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Hi All.
I've had an X10 mini pro on T-Mobile UK for nearly a year, and love it, but I am faced with a problem:
At work, I get absoluteley no signal. However, there are Wifi networks everywhere that are freeley available. It seemed logical to me that I aught to be able to get my phone to use those wifi networks to obtain a signal, so I did some research and found this generally to be reffered to as UMA (Unliceneced Mobile Access?)
For anyone who's coming across this technology for the first time, this is a facility which allows your mobile phone to use wifi connections as a backup for service signal, and switch seemlessley between them for use on calls (through your regular phone number [NOT VOIP!]) and texts.
I've read a lot of conflicting oppinions and statements on this, and wanted to ask here (In a place of expert knowledge and understanding) what the real truth is behind all this.
1: Is UMA a hardware or software based tool?
-I've heared numerous statements on this, including:
a) "Your phone can not do this if you don't have the correct hardware"
b) "The standard hardware (provided you have wifi access) is all you need, only the software needs to allow support"
C) "You need sufficient wifi technology AND the correct software to enable this"
Which is true?
2: "Service Providers are holding back on UMA support as it removes their justification for charging the user for calls"
- I've seen this in a few places, but it doesn't make sense to me. Sureley, despite the fact that the call is connected by a wifi signal, it still needs to find its way through a telephone exchange. Telephone exchanges cost money to maintain and manage, so that can't be right? can it?
- If anything, sureley this would give service providers a competative advantage as they can guarentee better signal coverage. It would seem more logical to me that the issue is less with the hand set, but with the providers managing the incoming and outgoing call data via the wifi network?
3: "UMA is/isn't supportend on android version X.X"?
- Again, I've seen conflicting info on this. What's the score?
Thought this was the right place to discuss all this and find the real truth behind UMA. My final question of course being:
4: Is there a UMA app or method by which I can use wifi as a signal backup? If not, is anyone looking into it and how soon may users see the benefits?
Appreciate any light that can be shead on this to dispurse the smoke and mirrors that seenm to surround it.
Thanks,
Oliver
hmmm
Supprised noone's responded to this... did I miss something?
In the USA, T-mobile has an app that does this. T-mobile USA uses the term wi-fi calling.
Is there such a thing in the UK? I know that the Optimus T (essentially the same as Optimus One) has this ability. I found this list of phones that work with this feature on T-mobile USA.
Phones that can make use of this new feature:
Blackberry 8520
Blackberry Bold 9780
Samsung Vibrant (SGH-T959)
Samsung Vibrant II (Galaxy S 4G)
LG Optimus T
myTouch 3G Slide
myTouch 4G
Motorola Defy
Motorola Cliq 2
Motorola Cliq XT
Sidekick 4G
G2
G2X
Nokia Astound (C7-00)
Nokia Mode (E73)
Samsung t339
Some other older android phones can work as long as the app has been ported for the device. Very YMMV
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not think your phone is available through T-mobile USA, so it is not on the list. Someone figured out how to bring wi-fi calling to non-tmobile Roms for the Optimus T/Optimus One phone. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1116268 However, I am fairly certain that this type of app needs the cooperation of your carrier to work.
Action_Man_1 said:
Hi All.
I've had an X10 mini pro on T-Mobile UK for nearly a year, and love it, but I am faced with a problem:
At work, I get absoluteley no signal. However, there are Wifi networks everywhere that are freeley available. It seemed logical to me that I aught to be able to get my phone to use those wifi networks to obtain a signal, so I did some research and found this generally to be reffered to as UMA (Unliceneced Mobile Access?)
For anyone who's coming across this technology for the first time, this is a facility which allows your mobile phone to use wifi connections as a backup for service signal, and switch seemlessley between them for use on calls (through your regular phone number [NOT VOIP!]) and texts.
I've read a lot of conflicting oppinions and statements on this, and wanted to ask here (In a place of expert knowledge and understanding) what the real truth is behind all this.
1: Is UMA a hardware or software based tool?
-I've heared numerous statements on this, including:
a) "Your phone can not do this if you don't have the correct hardware"
b) "The standard hardware (provided you have wifi access) is all you need, only the software needs to allow support"
C) "You need sufficient wifi technology AND the correct software to enable this"
Which is true?
2: "Service Providers are holding back on UMA support as it removes their justification for charging the user for calls"
- I've seen this in a few places, but it doesn't make sense to me. Sureley, despite the fact that the call is connected by a wifi signal, it still needs to find its way through a telephone exchange. Telephone exchanges cost money to maintain and manage, so that can't be right? can it?
