2023

We apologize for any extra wait time you may have experienced while reaching out to us with questions! Our tiny team is not only down a person, but we are also experiencing much higher volumes of emails and calls than normal because of the ongoing T-Mobile network transition. If your hotspot is having difficulties, please give tech support a call at 877-216-9603 for troubleshooting help. For all other inquiries, please reach out to us at help @ calyxinstitute.org and you will receive an answer ASAP. Thanks so much for all your patience and support!

Supply chain delays have slowed down our latest restock of Mifi X Pro hotspots, so new membership sign-ups and replacement Mifi X Pro orders are temporarily paused while we restock our supplies and fill current orders. We expect to have these devices back in stock within the next few weeks, so please stay tuned for updates. Thanks so much for bearing with us!

We apologize for any delay in shipping your new hotspot! Supply chain delays have slowed down our usual processes, so thank you for bearing with us while we work to resolve the issue.

We are currently waiting on a shipment of hotspots to reach our office so we can resume filling orders. The ongoing T-Mobile transition has slowed down our hardware provider's ability to provision new SIMs for our hotspots, so this has created an unforeseen delay in our usual shipping timeline. Any memberships affected by this delay will of course be extended to make up for all the hassle. Your patience and support means the world to us!

For more details on the T-Mobile transtition, please see our previous news update: T-Mobile Network Transition May Interrupt Hotspot Connectivity

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by a currently ongoing T-Mobile network transition. The network transition is expected to conclude within the next few days, though some members have reported that connectivity issues in their area have already been resolved. As a result of this transition, some of our members have experienced interruptions in their hotspot's connectivity, unexpected messages on their hotspot about network changes, and other inconveniences. If you are having any difficulty with your hotspot, or have questions about this transition, please give tech support a call at 877-216-9603 as a first step.

At this time, we do not have more concrete details about which members will be affected, and the timing of the transition process. We will be updating our website with more info as soon as we have updated info. We hope that this process will be concluded shortly, and that we can improve communication with T-Mobile to minimize any inconvenience to our members in the future.

We will be happy to extend your membership to make up for any time lost because of the network transition's effect on your hotspot. Please email us at help@ calyxinstitute.org if your membership benefits have been affected by this transition.

Your Quanta hotspot is eligible for a warranty replacement from our hardware provider, Mobile Citizen, for the first 9 months of its existence. If you experience difficulty with your hotspot, please give Mobile Citizen a call at 877-216-9603 to troubleshoot and get started on the warranty replacement process if necessary.

As well, your Quanta hotspot will be eligible through The Calyx Institute for an extended warranty replacement for the first 12 months of your membership, starting from the date your membership started. This extended warranty coverage is only available for Quanta hotspots at this time, as part of a pilot program to evaluate possible warranty alternatives. Quanta hotspots found to be in need of warranty replacement will be replaced with a Quanta hotspot unless no Quanta hotspots are available.

Warranty process for Quanta 5G hotspot devices:

1. Log into https://members.calyxinstitute.org to ensure your mailing address is current.

2. Contact Mobile Citizen tech support at 877-216-9603 to have them attempt to restore function to your device or confirm the device is defective. They can tell you if the device is still under Mobile Citizen's warranty.

3. If your membership was started less than 12 months ago, and the device is no longer under warranty from Mobile Citizen, please contact help@calyxinstitute.org to begin the extended warranty process. Include in your email the interaction number of your call with Mobile Citizen.

We are excited to announce that Sustainer memberships will now come with a brand new device: the Inseego Mifi X PRO 5G (M3000B)! Like the Mifi M2000, this hotspot supports 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 6, Advanced Carrier Aggregation, USB tethering, and has an internal 4x4 MIMO antenna. In addition, this new device features a 1 Gbps ethernet port and a battery preservation mode that allows the device to stay plugged in for longer. As with all Calyx Membership hotspots, wifi data is unlimited and unthrottled.

Sign up for a new Sustainer membership to get a Mifi X Pro 5G hotspot + a year of unlimited data. A new Sustainer membership is $750 for the first year and $500 to renew every following year.

If you are in the middle of your membership period, you also have the option to order the Mifi X Pro 5G as a replacement device for a $400 donation. Just log in to your account with us, click Devices, and then click Order Replacement Device.

Before you decide if a Sustainer membership is right for you, check your area on T Mobile’s map to make sure you have adequate 5G coverage. As with all our memberships, the Calyx Institute cannot offer test hotspots or offer refunds if service is inadequate or non-existent. Our wireless hotspots and data plans are offered as a thank you gift to member donors who support our research into privacy protecting communications technology, and are not a commercial transaction.

You can read more about the Mifi X Pro 5G hotspot here. If there are any other questions we can answer for you about our memberships or the hotspots we offer as membership premiums, please let us know at help@calyxinstitute.org.

The Calyx Institute is excited to announce an open call for applications for grants up to $10,000 from our Fusion Center Microgrants Fund. Details can be found here.

We are interested in supporting projects focused on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to: the disproportionate impact of fusion center surveillance; gang databases and other watchlists used by fusion centers; public records focused research to illuminate fusion center policies and practices; research on one specific fusion center or on fusion centers nationally; or other ideas we haven't even considered yet. You and/or your colleagues are the experts on this, so tell us what research needs doing!

The application deadline is March 17th, 2023. Please share with any colleagues or allied organizations that might be interested. We are prioritizing applications from smaller organizations that aren't receiving regular support from traditional funders in this space. Fusion Centers do a lot, but this fund is focused on online privacy and surveillance specifically.

Because our funding comes from our small donor members, we are not beholden to the reporting requirements of a larger funder upstream for this fund. That means that while there is paperwork and a final grant report required, we've tried really hard to minimize the amount of time spent on administering the grant. A list of previously funded projects is available here.