Question

Activating WiFi Calling

  • 17 November 2019
  • 19 replies
  • 1188 views

I recently switched to iD and everything is working perfectly. My husband is now envious of my WiFi calling capabilities and also wants to switch. However, when we put my iD SIM in to his phone it didn't automatically reset and update to the new carrier settings in the same way mine had. We did this test in a location where the signal is good to check his phone wasn't locked. The phone picked up the network and 4G signal worked fine but the option to turn on WiFi calling did not appear in his settings. We both have an Xperia XA2, so I expected the same functionality as I get from my handset. Does anyone know how to get the handset to update to the new carrier settings when switching the SIM?

Thanks


19 replies

Userlevel 4
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How peculiar @Lizzy_Tron, given you both have the exact same phone.

 

Out of curiousity, where both the phones previously bought SIM-Free or were they previously on a contract with another network (if so whom?).

Just to try and figure out if perhaps one previous networks has caused more of a hold on it’s old settings here perhaps.

It could potentially be worth backing up the phone, and doing a factory reset on the device just to try and help it clear anything previous that is maybe causing a conflict here.

 

Hi @Kevin,

 

It’s interesting you should ask that, my phone was indeed bought SIM free, but my husbands was bought through Virgin Mobile. However, Virgin state that they do not lock handsets purchased from them and there does not appear to be any specific virgin mobile branding built in when the phone boots up.

Thanks for your advice, we’ll give that a try.

He’s not keen on restoring to factory settings, any other suggestions?

Userlevel 7
Badge +10

Hello @Lizzy_Tron,

Can you get him to try resetting network settings and seeing if this updates manually and brings up the option at all?

Is he using the latest software? 

Mohammed

Hi, I have recently been through similar issues trying to get WiFi calling to work with various carriers.

 

From my research it would appear that unless you get the handset from the carrier there is no guarantee that WiFi calling will work. My old handset, bought unlocked, was unable to utilise the function from three carriers (including ID) but no-one could tell me why.

 

In the end I have changed to a handset from ID just to ensure that it works. (Vital as signal is so poor) 

 

Your non functioning handset being from Virgin may well be "unlocked" for general use. But there is probably some form of additional software/settings that only the carrier can sort out. I was told by my previous carrier that my handset (bought SIM free) was locked to another carrier when they checked my IMEI. They failed to consider that the SIM worked fine for calls etc.

It's an industry wide problem. The only SIM I could find that would work in my old phone was EE. But their tariffs are extortionate so I'm sticking with ID.

I'm sure eventually the phone companies with sort themselves out. But for now we customers are the ones losng out.

 

Just to follow up on this thread because the issue is not yet resolved.... 

My husband has now done the factory reset on his device but without success. Is it possible to have to correct carrier settings sent to the device from ID mobile? 

Thanks! 

Userlevel 7
Badge +10

Just to follow up on this thread because the issue is not yet resolved.... 

My husband has now done the factory reset on his device but without success. Is it possible to have to correct carrier settings sent to the device from ID mobile? 

Thanks! 

 

Hello @Lizzy_Tron,

Has he tried to Reset the Network settings (not a factory reset)? I don’t believe sending the carrier settings is something done for all handsets, but if you still can’t get it to work following this, please let us know.

 

Mohammed

Hi @Mohammed

Yes, tried resetting the next work settings too, but no luck. The WiFi calling option just isn't showing in the settings menu. 

Lizzy 

Userlevel 6
Badge +10

Hi @Lizzy_Tron,

Thanks for trying that. We find that if the handset has not been bought from us directly then there is a chance that the WiFi calling option will not work unfortunately. Please feel free to contact us via Twitter or Facebook though and we’ll have the issue looked into to confirm this.

Ryan

Interestingly,  I've just arrived at a similar conclusion.  I mistook my wife's Sony Xperia handset to be an iD approved XA2... when it is actually an XA1. Whoops, my bad for not remembering correctly or checking beforehand!

That said however, we are in a no-signal area (indoors), sketchy at best outdoors - and this is true on a good number of networks. Her XA1 used to be on EE and had splendid wificalling enabled, which worked very well. Android 8.0.0 installed.

Jump forward a short while and I've signed us both up to iD. In went the new sim and hey presto, as per previous settings, wificalling was enabled and I succesfully made a test call (wificall to landline) on it UNTIL I thought it would be a good idea to download the iD carrier internet settings. At which point the menus for wificalling have been disabled and it no longer works! Thought I was going mad! 

Clearly there are carrier settings that in this instance haven't been updated yet to reflect what a stock Sony XA1 is actually capable of. 

Is the a release schedule for other handsets such as this one or do I now have to trawl the net to see if I can find and the root the appropriate settings? 

Any help or pointers very much appreciated, thanks in advance, Landyandy 

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +10

Hello @Landyandy,

 

The only compatible handsets for WiFi Calling are found here: https://www.idmobile.co.uk/help-and-advice/wifi-calling

 

We don’t have any confirmed time-frames but I’ll email the Team to see if they’ve got this one on plans to be added.

