u/ApprehensivePapaya83

I'm in Germany (Aachen) and thinking about a Palma 2 Pro, mainly to scroll less and read more, but I'd also like it to handle the basics of a phone so I can rely on it. I've read the community tips (including the Kisuke-CZE GitHub guide about native calls and SMS since the December 2025 firmware, and forcing VoLTE via Pixel IMS or Magisk), so I know the theory. What I want is real-world confirmation from German owners before I commit.

My setup and requirements:

Country: Germany. 3G is shut down here, 2G is still up, so calls rely on VoLTE.

I'll use my existing German carrier SIM (physical nano-SIM) for data and SMS.

Banking: Sparkasse S-pushTAN, which works over data/push, not SMS. This has to work reliably.

I need to reliably receive SMS 2FA codes from other services.

I want incoming calls to ring reliably, including when the screen is asleep. I'm fine using a VoIP number (satellite) plus call-forwarding as a fallback if native calling isn't dependable.

I'd prefer to avoid rooting, so banking and Play Integrity keep working.

I'm technical, so a fiddly setup is fine.

Questions:

Does VoLTE work natively on the Palma 2 Pro on Telekom, Vodafone or O2 (or their MVNOs)?

Or did you have to force it with the Pixel IMS app? Which carrier or MVNO just worked?

If you forced VoLTE with the Pixel IMS app (no root), does it hold up day to day, or is re-applying after every reboot too annoying? Did anyone get permanent VoLTE without rooting?

With VoLTE (or Wi-Fi calling) active, do incoming calls ring reliably when the screen is off? The guide says 2G-only plus sleep means missed calls — does VoLTE fully solve that for you?

Do 2FA and bank SMS codes arrive reliably on German networks, including when the device is asleep?

Do Sparkasse pushTAN and other German banking apps run and pass integrity checks on the Palma? Do the push notifications arrive reliably after setting the app to unrestricted/autostart/stay-in-background? Any German banking apps that flat-out refuse?

Which dialer and SMS app combo works best on German carriers (Fossify, Amadz, Google Dialer/Messages)?

Does Wi-Fi calling (VoWiFi) work on any German carrier as a fallback for calls?

Any German-specific gotchas I should know before ordering? I'll buy from Amazon.de so I can test and return within the window.

Thanks in advance — trying to work out if this can be my main device or just a very good reader alongside my normal phone.

Looking for a sanity check before I buy. Here's my situation.

What I had: An old Kindle Paperwhite (6.8") with DuoKan firmware sideloaded. The killer feature for me was automatic white-margin cropping on scanned PDFs — most of what I read is scanned books, a lot of it Arabic. I left that Kindle in my home country and want to replace it.

What I read: ~80% scanned PDFs, often Arabic, frequently imperfect scans with wide margins. Some EPUBs. I read daily.

My requirements:

Black & white only — not interested in color (cost, slight contrast hit, not needed)

Must run KOReader, or otherwise do automatic PDF margin-cropping (the K2pdfopt-style auto-crop is non-negotiable for me)

No interest in Android as a "feature" — I just want a reader, but I'll tolerate Android if it's the only way to get the screen I need

Travel often, so build quality and weight matter

Based in Germany, so EU availability/warranty is a plus

Where my research has landed me (would love to be corrected):

PocketBook InkPad 4 (7.8", ~€262) — KOReader officially supported. Worried about the stock-firmware performance complaints, though I gather KOReader fixes most of that.

PocketBook Era (7", ~€190) — same KOReader story, better build, lighter, but smaller screen.

PocketBook InkPad One — ruled out: KOReader can't run on it (Rockchip 64-bit architecture, not supported).

Kobo Sage — would've been ideal (8") but discontinued, and Kobo has no B/W 8" replacement.

Boox Go 10.3 Gen 2 Lumi (10.3", ~€470) — tempting because 10.3" + 300 ppi B/W + front light seems perfect for scanned books, but pricier and I keep reading about Boox software quirks and ghosting.

My questions:

For someone who reads mostly scanned PDFs, is 7–7.8" genuinely workable with KOReader's auto-crop, or is 10.3" the only real answer?

InkPad 4 vs Era — anyone running KOReader on both? Is the performance gap noticeable in real use?

Is the Boox Go 10.3 Gen 2 Lumi worth nearly double the InkPad 4 for my use case, or is that overkill?

Anything I'm missing — a B/W KOReader-friendly device I haven't considered?

Appreciate any input, especially from people who actually read scanned (non-Latin-script) PDFs daily.

Looking for a sanity check before I buy. Here's my situation.

What I had: An old Kindle Paperwhite (6.8") with DuoKan firmware sideloaded. The killer feature for me was automatic white-margin cropping on scanned PDFs — most of what I read is scanned books, a lot of it Arabic. I left that Kindle in my home country and want to replace it.

What I read: ~80% scanned PDFs, often Arabic, frequently imperfect scans with wide margins. Some EPUBs. I read daily.

My requirements:

Black & white only — not interested in color (cost, slight contrast hit, not needed)

Must run KOReader, or otherwise do automatic PDF margin-cropping (the K2pdfopt-style auto-crop is non-negotiable for me)

No interest in Android as a "feature" — I just want a reader, but I'll tolerate Android if it's the only way to get the screen I need

Travel often, so build quality and weight matter

Based in Germany, so EU availability/warranty is a plus

Where my research has landed me (would love to be corrected):

PocketBook InkPad 4 (7.8", ~€262) — KOReader officially supported. Worried about the stock-firmware performance complaints, though I gather KOReader fixes most of that.

PocketBook Era (7", ~€190) — same KOReader story, better build, lighter, but smaller screen.

PocketBook InkPad One — ruled out: KOReader can't run on it (Rockchip 64-bit architecture, not supported).

Kobo Sage — would've been ideal (8") but discontinued, and Kobo has no B/W 8" replacement.

Boox Go 10.3 Gen 2 Lumi (10.3", ~€470) — tempting because 10.3" + 300 ppi B/W + front light seems perfect for scanned books, but pricier and I keep reading about Boox software quirks and ghosting.

My questions:

InkPad 4 vs Era — anyone running KOReader on both? Is the performance gap noticeable in real use?

Is the Boox Go 10.3 Gen 2 Lumi worth nearly double the InkPad 4 for my use case, or is that overkill?

Anything I'm missing — a B/W KOReader-friendly device I haven't considered?

Appreciate any input, especially from people who actually read scanned (non-Latin-script) PDFs daily.