FP2 VoLTE again

You could register for the Android 9 beta test and see whether VoLTE is supported on the FP2 or not:

How do voice calls made over 2G or 3G affect 4G data transfers?

Just follow your own link :wink:.
Without VoLTE, the phone has to switch back to 2G/3G to make or receive a call, hence no data over LTE. After the call has ended, the modem switches back to 4G and continues to use data.

2 Likes

Right, I saw it from a different (different frequency) perspective. :wink:

And probably it will be ticking for a long time, at least in Germany ā€¦

Nope, the end of 2G is already decided, as the renowned IT magazine Computerwoche writes:


The industry has proven, time and again, that they dontā€™t care about protecting the investments of their clients, yet alone the public. Fairphone wants to be better and give buyers a prolonged useful life of their hardware. But in order to achieve that, Fairphones need VoLTE.

Just to give you an example how little they care: A couple of years ago they ditched the digital radio standard DAB, replacing it with a completely incompatible successor, DAB+. This rendered millions of early adoptersā€™ radio equipment to become electronic waste. There was a public outcry, but they did not care. They never care. In my 30+ years in the industry I have never witnessed that they care about protecting investment, because they make money out of creating electronic wasteā€¦

And in order to provide 2G services, network providers have to pay VERY high licensing prices, which of course they want to save. This is also driven by the covernment, which wants to free as many radio bands as possible, in order to re-sell licenses at higher tariffs. They even resold frequencies that were once reserved for televisionā€¦

1 Like

Why not test the latest Android 9 beta and report back? (I cannot use VoLTE, because my network operator (ā€œSpusuā€ in Austria) does not offer it.)

This article was written nearly four and a half years ago :open_mouth:. In 2020 all german providers stated that they will continue with 2G. Of course somewhen in the future, even that will be discontinued, as all old standards will be replaced, earlier or later.
Nevertheless, it is important for Fairphone to enable VoLTE in the near future to fulfill the promise of sustainability, but in the next few months, the phone will not be unusable.

3 Likes

It could be possible that the Android 9 beta already supports itā€¦

ā€œThis article was written nearly four and a half years ago :open_mouth:. In 2020 all german providers stated that they will continue with 2G.ā€

And now they are sending SMS to their customers, that 3G will end 2021, which is part of the plan to decommission everything that doesnā€™t bring fresh cash, while costing vast amounts of license fees. They donā€™t care about alarm devices. In the past, they have dismantled lots of leased lines that were used prior to 2G, without prior notice. Which resulted in passengers that got stuck in an elevator could call into Nirwana when pressing the emergency button. That is how much telecom operators CARE. Not at all.

Whatā€™s so complicated to understand, that next year only 3G will discontinue in Germany?
And we are not using horses for daily commuting anymore, no steam trains or boats for traveling and sometimes I even cook a warm meal on my electric oven and not on open fire. So yes, old standards or techniques donā€™t last forever, thatā€™s called technological progress.

1 Like

ā€œIt could be possible that the Android 9 beta already supports itā€¦ā€

Actually, even the Fairphone 2 DOES support it. You can google numerous peoplesā€™ reports that it works for them. Even with German Telekom, but only with prepaid cards, or with cards from their US subsidiary. Also, entering the Android test modes shows you that there is a VoLTE module inside the phone, but it just canā€™t be activated.

In order to activate it, IMS data is required, and that is a joint effort of the phone manufacturer and the telecom operator. So for reasons unknown, Fairphone (as a company) did not take steps towards more telco operators to create (and distribute) the IMS data required. If you contact your network provider (like I did) they will tell you ā€œVoLTE is enabled for all customers. If it doesnā€™t work for you, then your phoneā€™s manufacturer did not enable the featureā€. That is what Telefonica told me (O2/E-Plus).

You could add your comment to the respective issue in the bug tracker, this one has not been closed, yet:

Maybe the developers are able to post a status update on VoLTE registration at mobile carriers.

Or you could participate in the beta program for Android 9 and open a new issue on the new bug tracker:

1 Like

That it is not true, or at best uncertain.

I use my Fairphone privately. But I have a professional life also, with a large IT operation that has between 1,000 and 2,000 devices under contract. Both Telekom and Vodafone tell us that 2G has NO future, and is being disposed of ā€œin the near futureā€. Of course that is not something they give us in writing, but this is what they tell us, because as a large customer, we have to plan ahead.

And you guess or do you realy know, that ā€˜near futureā€™ means 2021?
So much for ā€˜That it is not true, or at best uncertainā€™.

1 Like

I do consider the beta program, but I need my Fairphone for my daily tasks, and I would have to wipe the entire phone in order to migrate.

Hm, the bugtracker item is closedā€¦

It should be open (ā€œAdd VoLTE supportā€):

grafik

I never said it would be 2021. Can be, but can also be 2022. Later than 2022 is highly improbable because of the bad ROA.

This topic was automatically closed 182 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.