Mint Mobile on /e/ vs Stock Android

A few months ago I wanted to test Mint Mobile on my VoLTE-enabled phone. Once I entered my address info, I got a pop-up saying my address could not be served.

T-mobile, on the other hand, had no problem activating my device at my address, even though we’re talking about the same network.

I ended up with Red Pocket’s AT&T service in the end.

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The very last comment was 2 months ago and looks like there are eyes on this. I believe this likely is happening due to lack of Vo LTE/WiFi.

Edit: I have confirmation from family this same “hibernation” issue is happening when at home on WiFi after the screen goes to sleep. Calls/texts don’t come through till they wake the phone and turn off the WiFi leaving the TMobile network data connection as the only pipe. It is also happening with WiFi disconnected and only connected to network WAN data. 5 or so minutes after the phone screen goes off texts and calls do not come through. Calls go straight to voicemail and multiple texts come in after the phone screen is manually turned on (ie the phone and it’s modem are woken up out of sleep/hibernation). This makes the S9+ (star2lte) unusable for daily use. :worried:

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Odd. I’ve got no issue with Mint aside from this “hibernation” thing. I feel like the second /E/ gets VoLTE it’ll become a non issue but until then I still gotta go this way

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Fingers crossed this is nipped sooner rather than later. I really think this is the issue as well.

EDIT: I feel your pain on this @HellsBells, this is frustrating and I wish it were resolved. From what I am reading it has been an issue for 12+ months :worried:

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Agree. I very much want to stop Google and the big tech companies from data mining me, but at minimum I need a working phone with a good camera and the ability to store all my music. Right now an S9 running /e/ only succeeds at 2 of those.

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Something I am mulling in my mind in the meantime. Couldn’t we use an alternative to G#!*le Voice and forward calls from our cell plan to the VoIP app they provide. Couple that solution with SMS/MMS (or Signal, haven’t tried this but it uses microG for alerts so it might work).

I’m wondering if this would work? Anyone know of a good FOSS alternative to G#!*gle Voice?

I believe this same VoLTE lag impacts starlte and crownlte both of which deserve to be used to their potential. This is just another example of why we need to move away from Samsung hardware.:point_down:

:point_down:

"* IMS services (VoLTE, VoWiFi, etc). Samsung has their own proprietary implementation. It is not really possible to easily port that to LineageOS."

My carrier seems to prohibit: “call forwarding for extended periods of time” according to the T&C - https://www.redpocket.com/terms_and_conditions
I also wonder if call forwarding happens en route as a network switch, or if the call first has to ring through to the phone, after which the phone handles forwarding…? (I don’t know.) If so, this would be a problem if the phone is not receiving the call in the first place.
Also, Signal can’t forward SMS/MMS if the phone isn’t able to first receive them, unfortunately. It would still work for Signal-to-Signal, of course.

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This (TextNow) is not FOSS, but it looks like it might be a suitable replacement for voice and text. It works over WiFi through an app, or you can use their new SIM card for service everywhere (which would obviate the need for your current carrier): https://www.textnow.com/how-it-works

Edit: I think the app can also handle calls & texts over the cellular data network, too, without needing WiFi.
See: https://bestmvno.com/mvnos/textnow/

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:point_up_2: Got it. But if you set Signal to default SMS/MMS would it not just continue at number A (phone carrier)? While calls still get forwarded to number B (issued by VoIP operator)?

This could be a problem👇. I wonder how TMob handles it?

Gonna check this out. Thanks @Taurus

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Yes, if the SMS/MMS are getting through to number A.

Or would SMS/MMS get forwarded according to your forwarding settings, like the phone calls…?

Actually, I don’t think Signal has forwarding capability anyway. That would be inconsistent with encrypted messaging.

If the sender isn’t using Signal the text is unencrypted like standard plain text SMS I believe.

The cleanest solution would be to use a G.Voice alternative for calls and plain text messaging. Port my Tmob number to this service and take a native number from Tmob and not give it out.

Or… Get VoLTE functioning on these phones :rofl: (I know easier said than done. :point_down:)

If anyone out there has a tried and true alternative to G.Voice please share. (FOSS preferred of course)

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Agreed. Lack of VoLTE as 3G networks are being shut down is the real problem. As a new /e/ convert, I now know that in the future I will always base my phone choice on (1.) whether it is easy to install /e/ on it, and (2.) whether it has a non-proprietary VoLTE implementation.

Kudos to Sony in this respect, although I don’t know why some of their previous, but still somewhat recent, phones weren’t certified for VoLTE with U.S. carriers.

I hope the /e/ team can get VoLTE working on those Samsungs. (@HellsBells, :pray:)

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Yes, thank you @HellsBells !:+1:

Happy to help!
Just to be clear, I’m not complaining or bashing /e/ or it’s developers. I imagine that figuring out all these things is a heck of a challenge, but this topic is proof positive that people need VoLTE for their everyday phone use. As I said, at minimum I need my phone to be a competent phone, music player, and camera (otherwise I’d just use a KaiOS phone). /e/ provides 2 of those things quite well, and 1 of those things well with an asterisk, which I think which will harm the ability of /e/ to be successful long term. Everyone knows Google is using your phone to get information on you, why are people OK with it? The answer is that all I had to do with the phone I bought from Best Buy was put in my SIM card. People aren’t going to be willing to put up with the hurdles to digital privacy if there are situations where the phone doesn’t work, or one needs to change carriers to make it work.
I think /e/ has a good product here; I’ve long wished for a Samsung device that runs close to stock Android, that it’s privacy focused is icing on the cake. But we need to be able to have it work, otherwise we’re the only people it will appeal to

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@Taurus have you had success with TextNow on an /e/ device? It doesn’t seem to like microG on my end.

I’ve never used it myself.

@HellsBells @Taurus

I have confirmed these applications will allow you to use VoIP via your LTE connection as a bandaid till VoLTE is released. Both can be found in Aurora and are a “quick fix”. If someone is on T-Mobile the “DIGITS” app is included with their subscription already at no additional cost. With the magicApp you can buy the hardware for home VoIP & a 12 month subscription for the same price as just the app via G*#gle Play(for 12months) and not have to login to the Gapp store or give them a commission. My advice is to buy direct if going this route, not via GPlay store.

For non-FOSS apps having only 1 or 2 trackers was surprising to me. We know how to block these if they are “non-essential” obviously. The permissions… Another story but these apps are managing calls and SMS/MMS so a bit more understandable.

Exodus Analysis:
magicApp Calls/SMS only

DIGITS Calls/SMS/MMS

Links for Aurora Store:
magicApp

DIGITS

*Edit: the T-Mobile digits app is now reverting to the default dialer and not allowing VoIP (I swear it wasn’t doing this at first but maybe I am wrong. magicApp is functioning VoIP over LTE connection.)

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Unable to get TextNow functioning. It crashes microG and to use the paid service it must be charged through the Google Play store…deal breaker for me. :frowning: bummer because the service looks awesome! Both SMS/MMS supported. Hope team /e/ get VoLTE figured out… Game changer if they do. Not even seeing Samsung devices available anymore for USA, Teracube 2e only.