So confused with Volte

[Vijay2024]

Hi all,

I've just done a search and couldn't find anything that helped my brain round this issue.

I moved over to a provider called Smarty in the UK a month ago. Phone works fine but randomly have it where someone calling me has my phone ringing on their end, but my phone is actually not ringing. I chatted with Smarty about this and they told me it's because "Unfortunately, even though your device has VoLTE capability, it won't work on SMARTY and some other providers due to a technical issue related to the timing of our VoLTE launch. "

They also said "Due to a technical issue with some mobile virtual network providers, including SMARTY, if your device is listed below, it will NOT work with SMARTY after the 3G switch-off" The strange thing is my phone says it's on a 4G network, so why would turning off 3G make my phone have issues? They couldn't give me any answer to that.

Their solution is for me to upgrade my phone. I really don't want to upgrade as my phone is still going great and it does everything I need. So I wondered if there's any solution to this problem? Would upgrading this software rom/android version help at all?

Thank you for any help

Vijay

 

[SeeBeeEss]

Maybe this Android Central article will help a bit.

 

[joeldf]

Just because your phone has 4G (LTE) does not mean it will automatically work with "Voice over LTE", or VoLTE. VoLTE requires that the phone support a whole other set of voice call protocols. And a lot of the early 4G phones just don't support it.

You apparently have such a phone. The 4G you get is for data only. Your phone would have dropped to 3G or H+ while on a call. You may or may not have noticed it.

But once your carrier shuts down the 3G network, your phone would no longer have a voice call fallback. Calls won't work.

So, yes, you'll need a new phone.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! See the video linked in this thread: https://forums.androidcentral.com/t...about-impending-2g-3g-shutdown-in-oz.1072313/. It's about the situation in Australia, but references the VOLTE issue.

 

[Vijay2024]

Maybe this Android Central article will help a bit.

thank you, interesting read.

 

[SeeBeeEss]

thank you, interesting read.

You are welcome.

 

[Vijay2024]

Welcome to Android Central! See the video linked in this thread: https://forums.androidcentral.com/t...about-impending-2g-3g-shutdown-in-oz.1072313/. It's about the situation in Australia, but references the VOLTE issue.

flipping heck, that confused me even more lol So it said some phones that are volte compatible won't work with certain providers. Seems very unfair to do that! Seems a bit of a minefield for anyone to work out

 

[Vijay2024]

Just because your phone has 4G (LTE) does not mean it will automatically work with "Voice over LTE", or VoLTE. VoLTE requires that the phone support a whole other set of voice call protocols. And a lot of the early 4G phones just don't support it.

You apparently have such a phone. The 4G you get is for data only. Your phone would have dropped to 3G or H+ while on a call. You may or may not have noticed it.

But once your carrier shuts down the 3G network, your phone would no longer have a voice call fallback. Calls won't work.

So, yes, you'll need a new phone.

What I don't really understand is Google says my S7 edge is Volte compatible, so why would it not work? I also don't fully understand why my phone is still working when they say all the 3g masts in my area have been turned off, but I can still make calls and mostly receive them

 

[B. Diddy]

flipping heck, that confused me even more lol So it said some phones that are volte compatible won't work with certain providers. Seems very unfair to do that! Seems a bit of a minefield for anyone to work out

Sorry, but that video wasn't meant to make it clearer -- it just illustrates how complex and confusing the whole VOLTE thing can be, and why it's short-sighted for Australia to completely shut down 2G and 3G without really thinking through what happens to people who may not be able to make calls any more over VOLTE using their current phones.

Regarding your phone, different carriers may use somewhat different VOLTE protocols. Just because it works on one carrier's VOLTE doesn't mean it'll work on another's.