- If anything, sureley this would give service providers a competative advantage as they can guarentee better signal coverage. It would seem more logical to me that the issue is less with the hand set, but with the providers managing the incoming and outgoing call data via the wifi network?
3: "UMA is/isn't supportend on android version X.X"?
- Again, I've seen conflicting info on this. What's the score?
Thought this was the right place to discuss all this and find the real truth behind UMA. My final question of course being:
4: Is there a UMA app or method by which I can use wifi as a signal backup? If not, is anyone looking into it and how soon may users see the benefits?
Appreciate any light that can be shead on this to dispurse the smoke and mirrors that seenm to surround it.
Thanks,
Oliver
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this solution, T-Mobile and Orange have done a deal where they can use eachothers signals, go back to netwoork settings and you should find " T-Mobile-Orange 3G"... Connect to that and it may work.
It seems that T-Mobile and Orange both have very bad coverage compared to other competators.
Hi folks,
I'm looking to possibly switch to T-Mobile, but I know that coverage is spotty in my home town. (I don't go home often... Maybe once or twice a month for a weekend)
Because of the spotty coverage, wifi calling is a feature of T-Mobile that is very appealing to me, but I've been hearing rumors that their wifi calling feature doesn't work unless you purchase the phone directly from T-Mobile (which obviously cannot be done).
However, I do remember seeing a screenshot of the Xperia Z5 Compact's wifi calling settings and there was a tab listed for T-Mobile. Now why would a phone include wifi calling options for a specific carrier if that carrier refuses to support that phone?
Now let's say there is no way to trick the Z5 into letting me use wifi calling on T-Mobile... I read an article stating that CM13 will support T-Mobile's wifi calling. If CM13 was developed for the Z5C, would that do the trick?
Praying that someone with some more experience can shed some light on this matter. Is there any hope for me?
T-mobile announced that they'll be giving mini towers to customers for free (that's not wifi calling but an actual LTE tower for your house that uses your internet connection) so you can just call them up and ask when they'll start sending them out.
Does it just generate an LTE signal? That works well if the phone had working T-Mobile voice over LTE; which i'm not sure it would if I purchased an unlocked model. That router would be great for my home, but I'm concerned for other areas of my hometown, where I actually would need service (for example: car accident). If I could connect to a local coffee shop's wifi connection to make calls; that would make my life so much easier. I would hate to only have service in my home because that would make me feel bound to my house.
JGoldz75 said:
Does it just generate an LTE signal? That works well if the phone had working T-Mobile voice over LTE; which i'm not sure it would if I purchased an unlocked model. That router would be great for my home, but I'm concerned for other areas of my hometown, where I actually would need service (for example: car accident). If I could connect to a local coffee shop's wifi connection to make calls; that would make my life so much easier. I would hate to only have service in my home because that would make me feel bound to my house.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's only phone based: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-24269
FYI, I did use T-Mobile on an unlocked, unsupported phone last year for few months and I don't recall ever not having phone signal. Data is another story but calls were always available and I do travel a lot across the world. Their international data is pure BS - it just doesn't work.
And finally, the T-Mobile WiFi calling menu you saw is for the old T-Mobile in the UK that has now been merged into EE. You can flash that firmware but it probably won't work with the USA version depending on what moron wrote the integration and how much configuration data they hardcoded in the app or if it works it might be connecting to a UK gateway.
weasal said:
It's only phone based: https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-24269
FYI, I did use T-Mobile on an unlocked, unsupported phone last year for few months and I don't recall ever not having phone signal. Data is another story but calls were always available and I do travel a lot across the world. Their international data is pure BS - it just doesn't work.
And finally, the T-Mobile WiFi calling menu you saw is for the old T-Mobile in the UK that has now been merged into EE. You can flash that firmware but it probably won't work with the USA version depending on what moron wrote the integration and how much configuration data they hardcoded in the app or if it works it might be connecting to a UK gateway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that I think the phone will not have service because it's unlocked. T-Mobile just doesn't have great coverage in my hometown area at all. I did the Test-Drive a couple months back and remember getting 0-1 bars at all times... never holding on to a signal long enough to make a single phone call or send a text message. Thanks for the insight into the T-Mobile - EE thing. I didn't realize that. It would be lovely if it did work in the USA but I doubt it The T-Mobile Nexus 5 (arguably one of the most modded phones out there) never got t-mo wifi calling so I doubt this will.
Thank you!
Just so you know, I flashed to EE (even though technically I'm on MetroPCS which is a T-Mobile subsidiary), and I couldn't find that screenshot in any of the settings menus, nor could I locate it via "settings, under device, call. UK EE" as someone suggested in that thread. I do have a "Device Connection" menu and a "Call" menu, but they're separate menus not nested in one another. And I can't find any menu or option that says "UK EE".
