T-Mobile's Voice over Wi-Fi and Voice over LTE possible with Nexus 6P on Project Fi ?

[myhui]

Imagine this scenario: I have a phone bought from a T-Mobile retail store that supports both those features. I consider them very valuable features that makes me want to stay with T-Mobile.

I switch to Project Fi with a Nexus 6P. I may find that both those features are gone, regardless of which carrier's towers I connect to, or even when I'm at home with the same Wi-Fi basestation that handled Voice over Wi-Fi just fine with my previous phone.

I have heard that the Project Fi team is working hard to get Voice over Wi-Fi working. I have not heard them say anything about Voice over LTE.

It's conceivable that T-Mobile has every reason to make sure their store-bought, T-Mobile exclusive phones are more feature-rich from a network point of view than a Project Fi phone. That would be the correct business decision to make, to keep people on T-Mobile.

Well, I am on T-Mobile now. Was it a bad decision of me to switch from T-Mobile to Project Fi as a carrier?

 

[zorak950]

On a technical level both are just VoIP calls, so one working and the other not is carrier shenanigans.

 

[Crashdamage]

Imagine this scenario: I have a phone bought from a T-Mobile retail store that supports both those features. I consider them very valuable features that makes me want to stay with T-Mobile.

I switch to Project Fi with a Nexus 6P. I may find that both those features are gone, regardless of which carrier's towers I connect to, or even when I'm at home with the same Wi-Fi basestation that handled Voice over Wi-Fi just fine with my previous phone.

I have heard that the Project Fi team is working hard to get Voice over Wi-Fi working. I have not heard them say anything about Voice over LTE.

It's conceivable that T-Mobile has every reason to make sure their store-bought, T-Mobile exclusive phones are more feature-rich from a network point of view than a Project Fi phone. That would be the correct business decision to make, to keep people on T-Mobile.

Well, I am on T-Mobile now. Was it a bad decision of me to switch from T-Mobile to Project Fi as a carrier?

I don't quite understand. Apparently you're worried that by switching to Project Fi you'll lose WiFi calling and VoLTE.

Impossible. WiFi calling cannot be gone from Project Fi. It's the basis of the whole concept. VoLTE cannot be gone because all phone traffic is switching over to VoLTE. Without these technologies there would be no Project Fi. Besides, if you have T-Mobile WiFi calling and VoLTE now, you'll still have them since T-Mobile is part of Fi.

Switching over to Project Fi would only a bad idea if it doesn't work for you or for some reason you just don't like it. I suppose you won't know that until you try it. I applied for Fi, but after getting invitations I decided to pass, at least for now. But not for the reasons you're concerned with.

 

[gabbott]

Fi currently uses WiFi calling but doesn't do volte

 

[gabbott]

I don't quite understand. Apparently you're worried that by switching to Project Fi you'll lose WiFi calling and VoLTE.

Impossible. WiFi calling cannot be gone from Project Fi. It's the basis of the whole concept. VoLTE cannot be gone because all phone traffic is switching over to VoLTE. Without these technologies there would be no Project Fi. Besides, if you have T-Mobile WiFi calling and VoLTE now, you'll still have them since T-Mobile is part of Fi.

T-Mobile isn't part of Fi. Fi just uses their network. That doesn't include volte. As a Fi user for a few months I can assure you that is the case.

 

[Crashdamage]

Well, I guess to be clearer, I should have said something like T-Mobile has contracted with Google to provide part of the Fi system. Eh...

What about the Band 12 - VoLTE thing. Doesn't VoLTE have to be functional to resolve that requirement? If not, how do they get around it?

Voice communications are gradually going VoLTE. This is going on right now, and will soon be the standard. If Fi does not use VoLTE now, it certainly will have to before too long. Notice no phones are Fi compatible that are not VoLTE capable. It's a requirement.

Android since v1.0. Linux since 2001

 

[gabbott]

Well, I guess to be clearer, I should have said something like T-Mobile has contracted with Google to provide part of the Fi system. Eh...

What about the Band 12 - VoLTE thing. Doesn't VoLTE have to be functional to resolve that requirement? If not, how do they get around it?

Voice communications are gradually going VoLTE. This is going on right now, and will soon be the standard. If Fi does not use VoLTE now, it certainly will have to before too long. Notice no phones are Fi compatible that are not VoLTE capable. It's a requirement.

Android since v1.0. Linux since 2001

Band 12 no longer works on Fi with marshmallow. Probably because of the 911 issue.

Data always drops to hspa on Fi when receiving a voice call when on the T-Mobile network. When on the Sprint network there is no simultaneous voice and data.

Sprint doesn't even have any type of volte implementation currently.

I think it'll be a good while before we see volte on Fi.

 

[Crashdamage]

Thanks gabbott. Sounds like Fi has some work to do.

