Volte For Prepaid Customers

Unfortunately, nothing as of yet. There are unconfirmed reports as to when Canadian carriers will begin sunsetting 3G. For now, it looks like December 2025. Though, this could change to an earlier date. This means that VoLTE for prepaid may get implemented as we learn more about the 3G network shutdown, possibly near the end of 2023 or at the beginning of 2024. Again, pure speculation.

https://northernbi.com/3g-sunset-update-for-us-and-canadian-network-carriers/

@Bernard Koodo Since you replied on the last thread, do you have any insight as to the status of deploying VoLTE for prepaid?

@km-smayer97 We are expecting to have a better understanding early next week.  We are in the midst of testing things.  

There is a thread in the Public Mobile community claiming that VOLTE has been turned on (mainly users in the Vancouver area with a few in Montreal making the claim).  Read a similar claim in a RedFlagDeals thread.

Any truth to this?  Is Koodoo Prepaid doing the same?

Thanks Sophia, that is great news!   

How will a Prepaid customer know when they are enabled for VoLTE?

Koodo hasn’t mentioned their timeline in that regard. However, they did mention a few ways to trigger the update:

• New customer activations
• Existing customers completing the following transactions: SIM swap, MSISDN Swap, Switch refresh, and Voicemail PIN reset

So if you really need it, consider one of those a actions :)

Thank you for the quick reply. For those of us that aren’t Mobile Masters 😁, what are “SIM swap, MSISDN Swap, Switch refresh”

Haha well………… I actually don’t know what the latter two are.

As for SIM swap, I think that just means you switch the SIM card in self serve for another. I think the cheapest/easiest way to get it activated is the “voicemail PIN reset”, and before you ask… nope, I don’t actually know how to do that either 🤣

I’ve come up with definitions for some of the terms used.

SIM Swap - Customer changes SIM card

MSISDN Swap - Customer changes phone number

Voicemail PIN reset - Customer changes the Voicemail PIN themselves or through a rep

Switch Refresh - Tech support needs to reset the connection to the phone

I think we will have to wait a month or two for the gradual rollout of VoLTE for existing prepaid customers. It’s not clear whether VoLTE will be added automatically, or that we’ll need the assistance of a rep. I tried the VM PIN reset (changed my vm password), no luck. There’s also a note about VoLTE on Public Mobile.

VoLTE FAQ's | Public Mobile

For Android users, if you now have VOLTE, you might want to temporarily turn it off until you get your next security update (which really sucks if you now have it).

https://mobilesyrup.com/2023/03/17/samsung-pixel-vulnerable-exploits-calls-texts/
 

The Public Mobile has a number of threads on this topic,  To try and summarize:

1.  If you have an IPhone, you will likely need to reboot your phone to see that VOLTE has been enabled.  You may have no service prior to rebooting.

2.  For Androids, go to Settings, Mobile Networks, then you will likely see a toggle switch to enable VOLTE.  Generally, no reboot is required (of course there will be exceptions).

Many newer Samsung devices no longer incorporate a VoLTE toggle switch. Since the USSD code *#*#4636#*#* does not work on Samsung and handful of other Android devices, there is an app that can check IMS registration status and will indicate whether VoLTE and Wi-Fi Calling are provisioned.

The app, Hidden Settings (by Oalex) is available on Google’s Play Store. Once installed, scroll down and tap RadioInfo. Tap the menu icon (3 dots) and select IMS Service Status to get a report.

The toggle switches that appear further down the page for VoLTE and Wi-Fi Calling and other services (if applicable) will likely be greyed out. The toggle switches should automatically enable whenever IMS registration is complete.

Hidden Settings | Oalex

VoLTE seems to be working for one of my Koodo lines/devices...hurray!  I will check other devices on Koodo and  PM later.

I did not do anything other than have the VoLTE toggle enabled (for a long time now) on my Android 11 based device.  

I was wondering why calls seemed to sound clearer the last little while.  Calls also setup so much faster than before when the phone had to drop down to HSPA 3G for voice.

During calls my device continues to display LTE instead of changing to H or 4G like in the past.

I also checked the SIM status during a call and you can see below that voice is using the LTE network

*#*#4636#*#* worked on my device and it showed VoLTE as being provisioned

Very happy to see VoLTE finally here! 😀

Looks like the official FAQ is now up on Koodo’s site:

https://www.koodomobile.com/en/help/volte-koodo-prepaid

My husband received a text today saying his prepaid account now had Volte. The option to enable it is in his settings, but when we slide the button to on, it says he has to contact Koodo. Will give it a few more days and will try again. 

Thanks. Just dialed that code on my phone and see that under Phone Information “VoLTE Provisioned” and “WIFI Calling Provisioned” are toggled on. (Moto g Stylus 5G 20221)

However when I try to toggle Wifi calling on, it attempts to activate but I get a Koodo error screen “Opps! We have encountered and error. An error has occured. Wi-Fi calling setup is currently unavailable. Please try again later.”

Are you activating Wi-Fi Calling while under cellular coverage?

During initial setup, Wi-Fi calling must be activated when there is cellular coverage. After that, WiFi calling will automatically be triggered when you’re out of cellular coverage.

Yes I am trying to activate while connected to cellular coverage

Have you tried restarting your phone?

Try restarting your phone, then try enabling Wi-Fi Calling.

Koodo has not rolled out WiFi calling for prepaid, so I’m not sure why you are attempting to enable it.

IMS registration is required on the device in order for VoLTE to be used.  The pics I posted previously show IMS registration on and therefore VoLTE working for voice calls.

The other way to check is turn off WiFi and check the LTE indicator during a call.  if it stays on LTE then VoLTE is enabled on profile and working with your device.  If it changes to H, 3G or 4G then VoLTE is not enabled and/or registered.

the TL;DR is that Koodo must first provision VoLTE on your account.  Then your device must support VoLTE and registers IMS.  If your device happens to be on the Telus whitelist, and your profile has VoLTE turned on, you will have VoLTE for voice calls

Yeah, @Chrisowhy is correct. Not sure why Koodo doesn’t just enable Wi-Fi Calling, but it is what it is. Apologies for the confusion @JimLaidley.

IMS registration status can usually be found in Android:

Settings → About phone → SIM status

OR

dial *#*#4636#*#*  → Phone information → top right tap 3 vertical dots → IMS service status

Thank you. When I turned off wifi and called the phone stated at 3G. I also changed my voicemail PIN as that was mentioned earlier in the thread.

I used the phone code again and found the IMS status page this time. It says

IMS Registration: Not registered

Voice over LTE: Unavailable.

Voice over Wifi: Unavailable.

Video Calling: Unavailable.

UT Interface is also Unavailable.

FYI my Motorola Moto g Stylus 5G (2021) is not listed on Koodo’s list but is VoLTE capable. Is the problem that it is not whitelisted?