https://youtu.be/RPlTz-3estM?si=psFvw9XeR88DImTW

Well, in Malaysia, we have already phased out 3G networks in favour of 4G networks, although 2G networks will remain for a long time.

However, in some countries (such as US, Singapore, Australia, Taiwan) are in progress on phasing out 3G networks completely. 2G has already gone in these countries. If the device doesn't support VoLTE and VoWiFi , it would not able to made calls at all, including emergency calls!

If you purchase a foreign set (non Malaysian set), chances are it won't support the local VoLTE and VoWiFi profile (some of the telcos/handsets might even use custom profiles, which doesn't match the standardized GSMA IMS profile!). If you bring your Malaysian set to another country (for example - migration to overseas/travel because to work or just travelling), you may find that it won't work perfectly with local SIMs (including eSIM) if you happen to buy a local SIM.

There are problems on some local sets (specifically Samsung, but generally Android are more affected to VoLTE certification issue) where some older sets will support only VoLTE from certain telcos - certification is required by Samsung to add the profiles, but the latest models should have no issue.

Even between different manufacturers/devices, the VoLTE/VoWiFi support differs. TCL L7 (Yes Edition), in instance, only supports VoLTE from Yes. With other networks (such as Maxis, CelcomDigi), it will have to rely on 2G for calls, and for those with older firmware, these are stuck on 2G (unless you change some settings manually, will reset with each SIM change!).

Older phones may have 4G support but they will have to rely on 2G on calls because they don't have the necessary VoLTE profiles.

We already see this problem on China based sets, where some lacks the most important Band 28/700MHz band - which is used as an anchor band for 5G networks. And therefore, those sets can't connect to DNB 5G NSA network!

Even Apple devices are not free from the issue. If you happen to have different model to the one that is available in your market (Apple have 4 different variations for the same device!), you may find yourself having problems when traveling to other countries, where the band support differs between each variation. This is even though Apple have the best support on VoLTE and VoWiFi. As it lacks certain vital bands, you can ended up unable to connect to certain bands and it won't work perfectly overseas - and the end result is you may not be able to made emergency calls, if you happen to be in an area where the area only transmit the missing bands on your iPhone.

And now, Australia wants to block phones that won't work perfectly with local VoLTE networks, specifically emergency calls. This can mean perfectly workable phones from overseas may be blocked, only because of the lack of certain VoLTE profiles, even though these devices have full 4G/5G support to local networks!

The same problem can happen again with 4G switch off in favour for 5G or 6G due to the lack of certain custom VoNR profiles.

But for Malaysia's case, it is unlikely that 4G networks will be phase out soon due to the infra being owned by individual telcos - we may actually see 2G being gone first before 4G.

This post has been edited by shaun_kok: Oct 2 2024, 08:41 PM

I had a Canadian Galaxy S20 (SM-G981W) and VoLTE works on Maxis.

The model supports 5G but no DNB 5G as it missing B28 and N78.

Interesting.

Some telcos uses standardized VoLTE/VoWiFi profiles (which should be the case just like circuit switching standardized on 2G/3G), so that's why it will work.

But if the telco/device uses/contains just custom profiles and does not use standard profiles (one example being the TCL L7 Yes Edition - this generally happened to the telco branded Android devices), then it will cause problems on VoLTE implementation.

Both VoLTE and Wi-Fi Calling work. What doesn't work is carrier aggregation so you're stuck with just one LTE band.

Moral of the story: Always buy phones locally from authorized phone distributors.

At least it still works despite the limitations of carrier aggregation - this is the most important thing.

Not every device sold are available locally (some models are only available overseas - for example Japanese only Android models or earlier Google Pixel models which are not officially available here, before Google decide to release the latest model in Malaysia - hence some will try to import one for personal use, despite the additional cost).

For foreigners, it is simply not reasonable for them to buy a locally authorised devices during their short stay as a traveller!

I blame the telcos/device manufacturers for not using a standardized VoLTE/VoWiFi setup authorised by GSMA.

This post has been edited by shaun_kok: Oct 3 2024, 12:22 PM

2G would still be kicking strong for at least another 5 years...

because got devices & machine depend on them

So basically in near future we might see combo of 2G & 5G

Stumbled upon this fantastic Medium article on VoLTE provisioning.

https://medium.com/@jamesdwho/how-to-check-...id-8c343362ecfe

There is another problem - if we switch off 4G (including DNB NSA anchor), millions of working devices will have to rely on 2G instead - making many 5G devices unusable!

In this day and age, we are holding our phones longer due to generally longer software support on the device.

This post has been edited by shaun_kok: Oct 4 2024, 12:17 PM

https://www.change.org/p/stop-telco-4g-5g-d...ate&utm_term=cs

Seems like Australian telcos has started to plan to block devices that are not tested to be working on their networks.

It is a very dangerous precedent and this can made foreigners visiting Australia (either relocate there/travelling) or people who buy non Australian models unable to connect using their own phones/force to fork out money to buy a new phone, despite the device is working properly with local VoLTE networks.
Other countries may also follow Australia's move, in case they switched off their legacy 2G/3G networks.

This post has been edited by shaun_kok: Oct 11 2024, 12:04 AM

https://www.change.org/p/stop-telco-4g-5g-d...25183_en-AU%3A0

The worst case scenario has arrived for Australia - As Australia is phasing out 3G completely, Australian mobile operators are soon going to block many working mobile devices that isn't tested by the local mobile operators (i.e. devices purchased from overseas) that is not tested to work with 4G/5G networks - which in some cases, the device works perfectly with Australian mobile networks (just that the device is not officially available in Australia - and hence the telco didn't test it.)

Due to the poor VoLTE implementation - many countries choose to keep 2G or 3G networks indefinitely or at least delay it's shutdown.

This post has been edited by shaun_kok: Oct 25 2024, 12:12 PM

To begin with, buying a non-SIRIM and MCMC approved phone and use locally are risky. No choice for roaming but those illegal import units sold on Lazada and Shopee are at risk. If the service center cant help you mean your phone should not exist locally.

Most phone manufacturers ensure phone can be used while roaming either via Basic Volte or 2G/3G calls, data generally no issue. However any advanced features may not be supported.

I remembered going overseas and can see 3G on my phone despite 3G no longer supported in Malaysia meaning the phone is capable and the feature is not disabled.

some corrections

yes altitude budget smartphone support unipai mobile, u-mobile, digi and hotlink VoLTE out of box

Thanks for information.

Alcatel 1 (Yes Edition) does support U Mobile, Digi and Unifi Mobile's VoLTE profiles, but certain settings are needed to enable VoLTE (disabled by default).

It is the TCL L7 that don't support VoLTE profiles other than Yes.

Most devices support NSA will have SA support. Even overseas model also can support, if it support 5G (NR) on N28 or N78.

This depends on the devices though. Chinese devices might support both but some devices may still need software update (for example : Samsung) to get SA support.

This post has been edited by shaun_kok: Nov 5 2024, 01:19 AM

Well, this is how it is supposed to be. When everyone in the first world began dumping 2G/3G, then they would only start to develop handset with a new minimum standard which would then get adopted by developing countries. As long as the old standards remained, there would be those who will continue on the old technology and not adhering to the new standards.

This is the same problem that plagued PC for decades now which allowed ARM to catch up with X86.