I am a Fairphone 4 user in Norway, and I am facing a serious issue with my mobile network provider, Ice.
The Fairphone 4 fully supports VoLTE, but Ice has refused to enable it on their network. They claim that my phone is “not certified” for VoLTE on their network, even though it technically supports the feature. This means that after May 30, 2025, I will no longer be able to make or receive calls on Ice, since they are shutting down their 2G fallback option.
I would really like to keep using my Fairphone 4, rather than being forced to buy a new phone unnecessarily.
What I have tried so far:
Checked that VoLTE is activated in my Fairphone 4 settings. Tested network settings manually – no change. Contacted Ice support, but they said they will not certify the Fairphone 4 for VoLTE in their network. Looked for software updates – my phone is up to date.
My questions:
Are there any known workarounds to force-enable VoLTE on Ice? Has anyone in Norway (or another country) managed to activate VoLTE on a network that initially refused to certify the device? Can Fairphone communicate with Ice to request VoLTE certification? Are there any technical reasons that could prevent VoLTE from working on Ice, despite Fairphone 4’s capabilities?
Why this matters:
I bought the Fairphone 4 because I care about sustainability and reducing e-waste.
Being forced to replace a perfectly working device just because Ice refuses to activate VoLTE seems like a waste of resources and money.
I hope that someone in the community can help me find a way to fix this.
Any insights, ideas, or workarounds would be greatly appreciated!
Welcome @banimatz to the FP forum!
Sorry, I can’t help regarding certification of VoLTE by Ice, but just as you mention twice to be “forced to replace the phone” - I suppose you’ve considered to change the mobile provider, instead, but there are probably good reasons you can’t go that way, right?
I went through this with Vodafone CZ. There’s nothing you can do about it.
I contacted FP support. They said I should contact VF.
I contacted VF. They said I should contact FP.
I tried one more roundabout. No help. Both said they have to write some kind of common agreement, but both said the other side should initiate it. And none gave any hope.
Then one day, it started working out of nothing. I asked both FP and VF and both said they know nothing about it. But it works. Until today, FP is still not listed on the official list of supported phones of VF.
Yes, I’ve considered switching providers, but Ice offers the best pricing for my contract, so I’d rather not change just because they refuse to certify a phone that technically supports VoLTE.
Beyond my personal situation, this also raises a bigger question: Why are European-made phones like Fairphone not certified, while devices from China and the US are? Shouldn’t European telecom providers support sustainable, fair electronics from Europe instead of creating barriers?
That’s why I’d love to find a way to either convince Ice to certify Fairphone 4 or discover a workaround. Has Fairphone had success getting other providers to enable VoLTE after initially refusing?
While I understand and fully honor your decision, you might still allow me some comments:
My experience is that the sustainable way is often not the cheapest one.
I suppose the main reason may be to keep the cost down. It’s more cost effective to support main line devices than niche devices (irrespectively of where the device is designed and maintained).
Probably they don’t have the biggest argument to convince the providers.
At the end it must IMHO be the customers deciding which provider to use. If there were enough customers with sustainably as highest priority in their mind (I’m just dreaming ) and choosing based on that then the providers would probably adapt.
You could try telling your provider you’re leaving because of this issue. This might trigger some action. But I guess any action besides improved price is very low probability.
You might also raise protest at your consumer protection org or telco regulator. The state’s decision created this problem. The state might be intersted in minimizing the bad effects (you’re happy to live in Scandinavia where the state usually really acts like that:) ).
Last, I’m not sure how this works with alternative ROMs like e/OS/ . The situation might be a bit better there as they aren’t bound by the Google certification rules. But I have no experience with that. Maybe someone running alt ROMs could help here?
I have a similar problem with my network provider “spusu” in Austria.
They say that Fairphones are not supported to use VoLTE, they are not in their list. The funny thing is that my wife can use VoLTE with her Fairphone 5 but I cannot with my Fairphone 4.
I’m confused.
I’ve now contacted Fairphone support directly, providing them with all the details from Ice, including their explanation about the missing operator policy / carrier profile for VoLTE on the Ice network.
I asked if Fairphone is in contact with Ice Norway regarding this issue, and if there is any planned update or workaround for Fairphone 4 users. I’ll make sure to update this thread as soon as I hear back!
If anyone else has experiences with VoLTE and Ice or knows more about how Fairphone handles carrier certifications, feel free to share!
Your deadline is 30 May? Good luck then even getting the first reply from support. Rather consider using their online chat (check the very limited hours on support page).
Quick update: I chatted with Fairphone support today. They confirmed Ice Norway is currently not supported and couldn’t promise any upcoming certification. But they’ve forwarded my feedback to the relevant department and acknowledged the importance of user requests like this.
Next update:
I’ve submitted a formal complaint to Nkom (the Norwegian telecom authority) regarding the lack of VoLTE support for Fairphone 4 on the Ice network.
This step was necessary since Ice has confirmed that VoLTE won’t work with Fairphone 4, and once their guest network (Telia) is removed in May 2025, I’ll no longer have working voice services in my area.
I’ll share any relevant updates here if I hear back.
Any updates here? I just found out my phone is getting bricked by coincidence. ICE has not been in contact at all. Should I just change provider, or hope that this will resolved before the 30th? And which providers support Fairphone? Onecall, Talkmore, Stjelia, Stjelenor?
In Norway its a bit complicated because there are two (actually three) companies that run the infrastructure; Telenor, Telia (and partially ICE ). But a lot of companies rent their network, and might have their own rules and support. The question is which of those many companies support Fairphone. One could go straight to the source (Telia or Telenor), but they are hideously expensive. I think I will change provider, if I can get from them in writing that they support Fairphone, but I’m doubtful if I can get a new SIM before my phone gets bricked. I feel quite bad for the person raising this issue, because it appears they only have coverage from ICE where they live.
Same as in most European countries, I guess … MVNOs.
Fairphone’s list lists supported operators. The MVNO of your choice is your operator.
Of course any operator is still free to declare their own support when asked.
That’s unfortunate, of course.
While I’m pretty certain the network operators with the actual network hardware act like businesses and not like charities when it comes to getting the most out of their position, it has to still be kept in mind that costs for setting up network infrastructure, maintaining it and, not the least, for regulatory licenses to start with (quick random sources for Norway: 4G, 5G) have to somehow be recouped.
MVNOs aren’t cheaper by being more charitable, they have less costs from the start. They are a good thing for offering lower prices and with this for keeping the non-virtual NOs in a price check to at least a certain degree (even if to an insufficient degree, you might want to argue), but the inquisitive mind would expect drawbacks somewhere.
I can only wish everybody affected a swift and satisfying solution. Hope dies last, they say.
For what it’s worth, I used to have an Ice subscription and now switched to Chilimobil, which are using Telia infrastructure. VoLTE is working fine now, and the switch was quick using the eSIM option instead of getting a physical SIM card in the mail.
The Fairphone 4 fully supports VoLTE, but Ice has refused to enable it on their network.
What I have tried so far:
Checked that VoLTE is activated in my Fairphone 4 settings.
My questions:
Are there any known workarounds to force-enable VoLTE on Ice?
Has anyone in Norway (or another country) managed to activate VoLTE on a network that initially refused to certify the device?
Can Fairphone communicate with Ice to request VoLTE certification?
Are there any technical reasons that could prevent VoLTE from working on Ice, despite Fairphone 4’s capabilities?
Why this matters:
) and choosing based on that then the providers would probably adapt.