 

If you check back with us late next week we’ll see if there’s been an update. 

Mohammed

@Mohammed 

Hearty thanks for superbly speedy reply, much appreciated! 

You'd be a superstar if you can please check timescales or likelihood for the Sony XA1 with your dev team, thank you. The good news is that it seemed to work albeit rather briefly ;-)

I look forward to seeing what you might be able to find out. Unfortunately I haven't managed to do much other further research yet but if I find anything else I'll let you know here.

 

Thanks again,

LA

Userlevel 7
Badge +10

Hello @Landyandy,

 

Not a problem.

 

Will keep an eye on this and get back to you as soon as we have info.

Check back with us later this week/regularly also!

 

Mohammed

Hi Mohammed, 

 

Just wondering if you’d managed to get anywhere with the list of phones to be updated? My wife is very patient but even she is getting fed up of not being able to use the phone as she did with EE - WiFi calling is absolutely necessary here. There just is very little iD network coverage where we live.

Very unfortunately, it looks like I’ll have to get her back on EE if iD don’t have a solution yet for Sony XA1 handset users. We’ll await your feedback before making the choice.

 

Thanks again for your help,

 

LA

 

 

Userlevel 4
Badge +10

Super sorry for the lack of an update from this side @Landyandy.

 

Having delved into this further to find out where things were up to.  It unfortunately stands that the Sony XA1 is not a device we support currently on Wi-Fi calling. 

The newer Sony Xperia XA2 is an approved handset that is listed, but it looks as though in this case we’d not be able to help you if Wi-Fi calling is a must for you.

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for getting back to me quickly and providing an update. So I assume the XA1 does not feature on your Wifi-calling update list? As in you have no date for future support?

 

 If so, that leaves me with two choices. Either switch back to EE or upgrade the handset to an unlocked XA2. Will any version of the XA2 firmware support iD mobile WiFi-calling? I don’t want to buy another handset to be in the same position again ;-)

 

Thanks for your support,

 

LA

 

 

Userlevel 4
Badge +10

Hey again @Landyandy 

 

A SIM-Free Sony Xperia XA2 should work fine with iD Mobile and WiFi calling.

It’s listed on the website WiFi calling page here: 

https://www.idmobile.co.uk/help-and-advice/wifi-calling

 

 

We’ve had some very rare instances in which phones that were previously bought locked to other networks, have been unlocked by said network.  Only to learn that certain features are locked still (by firmware) to only work on the phone in conjunction with SIM’s from that old network.

From memory, the few examples I’d seen were with iPhone 7’s and 8’s, and a couple of Samsungs.  I’ve dealt with about 7 cases of that being a problem (out of countless thousands I’ve helped) in my years here.

Keep us updated with how you get on though, and we’ll be happy to help at any turn.

Hi there,

I recently purchased a SIM-free Sony Xperia L4 as a Wi-Fi Calling enabled replacement for my Lenovo P2 as I’ve just moved to the country and get no signal indoors. The Xperia L4 is on the ID-specified list of eligible phones, which is the reason I bought it, but I’m having a similar issue to others here; The toggle option isn’t available in the phone or system settings menus.

I have a monthly ID SIM to which I've transferred my old number from a previous 3 contract and is currently in SIM port #1. In the system settings the “Phone Number” option is coming up as “Unknown”, but when I’m away from home with signal I've been able to make calls with no issue.

I’ve tried a factory reset, a network reset and the Xperia companion app from Sony but I’ve had no luck.

I've also tried the ID mobile live chat who sent me to a Carphone Warehouse store who gave me a phone number for a technical support line which just hangs up on me when I ask to talk to an advisor…  All-in-all it’s been a bit of a pain! 

If the Wi-Fi calling won't work I’m going to have to return this to Amazon if they’ll let me, so I’m keen to get an answer on this as soon as possible before the 14 days return policy expires.

Does anybody here have any experience with this or could point me in the right direction to get this sorted?

Thanks so much :) 

 

Phone Settings: 

  • Phone Model: Sony Xperia L4
  • Android Version: 9
  • Build Number: 57.0.A.2.267
Userlevel 6
Badge +10

Hi @Xperianced,

Sometimes the feature may not work if the phone has not been purchased from us directly, I’m unsure if this is due to the firmware on the phone and especially when buying phones from online marketplaces; the handset may be an international version which might cause issues from what I’ve read in the past. 

The WiFi network may also be to blame for some connectivity issues. In my own home, the feature will only work intermittently and on some WiFi networks, it won’t work at all! It could also be a case of the feature only ‘kicking in’ when the signal gets low. Are you able to put the phone into Airplane Mode to try and force WiFi calling to start?

Have you also been able to test the feature using another WiFi connection to see if that make any difference?

Ryan

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