Re: Wifi Calling Service on BYOD Unlocked Phones
tgm1024
Enthusiast - Level 2

@cliffj0441 wrote:

Its funny, straight out of the box my Note 8 unlocked phone wifi calling worked and it even connected to my verizon network extender. 30 something software updates my phone will no longer wifi call or connect to my verizon network extender???


I've heard this before.  Did it by chance coincide with a download of Oreo?

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Re: Wifi Calling Service on BYOD Unlocked Phones
Wificaller
Enthusiast - Level 1

Verizon really needs to sort this out.  Other carriers such as T-mobile have this figured out.  I have been a verizon customer for over seven years.  I recently switched from a Galaxy S6 to a S8+ (unlocked) that i purchased online.  I am currently off contract and can only use wifi calling in my home and workplace.  I have had extensive conversations with VZ and Samsung and it appears my only option for wifi calling is to switch carriers.  

As I stated before, T-Mobile has this issue figured out.  The VZ support tech informed me there is no way for VZ to update my software and has no idea who is responsible for the software that is installed at the time of manufacture.  Samsung said the same thing.  So VZ is either intentionally withholding features to incentivize purchases of VZ phones or there is significant negligence and incompetence in terms of software management.  This should not be a difficult issue to remedy and it appears VZ is more concerned with selling phones than retaining customer loyalty.  This is not a wise business practice. I guess I'll give T-mobile a shot.

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Re: Wifi Calling Service on BYOD Unlocked Phones
NewOldcustomer
Contributor - Level 2

@Wificaller wrote:

Verizon really needs to sort this out.  Other carriers such as T-mobile have this figured out.  I have been a verizon customer for over seven years.  I recently switched from a Galaxy S6 to a S8+ (unlocked) that i purchased online.  I am currently off contract and can only use wifi calling in my home and workplace.  I have had extensive conversations with VZ and Samsung and it appears my only option for wifi calling is to switch carriers.  

    Did I misunderstand your post?  “. . . can only use wifi calling in my home and workplace. “    So are you saying the unlocks S8+ does work with WiFi calling?    I’m missing the problem.  

As I stated before, T-Mobile has this issue figured out.  The VZ support tech informed me there is no way for VZ to update my software and has no idea who is responsible for the software that is installed at the time of manufacture.  Samsung said the same thing.  So VZ is either intentionally withholding features to incentivize purchases of VZ phones or there is significant negligence and incompetence in terms of software management.  This should not be a difficult issue to remedy and it appears VZ is more concerned with selling phones than retaining customer loyalty.  This is not a wise business practice. I guess I'll give T-mobile a shot.


I’m quite sure carriers want us to stick around and installments are how they do so. From all the posts I’ve read the Samsung unlocked flagships can work with WiFi calling.  So I’m puzzled unless you desire another brand phone. 

 

 

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Re: Wifi Calling Service on BYOD Unlocked Phones
dwatson808
Contributor - Level 1

@tgm1024 wrote:

4. The built-in WiFi calling software of all recent Google Pixels is compatible enough with Verizon to work out of the box.

We have two Google Store Pixel 2s. Because we know our current house has problematic coverage, we ported back to VZW and got Pixel 2s, solely because of support for WiFi Calling and we were assured at the time that this applied to Google Store Pixel 2s.

WiFi Calling on VZW worked sometimes on Oreo; but in the early days, 1Q18, WiFi Calling kept mysteriously turning off in the phone for no apparent reason. Somewhere along the way (Pie? A "Phone" app update? A "Carrier Services" update? A Pixel 2 fix/security update? Something VZW did?) WiFi Calling stopped randomly turning off and kinda, sorta, worked OK. The qualifier is because the phones will try Wireless first even in signal situations where an outgoing call wouldn't complete or an incoming call would ring but would disconnect upon answering. When the phones were showing "Verizon WiFi Calling", WiFi Calling worked as expected.

Sometime about a month ago, WiFi Calling for our Pixel 2s stopped working except for very occasionally. Even with no wireless signal, with WiFi working fine for all other apps, we no longer see "Verizon WiFi Calling" and cannot place or receive calls. This was true for both of us when one of us was running Pie and the other Version 10. It's true with both of us running Version 10. It's true at home. It's true in Airplane Mode/WiFi On at Starbucks on a different ISP, different WiFi, different router.

