How to Change Your Android Carrier Using These Completely Open-Source Tools

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 The reputation of carriers as being one of the least reliable businesses exists. People have been locked into two-year contracts in the past, and they have also been known to overcharge for SMS texts and watch online activity in order to monetize it with advertisements. Not even mentioning the data they divulge to law enforcement or intelligence organisations.

What if using a smartphone didn't require dealing with a carrier at all? Well, as is frequently the case, you can if you have the correct collection of open-source tools! Using the JMP service in conjunction with the Cheogram app makes it simple to untether your phone number from a SIM card.

Cheogram: What Is It?

To access all of your connections through a single app, Cheogram describes itself as "a bundle of services that connect all open communication networks together."

It is, in simple terms, an instant messaging programme with the ability to make phone calls, provided that you sign in using an account that allows such functions. Technically speaking, it's an XMPP client with the extra functionalities required to communicate with the phone network.

For those who are unfamiliar, XMPP is an open instant messaging technology that works similarly to email in that users with accounts on different servers can easily communicate each other. Contrast this with other popular instant messaging services like Facebook Messenger or Apple's iMessage, where users can only communicate with other users who have registered accounts with the same service. The original name of the protocol, Jabber, is also occasionally used to refer to XMPP.

Cheogram is an app that you will download on your phone and use after everything has been set up; it is not the service that will truly free you from your carrier.

Cheogram is one of several pieces of software created by Soprani.ca, an organisation dedicated to creating open-standards-based communication tools that respect freedom. The simplest way to use Cheogram is to create an account with JMP, another service provided by Soprani.ca.

Describe JMP.

With JMP, you can connect to an existing XMPP account using a US or Canadian phone number.

Like any other contemporary messaging service, XMPP accounts typically allow phone calls to other XMPP accounts. JMP allows you to make voice calls using phone numbers in the same way that other XMPP accounts do. Additionally, you can take calls. The same interface you would use to send messages via XMPP can also be used to send SMS messages to phone numbers.

Technically speaking, JMP acts as a bridge. It makes it possible for the telephony infrastructure and the XMPP infrastructure to communicate.

JMP has several advantages, including the usage of free software and internet access to the source code.

Additionally, you can register multiple phone numbers and simultaneously use multiple accounts on your phone. JMP allows you to run as many numbers as you want on your phone without the need for a SIM card, in contrast to dual-SIM phones that are limited to two SIM cards and demand two different phone subscriptions.

How to Use JMP and Cheogram

The first thing to do when you're ready to try Cheogram and JMP is to go to JMP.chat and register a phone number.

Signing Up for JMP

After you choose a number, JMP will ask you if you already have a Jabber ID (keep in mind that the phrases Jabber ID and XMPP account are sometimes used synonymously) or if you need to create a new one. However, for the purposes of this post, let's continue with Jabber. You can also link your phone to a Matrix account.

JMP will suggest a free public server when you create a new account. If you intend to utilise JMP as your primary phone number, take into account an XMPP provider with a solid reputation, such as Conversations.im, as these volunteer-run servers aren't always the most dependable. Fun fact: Conversation.im's Android app is essentially the foundation for the Cheogram app.

JMP will prompt you for the name of the Jabber ID you've registered once you've generated one elsewhere.

You've now established a JMP account and linked it to your Jabber ID. To complete the process, you may now go ahead and download the Cheogram app.

How to Install and Download Cheogram

Cheogram is not a Google Play app, in contrast to the majority of Android apps. As an alternative, you must get the programme from the open-source, free F-Droid app store. Although you may install the APK directly from the Cheogram website if you don't want to download F-Droid. If you choose the latter, you'll be on your own to check for updates.

After installing Cheogram, sign in with your Jabber ID. JMP will send you a message with instructions on how to finish the registration process.

Obtain: Cheogram (Free from F-Droid)

Adding Contacts to Cheogram

Cheogram needs you to add a number as a contact before you may call it, unlike a typical phone dialer. Tap the chat bubble in the bottom right to do that. Then choose Add Contact by clicking the + icon that appears in its place.

Here, you may decide whether to add a Jabber ID or a PSTN and which account to use to place the call. Then, key in their 10-digit phone number by tapping the latter.

Cheogram will automatically add "@cheogram.com" to the end of the number when adding this contact. Cheogram is an XMPP client at its core, and this address instructs the programme how to connect the phone number.

Your phone will ring and a notification will show up when someone calls you, exactly like you would if you were getting a conventional call. Your contact list will immediately add the number as a new contact.

Make a Call and Text Message

From the list of contacts, pick the person you want to call. To make a call, simply tap the phone symbol up top. You can open the dialer during the call to make button presses, as you would need to do when calling corporate numbers and interacting with the automated system that answers.

Messages and your call history with the contact will be displayed in the conversation thread. Enter your text in the entry form at the bottom of the chat to send an SMS.

Connect Cheogram To Your Local Dialer

You can choose to utilise your phone's default dialer if you don't want to open the Cheogram app to make calls. To do this, navigate to Settings > Manage Accounts in Cheogram and click the cog next to Manage Phone Accounts to alter which accounts are currently active in your default dialer.

Instead of the phone number associated with the SIM card that might be in your phone, you can set Cheogram as your default option.

Adding an existing number to a port

You are welcome to port in your current number from your current carrier after testing JMP with the registered number. You can find instructions on the JMP website.

You may now stop using your carrier.

You can now make and receive calls without a functional SIM card thanks to JMP running through Cheogram. You can use Wi-Fi instead of your SIM to communicate anywhere there is an internet connection.

Even so, you might want to keep a SIM card active so that you can continue to use mobile broadband and contact 911, which JMP numbers are unable to do.