Galaxy A15, diverts all incoming calls to voicemail when WkiFi calling is on.

[Rick443361875]

This has been going on since I replaced by Galaxy A3, which had audio issues when Wifi calling, to a new Galaxy A15.

The upgrade cured the audio BUT, I can take one incoming call, say, and the rest all go to voicemail.
I cannot dial OUT UNLESS I toggle WiFi calling, and sometimes even that fails to rectify.
Making or receiving a call does NOT guarantee the next will not go to voicemail, or that I will not be able to dial out.
I have changed my router and WIFI adapter to no avail.
I have escalated an issue with EE on no less than 4 times and still nothing fixes it.
I am tired of being told to reset my phone, upgrade the software, or change something (it's almost like reinstalling windows used to be the microsoft fix all). I have changed every setting I have been asked to.

Either, there is a fault with my new A15 or with EE.

One tech tells me that the wifi calling symbol is from a command acknowledgement  from EE and another tech says not.
Somehow, EE forgets that I have wifi calling selected and thus, calls me using a tower which is too weak to register on my phone rather than my broadband, but there's no ringing, just direct to voicemail, as if my phone wasn't there.

Could my broadband be the cause ? I think not.

At one time I was using both of my broadband land lines. One to speak with EE and the other to dial my phone while I obeyed my tech and changed this setting or resetting my phone, or restarting it.

Even when the system is broken, EE say there is no fault.

It's hard to get a solution when you get 3 days before their case is closed.

I can see my settings menus in my sleep.

Is there a root problem with the A15 ?

WhatsApp calling is perfect at all times so everything up to the input port at EE works.

I have zero cell coverage here. Sometimes, even a scan of networks will not show EE.

I miss my 3G box which handled wifi calling perfectly. Why not a 4g box ?

Clearly something is broken.

[Rick443361875]

OK. I shall try, for the 5th time, to get someone technical to take ownership of my issue and speak with them.

The notes about my issue are long as I said, 5 guys have looked at this but no one seems to have come up with anything more than resetting my phone or my router.

I will keep you updated.
It may take a day or so as I get 3 days before the ticket is closed and I have to go round the loop again.

[Rick443361875]

EE tier 3 have washed their hands of this issue as they claim wifi calling is the remit of my broadband supplier and not EE.

It is suggested that I.

1) reset my phone to factory settings.. Done that 3 times already.

2) contact my broadband supplier, which I did. They have no idea how the broadband system can handle WhatsApp voip, facebook messaging and skype yet fails to reliable handle the EE end.

3) Send my phone back to Samsung, who, when I contacted them some time back, claimed that if their phone connects satisfactorily to the internet via my wifi, there's nothing wrong with the phone; it's a network issue.

My guy from my broadband company is coming to see me to carry out the following test.
IF he can receive calls using my wifi and I cannot, and he is on EE as I am, I may have to get another number and sim to try.
If that works, then it's an EE problem as it would appear to be number specific, not handset specific or broadband specific.. I wonder about having calls to my current number diverted to my new number.

Is that something EE can do ?
These are all things I would expect EE to suggest, rather than what seems to be a "Have you tried....." approach to fault location.
So, I shall do my own research at my own expense and see what the results show.

[bristolian]

I would be intrigued to know exactly who you're dealing with, who call themselves "Tier 3", I have suspicions but appreciate you won't know.

WiFi-calling uses particular internet ports over a working connection - generally the system does "just work" and major problems tend to be obvious, cause widespread issues and be easily replicable. Single-user faults are a little different.

Thus the test of using another EE phone on your connection is a very wise one. That will narrow the issue down to your SIM/account, or WiFi-router.  Reviewing this thread, I can't see any comments about whether your phone works on other WiFi-hotspots.

[Rick443361875]

Hi Bristolian.

When I eventually got through to a young lady in Wales, and she read me the last notes on my file. I asked, "When was this likely to be communicated to me?".
She said that "tier 3" are too important to speak to anyone. I don't think she was impressed, but there was nothing else she could do for me, basically, EE said it was my problem.

She read the 3 points to me. 1) Reset the phone to factory, 2)Call me broadband supplier, 3) send the phone away to be repaired.

When I call my cell today, from my landline, I get an engaged tone. MY VM is ON and wifi preferred is set.
Yes, my phone does work on other Wifi hot spots, which I assume you mean on other people's Wifi at their homes.
I alluded to spending some time with a pal using his WiFi to determine if calls go through or not.

That text is difficult to arrange as he works erratic shifts.

I spoke at length with my Broadband guy. He was at a loss to explain this issue as a digital fault should either be broken, or not, that it tends to intermittent with a leaning towards more failing than not,

My background is fault finding in Broadcast TV systems, and electronic design, though my knowledge, these days, about cellular phones and broadband stuff is zero.