So, it sounds like no one can find any Wifi calling toggle in any settings menu, correct?
nnotis said:
So, it sounds like no one can find any Wifi calling toggle in any settings menu, correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A couple people have mentioned seeing it...someplace. One person said he saw it under the pencil looking icon in the drop down shade, but I've never been able to locate it up there no matter what firmware I've flashed too. It appears to be pretty elusive.
Adrift98 said:
A couple people have mentioned seeing it...someplace. One person said he saw it under the pencil looking icon in the drop down shade, but I've never been able to locate it up there no matter what firmware I've flashed too. It appears to be pretty elusive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's probably checking for some condition to show the menu.
If you extract the EE firmware you would probable be able to do a text search for T-Mobile and find the apps that have that then decompile the one that sounds like the most likely to have the functionality (probably one with the word customization in the name) and check the logic which enables the functionality and even change and re-compile it. You would also be able to see if it connects to a specific gateway for the wifi calling and if so try to change that too..
Theoretically a company won't spend the money to develop different Wifi calling mechanisms for different countries and thus it should work but then again...
weasal said:
It's probably checking for some condition to show the menu.
If you extract the EE firmware you would probable be able to do a text search for T-Mobile and find the apps that have that then decompile the one that sounds like the most likely to have the functionality (probably one with the word customization in the name) and check the logic which enables the functionality and even change and re-compile it. You would also be able to see if it connects to a specific gateway for the wifi calling and if so try to change that too..
Theoretically a company won't spend the money to develop different Wifi calling mechanisms for different countries and thus it should work but then again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't know how to begin to do all of that.
Adrift98 said:
I wouldn't know how to begin to do all of that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can follow this to extract the system partition (system.sln) and get it's contents to your hard drive: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1723284
Then you can use your file explorer (on Windows or whatever your OS is) to search for a text string (make sure you tell it to look only inside *.apk to avoid getting too many results). Once you find the apk files that could be what you need you can then use this: http://www.decompileandroid.com/ to decompile the apps so you get source code.
From then on it's a bit trickier, you'll need to make your way trough the configuration and maybe even the code to figure out where they store the connection info or what exactly do they connect to (it looks like the app uses your sim card to authenticate so that shouldn't require any tweaking).
Or you can just wait and hope this is true: https://support.t-mobile.com/thread/81359 or maybe it's already in M : http://www.phone-probe.com/android-m-features-native-wifi-calling/
Oh is that all? Simple.
It might be easier to just locate the apps needed for US T-Mobile wifi calling from another phone and install them on a z5c with EE firmware since the core OS code needed would be provided by the EE firmware and the US specific stuff will come from the apps.
This has a list that might actually be complete: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2302313 and you can ignore any jar files that are listed since that should come with the EE firmware.
The fact that there is a z5c firmware that supports Wifi calling is what's important here - you have all the proprietary and OS stuff baked in, you just need the US specific bits/configuration.
Hello
Just received a email from AT&T, claiming that none of my Sony phones will be compatible with AT&T wireless network on 2022. This is what their page says
"To bring you faster speeds and new features, we have to evolve America’s best and also fastest network. One change we’re making is phasing out our 3G network by February 2022. Once we do, 3G devices and 4G wireless devices that don’t support HD Voice will no longer work on our network."
Their compatibility list (https://www.att.com/ecms/dam/att/consumer/help/pdf/Devices-Working-on-ATT-Network.pdf) does not include any Sony phones at all.
Does anyone know if this is actually true? One the one hand, I can see that my phones are not on their compatibility list. On the other hand, AT&T appears to be completely unaware of Sony's existence.
TheKorbenDallas said:
Hello
Just received a email from AT&T, claiming that none of my Sony phones will be compatible with AT&T wireless network on 2022. This is what their page says
"To bring you faster speeds and new features, we have to evolve America’s best and also fastest network. One change we’re making is phasing out our 3G network by February 2022. Once we do, 3G devices and 4G wireless devices that don’t support HD Voice will no longer work on our network."
Their compatibility list (https://www.att.com/ecms/dam/att/consumer/help/pdf/Devices-Working-on-ATT-Network.pdf) does not include any Sony phones at all.
Does anyone know if this is actually true? One the one hand, I can see that my phones are not on their compatibility list. On the other hand, AT&T appears to be completely unaware of Sony's existence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What model is your Xperia 1 (should be J8xxx or J9xxx)?
Do you get VoLTE with AT&T right now?
