I'm posting this because of how I was treated by EE support, not just because of the fault itself.
What happened
Wi-Fi calling stopped working on both my EE phones the day my broadband provider gave me a static IP. Nothing else changed. My O2 phone on the same Wi-Fi still makes Wi-Fi calls, and both EE phones make Wi-Fi calls fine on other broadband.
What EE support told me
I explained this to the first advisor. She told me EE "detects and blocks static IPs" and talked over me when I tried to explain why that isn't possible. I asked for a manager. He told me he has "a master's degree in networking from college", that a static IP "uses protocols" and that it "works like a VPN".
None of that is true:
- A static IP is just an address that doesn't change. It uses the same protocols as a dynamic one.
- It is not a VPN and doesn't work like one.
- EE can't tell whether an address is static. Its servers only see the address the traffic comes from.
I work in a multidisciplinary role across IT and cybersecurity, so I knew this was wrong. Most customers wouldn't, and would take it as fact.
What's actually going on
I sent the same handshake a phone uses to start Wi-Fi calling to every UK carrier's Wi-Fi calling servers, from my connection and from a friend's broadband:
From my static IP:
- EE (all 5 servers): no reply
- Vodafone, O2, Three: reply
From a friend's UK broadband:
- EE (all 5 servers): reply
- Vodafone, O2, Three: reply
EE only ignores my address. My IP range (149.119.0.0/22) is registered in ARIN (the North American registry) to my ISP's parent company, 4th Utility, at a London address, and it geolocates to Manchester. But it sits inside a larger ARIN block (149.119.0.0/16) owned by Cogent Communications in the US, and before that it belonged to Syracuse University in the US for over 20 years. My previous address was in RIPE (the European registry), registered as GB, and that worked. So EE isn't blocking static IPs. It's most likely blocking this range because the parent record still says US.
What I'm asking for
- The 149.119.0.0/22 range reviewed by the team that manages Wi-Fi calling access. I've already emailed EE the full evidence.
- Support staff not telling customers that static IPs work like VPNs.
I'll update this thread with what happens.
