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Carrier No VoLTE on AT&T with sim free iPhone 6/6+?
- Thread starter T5BRICK
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Yes. My first 6+ was a Verizon model and it worked fine. It makes sense because the Verizon, AT&T and T-mobile units are all the same model, while the Sprint and sim free units are actually a different model.
Yes. I've been using "Verizon" iPhones for the past 2 years on AT&T and VoLTE works just fine with the iPhone 6. Oddly, it doesn't seem to work with the SIM-free iPhone 6, which is just the Sprint version that supports all the same bands as the AT&T/Verizon version plus the TD-LTE bands that Sprint and China Mobile use. I had heard similar issues with the A1586 sold in Europe, so perhaps this is just a SIM-provisioning issue that will get fixed, seeing as AT&T users may be buying this version, as well.
Yeah, should definitely be in range there. That is effectively all of Boston lol.
Not only in Boston
I ordered test drive kit, t-mo sent me not connected phone, they hang up on me 2 times, 3d time they told me to return the phone, they told me that I used test drive and cannot order snother one. I sent twit to J.L. their ceo. Do you think they contactedme? No!!! ... And the sales person called me " What's up Bro!" I'm not his .... bro! That's why now I have a choice VZE or Att. Att gives me 20 percent discount
VZW 15 and Ihave to signed a more expensive plan.
Sorry for offtop. Just call Att, first lady was "give me a minute, give me a second", line was disconnected. Second guy told me that my lines volte capatible.
Update 2: So this afternoon I noticed that VoLTE stopped working on my "Verizon" A1549 AT&T iPhone 6 (but was still working fine on Verizon on my SIM-free A1586 iPhone 6). I head to the AT&T store, and after nearly an hour of "troubleshooting" including giving me a new SIM card, and still not getting VoLTE, the rep called tech support. She gave the tech support rep the IMEI of my A1549 iPhone and the tech updated my account with it (I'm thinking that the chat rep replaced it with the IMEI of my SIM-free model yesterday). That did the trick.
For kicks, I put the SIM in my SIM-free. At first it still dropped down to 4G for calls, and continued to do so when I put it back into my A1549 model.
But then I powered down both and restarted. First, VoLTE came back to my A1549 iPhone, and it actually briefly worked on my A1586. But then after that, it dropped back down to 4G with the next call, and naturally it did the same on my A1549 iPhone 6, though I was able to VoLTE back on that one by resetting network settings and doing a soft reset.Bottom line: This seems to be something on AT&T's side, and it appears to be linked to the goofy way that AT&T has provisioned VoLTE. Apparently both your SIM and IMEI need to match up on AT&T's system, and if it doesn't, it appears to sometimes unprovision VoLTE on your account entirely until an AT&T tech manually fixes it on their system.
They have been a GSM carrier for what, 15 years now, and they still can't figure out how to just provision everything on the SIM?
Also, I occasionally get a "your SIM card sent a text message" on my phone. What I notice is that VoLTE works before I get that message. Once it does, then VoLTE stops working. That has happened on both the A1549 and A1586. I'm now wondering if all this has to do with the carrier settings. Perhaps AT&T needs to issue an updated carrier setting for the A1586 that is separate and distinct from the A1549.
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Id give it some time for them to workout all the bugs and issues with it.
Volte is pretty new and now starting to take off on AT&T.
At least you're not dropping calls left and right like on verizons Volte.
Volte is pretty new and now starting to take off on AT&T.
At least you're not dropping calls left and right like on verizons Volte.
This appears to be a carrier setting issue. I think consumers should put the pressure on both AT&T and Apple to get it sorted out by letting their respective tech support/customer service lines know. VoLTE works fine on the A1549. There's really no reason why it shouldn't work on the SIM-free A1586 since it's the same phone, but with support for 4 additional LTE bands that AT&T doesn't use.
Yes, I also think its something that needs to be corrected or updated on AT&T's side.
Im sure they'll fix it eventually.
Another update. I spent about an hour on a chat with an AT&T rep yesterday and another hour today with an Apple rep. Night and day. The AT&T rep stuck to the party line and insisted that calls would not route over LTE unless both sides were on HD (not true at all) and was downright belligerent.
The Apple rep was friendly (actually both of them, since I was handed off to Level 2) and even called me afterward to confirm some details. We pretty much ruled out anything on Apple's side, but he told me he would contact the engineers when he sees them tomorrow at the office just in case there is something on their side, since this does appear to be a new issue for them (at least for him). He sent me the chat where we confirmed that VoLTE works with Verizon, and that the error message I received was a carrier message. He was upfront that since this appears to be a carrier issue, there's not much that the engineers at Apple could do, but he gave me what I need to hopefully get AT&T to look into it, and promised to follow up with me next weekend when he is back in the office (he's off Wednesdays through Fridays and works 10 hour days 4 days per week).