I"m on AT&T, and I don't have VOLTE from them here in Texas. Our X1 is not supported according to list provided by AT&T, however no Sony phones are. I haven't received the email...at least not yet for mine. Of course our phones are able to use VOLTE services but AT&T doesn't provision for them. There are some discussions about this going on on Reddit too, some people are reaching out to file complaints to the FCC.
MeltdownSpectre said:
What model is your Xperia 1 (should be J8xxx or J9xxx)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine is a dual-SIM model J9110.
MeltdownSpectre said:
Do you get VoLTE with AT&T right now?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't been paying attention... but apparently not.
I have the J8xxx USA model.
TheKorbenDallas said:
Mine is a dual-SIM model J9110.
Haven't been paying attention... but apparently not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone will probably still be able to use data, but no calls will be possible since the phone doesn't support VoLTE on AT&T.
MeltdownSpectre said:
The phone will probably still be able to use data, but no calls will be possible since the phone doesn't support VoLTE on AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Phone supports it just fine. AT&T won't allow their servers to support the phone. They say its because they can't certify that it's safe to use for VoLTE and that means 911 calls could fail but it's really because they are pushing people to get AT&T branded phones and stay on a phone payment plan.
I plan to keep updating this XDA forum thread with what I find out about this problem, potential solutions, and hopefully what solves it. Hopefully this will be useful to those with the same or similar problem.
Please excuse typos...
The Solution
The reality is, prevention is the best solution here, do a bunch of research to make sure you don't encounter this problem. Read the rest of the post to better understand.
Original
Thank you in advance for reading this and helping me. (I also posted this in r/LGG8X, and am posting it here because some people don't have accounts with both. The more people that see it, the better, if by chance someone has ideas, wants to help, and has time to post the ideas)
It seems like a lot of people are having this issue, so maybe someone might have an idea.
I bought this phone to replace my Xiaomi Mi 9 (which was on the fritz, turning itself off randomly), about 1.5 weeks ago. I did my research and reasonably concluded that this phone has LTE band 12 and VoLTE; also it would be foolish of LG to not to have that. I could not find the VoLTE or Wifi Calling switches anywhere in the settings app, or in the phone app. I then dialed " *#*#4636#*#* " which opened up the "Testing Settings" (as usual). I click on the "Phone Information" tab, scroll down and find both the VoLTE and Wifi Calling switches, which are, to my dismay, greyed out.
I called Ting and they said, (after getting the IMEI), that this doesn't have LTE band 12, therefore no VoLTE. That confused me, because like I said, my research before buying had already concluded that it has band 12. The Ting rep said that's all he could do for me, so we ended the call. I did another 30 mins of research, again concluded it has band 12 with VoLTE. I also called LG themselves, and the rep there confirmed that this phone has band 12 with VoLTE, they also said "we would be more than happy to verify that the phone works with you carrier through phone conferencing". I asked the rep about about the previously mentioned VoLTE and Wifi Calling switches being greyed out, and they said that's because the phone has those 2 capabilities, but the carrier has to enable them.
I really love this phone, especially in comparison to the Mi 9 (even tho the Mi 9 is a good phone). I love the software better (even with the weird quirks that it has), and the value proposition is quite good. I really don't want to have to get a 3rd new phone in one year. If anyone has any ideas/help that would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
[Edit]: P.S. I think this is partly a problem with LG, and partly with the carriers. I suspect that LG messed up with the IMEI/etc and other important identifiers as to what the device is, what exact version (i.e. LM-G850UM, etc) of a particular model (i.e. LG G8X Thinq Dual Screen, etc). This leads to the cell carrier's infrastructure seeing this phone as incompatible (doesn't see LTE Band 12, when it really is. The cell carriers, (from my own experience with 2 Ting Reps, and from what others have said on other forum threads), can't or won't solve this problem, even tho it may be solvable. From what I have seen on other forums, some got it solved by the cell carrier entering codes on the phone and doing something on their side. If LG and the all the networks would talk to each about this problem and get it solved if possible that would be awesome...
Update - 11/04/2020:
It seems I unintentionally bought a G8X with the Canadian rom LMG850UM20e. I am doubtful, but is the hardware the same or similar enough to flash the USA unlocked rom LMG850QM? Or is there something else I can do to make the Ting network allow VoLTE? As far as I can tell, the Canadian model still supports VoLTE LTE Band 12, but correct me if I'm wrong.
