Pixel 1 cannot make outgoing calls when "roaming" after update

Pixel 1 with /e/ Android 9 - Pie it had been on a July 2020 update, and I just installed the latest update. And now it thinks it is roaming (Verizon, US) and outgoing calls get a recorded message that the number I am calling is no longer in service. It can receive calls, make and receive texts, including MMS. It has VoLTE enabled and provisioned. The preferred network type is Global, I have also tried LTE/CDMA. My other phone flashed with /e/ is a Nexus 6 on Android 7, it uses the same tower and has been tested with the same SIM card. It is (a) not roaming and (b) can make outgoing calls. The only difference I see is on the Phone testing screen (4636) where the Pixel is showing Voice Network Type of 1xRTT while the Nexus shows LTE. So it seems like something is causing the Pixel to drop down to 3G or something. Signal is -86 dBm 54 asu, it’s -99, 41 on the Nexus.

The Pixel was not doing this before the update. But an S4 that I flashed with LOS was behaving this way. When we had the S4 in the nearby city, and it didn’t show “roaming”, then it could make calls. On the 4636 screen, the preferred network type is LTE/CDMA/UMTS auto (PRL). That’s the same on the Nexus. I might try getting a friend with a different carrier to lend me their SIM card, and I might try to get a new SIM from Verizon. If anyone has other ideas, let me know!

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

Some more info: I have an unobstructed view of the cell tower, it’s about a half-mile away. When I go to a location about 45 degrees different from the tower, also with an unobstructed view, the phone comes out of roaming and indicates Verizon as the carrier instead of “roaming”. I can then make outgoing calls. However, the Voice Network Type remains 1xRTT (3G), even after a reboot, reset, etc. So I think what is going on is the phone is stuck in 3G, despite various settings. At home, it can’t find the Verizon signal, so it’s roaming with no outgoing call service (but can receive calls etc.) Remember, my other phone shows LTE in the same locations and has no trouble finding the Verizon signal at home.
I have yet to go to another town to see if anything changes there. But since this was not an issue on the same phone, same SIM, same location, previous version of /e/, I have to think the /e/ update is somehow the culprit. Ideas? (Yes, I have reset APNs, network connections, removed & reinserted SIM cards, rebooted, gone in and out of airplane mode, etc.)

Well, I restored the Pixel to July 2020 and all is well. Guess I will leave it in that state until I get more time to experiment. There is a quantity of labor-saving devices N, such that the amount of time required to repair those devices exceeds the available time.