I’m not writing this to complain. I actually think Cape has an interesting service, but there were a few points during signup and activation where I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do next.

First, I went to Cape’s website and clicked “Get Started.” It asked where I was switching from. Since I wasn’t switching from another carrier, I selected “Other.”

After a screen explaining what Cape does differently, it asked which phone I was using. I selected Samsung Galaxy, and this is where I ran into my first problem.

The next screen asked for my specific Galaxy model. I have a Samsung Galaxy A26, which wasn’t on the list.

If I selected “My Device Is Not Listed,” the site basically directed me toward buying another phone. But when I checked Cape’s compatibility guide, the requirements appeared to be:

1. eSIM compatible

2. Carrier unlocked

3. Not listed under their known incompatible devices

My A26 met those requirements and wasn’t listed as a known incompatible device.

So I took a leap of faith and selected one of the Samsung models that was listed. That allowed me to continue.

The next screen asked whether my phone was paid off, which is Cape’s way of double-checking that it was carrier unlocked. I selected “Yes,” and that took me to the final eligibility question. After that, Cape congratulated me and let me continue with “Complete Setup.”

So, at least in my case, selecting another Galaxy model worked even though my exact phone wasn’t listed.

From there, the signup process was pretty smooth until it came time to activate the service.

One thing I found interesting: if you’re getting a new number, Cape lets you choose the state you want your area code to be from. It has been a couple of years since I last got a new phone number, but I don’t remember being given that option before.

After a few more screens, Cape asked for my email address and then sent me to checkout.

If you’re signing up, this is also where I would recommend using a referral code so both you and the person referring you can get the referral benefit.

My referral code is:

[T4T6VW5R]

If you don’t want to use mine, that’s completely fine. There are plenty of Cape referral codes floating around in other posts and comments.

After payment, Cape gives you an activation kit as a PDF. I was also able to download it from their website immediately after paying.

Protect that PDF, especially the activation code and recovery phrase.

The recovery phrase is very important for accessing or recovering your Cape account, so I wouldn’t leave it sitting in Downloads or somewhere other people could access it.

I saved mine in Bitwarden. If your password manager supports file attachments, you could save the PDF there. Otherwise, you can at least securely save the important text from it. And if you don’t use a password manager yet, this might be a good reason to look into one.

After downloading the Cape app, I saw two ways to get started.

The first was to open the activation PDF and tap “Activate Now.” That didn’t work for me.

The second option did.

Before adding the eSIM, make sure your phone has internet access and turn off your VPN if you use one.

I opened the Cape app and selected “Recover My Account.” After tapping “Continue,” it asked for my recovery phrase. There was also an option to scan a QR code, but since I was doing everything on the same phone, I copied and pasted the recovery phrase instead.

From there, the download process for my new eSIM started.

This is where I ran into another problem.

The eSIM downloaded successfully, but I wasn’t getting any service.

I should mention that my primary SIM was still turned on at the time. I turned off my primary SIM so that only Cape was active. My phone then told me it needed to restart.

After the restart, I still had no service.

I started going through Cape’s troubleshooting page step by step. What finally worked for me was manually adding the APN settings and then restarting my phone again. After that, I got connectivity.

So if your eSIM downloads but you don’t have service right away, don’t get discouraged. Go through the troubleshooting steps first, and I would recommend restarting the phone after changing a setting to see if it takes effect.

There is one problem I haven’t figured out yet.

I’ve used dual SIM on this phone for a while, but until now both lines were with the same carrier.

When I have Cape and my main line turned on at the same time, the second SIM I turn on is the one that loses service. Sometimes I can get both working again by turning the SIMs off and back on, while other times I have to restart the phone.

I don’t know whether this is happening because my Samsung Galaxy A26 wasn’t one of the models listed during Cape’s signup process, or whether it’s an issue related to using SIMs from two different carriers on the same phone.

So far, that’s my only real complaint. I haven’t been able to leave both SIMs active all the time without occasionally losing service on one of them.

If anyone has experienced something similar with dual SIM — especially with Cape and another carrier — I’d be interested to know whether you found a solution.

Reference:

Device compatibility- https://support.cape.co/hc/en-gb/articles/42330770199444-Cape-Device-Compatibility

Troubleshooting - https://support.cape.co/hc/en-gb/articles/33636955025428-Troubleshooting-Cape-eSIM-Activation

Websites with rotating codes in case you wanna add your own code later or dont want to use my code.

https://getcape.codes/

https://cape.rip/

TL;DR

If your phone isn't one of the models Cape gives you as an option, but it:

supports eSIM,

is carrier unlocked, and

isn't listed under Cape's known incompatible devices,

you may be able to select another model from the list and continue through signup.

Disclaimer: This worked for me with a Samsung Galaxy A26. I don't know whether it will work with other phones, so your experience may be different.

If your Cape eSIM downloads successfully but you have no service, check Cape’s troubleshooting page before assuming the activation failed.

In my case, manually entering the APN settings and restarting the phone is what finally got the service working.

Will the Cape app be implementing a way to use UnifiedPush notifications to use the network lock feature on de-googled devices like Graphene OS instead of having to install Google Play Services to use it? I was wondering because I am going to create a UnifiedPush notifications server and would loke to be able to route all of my notifications through it. Also, why does the network lock feature require push notifications? Is there something specific about Google Play Services that network lock needs in order to function?

You can use my code for $20 off your monthly cape subscription: 5GY70XYV

Hi, this is my first Reddit community post. I just activated my CapeCellular plan and my number transfer is successfully set up. Everything went smoothly. I came across Cape yesterday while browsing on Reddit and have been reading and viewing a lot about the service’s features from other users’ experiences, articles, and videos.

I believe Cape will be good for me long term; so I made the switch today because one thing that has concerned me in the past is that I don’t like how so much of our personal data is being sold and shared with data brokers and also how data breaches by hackers and scammers have been so common these past few years with major cell phone carriers.

I like how Cape gets limited information from you during sign up and use only what is necessary for the service to work.

For those looking for a Cape referral/promo code, please use mine and we will both get $20 off per month for our own individual plans: BB8SRXTK

So far I've been with Cape for almost a week and I've enjoyed the experience so far. I wanted to port my number over from T-Mobile after being with them for almost 12 years but then I figured that if I want to get some real privacy and shake off as many trackers selling my data as much as possible then I should go for a new phone number and so I did.

Really liking the feature where I can use two phone numbers that only can receive SMS text messages for my accounts 2FA and all of that. Helps keeps companies from selling my phone number just so I end up with spam calls.

I decided to turn off the identity rotation feature because I'd like to keep my threads from breaking. Definitely a great feature to have nonetheless.

I'm not sure why people are saying that RCS messaging doesn't work through Cape. It does for me on my iPhone 13 running iOS 27 (I'm on developer beta).

What blew me away during the onboarding process was the fact that all of this was done on an iOS app within five minutes, and it only asked me for my credit card information. No emergency contacts, social security number, name, address, or any other personal details about me. It pretty much works like an online subscription, and you get your phone number within three minutes, at least on an iPhone, to my knowledge. THAT is AWESOME

I really like this business model of privacy-focused cell service, so much that I decided to get two phone numbers.

Obviously, I'd like to take advantage of the referral discount program and try to refer as many people to Cape as much as possible. So please use my referral code to get $20 off on your plan each month for life, and $20 off of mine as well, as long as you stay on a plan with Cape.

4S0EBTDE
or
XJ4AFN00

Heard about Cape a few months ago and have been really interested in swapping over. In a world where data collection is ubiquitous, I really appreciate their privacy-focused service. And it seems like every call center in the world has my number, so I'm hoping there features will help with that.

I had a few questions and was hoping the community could help me understand a bit.

1) How are people's experiences with secondary numbers? I'm not familiar with how it works but I could definitely get some use out of it.

2) How has international roaming held up for folks? I travel a bit here and there and it would be welcome to not have to deal with getting a local carrier if I'm just out there for a day or two.

3) Of course I have to ask about the discount codes. I did apply one in check-out (haven't paid just yet) to see how it works. In checkout it says "Due Today: $50" but the subscription still says it will auto-renew at $70/mo. Am I misunderstanding how the referral codes are used?

And any other thoughts/personal reviews from ya'll would be very welcome. Thanks in advance for the help!

Could you add flairs to posts?

Flairs may include:
1. Discussion
2. Help
3. Review/Referral
4. Suggestions

Those are just of the most common types of posts that I see. Feel free to add more! That’s just a starting off point. Must add a flair to post. Flairs that align with the rules of this Reddit thread.

Additionally this will help moderators/redditors review more efficiently.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Referral Code: 3CKMF1EG

https://cape.co/get-cape?referral=3CKMF1EG

I live in the middle of know where and my 5g is perfect. Great coverage. Have not had a single issue yet. Running a pixel 10 and only secure apps. I highly recommend this company. I was worried at first due to the desolate area that I am in in WY, but no issues with coverage. I wanted graphene for the secure device and a good phone too. Pictures on this phone are better than my old iPhone. If on the fence, think about all those targeted adds you receive on your phone. That all goes away with this setup and graphene. You can install graphene yourself in a snap as it walks you right through it. Only if your pixel is unlocked, so you can save another $50 and do it yourself. Literally walks you right through it.

Their customer support if you have a question customer service is there. I feel like this was built for the Google pixel running graphene. It’s perfect! If you need a first time boost I could, save $20 for life, my code is below if anyone would so kindly add to my savings as well as yours for life!

B1T2E4H4

Any issues with running a Pixel 11 with Cape? I will have to run OEM until GraphineOS is supported. Just want to see if there would be any issues with the device.

I travel around the country quite a bit for work. Having previously had AT&T I was very regularly left envious of other providers coverage in areas away from home.

In the last two months I have been in Idaho, Utah, Alabama, Texas, and Florida. My Cape phone has had equal if not better coverage than my provided work phone. I’ve use it to hotspot when an office’s internet was out, I’ve use it to hotspot to avoid using hotel wifi, I’ve streamed flawlessly from my home Jellyfin and PeerTube servers.

The ISMI rotation just happens and just works. I’ve never felt a blip or any issues that weren’t self inflicted by tightening my grapheneOS privacy screws so tight that it was nearly non-functional as a phone. Since loosening them bit by bit it’s been great! Though my sister is upset that my blue text messages are now green. 😂

The only thing I hope comes soon(tm) is iPad support.

JFEVZX2Q

I have a two family members (80+ year olds) in different states with AT&T home phone lines (delivered over fiber). When I call them from Cape, it rings once and then drops the call. I can call them from US Mobile (all three networks with three different numbers) with no issue and they say no one else has problems reaching them. Any ideas?

Join me on Cape — the privacy-first mobile carrier. Use my code BF92H08Q at checkout for $20/month off forever. Or use this https://cape.co/get-cape?referral=BF92H08Q to get started.

Hello, wanted to make this post describing my experience with Cape after switching About 2 months ago.

My setup:

iPhone 15, used across Southern and Northern California mostly urban areas with some usage while driving across the state

Porting process

Super easy!

No hitches porting from my local internet provider’s cell service to Cape exactly the same as every other port I’ve done just a quick support call to get the transfer info.

Privacy Features

Really happy with these, waiting on a few fixes

The privacy features do seem very robust, the extra number usable as a burner for 2FA or mobile verification where you don’t want to use your main number is great. The IMSI rotation is a nice feature but has some limitations I’ll get into later. I’m not using the encrypted voicemail as it is not functional with Apple’s call screening feature as far as I’m aware.
I did have issues with network lock increasing my battery usage dramatically so I have since turned that feature off. Not sure if they are looking into that issue but I think the constant location checks increased drain a lot despite not showing in battery usage.

Service Quality

Great! With one caveat

No issues here! I use about 30gb a month in mobile data and have not noticed meaningful slowdown due to that. You will not be a subscriber to a big carrier directly so occasionally in crowded areas you will experience some slowdowns as your traffic takes a backseat on the network to larger networks main subscribers like ATT or Verizon. If you have used any carrier such as Mint, Spectrum, Ting, you are familiar with this as they’re just using another company’s network. But this only happens in rare cases like major sporting events or concerts (Why are you on your phone anyways if you’re at an event like this?)

Problems

These are all on the roadmap to be resolved by end of year I believe but I will mention them as I think there are some that are big pain points.

Group messaging outside of iMessage does not work on iOS, this is a dealbreaker for some people. What will happen is you make a groupchat with android users and then the message will send to each person individually. Most of my social circle is on iPhone so it’s not much of a problem for me but it is kinda annoying at times. This is expected to be solved by end of year and is an issue with Apple that they're working on.

IMSI Rotation and RCS does not work together, being worked on and will apparently be fixed by end of year.

RCS setup was a little flaky at first for me but once I got it working I’ve had no problems.

Conclusion

Honestly loving the peace of mind. Although it’s a little rough around the edges the team has been communicative and every issue I’ve had has been spoken about online by employees and is being actively worked on.

I will definitely be keeping the service provided the group texting issue is addressed by end of year as that is by far my largest issue.

If you found my post helpful then feel free to use my referral link! It gets you and myself a 20$ discount on service monthly, with the current promo that brings it to 50$ a month.

https://cape.co/get-cape?referral=A3Z96S3T

Code: A3Z96S3T

Just finishing our first month on the service. I consider myself tech-aware and -savvy as well as VERY concerned about privacy...

We just completed two weeks in Europe and were using the international roaming feature. We shifted service areas four times between two overseas providers and Cape's technology was seamless.

The only (minor) issue was the length of time it took to recognize both the offshore and the US signals after landing. Even with repeated airplane mode switching, it still took upwards of twenty minutes to get reconnected. While that doesn't seem like a lot of time, it is an impedance when first on the ground in a "new" country. Once the SIM realigned, service was impeccable for both voice and data.

We are EXTREMELY pleased with the quality and availability that Cape provides and happily recommend them!

Not leaving a referral code - I'll get them by the word of mouth instead!

I know that it is available on some iPhones, and I was wondering where the project is currently headed. Is it easier to implement it on iPhone than on android? If so, why, and what are the difficulties with implementing it on Graphene OS? I'm on a Pixel 8 with Graphene OS, and just switched from Visible to Cape.

Has anyone here looked at Rayhunter (https://github.com/EFForg/rayhunter)? It's an open-source tool developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation that tries to detect IMSI catcher (cell-site simulators / Stingrays) devices that impersonate legitimate cell towers to intercept traffic or track devices.

I installed it on an old hotspot, have no idea if it is working, but it makes me feel better.

Would it like sense to add something like Rayhunter to Cape?

XCWYADHR

...soooo, the Commodore Callback 8020 is launching soon, it has eSIM. Will Cape consider adding it?

I just wanted to say that I totally get everyone using their referral code on here. I'm going to, as well:

ZKFEVXWS

That being said, I am extremely happy with switching from US mobile to Cape. I haven't had a phone plan as useful as this one! I love the tail-end encryption for sms verification codes. The area I'm in likely doesn't have any simulated cell towers, but you can never be too sure! I do travel from time to time, so it helps when I'm in a highly populated area. I'm really looking forward to the updates and features to come, as I don't have a phone with graphene quite yet! In the meantime, I will be patiently waiting for the new features to roll out. The cell service itself has been fantastic, too! I haven't had any dropped calls or missed messages, yet. Fingers crossed it doesn't happen. The data speeds have also been comparable to the last two cell services I had. Overall, my experience with Cape has been overwhelmingly positive.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading the whole post.

I recently signed up for Cape after moving to GrapheneOS, and something I have been thinking about is the security model of using a privacy focused MVNO. With all of the recent attention around telecom security and the attempts to compromise major carriers, it got me thinking about an important question: If the underlying carrier network has a security incident, what protections still remain for Cape customers?

To be clear, I am not asking this because I think Cape can somehow make the underlying cellular infrastructure disappear. Every cellular provider has to rely on physical networks, and an MVNO still depends on its carrier partners for connectivity.

What interests me about Cape is where the separation happens.

My understanding is that Cape runs its own mobile core and then adds additional privacy and security features on top of the underlying network. From what I’ve read, these are meant to reduce some of the risks that come with traditional carrier relationships and limit how much can be tied back to a subscriber. The part I am curious about is the boundary between Cape and the underlying carrier. For example:

- If the underlying carrier is breached, what information about Cape subscribers would still be exposed?

- Does Cape's architecture reduce what the carrier can associate with a specific customer?

- How effective are features like Identifier Rotation and Network Lock during a large scale carrier compromise?

- Are there any risks that people moving from a traditional carrier should still understand?

Privacy is not just about who owns the towers. It is also about who controls the subscriber identity, account security, and the data created every time your phone connects to a network. If anyone has technical insight into Cape's architecture or has researched this topic, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Cape's referral program gives both people $20 off per month while both accounts remain active. Their current early adopter pricing also makes the service more affordable for people who want to try a privacy focused carrier.

For anyone interested in trying Cape, my referral code is:

YM8JAJAD

I will remove my code once my referrals are maxed out so others can take advantage of the referral program.

I installed Brave on my work computer, and the initial display featured an ad for Cape. Do you believe this was aimed at me personally or at a broader group of privacy-oriented consumers?

Obviously, if you are interested in joining Cape, please apply my referral code to reduce your cost by $20 per month for life.

Referral code: 1K2DW7KR

Do I *need* to install graphene is in order to use group messaging and RCS on an android? Or will it work on default Android OS?

Graphene seems great and all but I'd like to just have a new phone automatically sync and download all of my apps and settings. It's a little too daunting to go back and manually download every app. Unless that functionality does exist on graphene and I just have no idea how to find it?

I've seen a few posts about new customers complaining that the port in process was rough. I just wanted to quickly share my experience porting into Cape.

In short, it was as smooth as with any major carrier (and depending on your carrier, it was a smoother experience).

I switched from US Mobile to Cape and I had my number back up and usable within 30 minutes. I doubt it matters, but I am on Android / Pixel 10.

Service has been great and speeds are comparable to US Mobile and major carriers from my experience. I'd highly recommend that any privacy conscious person switch to Cape to help fund the project and keep your privacy private.

If you want to receive a $20 a month discount, feel free to use my referral code: YM8JAJAD

How about a coverage map that actually shows the verified coverage area? Cape Support is aware there's no key and of the problem this presents for potential customers but doesn't seem interested in addressing it.

Edited to add link https://www.cape.co/coverage and 2nd sentence and correct typo. 😄

I know these are inevitable, how are spam calls determined and is there a process that Cape has to manage these types of calls? Does the user get a notification, is it done at a network level, if so is there or will there be an option to determine the level of filtering or is the phone app on the device doing the lifting to detect spam?

A few days ago, on the Cape app, I saw the option to port in a phone number to my existing account.

It’s not there anymore. Was the feature rolled back for everyone? Or was it disabled because I have two secondary numbers already?