Update - 11/05/2020:
Ting says that my phone has LTE Band 12 and therefore VoLTE, but that will only work on ATT. A bit confusing because (like I said) the particular rom on my phone is Canadian (LMG850UM20e), so why ATT? The explanation for that, it seems is that ATT, (and Sprint), and the unlocked Canadian version have the same sub-model: LMG850UM. The USA unlocked version has a different sub-model (LMG850QM), the rest of the world has yet another sub-model (LMQ850EMW). There are around 15 different versions it seems; see this reddit post on the different models: (can't post the link yet) title: "Hey G8X owner, what is the submodel number and regional code of your unit? And where did you buy it from? I am trying to complete this list, also relating to timing of security updates and Android 10 release." posted in r/LG G8X
It seems like all the versions (LMG850......) have the same hardware, the only difference are the roms, which seem artificially disable certain capabilities of the phone. I am pretty sure my phone would do VoLTE just fine on Ting (or most other carriers). The thing wrong here, I think, is that the IMEI and other specific identifiers of the phone artificially show that the phone does not have the functionality, so the networks don't enable it. It also seems like LG made an agreement or something with ATT as well as Sprint (separately), to release carrier-specific version (as most brands seem to do), and that the phone would fully work on their respective networks and MVNOs, at least the versions in the LMG850UM sub model group, and the USA unlocked sub-model group. LG and T-Mobile seem to have come to no such *official* agreement, unfortunately. I am wondering any of the versions work with T-Mobile and it's MVNOs out of the box, some *modifications* may have to be done in order to get it working on TM towers. There may also be unintentional bugs in some or all roms that are possibly causing, or more likely, adding on to the problem.
Obviously, I am still trying to find my around this problem. I'm considering flashing a USA unlocked rom (LMG850QM sub-model), though not sure if that's possible, or if it'll change what the IMEI and the other specific identifiers tell the cell carrier about compatibility. I also wonder if carriers have the ability to override the artificial restrictions. There is also one report of T-Mobile supposedly fixing the same/similar problem with Sprint for a customer, see u/Veshtarii's comments on this reddit post: (can't post link yet) title: "LG G8X unlocked models having issues with US carriers." Posted in r/LGG8X. Another reddit user used a cheap Tracfone sim card to make his phone work on T-Mobile: (can't post link yet) title: "Tutorial: How to Update eBay Unlocked ATT / AT&T LG G8x" Posted in r/LGG8X. I am unsure if he also has VoLTE working.
Update - 11/06/2020
I'm done with this... It is pretty much impossible. I commented on the "Tutorial: How to Update eBay Unlocked ATT / AT&T LG G8x" post, and the OP responded and said he can't get VoLTE working, even with doing that update. The only thing that could possibly work, is flashing the USA unlocked sub-model onto it. However I probably don't know enough to do it right, but the bigger reason is that it'll probably brick it. I've realized, and should realized when I was doing the research for a new phone, that ATT and TMO's VoLTE/Wifi Calling work differently. They both use propriety coding, which they license to each brand to use in the models they both come to agreement on, and a similar agreement with each MVNO under their towers. LG and TMO seem to have made no such agreement for the G8X, therefore in all practicality, no G8X will work on any of their towers. Also, I called H2O Wireless just to see if my phone works with them, but they said my IMEI is not compatible; so I'm not the Canadian model that I have works in the US at all, that makes me think that not even the versions inside each sub-model aren't even compatible with each other. There is that one situation I mentioned, where the person who was having problems with Sprint before the merger, took it to TMO after the merger and the TMO tech fixed it for him. But I think he must've been having a different problem, because his phone is probably still technically running on Sprint towers. Sprint made the agreement with LG, so VoLTE would work in that instance. Flashing is practically not a solution for most people.
I should've done more research than I did before buying the phone. That is the moral of this story; make sure you do all your "homework" before buying any phone anywhere but the shop of the carrier you are using (or plan to use). That leads me to my number one complaint with phone brands and especially cell carriers as whole: they make it incredibly annoying, often difficult, and confusing to find a compatible phone that isn't on the carrier store. And the problem with that is that everything in any carriers' stores is everything is stupidly overpriced, and then they get you hooked with pricey deals you don't want. If you're reading this, you're most likely like me, you know better than to spend more than you have to on a phone and plan in the carrier store, you know (or at least kinda know) how to get past that. I get that cell carriers want to make money, but I tell you, this is too far. Anyways, the point is, there is no immediate solution, in other words, your only worthwhile solution is prevention, doing a bunch of research. I'm done with this... I'm returning this phone and getting the vanilla G8...
I have the LMG850QM. It has no VOLTE icons while in call even if on band 12. It uses HD+ and that will be shown in dialer during call. Internet does work while in call so believe that it is working. The switches are on like yours but greyed out. Wi-fi calling does work. By turning on airplane mode and then turning back on wifi the dialer will show that calls are being made over Wifi. The OnePlus 6T has VoWifi icons in status bar and this phone doesn't. I will say that this phone gets service in buildings where neither of my 6t's would have service.
