T-Mobile will require VoLTE compatible devices for future line activations

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Ockie

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Most android phones are volte compatible, it's been operators disabling it and them messing up rolling it out that caused people to disable it if they even had it (I'm specifically looking at you Vodacom).
 
Johnatan56 said:
Most android phones are volte compatible, it's been operators disabling it and them messing up rolling it out that caused people to disable it if they even had it (I'm specifically looking at you Vodacom).
Click to expand...
Please elaborate and/or post links to help us out.
 
Johnatan56 said:
Most android phones are volte compatible, it's been operators disabling it and them messing up rolling it out that caused people to disable it if they even had it (I'm specifically looking at you Vodacom).
Click to expand...

Erm .... Vodacom was one of the first, if not THE first operator here to support Volte and VoWiFi. The compatible handsets they had were a issue though. Very limited. And I dont understand why, but getting Volte activated can be a big mission. They should really just run a update on all Vodacom numbers and enable it by default. The handset support I never understood. I have a Vodacom issued Huawei P10 Lite. It have Volte (no icon though. You knew you are on Volte because the network would stay on 4G when you make or receive a call. Could not turn it on or off either. Once it is provisioned on your number, it is always on.) I popped the BF's Telkom sim from his router into my phone to test it as it was giving a bit of issues, and once the Telkom sim was in, all of a sudden I had the option to turn on or off Volte and I also had Vowifi available. When I put my Vodacom sim back in, the option to turn Volte on/off was gone again and no option to use Vowifi either. Why? It does not make sense to me. Google needs to start putting their foot down and standardise like Apple. Volte, Vowifi, RCS.....standard and enabled by default, whether the operators like it or not. Users can disable it in setting should they wish to do so.
 
"D" said:
Please elaborate and/or post links to help us out.
Click to expand...
Carriers need to tell the phone that their network is able to support VoLTE. They usually have a database with a list of phones that they will respond true to so that they can use it.
KEY_CARRIER_VOLTE_AVAILABLE_BOOL
Added in API level 23
public static final String KEY_CARRIER_VOLTE_AVAILABLE_BOOL
Flag specifying whether VoLTE should be available for carrier, independent of carrier provisioning. If false: hard disabled. If true: then depends on carrier provisioning, availability, etc.

Constant Value: "carrier_volte_available_bool"
Click to expand...
The above flag up used to be set to false by Vodacom and MTN handsets a few years ago, so no matter where you took the phone VoLTE didn't work.
Nowadays it's more the database list:
KEY_CARRIER_VOLTE_PROVISIONED_BOOL
Added in API level 26
public static final String KEY_CARRIER_VOLTE_PROVISIONED_BOOL
This flag specifies whether VoLTE availability is based on provisioning. By default this is false.

Constant Value: "carrier_volte_provisioned_bool"

Click to expand...

That's why if you used your phone e.g. on Vodacom you might not VoLTE, while using it on e.g. a European network you'll get it.
 
Ockie said:
Erm .... Vodacom was one of the first, if not THE first operator here to support Volte and VoWiFi. The compatible handsets they had were a issue though. Very limited. And I dont understand why, but getting Volte activated can be a big mission. They should really just run a update on all Vodacom numbers and enable it by default. The handset support I never understood. I have a Vodacom issued Huawei P10 Lite. It have Volte (no icon though. You knew you are on Volte because the network would stay on 4G when you make or receive a call. Could not turn it on or off either. Once it is provisioned on your number, it is always on.) I popped the BF's Telkom sim from his router into my phone to test it as it was giving a bit of issues, and once the Telkom sim was in, all of a sudden I had the option to turn on or off Volte and I also had Vowifi available. When I put my Vodacom sim back in, the option to turn Volte on/off was gone again and no option to use Vowifi either. Why? It does not make sense to me. Google needs to start putting their foot down and standardise like Apple. Volte, Vowifi, RCS.....standard and enabled by default, whether the operators like it or not. Users can disable it in setting should they wish to do so.
Click to expand...
That here and that and is important. And yes, they probably were, never argued that at all?
Compatible handsets wise, there have been a lot of compatible handsets that Vodacom never added to the approved list. Basically all you need to do is check the SoC and you can approve a mass of devices.
In regards to work to approve VoLTE, they probably didn't do it because effort for something that most users don't care about. Ask a random person on the street what VoLTE is, I bet they can't answer.
"D" said:
@Johnatan56 @Ockie What specific steps would you recommend to persons interested in using VoLTE/VoWiFi and what pitfalls should they avoid?
Click to expand...
Nothing, leave it enabled if you have no issues. Vodacom just had specific issues in the one area where data would just constantly die, so all calls never went through/received, had to disable it and was then able to take normal 3G calls.
VoLTE is the "future", networks should be pushing it hard since then they can free up more spectrum, it's a lot more efficient to send voice via data. The problem is that data will then take the same route as all other data, so you can't use circuit-switched voice network anymore, which means latency can be higher. In return you get way better voice quality since more data can be sent.
 