Android since v1.0. Linux since 2001

 

[Tye Aldana]

I've been on fi for 2 months, and miss the clarity of HD-voice calls on my previous T-mobile account. On the fi service, I've made calls using, Sprint,T-mobile, and WiFi, but nothing came close to sounding as good as HD-voice.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[myhui]

Band 12 no longer works on Fi with marshmallow. Probably because of the 911 issue.

Data always drops to hspa on Fi when receiving a voice call when on the T-Mobile network. When on the Sprint network there is no simultaneous voice and data.

Sprint doesn't even have any type of volte implementation currently.

If the above really is true, then I'll stay on T- Mobile and cancel my Fi and 6P order before it is too late.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

Imagine this scenario: I have a phone bought from a T-Mobile retail store that supports both those features. I consider them very valuable features that makes me want to stay with T-Mobile.

I switch to Project Fi with a Nexus 6P. I may find that both those features are gone, regardless of which carrier's towers I connect to, or even when I'm at home with the same Wi-Fi basestation that handled Voice over Wi-Fi just fine with my previous phone.

I have heard that the Project Fi team is working hard to get Voice over Wi-Fi working. I have not heard them say anything about Voice over LTE.

It's conceivable that T-Mobile has every reason to make sure their store-bought, T-Mobile exclusive phones are more feature-rich from a network point of view than a Project Fi phone. That would be the correct business decision to make, to keep people on T-Mobile.

Well, I am on T-Mobile now. Was it a bad decision of me to switch from T-Mobile to Project Fi as a carrier?

Yes, I was on T-Mobile and switched to Fi and was wholly disappointed with the experience. Customer service was spot on but the service wasn't . And, if you're coming from T-Mobile then you will be taking a step down that's quantifiable. I missed HD voice and VoLTE and band 12 once I upgraded to marshmallow.

The Sprint network is the real Achilles heel of Fi. When you're on the Sprint network the data signal is choppy as hell. You could be showing LTE and not even be pulling 1mb/sec downloads. You lose data the minute you accept a Sprint phone call. And get this, Sprint's garbage 3g network has a strong signal so T-Mobile's LTE would often get switched to Sprint's 3g.

IMO, I do not believe you're roaming on either network's premium signal. Many of its supporters would intensely argue that point, however, numbers don't lie. There were many instances when I was on Fi's T-Mobile signal and my girl was on T-Mobile and she'd have full bars while I'd have HSPA. And, these were the same locales that I used to have full bars just like her when I was on T-Mobile.

I know we love our Google but project Fi isn't worth the savings you might get in billing. It's barely a 4g service that's way overpriced.

Another caveat is that if you're used to streaming your music without data charges, get ready to pay for that on Fi. They charge for what you stream even if you're on a paid Google play music account. I think that's preposterous! Mind you, it is in beta and if you don't mind being a guinea pig with your cash then go for it. I personally believe Google has the chops to do way better and I'm not interested in testing their flighty ideas with my own money again.

I'm back with T-Mobile and all is good. I'd have to say this about T-Mobile, you truly get what you pay for and it's very hard for some other carriers to undercut their prices and actually provide a better service.T-Mobile is not Verizon, but we know that!

 

[nrfitchett4]

Interesting. I have a coworker on project Fi and says it works great. We work in a hospital and T-Mobile is garbage in large buildings but we have Sprint boosters so I would be on that and WiFi when at work and 300/20 TWC WiFi at home.
I am testing it out just for fun and am using my Google voice number, not my cell number for testing. My sim should be here a week before the nexus 6p.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[qnet]

Project fi is perfect for me since I'm not talking on my phone a lot. I was on T Mobile and HD voice was really nice I admit. A coworker of mine who is on Fi also said he thinks Fi customers are probably the first to get kicked down to the slower Bands to make room for the T Mobile customers if it get's congested.

The data is the main thing with me. I really like when Fi connects to their VPN using a business WI-FI. I also like how you pay for what you use. I can afford to be on T mobile, At&t or Verizon, I'm just tired of the way they operate sometime.

T mobile was my favorite out of the big three, but somehow my online account access got messed up and I was unable to log on for months. After calling them several times, explaining the same problem to a different person every time, they never helped me. I finally had enough. I know I can just call them or go to the store if I want to make changes, but it's more convenient for me to do online, and I should be able to.

I do hope that project Fi will eventually have band 12 and support VOLTE, because I think it's a great idea.

 

[Brian Lindenmeyer]

Imagine this scenario: I have a phone bought from a T-Mobile retail store that supports both those features. I consider them very valuable features that makes me want to stay with T-Mobile.

I switch to Project Fi with a Nexus 6P. I may find that both those features are gone, regardless of which carrier's towers I connect to, or even when I'm at home with the same Wi-Fi basestation that handled Voice over Wi-Fi just fine with my previous phone.

I have heard that the Project Fi team is working hard to get Voice over Wi-Fi working. I have not heard them say anything about Voice over LTE.

