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
@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.
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
*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.)
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. 
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.
That’s a shame about TextNow. I’m like you, I don’t want to support or further enable a Google digital world.
I wonder if /e/ just doesn’t have any refurbished Samsungs right now, or if they realized that they just have no future on U.S. networks with that proprietary VoLTE of Samsung’s.
I’m lucky, because my preferred brand, Sony, is very developer- and custom ROM-supportive. It was easy for me to install /e/…much easier than I thought it would be. I haven’t tested VoLTE functionality yet because I’m on RedPocket/AT&T, and my particular model isn’t certified for AT&T. If I insert a T-mobile SIM, the VoLTE setting appears in the menu, but that SIM is expired. I’m assuming it will work fine if I activate a TM SIM.
Yep, I won’t buy Samsung ever again. Learned my lesson.
I certainly hope this isn’t “admitting defeat” on VoLTE on Samsung phones, for a number of reasons. The first being that I invested pretty heavily in pr/e/loaded Samsungs, and it would be extremely disappointing to have /e/ take the attitude of “Samsung now is the best it can get, buy a different phone instead.” Said it before but I’ll say it again, at minimum my phone needs to be a phone, a camera, and a music player. If I’m expected to change carriers so that my friends and family can contact me, it fails on the first point.
Additionally, I think if you told most people in the US they should buy a…Teracube 2e (had to check the name), they’d look at you like you have three heads. S9s are old but they’re good phones and have brand recognition. To me, a Samsung device that runs a stock Android experience without stealing data and spying on you is the jackpot (why I jumped in with both feet), and I’ll bet it would be the same for a lot of people.
I’m holding on to my Samsung devices and updating them as they come, hoping I’ll see them become the devices I need them to be very soon, but right now my OnePlus Nord N10 5G is holding it’s own, and if nothing else /e/ has taught me I can disable a lot more Google apps than I thought possible and get by on different alternatives.
And that will cease to be a solution when AT&T starts shutting down its 3G network in early 2022. Let’s hope that /e/ finds some workable solution.
Are you running a custom ROM on the OnePlus, or the original Google Android? If the latter, have you by any chance checked the background connections by using an app like Blokada, or maybe through Pi-Hole (over your home wifi)?
I have not. Just attempted to use Blokada but couldn’t get it to work.
I do subscribe to Protonmail/VPN and do run the service constantly with the option to block malware/ads/trackers on, but I don’t think it shows what is being blocked. I certainly would like that information however; I think it would be beneficial to know if an /e/ device is doing anything you can’t accomplish by tweaking your own settings.
You probably just need to switch from Private DNS to network DNS (temporarily, of course), switch on Blokada, and choose a couple of blocklists. There’s a basic blocklist already enabled, but I throw a couple more in just for good measure. Exodus is a good blocklist, as well as Developer Dan’s Hosts.
Then run some activities, browse, email, open some apps, etc., and observe what happens in the background.
P.S. Blokada takes the VPN slot, so you won’t be able to run your VPN at the same time.
Another option besides Blokada, is coupling NextDNS at the system level with your ProtonVPN as outlined below. From my view Blokada (paid option, VPN & DNS) or ProtonVPN/NextDNS are good, simple solutions to block trackers and hide true IP. Both options will allow you to see all trackers being blocked.
@HellsBells its coming 
. I’m with you. I am not selling these Samsung devices yet…holding out for what’s below…but moving forward Samsung is at the bottom of my list 
Interesting. Just signed up for a NextDNS account and set the Private DNS in my OnePlus settings to use that. Hopefully that provides quite a bit of privacy.
And I do believe in /e/ and I do believe my faith will be rewarded. It’s just a little frustrating that this hiccup didn’t come into play until after the fact
There’s this, too:
Nice. Be sure to login via the web interface and choose the blocklists. Here is what @andrelam suggested
See, I may be upset with /e/ but I love the community. I wouldn’t have known to do that. the internet on my phone FLIES now!
Didn’t use the NoFacebook/NoGoogle lists - for better or worse, my hockey team communicates via a Facebook Group and I do need YouTube. Maybe I can finetune that as time goes on the get rid of the more problematic stuff but for now I think I’m good!
Definitely worse.
The calling is so bad over 2G/3G I’m near positive its because of the lack of VoLTE which Teracube (
be sure to change to your country in the link to view, it defaults to France) DOES support
*Edit: As of August 6, 2021 VoWiFi does NOT work on Teracube 2e but VoLTE DOES work. A/the LOS developer #27 has confirmed he is working on it.