Johnatan56 said:
Vodacom just had specific issues in the one area where data would just constantly die, so all calls never went through/received, had to disable it and was then able to take normal GSM calls.
Click to expand...
Any chance of that still happening on Vodacom? And how about on MTN?
 
Johnatan56 said:
That here and that and is important. And yes, they probably were, never argued that at all?
Compatible handsets wise, there have been a lot of compatible handsets that Vodacom never added to the approved list.
In regards to work to approve VoLTE, they probably didn't do it because effort for something that most users don't care about. Ask a random person on the street what VoLTE is, I bet they can't answer.

Nothing, leave it enabled if you have no issues. Vodacom just had specific issues in the one area where data would just constantly die, so all calls never went through/received, had to disable it and was then able to take normal 3G calls.
Click to expand...

Yes, they wont know. That is why operators in US is marketing it is HD Calling.

That reasoning you provided does not make sense to me though from a network perspective. If I were running a network, I would want to almost force as many subscribers as I can to get a compatible device because Volte is a much more efficient way of making a call on the network, and VoWiFi is good for the network in the sense that it can take load off the tower and it is good for subscribers where they suffer from poor signal in a house, but they have for example great wifi via fibre etc.
 
"D" said:
Any chance of that still happening on Vodacom? And how about on MTN?
Click to expand...
Elaborated on my answer. No clue, was just unlucky in that area and couldn't take the chance as was for doctor's phone. Can happen anywhere, Vodacom definitely doesn't want it to happen, just took them ages to sort it out.
Ockie said:
Yes, they wont know. That is why operators in US is marketing it is HD Calling.

That reasoning you provided does not make sense to me though from a network perspective. If I were running a network, I would want to almost force as many subscribers as I can to get a compatible device because Volte is a much more efficient way of making a call on the network, and VoWiFi is good for the network in the sense that it can take load off the tower and it is good for subscribers where they suffer from poor signal in a house, but they have for example great wifi via fibre etc.
Click to expand...
Elaborated on my answer above, for the network operators it's good if VoLTE, but you need to move enough over for you to be able to phase out the circuit-switching network, which won't happen for a long while yet due to all the phones that don't support VoLTE (most people are still using ancient feature phones). It's why I still think the mobile network operators should subsidize the lowest market level to have 4G compatible phones (as in the R50-100 that the royalties that were incurred cost).
 
"D" said:
@Johnatan56 @Ockie What specific steps would you recommend to persons interested in using VoLTE/VoWiFi and what pitfalls should they avoid?
Click to expand...

All I can tell you if you are a prepaid or individual contract holder and know your phone was supplied by Vodacom and is supposed to support Volte and VoWiFi, but it is not working, then go to a store and tell them to:

remove LTE and Volte completely from your VAS. Submit and wait for order to complete on C3D. Then go back, reprovision them and submit. Wait for order to complete. After that, flag for network sync and submit. Wait for order to complete. Reboot device and test.
 
Johnatan56 said:
It's why I still think the mobile network operators should subsidize the lowest market level to have 4G compatible phones (as in the R50-100 that the royalties that were incurred cost).
Click to expand...

Getting there.

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I do think if you buy most of the Samsung / Nokia and perhaps LG models, you should be covered for Volte / Vowifi. Huawei I am not sure. Like I said, my P10 Lite only had Volte enabled on Vodacom, no Vowifi.
 
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