(US ATT and T-Mobile)
I have this phone, but only by way of ATT telling me my non-VoLTE 4G LTE phone would not work after ATT shuts down 3G.
I move over to T-mobile recently. All works ok. I then activate VoLTE on the Mi. All works ok.
But I had to call a T-mobile rep regarding my iPhone, in that conversation I asked if VoLTE was even needed, and he tells me no, that T-mobile will still do voice data w/o VoLTE enabled.
So, VoLTE is a feature of LTE and implemented on 4G/5G, and really has nothing to do with 3G being shut down.
There's so many sites stating you "need" VoLTE to keep making voice calls after 3G is gone. This is not true.
"As 3G is switched off, you need VoLTE or HD Voice support to make calls on 4G networks."
Explained: AT&T and T-Mobile VoLTE phone cutoffs
Everything you need to know about AT&T's move over to HD Voice and T-Mobile's transition to VoLTE, and what it means for smartphone calls.
www.androidauthority.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I understand it you need 3G for voice.
You may be able to use internet service but without VoLTE, no phone service.
If the device is not white listed it likely will not be able to have phone service as your link states.
I have straight talk with AT&T sim, I was using my Black Shark 3 pro which has volte and all of a sudden Friday at midnight, no data or phone service. At that time my bs3pro has been having heating issues, so i moved everything over to my redmagic 6 which has volte. I noticed my sim was locked in apn, totally different apn info than my bs3pro, so i called support, since everytime I tried to make call it blocked calls and sent me to support. The CS person did something on their end, had me restart phone, then service was back to normal and been fine since.
If your service provider only provides 4G infrastructure like mine... then you need VoLTE otherwise no phone calls. They are new and never had any 3G and below infrastructure. I tried making calls .... it doesn't.
My service provider annoyingly doesn't provision volte for my volte capable handphone (this makes my eyes swivel) but does provide an app to support phone calls without volte.. but it chews up battery
@roger_rex
But T-mobile (US) runs 4G and 5G, but # of towers with 5G not as plentiful as 4G. I connect 4G LTE most of the time, voice & data works just fine. T-mobile rep told me it will work w/ or w/o VoLTE enabled on phone. The APN used is the "fast" APN one.
A 5G connection does not negate any benefits from using VoLTE.
Was on phone again today with a T-mobile "tech team supervisor" for a service issue (they accidentally turned off one of my SIM cards). I then asked about VoLTE, he tells me it's no longer needed on T-mobile 4G or 5G LTE, but using VoLTE will still work. He seemed to suggest VoLTE not needed at all on 5G because the speed of the wireless can carry both voice and data fast enough. He also hinted their 4G can do the same.
If you have a fast pipe then you really don't need a side channel for the voice.
But duly noted, everything technical that I have read about on VoLTE, using that feature gives better voice call on any LTE that supports VoLTE. The supervisor also mentioned that "VoLTE" will basically go away at some point.
Pretty sure on 4G LTE you need either VoLTE capability or a 3G connection for voice calls.
Redirect Notice
4G VoLTE will likely be here for a long time as 5G is distance/obstacle limited, the former is very hard to overcome due to the wavelength's physical properties.
@blackhawk
I am not disputing how online info says it's required, I am just copying what T-mobile has told me.
T-mobile store rep tells me VoLTE is not really needed, then their online support supervisor tells me the same thing. So it is for sure confusing.
Call a T-mobile support # and ask.
Why would a 3G/4G-LTE phone have an option to turn off VoLTE?
https://www.republicworld.com/technology-news/mobile/what-is-volte-and-what-it-does-is-5g-volte-know-everything-here.html
ChuckStein123 said:
@blackhawk
I am not disputing how online info says it's required, I am just copying what T-mobile has told me.
T-mobile store rep tells me VoLTE is not really needed, then their online support supervisor tells me the same thing. So it is for sure confusing.
Call a T-mobile support # and ask.
Why would a 3G/4G-LTE phone have an option to turn off VoLTE?
https://www.republicworld.com/technology-news/mobile/what-is-volte-and-what-it-does-is-5g-volte-know-everything-here.html
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Click to collapse
I never paid much attention to this and still have questions but it's back burnered for when I run across it. From what I'm reading the T-mobile reps sound like they don't understand it either.
Even if they don't understand it... the only thing that matters immediately is if it will work. Hopefully that intel is correct!
Really until AT&T implements the change I won't be 100% sure. However pretty sure I'm ok as the devices don't use the 3G band and in hidden user settings VoLTE is toggled on. The only indication other than the 4G that VoLTE is active.
Probably HD too, but no indicator or setting other than very good call quality.
To make matters even more confusing AT&T changed the format and models listed drastically 2 weeks ago from their December whitelist. So small wonder reps might be confused too. Makes you wonder if it was deliberately self serving, an oversight or ongoing system modifications?
So, I have not been paying close enough attention to cellular these days. The cell companies have amassed large sets of licensed bands, probably near 200+ bands between 2G/3G/4G LTE and 5G NR.
Interestingly enough, 5G is not LTE at all. I suspect operators call their crud "5G LTE" to signify they support 5G-NSA or 5G-NR (or both), and, the older 4G LTE.
Some airlines are worried about two cell C bands (n77 and n79) that back up onto aircraft radio altimeter that run 4200-4400Mhz.
VoLTE has a long history, but it seems 5G-NR does not even use VoLTE (because VoLTE is a LTE feature, and 5G is not LTE). Can a 4G/5G phone still use VoLTE? Sure, if the firmware is implemented to use it. Likely will use it if the device connects 4G LTE, but perhaps will not when connected to 5G-NR. It's not clear to me if a device will use both 4G LTE and 5G-NR at the same time, but I suspect not. I mean, you could technically connect a device on 5G-NR for data, and then use VoLTE on 4G LTE for facilitating voice calls.
Some reference links for the interested reader.
5G Frequency Bands & Spectrum Allocations - CableFree
5th generation wireless systems, or 5G, may use existing 4G or newly specified 5G Frequency Bands to operate. Technologies include: Millimeter wave bands (26, 28, 38, and 60 GHz) are 5G Massive MIMO, "Low-band 5G" and "Mid-band 5G" use frequencies from 600 MHz to 6 GHz, especially 3.5-4.2 GHz.
www.cablefree.net
5G NR frequency bands - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
LTE frequency bands - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
List of LTE networks - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Voice over LTE - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
What is 5G LTE, NR, NSA, and MIMO Technology | How Will 5G RAN be Deployed? | Corning
Learn about 5G deployment including RAN, 5G-NSA, 5G-NR, and what they mean for LTE networks.
www.corning.com
LTE vs NR: Reference signal design
NR downlink reference signals are tailored for specific roles and can be flexibly adapted for different deployment scenarios and spectrum. 5G Training
www.5gworldpro.com
ChuckStein123 said:
@roger_rex
But T-mobile (US) runs 4G and 5G, but # of towers with 5G not as plentiful as 4G. I connect 4G LTE most of the time, voice & data works just fine. T-mobile rep told me it will work w/ or w/o VoLTE enabled on phone. The APN used is the "fast" APN one.
A 5G connection does not negate any benefits from using VoLTE.
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My understanding on this is that voice was using some 3G or below service. My provider was purely 4G and above - so unless my phone was provisioned by the cell company - no voice calls. I tried & it didn't work. I changed to an older device that they did support via VoLTE and calls worked. I can download an App from the cell company that allows my pixel 2XL to work on their system.
I can only guess T-mobile has 3G and below network infrastructure still. My provider is brand new and never built any 3G stuff and have no intention of rolling out obsolete stuff. VoLTE is annoying in that the provider gets to pick and choose which cellphones they allow (to use a standard protocol)
This may not be 100% - I've been kind of forced into a crash course on this myself over the last few days
@roger_rex - Take a read here
{Guide} QXDM Port activation on Pixel 2 XL, (VoLTE,WoWIFI,CA)
Hi all. First of all I DO NOT PROVIDE ANY KIND OF SUPPORT. YOU ALONE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY POSSIBLE ISSUES. I wrote this post during my vacation. I know it could be quite handy, but unfortunately/thankfully my primary sources of money are...
forum.xda-developers.com
Pixel 2's all have ability for VoLTE.
A cell operator should not be blocking any phone from using VoLTE.
When you call your provider what do they tell you when you tell them your Pixel 2 has VoLTE for 4GLTE but your Pixel won't make calls on their network?
I can tell you for sure, the operators play games with their support of hardware.
My iphone XS was connecting to ATT with a "5G" icon from time to time, so why does T-mobile say 5G is a "no"? I moved the XS to T-mobile and the phone won't ever connect to 5G, and the APN settings appear to be blocked.
Tutorials | T-Mobile Support
Update: I find many sites that say the Xr and Xs do not support 5G, so now I scratch my head, my Xs would sometimes show "5G" icon for cell wireless, when it was on ATT network. Apparently AT&T supports Xs and 5G, hence the Xs does have 5G capable radio.
