Can't call with E/OS. E/OS is using 2G instead of 4G on the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S9 Urgent!

/e/OS Devices Samsung
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I bought 3 Samsung Galaxy S7 and 1 S9. Installed E/OS on all of them. Today I find out through my provider these phones do not use 4G but are falling back to 2G when I make a call. There seems to be no Volte/ calling over 4G functionality for these phones when E/OS is installed.

  1. Is there a work around?
  2. or should roll back to stock android and sell the phones again.
  3. how to perform a rollback to stock android?

Thank you kindly for you help

Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/ the unGoogled mobile OS and online servicesphone

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Please see the following issue. It appears VoLTE is not available for a phone that old in new versions of Android OSP. Meaning, the drivers are probably proprietary:

https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/backlog/-/issues/1449#note_217794

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Not for Samsung devices. Their VoLTE solution is proprietary and not available in any custom ROM

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Hi. I have a S9+ with /e/ OS working just fine on 4G networks. It’s the (cellular) network provider to blame that they are forcing you to use VoLTE for making calls.
4G and VoLTE are not the same thing. VoLTE is just an option for 4G.

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Thank you for this information. I was not aware of that…

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Thank you very much. Yes I guess they are forcing us. Does your phone show a LTE switch?

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Hello Eosfan

If you mean a VoLTE then no, my S9+ doesn’t have one. 4G switches to 3G or 2G while using voice. 4G VoLTE doesn’t use voice services at all… instead using data connection for the call part.
I guess network operators would like to simplify their life (and increase profits) by using less equipment.

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Is 2G calling still working with your provider? I don’t think (at least here in the UK) 2G will be switched off any time soon, so voice calls should still work. Which country are you in?

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Hi Cooler,
Thanks for helping out
Okay so no real 4G on your phone as well then.Yes mine has 4G for internet also but not for calls. They are shutting down 2G this summer so I gotta have a phone that works with 4G other wise I can’t make a normal phone call only through whatsapp and signal.
Eosfan

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I don’t think VoLTE is a requirement for “true” 4G. I use Signal if I want better sound quality… so I don’t need VoLTE at all.
I understand your problem though.
I like Samsung and Sony phones; it’s a pity that Samsung decided to keep VoLTE proprietary.
My main phone is a Sony Xperia XZ2 premium (the last with a true 4K screen). I can use VoLTE on it but don’t intend to.

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Yes I most of my contacts would use signal or whatsapp then that would mean problem fixed. But sometimes you have to call a normal telephone number and in those cases you can’t use signal. What are you planning to do when they shut down 2G too?

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I have a “stranger” network provider. He started with only 3G (without 2G). Then added 4 G, then 5G and lastly 4G and 2G (on 900 Mhz) while deactivating 3G recently. So 2G is the newest addition to its network and I doubt it will be deactivated anytime soon.
I think all phones that are still used today support 2G and it’s a bad idea to drop support for it.

13

That is indeed very strange of your provider. Ans yes it is indeed a bad idea to drop 2G but my gut feeling is they want to force us using 5G phones.
I discovered this problem because my 2G connection often is very bad. After 10 min phone call the other person can’t hear me no more or with a computerized voice. I have to call back to get another 10 minutes of speaking time :slight_smile:

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I can guarantee you I’m not going to use 5G phones this decade for sure. I avoid using phones that support 5G.

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Yes I am aware of the 5G weapon too.

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Am I wrong, aren’t those emergence call systems in many cars depending on 2G !?
Edit: searching this quickly…
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13845-Vehicle-safety-updated-standards-for-in-vehicle-emergency-call-systems-eCall-_en

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Maybe I do not know. Here in Holland, one of the biggest providers, told me the are striving to switch to 5G in this summer. If they succeed they will shut down 2G, at least that is what he said.

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Hi,
I plan to drop my Samsung S9 for the same reason as eosfan: my carrier has recently closed their 3G network and my S9 can’t make calls on VoLTE unfortunately.

So my plan is to buy a Sony Xperia 10 Plus: does it support VoLTE calls with /e/ installed on it?

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Sony phones support VoLTE; surely my XZ2 premium does… I think also XZ3, XZ2 and XZ2 compact but cannot guarantee… I can check if somebody really wants (except for XZ2).
I had a Sony 10 before but I cannot remember if it had VoLTE (for /e/ OS)
Just went to an office of my carrier yesterday to change my SIM as my /e/ OS XZ2 premium occasionally (very rarely) looses signal and I asked about when they plan to drop 2G support… apparently they don’t intend to drop it (anytime soon). They have recently converted some 3G and 4 G equipment to 2G 900 Mhz so I guess I’m lucky.

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Bien le bonjour cher ami !

Thanks for your answer, highly appreciated.

Yes I think you’re really lucky your carrier has converted 3G and 4G to 2G so you can still make and receive calls without activating VoLTE, this is not my case here in australia unfortunately.

I did some research on internet but didn’t find any relevant answer to that question when searching with “Xperia 10 Plus” “/e/OS” “VoLTE” unfortunately.

So I really hope someone in this forum will be able to tell me if the Xperia 10 Plus is capable of making calls with VoLTE on /e/OS. That’s the only unanswered question stopping me from buying it … so fingers crossed I will get my answer soon :slight_smile: