The device is TMOHS1. It comes with a T-Mobile SIM card that is pre-installed Setting it up entails just powering up the device.
The pre-installed SIM cannot be swapped in to a phone. However, I have successfully swapped in a T-Mobile SIM from my daughter's school-issued tablet and the MintMobile SIM from my wife's phone into the hotspot. The latter is not anything you want to keep in the device longterm, obviously.
A really great benefit of this device is that it will operate normally without a battery.
The device is locked to the T-Mobile network. I'm going to see if I can generate a lock code from the free T-Mobile on-demand line that I'm still carrying. I'm hoping that once unlocked, it's still compatible with Visible even though I would only have access to LTE bands 4 and 66.
I ordered one last December, and haven't even opened the shipping box. (I kept putting it off because I have no need of the extra data at this point, because, well, Covid.)
Got an unexpected email from T-Mobile 2 days ago, welcoming me to T-Mobile and notifying me of the phone number on my new line. Confused, since I haven't activated a new line. Finally realized this seems to be the TestDrive, since it's the email address I used when ordering that.
I'm not sure why T-Mobile would decide it's time to activate this without a request to do so, or whether it's a glitch and the TestDrive isn't really activated yet..... I guess I'll have to open the box and try it. Maybe I shook the box and pressed the power button inside?
Funny, I just got AT&T "try and buy" that I ordered over a month ago. 50gb/30days. It is a Moxee K779HSDL. No idea if it is unlockable or even worth unlocking re other MNO bands it would support.
I did find these specs
LTE Bands: 2 / 4 / 5 / 12 / 13 / 25 / 26 / 41 / 66 / 71
I did find I have an unopened tmo test drive kit from last year but it doesn't say what hotspot brand/model. "TMO T9 TESTDRIVE....."
H/W P1 if that means anything to anyone.
Has a date of 5/25/2020 and a SKU type barcode 6 10214 66282 8 on the sticker that has IMEI # etc.
Haven't opened it but nowhere on the outside does it have a model brand name.
Yes, mine is a Franklin T9
redrotors, yours matches my sku label and other markings. You'll see Franklin T9 in the hotspot SSID when you fire it up. (And displayed in the tiny little display....)
I opened the still-sealed shipping box for mine today, expecting to see it ready to use & turned on somehow, since I got that welcome email from T-Mobile for my mysterious new number being set up successfully. The battery and SIM card weren't installed, so no way it got turned on by jostling the box! T-Mobile support could confirm for me that the new number was in fact for the TestDrive, so I went ahead and fired it up. I hadn't read anywhere that T-Mobile was initiating the process on it's own, without the user doing anything. At least I do have some traveling to do this month, so I'll be able to give it a try in several locations.
bingyee, thanks for the reminder that I need to find that thread for eventual repurposing of this unit.
Reading up on the Franklin T9 TestDrive posts on reddit, I see a mention that the TestDrive SIM card expires if not activated within 90 days. So maybe T-Mobile was just watching the clock on that better than I was, and decided to activate the SIM on their own as a reminder that I needed to give it a try. (My 90 day clock was about ready to expire.)