Google Store Pixel Support told me WiFi Calling working or not has nothing to do with them. (I was told it's a Verizon app like Facebook is a Facebook app.) Verizon says it's some (completely non-specific) problem with both of our devices. One of them suggested that it's because the phones are the nonVZW models. (In four other phone/live chat sessions, they've all noted they were nonVZW but said they should work despite this.) Some people at VZW have said it should work and they are setup/provisioned correctly--and in some troubleshooting moments--VZW forces some kind of feature sync to the phones while they are off--we've had it connect to Verizon WiFi Calling and work for multiple calls. Sooner or later, it stops working again.

Maybe some Google code update broke things. Maybe VZW threw some bits deep in their network bowels to kill WiFi Calling for nonVZW Pixel 2s. Who knows? Regardless, our phones, at home, are little more now than tiny WiFi tablets.

Until the government steps in and forces the carriers to support BYODs equally with devices they sell, similar to what was once done to separate hardware from service on wired carriers, under some kind of compatibility test regime or third party certification or something, the only way to have a prayer of long term reliable operation of WiFi Calling on VZW seems to be either buying Apple iPhones (because VZW does care about making all iPhones work, and, frankly, it's a lot simpler for them to do so because there are so many iPhones out there and so few software variations on them) or buy your phones from VZW, with their branding spewed all over it, their crapware, and their SIM locks. VZW especially, but any carrier in general, presently has very little motivation to care if BYOD devices work well on their networks and they have conflicting economic motivations to "encourage" their service customers to also be their hardware customers.

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Re: Wifi Calling Service on BYOD Unlocked Phones
NewOldcustomer
Contributor - Level 2

@dwatson808 wrote:

@tgm1024 wrote:

4. The built-in WiFi calling software of all recent Google Pixels is compatible enough with Verizon to work out of the box.

We have two Google Store Pixel 2s. Because we know our current house has problematic coverage, we ported back to VZW and got Pixel 2s, solely because of support for WiFi Calling and we were assured at the time that this applied to Google Store Pixel 2s.

WiFi Calling on VZW worked sometimes on Oreo; but in the early days, 1Q18, WiFi Calling kept mysteriously turning off in the phone for no apparent reason. Somewhere along the way (Pie? A "Phone" app update? A "Carrier Services" update? A Pixel 2 fix/security update? Something VZW did?) WiFi Calling stopped randomly turning off and kinda, sorta, worked OK. The qualifier is because the phones will try Wireless first even in signal situations where an outgoing call wouldn't complete or an incoming call would ring but would disconnect upon answering. When the phones were showing "Verizon WiFi Calling", WiFi Calling worked as expected.

Sometime about a month ago, WiFi Calling for our Pixel 2s stopped working except for very occasionally. Even with no wireless signal, with WiFi working fine for all other apps, we no longer see "Verizon WiFi Calling" and cannot place or receive calls. This was true for both of us when one of us was running Pie and the other Version 10. It's true with both of us running Version 10. It's true at home. It's true in Airplane Mode/WiFi On at Starbucks on a different ISP, different WiFi, different router.

Google Store Pixel Support told me WiFi Calling working or not has nothing to do with them. (I was told it's a Verizon app like Facebook is a Facebook app.) Verizon says it's some (completely non-specific) problem with both of our devices. One of them suggested that it's because the phones are the nonVZW models. (In four other phone/live chat sessions, they've all noted they were nonVZW but said they should work despite this.) Some people at VZW have said it should work and they are setup/provisioned correctly--and in some troubleshooting moments--VZW forces some kind of feature sync to the phones while they are off--we've had it connect to Verizon WiFi Calling and work for multiple calls. Sooner or later, it stops working again.

Maybe some Google code update broke things. Maybe VZW threw some bits deep in their network bowels to kill WiFi Calling for nonVZW Pixel 2s. Who knows? Regardless, our phones, at home, are little more now than tiny WiFi tablets.

Until the government steps in and forces the carriers to support BYODs equally with devices they sell, similar to what was once done to separate hardware from service on wired carriers, under some kind of compatibility test regime or third party certification or something, the only way to have a prayer of long term reliable operation of WiFi Calling on VZW seems to be either buying Apple iPhones (because VZW does care about making all iPhones work, and, frankly, it's a lot simpler for them to do so because there are so many iPhones out there and so few software variations on them) or buy your phones from VZW, with their branding spewed all over it, their crapware, and their SIM locks. VZW especially, but any carrier in general, presently has very little motivation to care if BYOD devices work well on their networks and they have conflicting economic motivations to "encourage" their service customers to also be their hardware customers.


