From: wibble@btinternet.com   
      
   On Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:38:17 +0000, Chris Green wrote:   
      
   > 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.   
      
   It's worse than that.   
      
   I have a phone which provides VoLTE calling on Tesco (on the back of O2)   
   but won't provide VoLTE on any other major carrier although it will   
   provide 4G data (which I use for web surfineg etc. when away from home).   
      
   I am told that Android 12 sorted most of this out with a rewrite of the   
   stack, but I am stuck on Android 11.   
      
   So for the moment the dual SIM phone is still usable with Tesco for calls,   
   and a.n.other for data.   
   However if I travel abroad, who knows what will happen.   
      
   Cheers   
      
      
      
   Dave R   
      
      
      
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