From: cl@isbd.net   
      
   Arno Welzel  wrote:   
   > Chris Green, 2026-02-12 12:38:   
   >   
   > > Arno Welzel  wrote:   
   > >> Chris Green, 2026-02-12 09:38:   
   > >>   
   > >>> Arno Welzel  wrote:   
   > >>>> Chris Green, 2026-02-11 21:48:   
   > >>>>   
   > >>>>> This is suddenly becoming more impportant now that 3G is rapidly   
   > >>>>> disappearing.  My 'no name' tablet used to work fine at home but now   
   > >>>>> it doesn't.  We used to have good 3G coverage here, what we have now   
   > >>>>> is mediocre 4G and my tablet can't do VoLTE with my provider anyway,   
   > >>>>>   
   > >>>>> Being a cheapskate and not being a big mobile/cell user I don't want   
   > >>>>> to spend hundreds of pounds on a new device just to ba able to make   
   > >>>>> phone calls.  My £99 10" tablet is excellent in every way except for   
   > >>>>> its lack of VoLTE support on my (very cheap!) provider.   
   > >>>>   
   > >>>> At Amazon you find cheap 4G phones starting around £40. Of course these   
   > >>>> are then only feature phones and not Android based devices. But for the   
   > >>>> specific need to be able to do phone calls, that should be sufficient.   
   > >>>>   
   > >>> ... and they almost certainly won't do VoLTE or VoWiFi will they?   
   > >>> They certainly aren't listed as such by any of the providers I've   
   > >>> looked at?   
   > >>   
   > >> Without VoLTE these phones wouldn't work at all in modern networks,   
   > >> since GSM is switched off already in many countries and 4G/5G is the   
   > >> only option left.   
   > >>   
   > > Exactly!!!  They wont work.  They'll access 4G data (what for?) and   
   > > that will be about it.  Actually most of them will probably provide   
   > > calls and SMS using 2G won't they?   
   >   
   > No. Supporting VoLTE is *required* in 4G and not an option. Without   
   > VoLTE you can not do phone calls at all in a 4G network.   
   >   
   ?? "Supporting VoLTE is *required* in 4G". No it's not, that's the   
   whole problem. There are lots and lots of phones out there (I have   
   two) which support 4G but can't make calls using 4G.  All that 4G is   
   useful for on these phones is for data, i.e. internet browsing and such.   
      
   "Without VoLTE you can not do phone calls at all in a 4G network", you   
   said it!  :-)   
      
   All the 'simple 4G phones' that I can see on Amazon have 2G coverage   
   as well so, almost certainly, that's how they make phone calls. I even   
   found a review of one of them that said exactly that, although the   
   phone claimed to be 4G it only actually worked for making phone calls   
   using 2G.   
      
      
   > [...]   
   > > work as well, if not better.  The reality of VoLTE is that it works   
   > > for some phones on some services and it's not all the same phones on   
   > > all services.  A buyer shoud be able to buy a 4G phone and expect it   
   > > to work on 4G, except that he needs to know that 4G capability doesn't   
   > > mean tha ability to make phone calls (a bit fundamental for a phone I   
   > > would have thought!).  Even if the buyer knows that VoLTE is needed   
   > > then it's still pot luck, a phone that is VoLTE capable **may** work   
   > > with a provider of VoLTE service but there's no certainty about it.   
   >   
   > Then give the phone back if it does not work and get another one. You   
   > can send the phones back to Amazon if they don't work as expected.   
   >   
   Yes, but one could go through a heck of a lot of wasted time buying and   
   returning phones. Without any clear guidance as to which '4G' phones   
   will actually be able to make phone calls it's a minefield.   
      
   --   
   Chris Green   
   ·   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)