 The pixel phones are all equally compatible, no matter where you bought them.   If your having a problem, it’s a defective phone/s.  If you are under warranty, use it.  Even if out of warranty, complain to google.  

Pixel 3/3xl are the first non carrier android you can take to any US carrier and get equal treatment as far as features like Wifi calling   

 

 

 

 

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Re: Wifi Calling Service on BYOD Unlocked Phones
dwatson808
Contributor - Level 1

I complined to Google. They couldn't have cared less. Maybe I didn't complain to the right place? Every Verizon Support person we've tried to work on this with has sneered at our nonVZW Pixels although only one of them was explicit in suggesting this was the source of he problem. (AT&T to this day will not provision WiFi Calling to non-AT&T sourced Pixels 2s.)

Having two separate phones, both of which do everything we ask of them on WiFi except WiFi Calling--and even that has been seen to work at times, and was working regularly until a month or so ago--be somehow hardware defective and worthy of warranty swap seems really hard to fathom.

At the moment, we are using Google Fi on the eSIMs on both phones, with almost flawless performance at home vs. almost zero performance from VXW, and trying to figure out what's next. Probably cancelling VZW.

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Re: Wifi Calling Service on BYOD Unlocked Phones
NewOldcustomer
Contributor - Level 2

@dwatson808 wrote:

I complined to Google. They couldn't have cared less. Maybe I didn't complain to the right place?   Are you out of warranty?   Without warranty coverage you’re spitting into the wind with google  

 

Every Verizon Support person we've tried to work on this with has sneered at our nonVZW Pixels although only one of them was explicit in suggesting this was the source of he problem. (AT&T to this day will not provision WiFi Calling to non-AT&T sourced Pixels 2s.)

  It’s NOT   I have owned all 3 generations of pixels, purchased direct from Google at launch and used on prepaid  all 3 worked with Wifi calling on Verizon prepaid  

At&t NEVER SOLD Pixel phones.  Still doesn’t.  AT&T never allowed the pixel 2 to have Wifi calling   They did eventually get HD voice   Only the pixel 3 and 3 xl have Wifi calling   Not the pixel 3a/3aXL

 

 

Having two separate phones, both of which do everything we ask of them on WiFi except WiFi Calling--and even that has been seen to work at times, and was working regularly until a month or so ago--be somehow hardware defective and worthy of warranty swap seems really hard to fathom.   If it never worked at all you could have made a case for it being a non carrier phone.  Intermittent or poor working = defective phones or really bad Wifi.  If you have slow satellite internet you could point to that.  

 

At the moment, we are using Google Fi on the eSIMs on both phones, with almost flawless performance at home vs. almost zero performance from VXW, and trying to figure out what's next. Probably cancelling VZW.


 

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Re: Wifi Calling Service on BYOD Unlocked Phones
dwatson808
Contributor - Level 1

Our WiFi/ISP is an ASUS RT-AC68U / 300/20 terrestrial cable, fast and reliable for all purposes of a dozen of so WiFi devices including 3 iPads, a Kindle, Google Home Mini, Chromecast Audio, JBL Playlist 150, Chromebook, Dell XPS13, 2017 MacBook Pro, 2 Pixels 2s, etc. These all work fine on our WiFi, with the sole exception of WiFi Calling with our Pixel 2s in the last month or so. E.g., both phones downloaded and installed Version 10 over the WiFi just fine. I installed Windows 10 1903 on a laptop just fine over WiFi. And any number of GB+ MacOS updates. The Mac and Dell both back themselves up over the WiFi to our NAS continually. I stream to Google Home Mini, JBL Playlist 150, or Chromecast Audio over our WiFi. We watch streaming video on iPads, Chromebook, XPS13, MacBook Pro over our WiFi just fine. Google Fi outgoing/incoming calls over WiFi from the exact same Pixel 2s work just fine. In the last 24 hours, my Pixel 2 passed 344 MB of traffic over our WiFi, per the router's traffic stats. Only 2x Pixel 2s WiFi Calling with VZW fails to work.

