VoLTE on Samsung Galaxy S10 - Koodo Prepaid

This is a koodo purchased S10?

Nope.  Not a koodo purchased S10.

If you go to settings > About

What model number is the phone?

Is it SM-G973W?

It is SM-G973U

I know that the list of VoLTE compatible phones in the FAQ section of that help page includes only the SM-G973W (and not the SM-G973U which I have)

But both models are nearly identical and both support VoLTE.

And according to the customer service rep at Koodo, my phone would support VoLTE if it had a monthly postpaid plan but not a prepaid plan, which seems odd.

The customer service rep also did not ask me for the specific model number, I told her only that I had a Samsung Galaxy S10.

If they would just activate VoLTE on my Koodo prepaid account, I am almost certain it would work on my SM-G973U.

Because it is not a Koodo phone and it is the SM-G973U and not the SM-G973W, there is no guarantee that it will work, regardless of it working with postpaid.

You can request a callback with Koodo Assist Prepaid and maybe a tech can look into it, but dont hold your breath

https://widget.telus.tiia.ai/koodoprepaid/koodoprepaid.html

Seems like Telus/Koodo just hasn’t added this particular model to its whitelist of phones that are allowed to use VoLTE.  They have added the Canadian version of the Samsung Galaxy S10 (SM-G973W) to their whitelist but not the U.S. version (SM-G973U), even though both support VoLTE.

When I check my IMEI here:

https://www.telus.com/en/support/article/how-to-use-volte

I am told that my G973U does not support VoLTE on the Telus network.

Yet, it appears that my phone would be supported for VoLTE on the Bell network when I check my IMEI here:

https://www.bell.ca/Mobility/IMEI-Lookup

Odd since both carriers share the same network.

So it’s not that my phone does not support VoLTE.  Or even that it is not compatible for VoLTE on the Bell/Telus network.  But rather that Telus has simply decided not to let it use VoLTE on their network.

This is not a major issue at the moment but it could mean that my newish phone (manufactured in 2019) with still decent specs (128 gb HDD, 8 gb RAM, etc...) will cease to function on the Telus network once the 3G network is decommissioned.

If that happens I will have no choice but to switch to Bell or another carrier at that time to continue using my phone.

If anyone from Telus or Koodo reads these forums, please consider changing this whitelisting policy for VoLTE.  It will be to your benefit in the long term for customer retention.

Though Bell and Telus share Cell Phone Towers, and the associated Radio Access, evidently the other components of the network are not shared.  I have read a lot about whitelisting and it’s not clear to me why it’s necessary.  But Rogers/Fido and the US carriers do it too.  Evidently Bell/Virgin do not do this, or at list are more liberal in allowing non Bell purchased devices to access their network.  Both Roger and Telus (and their associated sub brands like Koodo) are much more restrictive.

Yes, what you describe seems to be the case.

It is good to know that Bell remains an option for me if Telus does not change its whitelisting policy prior to decommissioning the 3G network in Canada.  Bell may also be a good option right now for me if I need to roam in the U.S. where the 3G networks are already being shut down.

And, indeed, once the 3G networks are turned off in Canada, Bell may become the best or only option for anyone who wants to bring their own device, particularly an out-of-country device.

These VoLTE whitelisting policies appear anti-competitive as they have the effect of preventing some consumers from bringing their own devices, whether or not this was the intent of the whitelist.

3G is expected to be up and running until at least 2026 , and possibly beyond that.

When 3g does get shutdown in Canada, hopefully all carriers will be more flexible in allowing any phones with VoLTE

Yes indeed, the whitelisting has become a frustrating and at times embarrassing ordeal when the affected handsets work flawlessly with VoLTE on many US carriers without any intervention…

The “lists” and lookup tools by Telus/Koodo/Public Mobile are hardly definitive and many devices not on the lists work with VoLTE on Koodo/Telus/PM and vice versa.  Thankfully I was able to get my last Moto device (not on the list, not from Koodo but from Costco) working with VoLTE a few days ago after scheduling a callback and being transferred to the tech support team.  After the tech pushed a few new APN profiles to my device along with a few restarts, I was back in business with IMS registration and VoLTE.  

In my case, VoLTE worked for a few weeks when Koodo started to enable it for users back in March.    I was back on 3G HSPA for voice calls until a few days ago when I got a text message from Koodo saying my device did not support VoLTE and that’s when I finally had enough and put some time into getting it resolved.   This same device works with VoLTE  over on PM.  I was shocked at how smooth the process was.  The reps involved were knowledgeable, professional and didn’t give me the run around!  

@RussKoodoo whitelisting is a great way for a carrier to reduce their tech support costs by only supporting X models.  It also provides a great way to sell new devices to customers.

@Dennis you are right that the 3G HSPA networks still have many years left before being decommissioned but carriers have been re-allocating HSPA spectrum to 5G and there have been many reports of degraded call quality in different areas on various forums.  Manitoba is a province where Telus has turned off 3G in some areas, so having VoLTE is a necessity!

Becomes even more complicated if you intend to roam in the US, where VoLTE is mandatory now.

https://www.att.com/idpassets/images/support/pdf/Devices-Working-on-ATT-Network.pdf?source=ESSZ0SSPR00T1EsEM&wtExtndSource=20201020164156_AT%26T+Community+Forums__COMMUNITY_3954573197