Apple iPhone Xs / Xs Max - Signal & Cellular Data - AT&T
Get Apple iPhone Xs / Xs Max support for the topic: Signal & Cellular Data. Find more step-by-step device tutorials on att.com.
www.att.com
ChuckStein123 said:
I can tell you for sure, the operators play games with their support of hardware.
My iphone XS was connecting to ATT with a "5G" icon from time to time, so why does T-mobile say 5G is a "no"? I moved the XS to T-mobile and the phone won't ever connect to 5G, and the APN settings appear to be blocked.
Tutorials | T-Mobile Support
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I think they go at least partially by number of a given model in use. My guess is it's not a painless procedure for them to configure their system for a given model.
AT&T first listed their Note 10+ variant but not the unlocked variant, a month later it was added as well. It may be a work in progress... it seems sort of helter skelter, oh my gawd get it done, whatever it takes... kind of deal
You know they are catching Berlin air raid volume flack
Before buying Mi 11 Lite 5G I went into a T-mobile store (not an affiliate). I asked if the Mi 11 Lite 5G will work on T-mobile and the rep told me all phones work on T-mobile as long as they are not locked to another carrier, and, the T-mobile freq bands ("channels") are covered by the phone.
Unless LTE or 5G-NR/5G-NSA is improperly implemented on the device, then I don't see why all phones should not work. They should all work.
Think about hotspot. The carrier can control is the device can use that service, or at least can with some devices, but why bother, who cares how the data on the data plan gets chewed up. Go over the plan and get charged. Thus far I have not seen unlimited hotspot data, T-mobile only allows 40G on their Magenta Max plan.
Good thing is, Mi 11 Lite 5G phone (model M2101K9G) works a-ok on T-Mobile USA. I did have to manually set the APN to the "fast" one, and had to use dial code for VoLTE, 4GLTE and 5G works.
Straight talk now keeps shutting off my service every 3 days, last night again, so 3 times now. Call and back working. But seems like they only care about giving me some crappy free phone and seems like they outsource. The redmagic 6 is not on AT&T list, if any more issues I will switch to T Mobile, T Mobile recognized my phone by imei and said it is fully compatible. I Noticed on my Redmagic 6, sim 1 is only 14 digits but sim 2 is 15, so I moved sim card, might be issue, but doubt it.
@Rotwiler I see you posted about the IMEI digit thing in another post/forum. *#06# should reveal a 15 digit IMEI. If it shows only 14 then the phone is hiding one digit. Put sim card in sim slot that has the 15 digit IMEI.
What does *#*#4636#*#* get you? Do some gooling around for activating VoLTE on RedMagic 6
Phone lists for carriers are mostly for support reasons. If the phone has all the cell bands the operator uses, then it should be good to go. If the phone only has some of the cell bands used, then the phone may work ok in one area, but not good in another, all depends on how the operator runs the bands in different areas. The cell operator does not want the support headache for a phone that only has partial bands, "hey ATT, my phone not working in Timbuck-too", etc.
The RM6 appears to have most of the ATT 4GLTE bands (all the major ones), so it should work a-ok on ATT (US). 5G should also work. It appears the RM6 had a firmware update about 26d ago. Make sure the firmware is updated to latest.
Are your APN settings correct?
Program Data Settings for Your Device
Can’t connect to the internet on your mobile device? Here’s how to set up the access point name (APN) to get you going again.
www.att.com
I am using AT&T through Straight Talk. I did move sim card to slot 2 to see if issue was due to sim one showing only 14 digits. Phone is fully updated. Odd thing is I cannot change the APN since this new Volte, there is red check mark and everything is grayed out. I have always been able to modify APN until now. My sim card is really old, used to be full size and over the years cut it down for new phones, is probably 8+ years old, had it since Android phones came out, but has always worked great.
Rotwiler said:
I am using AT&T through Straight Talk. I did move sim card to slot 2 to see if issue was due to sim one showing only 14 digits. Phone is fully updated. Odd thing is I cannot change the APN since this new Volte, there is red check mark and everything is grayed out. I have always been able to modify APN until now. My sim card is really old, used to be full size and over the years cut it down for new phones, is probably 8+ years old, had it since Android phones came out, but has always worked great.
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APN settings are grayed out when the phone is locked to carrier. Can you at least see what the APN settings are? If the phone is owned outright by you then tell the Straight Talk folks you want the phone unlocked.
As for old sim card, then just go get a new one from the store for a few $, and then move your number to the new sim card via online.
Phone is Redmagic 6 global version, never was locked.