We agreed that if facebook messenger, Skype, WhatsApp, youtube, and streaming services work, this proves beyond doubt that my phone is communicating with the broadband service and the issue is down to EE, not my phone.
He is coming to see me on Monday, and we will put his phone on my wifi network and we will call each other and see what occurs. We will both be on EE.

However, in order to isolate my phone, I COULD drop my sim back into my Galaxy A3, which, if you remember, had outgoing audio issues in wifi calling but was also 100% using Skype or WhatsApp, so we are back to an issue with EE as the common factor.
IF I could get hold of a low/no cost SIM from A,N.Other phone company and my phone works wifi on THAT provider, then it has to be an EE issue.

As I say, tests will be done and records carefully kept.
Bear in mind that my Broadband guy has the exact same router as me, is on EE and has no issue with his phone from his home so swapping sims or him using my wifi should prove something.

As part of my broadband deal, he looks after my router settings, updates and my Yealink home phone system which is also VOIP, works perfectly and EE do not support the yealink system else I MIGHT have moved to EE for my broadband as well.

I am deeply frustrated because I would expect a log exists somewhere of my activity on the EE network, maybe.
I apologise for the rant. Currently, I am paying for a cellular service that doesn't work at my home, where I spend 99% of my time. I have lost hospital cancellations for an operation, lost business because my customers can't get through to me.

IF I bought my phone through EE, and paid many hundreds for it, they could swap the phone but as I bought direct from Samsung, who deny their hone is faulty for all the reasons I mentioned,

[Rick443361875]

STOP PRESS for all those still reading this.

My pal with an identical A14 came to visit, so I hooked him up on my wifi network and we, we verified that when our phones were locked, that is, gone to sleep, his phone would ring and mine went to voicemail.

So, we swapped SIM cards, hence we swapped numbers AND cellular networks, my pal being on O2.

Surprise surprise, the "fault" followed the SIM, and HIS phone, when my number was called, went to voicemail, and my phone, on O2 and a different number rang every time.

Proving the handset is NOT at fault (Having just shelled out for a new A33), and demonstrating that the SIM is responsible despite it being a replacement SIM to try to rectify the same fault in the early days.

I asked my EE guy if there was anything in my testing regime that I missed that would disprove my SIM hypothesis and he agreed that if the fault follows the SIM, especially across different providers, it's the SIM.
A new SIM is on its way and I have suggested all hell will break loose if the new SIM demonstrates the same "fault" as the old SIM, assuming the original replacement was a bit image of the original.

Does anyone know what part of a SIM would prevent the phone ringing when locked? Especiallywhen the "feature" is not accessible from the settings menu?
It seems a nonsence setting to me.
I shall try the new SIM when it arrives and report back.

[Rick443361875 · Accepted solution]

So, despite having a SIM replacement in the early days, and despite EE claiming it was a broadband issue as it was to do with WiFi calling, and despite resetting my phone to factory more than once, changing my router, my wifi node and touching just about every setting there is to change, and ignoring the rather unhelpful young lady who said "Have you trued changing your broadband supplier?" and ignoring the comment that I should send my phone away for repair ... It turned out to be the SIM all this time, the replacement SIM, mind, the one that was sent to me initially to try to cure the same problem, was the fault.

I am happy that the fault is now cured, though I did a lot of research myself to gradually isolate the issue to, initially, the handset, and later, to the SIM. I now ask the question that will never be answered, "What fault in a SIM diverts calls to voicemail when the phone locks AND the phone is set to WiFi calling and WiFi preferred?".

I would love to have the SIM examined by an EE mega tech. A person who knows the bits and bytes of the system forwards and backwards because if it happens once.......

Anyway.. SOLVED.

I thank all those here who offered their help and advice.

[bristolian]

I rather suspect it's nothing physically wrong with the SIM. But your account profile being re-provisioned onto the core network databases.

Loving your concept of the "mega-tech"!!

[Rick443361875]

well,  I THOUGHT the issue was solved, but it lasted one incoming phone call.
So..
I purchased a Tesco PAYG card placing that in my A15 and fitted the SIM that prevents my incoming call from ringing, into a NEW A33 phone.
The issue is a combination of the A 15 and the EE sim.
Naturally, no one wants to hear this, but I have verified this to be absolutely true.
Put the EE sim BACK in my A15, and incoming calls go to voicemail.
It's so easily replicated, I have no doubt that there is an issue between the EE sim and the A15 that does NOT reveal itself with the A33 or with a Tesco PAYG card.

I see that this issue is being discussed on other forums with similar **bleep** covering statements my samsung and EE.