3 to be connected to the internet via a SIM.

We are using the SIM800 Board (https://www.modmypi.com/raspberry-pi/communication-1068/raspberry-pi-sim800-gsm-breakout-board) and a T-Mobile SIM. Please note that the SIM is already activated.

I followed along with this tutorial and used SAKIS3G: https://www.modmypi.com/blog/how-to-connect-your-raspberry-pi-to-a-3g-network. Everything works until the final selection "custom TTY..."

I receive the following error box: "Device did not report GSM capabilities. You can skip this by adding --noprobe command line switch." I have searched high and low for solutions, but there is very limited information. Does anyone here have experience with errors such as this and can point me in the right direction?

I also added the --noprobe suggestion, but it still printed the same error.

Answer 1

I found a work around, hopefully this is useful for someone. Sakis3G seems to be more focused around other SIM card models rather than T-Mobile. I found a really good guide that allows for easy connection (https://www.rhydolabz.com/wiki/?p=16325).

Follow the link's steps and you should be good. The only flaw with this currently is that it requires manual connection every time the pi boots, but this could probably be fixed by someone who knows R-Pi better than me!