No, both parties don't need a VoLTE enabled device for it to work. It will work to any number, any time, on any type of network - landline, VOIP, satellite phone, call to North Korea, et al - VoLTE on the receiving end is not, and never has been, a requirement. All that VoLTE is, is the initiation of a call over a packet-switched data connection instead of a circuit-switched phone connection - optimized specifically for LTE as a standard VOIP connection uses far more bandwidth.
Careful. VoLTE is not HDVoice. You need to be using VoLTE in order to have an HDVoice call. VoLTE is the fact that your voice is being transmitted as data over the LTE connection.
If both parties are using VoLTE and they are on the same carrier (for now), their voice can be carried using a higher data rate and thus use a better codec, which the carriers are calling HDVoice.
If you have other info available showing VoLTE can be used for all calls as long as the originating device is on LTE even to other carriers or landlines I am interested in seeing it.
AT&T completely disagrees with you, and they do have more knowledge of their networks:
http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/services/hd-voice.html
To use AT&T HD Voice, both caller and receiver need an AT&T HD Voice-capable phone and must be located in an AT&T HD Voice coverage area
as well as the FAQ tab reiterates this numerous times. As AT&T calls VoLTE on their networks HD Voice, your post is wrong for AT&T and the context of this thread about the carrier update.
Ok source? Heres mine. Currently a call has to be on the same network amongst other requirements. ATT and Verizon working on interoperability between themselves for 2015.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/news...rd-voice-over-lte-volte-interoperability.html
http://www.verizonwireless.com/support/advanced-calling-faqs/
<<"You can make an HD Voice call the same way you make a regular voice call (e.g., from your Contacts app, Phone app or Recent Calls), provided that both you and the person you're calling:
•Are using an HD Voice-capable phone
•Have the HD Voice feature enabled
•Are connected to the Verizon 4G LTE network
On most devices, you ll know you're on an HD Voice call if an "HD" logo appears in the upper right corner of your in-call screen. If a wired headset or a Bluetooth headset is connected to your phone, HD Voice calls may not be delivered to the headset with HD quality unless the headset is also compatible with HD Voice.">>
http://www.androidcentral.com/volte-how-use-it-and-why-you-should
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2464149,00.asp
<<"With all of these different kinds of VoLTE, interoperability is an issue. Right now in the U.S., you can only make HD calls between HD phones on the same carrier. Verizon is "in lab work" to enable HD calling with "other carriers" but "not Sprint" ">>
This carrier update is killing my battery life. I turned LTE to data only and it made a marginal difference, but still significantly worse than before
No... actually it doesn't disagree with me. HD Voice and VoLTE are not the same thing. HD Voice is the trade name for the AMR-WB codec that transforms your analog voice into a digital signal. AMR-WB is in use on GSM, UMTS and LTE - notably on T-Mobile here in the US. VoLTE is not part of the equation, outside of the fact it uses this voice codec. To have HD Voice, that is, AMR-WB to AMR-WB - you need to be on the same network. Not on VoLTE.
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No source needed.
Here's a screenshot from the last time we had to have this discussion, courtesy of someone else... calling an 800 number, on VoLTE:
Image
Well ok. Not sure a screenshot is any proof but thats ok. I asked for real info but apparently a screenshot is all you need, (no source needed) So based on my screenshot, does that mean Verizon now supports wifi calling? I mean since I see the wifi symbol during a call?
View attachment 520866
That is a ridiculously stupid question that I am sure you already know the answer to.
Here is what I got when I just ran a SpeedTest (the first since the carrier update) and it is by far the fastest speeds I've ever seen on any of my phones. Don't know if it is due to the carrier update, but if so, it's nice.
Ran it again a few times:
Second test - 59.7 down, 18.1 up, 49ms ping.
Third test - 91.0 down, 19.7 up, 45ms ping
Well ok. Not sure a screenshot is any proof but thats ok. I asked for real info but apparently a screenshot is all you need, (no source needed) So based on my screenshot, does that mean Verizon now supports wifi calling? I mean since I see the wifi symbol during a call?
