FP3 Caller ID and 4G

[Theo7]

The poking stick is being sharpened. I will threaten them with abandonment.

[polarsv]

They are sending me a new sim. I doubt it will sort it, I actually think the problem likely lies in the modem firmware and therefore is Fairphones responsibility. We shall see though.
Do newer Fairphones have the same issue on Three UK?

[Theo7]

I swapped my SIM for a new one a fortnight ago. No improvement. I factory reset. No improvement.

The only way I can get caller ID is to turn off 4G.

N

[Theo7]

Replying to an earlier response: I have proved to my own satisfaction that is not a FF 3+ problem. It’s definitely a Three Mobile problem. I have a contact Three SIM in slot 1 and a PAYG Vodafone SIM in slot 2. If I set Vodafone as my preferred SIM for calls and receive calls to that number there is no problem. My contact with Three runs out in November. I’ll swap then and tell the why.

Nick

[polarsv]

For 4G calling to work requires the modem to be configured correctly for the provider. I don’t know how a phone manufacturer goes about getting that configuration but it clearly hasn’t been done or done correctly in this case. At best it is shared blame. There are phones with the same chipset which are known to work on Three (even listed as compatible on Three’s website) so there is no inherent incompatibility, which is why I put the bulk of the blame on Fairphone here.

[Theo7]

Ok, thanks for the clarification.

I was not aware of that.

However, blaming one over another isn’t going to solve the problem. Moving to Vodafone appears to be my only option.

N

[yvmuell]

Well it does not seem to be that clear and the provider has its part as well

How to enable VoLTE and WiFi Calling

Yes it is booked into 4G. As I work for a telco I was able to contact a colleagues at Sunrise UPC who works in the mobile department and learned that they have tested the Fairphone 4 and found Issues with VoLTE, Wifi Calling and 5G. Therefore they intentionally disable those features when a Fairphone 4 logs into their mobile network. They are in contact with the manufacturer of the Fairphone 4 to solve those issues but it has no priority as this is not a phone they sell or advertise themselves…

[Theo7]

Interesting stuff all this but I am not sufficiently knowledgeable to follow it all.

Is this a problem only with FF3+ and FF4? Is it anything to do with Android 13?

I observe that my wife’s FF3 does not have the VoLTe problem at all. Am I correct in thinking that it will be ok to upgrade her phone to Android 13? Will this cause the VoLTe problem in the FF3?

Nick

[polarsv]

@Theo7

I observe that my wife’s FF3 does not have the VoLTe problem at all

That is very interesting. And she is on Three? I know from some searching around that some people had reported this before Android 13.

[Theo7]

Yes, she’s on Three.

Nick

[polarsv]

Very interesting. Which version OS is she on? Android 11?

[Theo7]

Android 12

Before you come to any conclusions on what I’ve said I need to check all the variations.

I’ll go through it logically and post a table of results. Not tomorrow. Possibly Friday or later.

Nick

[Theo7]

Done some experiments.

Unfortunately (?) The FP3 was updated to Android 13 before I could do the tests. The results for the 3 and the 3+ are much the same.

With the calling phone on 4G or 3G and the receiving phone on 3G caller ID works fine.

With the calling phone on 4G or 3G and the receiving phone on 4G caller ID doesn’t work.

Those results are for the Three network.

The 3+ has a Vodafone PAYG in slot 2. If it’s receiving a call on the Vodafone number caller ID is ok.

Nick

[Theo7]

Good morning All

I have a work around for the Caller ID on the Three network.

I spent half an hour with the knowledgeable man at Three support who tried as best he can to correct the problem. In the end it came to the simple expedient of turning off 4G calling. All appears OK and will continue to work until your 3G signal is turned off.

The way in is Settings–> Network and Internet–> Sims–> Tap 3 for the correct SIM–> scroll down to 4G calling and turn it off.

The knowledgeable man accepted the fact that this is not a satisfactory solution and assured me that representations had been made by users and that Three are working to correct it.

I noticed that the bar at the top says that I am using 4G until a call comes in. It then switches to 3G for the duration of the call and switches back to 4G when the call is over. I have found that this is not a problem in my area because we have a usable 3G signal and have decided not to change networks for the time being because I am on a good contract.

My phone is a FP 3+. The same work around worked for my wife’s FP 3.

HTH

Nick

[ewfwe221343]

I reported this issue ages ago, its been a problem on the older versions of android too. I’m very disapointed Fairphone still haven’t been bothered to do anything about the problem. Yes the solution was to disable 4G calling however with 3G being disabled (see network enshittification) this is no longer a solution, in my area i’m no longer able to make or receive phones calls on 3G.

Added to this problem that the phone no longer remains on wifi while its idle means I’m probably not going to buy another fairphone and I certainly won’t recommend one.

[yvmuell]

Isnt that rather with Three to fix?

[AnotherElk]

@Theo7

The knowledgeable man accepted the fact that this is not a satisfactory solution and assured me that representations had been made by users and that Three are working to correct it.

@Theo7 … Did Three fix it?

[Theo7]

Not that I know.

I have a work around solution that I wrote about further up this thread IRRC. It’s still working satisfactorily.

Nick

[polarsv]

This was never fixed, and Three have now turned off 3G in my area which leaves me unable to use my FP3 on the network at all. I’m pretty annoyed because I haven’t had it very long.

Edit: interestingly Three’s website does now show the phone as supported. I haven’t noticed a change myself.

[Incanus]

But it still works, only without Caller ID shown? Or doesn’t it work at all for calls?