TCL smart phone and Smarty PAYG Sim - can't make or take phone calls

[KevinRe_1621038]

I have my TCL20r5G smart phone which i use as a phone only infrequently.

But I found it has stopped allowing me to make  (or receive) phone calls.

I gone through all the Settings but can't find any way of activating calls.

Can anyone clarify what is wrong, and how to rectify?

I have oodles of calls and data left each month.

Is there a cheaper PAYG outfit that suits my limited usage better than Smarty?

If I can't activate calls via Smarty I'll have to go elsewhere.

[MSF]

@KevinRe_1621038  If this happened recently, it may be due to 3G turn off.

Your phone needs to be compatible with the Smarty 4G VoLTE protocol. If it isn’t, but will support 4G /5G, then you may need to shop around other networks to find out which ones will work.

[KevinRe_1621038]

Thanks but TCL are compatible with Smarty 4G VoLTE protocol and not listed as incompatible.

Good call, but appears NOT the answer. 😞

[KevinRe_1621038]

UPDATE: Used the Network Checker and guess what: 

We're fixing an issue in this area at the moment and aim to have things back up-and-running as soon as possible. We're sorry for any disruption this may cause and will add any further updates here.

Can't Smarty message customers that are in areas with "temporary" disruptions? 

I don't consider it acceptable to just be cut off without some notification from all but Emergency calls.

[MSF]

@KevinRe_1621038  How will Smarty know which customers are in the ‘area’?

They cannot send out an sms as the mast is down. Also, it may take a while before they discover that the mast is down - don’t forget that they don’t own the masts.

Does your landline company inform you by some means if service is down?

Unfortunately, equipment failures will just happen from time to time.