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I was almost certain changing your IMEI was a serious federal crime in the US.

That is a persistent myth, because it is blanket illegal in other countries. In the US, it is only illegal to change an IMEI in furtherance of some other crime - eg theft or unauthorized access.

Absolutely not (yet).

Also, swapping the modem chip would (well, should) be a permitted use, as the IMEI is meant to be bound to the modem. When a separate modem module is used, the modem is the communication device, not the phone.

The pinephone is more similar to a laptop with an optional LTE module rather than an integrated setup like an smartphone where the CPU contains the baseband. It's not illegal to swap out modem cards in a laptop anywhere AFAIK.

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