I'll call AT&T during the week when, hopefully, the A team is at the office and is actually interested in making sure people who spend $649-$949 for the SIM-free iPhone 6 and 6 Plus can use all of AT&T's network capabilities.
The Apple rep was friendly (actually both of them, since I was handed off to Level 2) and even called me afterward to confirm some details. We pretty much ruled out anything on Apple's side, but he told me he would contact the engineers when he sees them tomorrow at the office just in case there is something on their side, since this does appear to be a new issue for them (at least for him). He sent me the chat where we confirmed that VoLTE works with Verizon, and that the error message I received was a carrier message. He was upfront that since this appears to be a carrier issue, there's not much that the engineers at Apple could do, but he gave me what I need to hopefully get AT&T to look into it, and promised to follow up with me next weekend when he is back in the office (he's off Wednesdays through Fridays and works 10 hour days 4 days per week).
I'll call AT&T during the week when, hopefully, the A team is at the office and is actually interested in making sure people who spend $649-$949 for the SIM-free iPhone 6 and 6 Plus can use all of AT&T's network capabilities.
I wouldn't bother with att chat.
Just call them and ask to be transferred to the higher tech support. They have more options and details than regular customer service. Hope they figure it out or at least give you some answers.
Just call them and ask to be transferred to the higher tech support. They have more options and details than regular customer service. Hope they figure it out or at least give you some answers.
Update: I called AT&T yesterday. The A1586 shows up as HD-compatible on their system. Even after they added the IMEI to my account it would not route calls over LTE. However, when I put the SIM back in the other phone, VoLTE worked, so they ruled out a SIM provisioning issue. They kicked it up to Networking and told me to leave the SIM in the A1586 for now so that they can look at activity on their end. I should hear back from them next week.
VoLTE on AT&T does require a new sim card... so if you didn't use the one that came with the phone or getting a new one, (e.g. using your old sim card from a 5, 5S, 5C) then you will need to get one.
Yes, I noticed that.
When I put in my old i5 sim In the 6 plus I got a text right away to go to AT&T and get a new sim.
Yeah, I heard about that from other MacRumors members. When I got my 6 Plus, before I even opened the box, I went to the store and got a new SIM card.
I did an upgrade swap on my line and I didn't know that you could call them and have them reprogram the card that came in the phone. (I preordered through the Premier Site.)
Found this interesting information on the AT&T web site (direct link to the information):
In order for VoLTE to work, you need to use the UICC-G or higher SIM that came with your device.
Older SIM cards can fit into newer HD Voice phones, but they may not support VoLTE. If you do not use the SIM card that came with your device, you may experience service issues.
Each SIM card has a unique 20-digit Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID). The ICCID consists of 19 or 20 digits that are stored in the SIM card memory and engraved or printed directly on the card.
The 9th and 10th digits of a VoLTE-capable UICC-G SIM card will be either 27 or 28.
If you don't have a UICC-G SIM you can get one from an AT&T store or by contacting AT&T Customer Service or dialing 611 from your mobile device.
Hope this helps!
Again from the AT&T website:
HD Voice call with someone who's not with AT&T
HD Voice calls are currently only available between AT&T customers using AT&T HD Voice-capable devices within AT&T HD Voice coverage areas.
I'm not able to locate where the online system will display if the IMEI is registered. Can you tell me where to find it on the AT&T website (after logging in of course).
Thanks.
There's a difference between HD Voice and VoLTE. If you are in an HD Voice area with a compatible phone the call will route over LTE regardless. It just won't be HD using the higher quality codec.
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I don't think it shows up online.
I have not. AT&T says it's listed as a VoLTE device on their system (and their tech support people are usually clueless and don't know the difference between VoLTE and HD Voice). Apple says it isn't on their side. It's probably a carrier setting issue. Hopefully there is just a single iPhone 6S/6S Plus with all the LTE bands next year so we don't run into these issues.
I just upgraded from my launch day iPhone 6 att to a sim free 6+ from the Apple Store yesterday. Volte worked flawlessly on my iPhone 6 to my wife's launch day iPhone 6 since day one. Swapped sims from my old 6 to my new 6+ and volte will not work. I even called and had the rep update all the settings and imei numbers and it still doesn't work. Not sure what to do next.
Im on the phone with someone from ATT advanced tech support right now. They said that when I swapped phones and called in to have the IMEI updated, the VoLTE coding was removed from the device profile. They are getting a manager to add it back and they think this is why it doesnt work currently. Im on hold, will post up after to let you guys know the outcome.