Both of our Pixel 2s WiFi Calling also mostly did not work at Starbucks on a completely different WiFi/router/ISP setup when we went there to test the (Verizon Support) theory that the problem was our WiFi/router/ISP. (One of them even said if my router was over two years old I needed to replace it. I'd installed an ASUS firmware update, issued September 5th, one day earlier. The router model we have is still in current production/distribution.) I say WiFi Calling at Starbucks mostly did not work because we tested both phones a total of nine or ten times and I had WiFi Calling come up and connect exactly once on my phone; never on my wife's phone. Made a test call. It worked great. Turned off WiFi and turned it back on. Even three or four minutes later, "Verizon WiFi Calling" was nowhere to be seen and attempts to place calls failed saying phone was in airplane mode and had no wireless network connection. Web browsing, YouTube, receiving/sending email all worked fine over Starbucks' WiFi the whole time. Only WiFi Calling with both Pixel 2s and VZW mostly failed to work.

I can only conclude that the problem is not our WiFi/router/ISP.

At one point Friday, I changed my phone from using Google Fi eSiM to VZW hardware SIM to see if I had any SMS/MMS messages pending delivery at VZW. The phone came up within ten or fifteen seconds saying "Verizon WiFi Calling". I placed a test call just fine. Put phone in airplane mode for ten seconds or so. Disabled airplane mode. Phone came back up, typically for that location in our house, No Service. Within a minute or so, it had received enough VZW to say "Verizon" but with no bars alternating no signal. And no WiFi Calling. Attempting to place a call failed with "No Wireless Connection". Phone was receiving email over WiFi. I could browse the web on the phone over WiFi. Or watch a YouTube video on the phone over WiFi. But no Verizon WiFi Calling. I restarted the phone. Exact same situation. Piddling amounts of Verizon wireless signal. Other WiFi connectivity working fine. No "Verizon WiFi Calling". No ability to place calls since no wireless network. Changed back to the eSIM/Google Fi and placed a test call successfully over WiFi within a matter of seconds after phone started showing Google Fi in upper right corner of Quick Settings panel. And so it goes.

/rant

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Re: Wifi Calling Service on BYOD Unlocked Phones
dwatson808
Contributor - Level 1

@NewOldcustomer wrote:
I have owned all 3 generations of pixels, purchased direct from Google at launch and used on prepaid  all 3 worked with Wifi calling on Verizon prepaid
...
If it never worked at all you could have made a case for it being a non carrier phone.  Intermittent or poor working = defective phones or really bad Wifi.  If you have slow satellite internet you could point to that.

We are postpaid, FWIW. I also owned a Pixel (OG) until its audio codec failed. (And we've owned Google Store 2x Nexus 1s, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 5x.) We were on AT&T with a microcell when I had the Pixel (OG). When I replaced the dead Pixel with a Pixel 2, I tried to make it work with AT&T WiFi Calling, and found out about AT&Ts attitude about non-carrier phones and WiFi Calling. I was hoping to make WiFi Calling work since the microcell had limitations (no WEA delivery, to name one) and since AT&T was reported to be planning to end microcell support within the year. That's when we bought my wife a Pixel 2 and ported back to VZW after a decade away on AT&T. We went back to VZW solely to have our Pixel 2s work with VZW WiFi Calling.

To be clear, I don't think our WiFi Calling problem is because we have nonVZW Pixel 2s. (Most VZW Support I've worked it with didn't seem to think so either.) I think it's just something convenient for flumoxed Support people to blame when all else fails.

I also don't think it's defective Pixel 2 hardware.

I think it's because some VZW network side change, or change they pushed to the phones, or some Google System Update or Play Store "app" update of something like Play Store services or "Phone" or "Carrier Services", changed something that, in our environment and/or location breaks WiFi Calling.

It's funny you should mention Satellite Internet. We do not have that kind of latency. But we are located in the middle of the North Pacific and our Internet latencies for connections to out-of-state hosts are higher, always, on all connections, than they would be if we lived in, say, Los Angeles. Could that be the source of this issue? How could I possibly determine this?

(We will be going to Phoenix later this week. In addition to continuing our Google Fi trial run, I will certainly test VZW WiFi Calling while we are there. If our Pixel 2s and VZW WiFi Calling make happier there than at home, sensitivity of the VZW/Pixel 2 WiFi Calling protocol stack to our relatively higher latency at home would become a prime suspect in my mind. What I could do about it with that knowledge, besides move back to the mainland, is not clear.)

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Re: Wifi Calling Service on BYOD Unlocked Phones
NewOldcustomer
Contributor - Level 2

Your willingness to trouble shoot (aka tolerate) exceed mine.  I would have harassed Google for a warranty replacement.   

 

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