It's conceivable that T-Mobile has every reason to make sure their store-bought, T-Mobile exclusive phones are more feature-rich from a network point of view than a Project Fi phone. That would be the correct business decision to make, to keep people on T-Mobile.

Well, I am on T-Mobile now. Was it a bad decision of me to switch from T-Mobile to Project Fi as a carrier?

If you want to talk over LTE it will be going against your data plan (which isn't unlimited on Project Fi). As for Voice over WiFi, that is supported for sure.

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

If you want to talk over LTE it will be going against your data plan (which isn't unlimited on Project Fi). As for Voice over WiFi, that is supported for sure.

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

What? Are you saying that your actual voice call is counting as data when you have VoLTE and project Fi?

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

Project fi is perfect for me since I'm not talking on my phone a lot. I was on T Mobile and HD voice was really nice I admit. A coworker of mine who is on Fi also said he thinks Fi customers are probably the first to get kicked down to the slower Bands to make room for the T Mobile customers if it get's congested.

The data is the main thing with me. I really like when Fi connects to their VPN using a business WI-FI. I also like how you pay for what you use. I can afford to be on T mobile, At&t or Verizon, I'm just tired of the way they operate sometime.

T mobile was my favorite out of the big three, but somehow my online account access got messed up and I was unable to log on for months. After calling them several times, explaining the same problem to a different person every time, they never helped me. I finally had enough. I know I can just call them or go to the store if I want to make changes, but it's more convenient for me to do online, and I should be able to.

I do hope that project Fi will eventually have band 12 and support VOLTE, because I think it's a great idea.

Project Fi is a great concept and i believe it will succeed without our front money. I was force switching networks through the dialer codes. My phone was burning battery twice as fast, and i was on a first name basis with customer support. However, I loved the online activation process. I truly did like when it was able to move from a Wi-Fi phone call to a cellular call without dropping the call. However, it could not do it in reverse. That was very disappointing because you could easily be on a cellular call of good quality and then walk in your house and the call goes from 60 to 0 real quick, while totally ignoring your strong Wi-Fi signal in the house and making the necessary switch to the "strongest signal!" I will totally revisit Fi when it comes out of beta so that I can experience what it's supposed to be. I don't want to be a guinea pig in their beta test project.

 

[karmamule]

...Sprint's garbage 3g network has a strong signal so T-Mobile's LTE would often get switched to Sprint's 3g....

My biggest complaint is pretty much this. Fi does seem smart enough to prefer an LTE signal over 3G even if the signal is a bit weaker, BUT if that LTE signal goes away, for even the slightest bit, it hops on the crappy 3G network and seems to stay on the crappy 3G network for a minute or two before realizing "hey I can start using LTE again".

I'm hanging in there with it more on the principle of supporting a potentially carrier-agnostic solution that could really up-end the whole cellular market IF they can iron the kinks out. I still have a line on T-Mobile that's my primary line.

Besides, if I dump fi right now I'll have no justification, no matter how flimsy, to upgrade my old nexus 6 to a 6p so I get to play with that! ;-)

 

[CHILLYWILL_95831]

My biggest complaint is pretty much this. Fi does seem smart enough to prefer an LTE signal over 3G even if the signal is a bit weaker, BUT if that LTE signal goes away, for even the slightest bit, it hops on the crappy 3G network and seems to stay on the crappy 3G network for a minute or two before realizing "hey I can start using LTE again".

I'm hanging in there with it more on the principle of supporting a potentially carrier-agnostic solution that could really up-end the whole cellular market IF they can iron the kinks out. I still have a line on T-Mobile that's my primary line.

Besides, if I dump fi right now I'll have no justification, no matter how flimsy, to upgrade my old nexus 6 to a 6p so I get to play with that! ;-)

I ordered my Nexus 6P while I was on Fi. I ordered my Fi SIM for the 6P which I've already received, but I'm back with T-Mobile. The temptation to reactivate Fi is seriously mounting. I love being unlocked and having the freedom to go where I please . My 6P will be here tomorrow.

Posted via my Nexus 6

 

[booboolala2000]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you need a T-Mobile branded phone to enjoy their VoLTE and WiFi calling features? From what I understand, if you bring an unlocked phone, it doesn't have the required mods to use these services. Making all Nexus devices gimped a bit.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Crashdamage]

Not all Nexus phones are "gimped a bit". The Nexus 6, no matter where you buy it, when you install an activated T-Mobile SIM it will download and install the T-Mobile LYZ28M build of 5.1.1 that enables VoLTE and WiFi calling. The 5X and 6P will also download a patch that enables WiiFi calling when a T-Mobile SIM is inserted. Unlike the N6, the 5X and 6P do not yet have LTE Band 12 and VoLTE support, but T-Mobile says they're working on it and it's coming.

Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P don't support band 12 or VoLTE, but Google is working on it » TmoNews