VoLTE

[SimonGr_1348836]

My Sony Xperia 1 iii not work with 4g calling so looks like people are going to be leaving smarty unless they sort it out

[Chalkychap]

Alas @SimonGr_1348836, perhaps doubtful SMARTY will do anything to support VoLTE for Sony Xperia 1 III handsets, especially as they're not currently sold by their parent company Three UK.

Online, the Sony Xperia specifications page has more about the handset's camera and video features than network features, like 4G VoLTE and Wi-Fi Calling, which seems a little odd.

[Decembersangel]

Hi @SimonGr_1348836 👋
I am also having this problem 😤😠
I have a Samsung Galaxy J4+, which isn't even 6yrs old, and has '4G Calling Enable' (according to the 3  webites SMARTY have linked on their 'Checking if your device is 4G-VoLTE compatible' page and one of those was the THREE website 🤔), and YET I am unable get any sort of answer from the web chat as to why it isn't working, apart from 'you have to talk to the manufacturer to get it set up (the VoLTE 'toggle' in 'Settings') as SMARTY will support the phone provided you have the feature on the device'. 
SMARTY are taking absolutely NO responsibility on their end for this debacle as I have read that the provider has to provision each individual make and model for it to work and it's NOT just down to the phone setup itself (as it is already enabled to make VoLTE calls) BUT SMARTY will never own up to being unprepared to support it's customers!
Paying for a service I can't use certainly feels like a kick in the teeth and the 'MEH' given by SMARTY doesn't instill confidence in them AT ALL as a trusted company!
If you find another comparable provider that supports more phone makes/models let me know and I will do the same!

[MSF]

@Decembersangel While I see your problem, is it reasonable to expect a company to make provision for every single type of phone available, whether current or no longer in production?

[Decembersangel]

@MSF I agree with your question some what but when you look at the SMARTY 'supported phones' list it is extremely limited and I wonder how many other customers have a phone, that really isn't that old, where they are now facing having to purchase a newer one just to stay connected and what happens if, just like me, they can't afford to? What if no other providers support the device?
We are going back to an age where owning a mobile phone is again a privilage for only those with money and there is going to be a lot of older (but still good) phones thrown into drawers because you can't sell them as they are not supported #throwawaysociety.
My opinion is that they turnied off 3G too early when they don't have the protocols in place to support more phones. I agree that it is unfeasible to cover every make and model of phone but surely ensuring most phones that are 6yrs old or less, for example, are supported before turning it off is not asking too much, seeing as VoLTE has been around since 2012, and it was inevitable that support was needed by providers for a large variety of devices (and yes mine would be covered as it was manufactured 04/2019).
This is just my opinion and you may not agree, and that is OK, but for those of us facing having no mobile connection it is a very worrying and stressful situation trying to figure out where we go from here.

[MSF]

@Decembersangel  This seems to be becoming an everyday problem.

If you don't have a smart tv, there's a lot of content you cannot access.

If you don't have a compliant car, you cannot access ULEZ zones without a charge etc.

If you move networks to keep using your existing phone, will it end up costing more in monthly charge?

[PaulSan_2980141]

I sympathise. I bought an unlocked new Sony Xperia 5iii  2.5 years ago which I learn now is 4/5G but not Volte. After switching to Smarty I find I wasted my money. Curiously it seems Vodafone and others did enable Volte on their locked phones so I should have got a phone locked to another carrier and got it unlocked. My views on Smarty and Sony cannot be stated here!

[zelmon64]

I had to use VoEnabler in order to get VoLTE working on a Pixel 3a. It requires root and isn't guaranteed to work but it's probably worth trying.

[Decembersangel]

I agree @MSF!  These things, like those you have mentioned, are becoming an everyday problem which means you either have the money to keep up or you don't and then life gets harder. There is mostly other options in certain situations but not always.
That is also dependent on whether you actually 'need', rather than 'want', these things e.g. I have a smart tv but only because my parents got a new one and gave me their old one. I didn't 'need' it as my old tv did what is was supposed to do and it wasn't 'smart' but it WAS nice to have a newer one. I don't buy 'just because', I only buy 'new' (to me) items when something has died and no amount of tech CPR will revive it and even then I only buy older 'used' items that are still good (after a lot of research). I would say 90% of the technology I own are hand-me-downs and the other 10% are replacements for dead technology. This is the situation with my phone. It's a hand-me-down that still works, isn't that old and has the required provisioning to work and so there really is no need to replace it.
You may say this is false economy but if I can buy something that is cheaper and still supported/useable for a fair few years then that is what I will do as I don't have the funds to buy 'brand new' things that may or may not last just as long.
With regards to 'If you move networks to keep using your existing phone, will it end up costing more in monthly charge?', luckily most budget providers iD, TalkMobile, GiffGaff, Voxi etc, have comparative SIM only monthly plans (give or take a couple of  £s/mth depending on the current SMARTY plan and the comparative one). The problem, just like with SMARTY, is trying to determine which provider supports the device I have.

@zelmon64 Thank you kindly! I have seen something similar. It changes the CSC and I am looking to see what that entails and if it will work. All help is appreciated!