View attachment 520866
What more do you need exactly? The two best ways to test this are: get access to the VoLTE specification white paper from 3GPP, or test it yourself (deductive reasoning is useful here!). The iPhone has one radio, therefore it can only be in one mode at a time. If the phone is in a call and still on LTE, then it must be using VoLTE, no? The 800 number in his image is the landline call center for Verizon Wireless. Clearly it works.
Further, from Wiki:
"To ensure compatibility, 3GPP demands at least AMR-NB codec (narrow band), but the recommended speech codec for VoLTE is Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband, also known as HD Voice. This codec is mandated in 3GPP networks that support 16 kHz sampling." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VoLTE#Voice_quality
Why exactly would VoLTE support AMR Narrowband (the usual old GSM speech codec) if the only reason VoLTE was used was to facilitate an HD Voice call? Or if even VoLTE and HD Voice were synonymous terms (they are not).
Multiple people have had experiences opposite to your supposition through actual testing. As much as I see various sites on the net conflating HD Voice and VoLTE, I wouldn't put much stock in your "sources."
Maybe we're all just elaborate trolls![]()
Well ok. Not sure a screenshot is any proof but thats ok. I asked for real info but apparently a screenshot is all you need, (no source needed) So based on my screenshot, does that mean Verizon now supports wifi calling? I mean since I see the wifi symbol during a call?
View attachment 520866
Nope. It says the words "Wifi" while on a Wifi call. Just like it displays the technology the call is on in other situations, be it LTE, 4G, 3G, G (sm), or 1x.
But no proof is needed regardless of the situation if actual demonstration of it functioning isn't good enough. Especially when I know precisely how it works in the first place and am not confusing the HD Voice codec with the network voice carriage takes place on.
Riddle me this, how would the device know what was on the other end if it doesn't start the call?
Verizon's "Advanced Calling" refers to their specific branding of the full suite of services that carriage of voice on LTE allows. OTT services, RCS services -- video calls, video sharing, file transfer, social presence, geolocation, Exchange support, presentations, so on and so forth.
You can call, literally, anyone on the planet over VoLTE. All you lose is RCS and voice quality.
OK cool thanks. I am no way the expert on VoLTE. My questions come from this scenario (and all the Advance calling hype from VZW and ATT). According to that hype, you can start a call on LTE to another LTE user on the same network and if both users have capable handsets get VoLTE HD. All is well UNLESS you are traveling and happen to get out of the LTE area in which case the call will drop because the network cannot handle the transition from LTE back to 3G/CDMA. That is well documented in Verizon information.
So with that in mind, it seems odd to me that you could start a non HD call still using VoLTE while on the LTE network but in same instance as above you move out of the LTE area but in this case the call does not drop. It either makes the transition to 3G/CDMA fine for whatever reason when HD is not involved OR it was using the 3G/CDMA to begin with for the voice call and only LTE for data as per this mode:
Simultaneous voice and LTE (SVLTE)
In this approach, the handset works simultaneously in the LTE and circuit switched modes, with the LTE mode providing data services and the circuit switched mode providing the voice service.
Anyway not a big deal either way, as long as I can make a phone call I really dont care how Verizon processes it.Just inquiring mind.
OK cool thanks. I am no way the expert on VoLTE. My questions come from this scenario (and all the Advance calling hype from VZW and ATT). According to that hype, you can start a call on LTE to another LTE user on the same network and if both users have capable handsets get VoLTE HD. All is well UNLESS you are traveling and happen to get out of the LTE area in which case the call will drop because the network cannot handle the transition from LTE back to 3G/CDMA. That is well documented in Verizon information.
So with that in mind, it seems odd to me that you could start a non HD call still using VoLTE while on the LTE network but in same instance as above you move out of the LTE area but in this case the call does not drop. It either makes the transition to 3G/CDMA fine for whatever reason when HD is not involved OR it was using the 3G/CDMA to begin with for the voice call and only LTE for data as per this mode:
Simultaneous voice and LTE (SVLTE)
In this approach, the handset works simultaneously in the LTE and circuit switched modes, with the LTE mode providing data services and the circuit switched mode providing the voice service.
Anyway not a big deal either way, as long as I can make a phone call I really dont care how Verizon processes it.Just inquiring mind.
AT&T carrier update made my battery life bad. I restored my phone but denied the carrier update and my battery life is back to the way it was.