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Phone Preparation

Phone Preparation (Prepare) automatically applies the required device settings so a newly connected Android phone can be used in TEO.

Android only

Prepare is available for Android phones (Samsung, Xiaomi and Google Pixel). iPhones and MCM modems cannot be prepared automatically: set up an iPhone with iOS Settings. Steps 1 to 5 below apply to iPhones too.

Follow this order when you are connecting a phone to the Test Node for the first time.

First-time connection order

1) Prepare the computer and cable

  1. Make sure the Test Node computer is powered on and online in TEO.
  2. Use a data-capable USB cable, not a charge-only cable.
  3. If a USB hub is used, connect the phone through the hub that belongs to the Test Node.
  4. Keep the phone physically near you; several confirmation prompts must be accepted on the phone screen.

2) Connect the phone

  1. Unlock the phone.
  2. Connect the phone to the Test Node computer by USB.
  3. Keep the phone unlocked during setup.
  4. If the phone asks whether to trust or allow the computer, accept the prompt.

For iPhone, tap Trust in the Trust This Computer? alert (and enter the passcode, if one is still set; the passcode must be turned off for testing). If you tapped Don't Trust by mistake, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Location & Privacy and reconnect the cable.

For Android, the Allow USB debugging prompt may appear later, after USB debugging is enabled. When it appears, select Always allow from this computer and tap OK.

3) Enable developer access

Use the guide for the device model:

For Xiaomi, insert an active SIM card and sign in with a Xiaomi account before enabling USB debugging (Security settings).

For iOS, Developer Mode appears in Settings only after the iPhone has been paired with the Mac (connected, unlocked and trusted).

4) Confirm the required developer settings

After Developer Options or Developer Mode is available, verify the required settings:

5) Wait for the Mobile ID

  1. Open the TEO Web UI.
  2. Go to Mobile ID's.
  3. Wait until the connected phone appears in the list.
  4. If it does not appear, unlock the phone, reconnect the cable, and check the trust or USB debugging prompt again.
  5. Complete the Mobile ID: click its name to open it, and enter a descriptive name and the real MSISDN, National Format, IMSI and IMEI. IMSI and IMEI start with random placeholder values, and tests fail until they are replaced. See Edit a Mobile ID.

6) Run Prepare from the Web UI (Android)

  1. Go to Mobile ID's.
  2. Select the newly connected phone.
  3. Open the ⋮ menu → Prepare and confirm with Prepare Device.

Prepare action from Mobile ID's

After you run Prepare, TEO applies the required device settings automatically and emails you the result of each step.

Then finish the phone by hand: do the After Prepare items of the checklist at the top of the brand page, and any step the email lists as failed.

What Prepare does

Prepare runs these steps in this order and checks several of them afterwards. The name in parentheses is how the step appears in the result email.

Step (name in the email) What it does
Screen rotation (disableScreenRotation) Turns auto-rotate off. On Samsung it also turns off landscape mode for the Home screen.
Connections (turnOffConnections) Turns airplane mode off and Wi-Fi off.
Screen lock (unlockScreen) Samsung: sets the screen lock to None. Xiaomi and Pixel: does not change it; set it by hand.
Accidental touch (accidentalTouch) Samsung: turns Accidental touch protection off. Xiaomi: turns Pocket mode off. Pixel: nothing to do.
Mute (muteDevice) Mutes the device.
24-hour time (setTimeformatTo24H) Sets the 24-hour time format. On Samsung it also turns on automatic date and time.
Software updates (disableSoftwareUpdates) Samsung: disables the software update service. Other brands: nothing to do.
SMS input mode (smsInputMode) Samsung Android 13: sets the input mode of Samsung Messages to Automatic. Others: nothing to do.
Messages app (setSmsApp) Configures the messages app: Samsung Messages on Samsung Android 13, Google Messages on all other phones. MMS is downloaded automatically (also when roaming) and chat features (RCS) are turned off. It does not change which app is the default SMS app.
Floating notifications (disabledNotificationOption) Xiaomi and Samsung Android 14–16: turns off floating (pop-up) notifications for Messages.
Chrome (chromeForDevelopment) Opens Chrome and completes its first-run screens. This step also turns mobile data on.
Time zone (setTimezone) Xiaomi and Pixel: turns on automatic date, time and time zone. On Samsung this is done in the 24-hour time step.
Call forwarding (disableAllCallForwarding) Erases unconditional call forwarding. Forwarding when busy, unanswered or unreachable is not changed; erase it by hand with ##002# (see the brand page).

It does not change these settings; set them by hand as described on the brand page: Developer Options and USB debugging, Stay awake, the ADB authorization timeout, automatic system updates, and the screen lock on Xiaomi and Pixel.

If the phone is not visible

  • Confirm that the Test Node is online.
  • Try a different data-capable USB cable.
  • Keep the phone unlocked and reconnect it.
  • On Android, check that USB debugging is enabled and the Allow USB debugging prompt was accepted.
  • On iPhone, check that Trust was tapped in the Trust This Computer? alert and that Developer Mode is enabled.
  • On Xiaomi, confirm that a SIM card is inserted and the Xiaomi account is signed in.

More causes are listed in Setup troubleshooting.

The result email

After every Prepare run, TEO sends an email to the email address of the user who started it. The subject is Phone Preparation — device name — SUCCESS or — FAILURE. The email lists each step with its time and its outcome (OK or Failed).

A failed step reads "step name: Could not be completed automatically. Please verify and complete this step manually". Complete those steps by hand on the brand page; the table in What Prepare does tells which step each name stands for. Steps that do not apply to the phone's brand are listed as OK.

Example email:

Example Phone Preparation email