Is there a 4G successor to the discontinued 3G booster box?

[stephen5000]

As many now know, EE are discontinuing the service of their excellent 3G Booster box, and after 7 fabulous years of 5 bar coverage use, I got 3 weeks notice of this. My phone does NOT have WiFi calling option, so I'm a bit snookered. I don't want to buy a new phone, current one is working perfectly, besides, think of all the poor dolphins in throwing perfectly good stuff in the bin unnecessarily!

Is anyone aware if there is a 4G 'booster box' available that will work for me, preferably supplied by EE? (or a generic one as an alternative)

[stephen5000]

---

@bristolian wrote:

---

---

The link posted works fine for me also. I'm using my own personal laptop running Chrome & Firefox. And my home broadband isn't EE - although this won't make any difference to file downloads.

---

With respect, that's a poor argument. Plenty of people made it on a ship to New York, but one ship, The Titanic, sunk. 'Fine for me' doesn't diagnose any issue...

[Chris_B]

@stephen5000  That links works for me.  That’s on a iPhone supplied by EE but doesn’t have anything related to EE in the firmware. Over Wi-Fi and cellular    It also works on my iPad over the internet. 

[stephen5000]

---

@Chris_B wrote:

@stephen5000  That links works for me.  That’s on a iPhone supplied by EE but doesn’t have anything related to EE in the firmware. Over Wi-Fi and cellular    It also works on my iPad over the internet. 

---

I refer the honourable gentleman to my previous response I gave earlier (No51) LOL

[stephen5000]

OK, think I have found a phone with everything I want, (even an old fashioned LED notification light!)

It's a 'Caterpillar Cat s52'. The key question is, will it do WiFi calling?

The spec states the following if anyone can decipher the elusive code...,

CONNECTIVITY:

4G LTE Bands: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38

3G Bands: 1,2,4,5,8

2G Bands: 2,3,5,8

[bristolian]

That spec relates to the 4G frequency bands and is unrelated to WiFi-calling.

EE operate 4G on Bands 1, 3, 7 & 20. Band 3 is the primary layer, Band 20 is used in many areas to extend coverage on any SIM/phone that supports 4G-calling.

A quick Google search suggests this probably is compatible, but you will only know for certain by trying.

[stephen5000]

---

@bristolian wrote:

A quick Google search suggests this probably is compatible, but you will only know for certain by trying.

---

That's exactly what I want to avoid, 'trial & error', hence my disappointment that phones do not come with a spec to answer a simple question, can it carry out WiFi calling or not. My annoyance at EE terminating my current 5 bar network signal grows with every hour... 😁

EDIT

Just downloaded the instruction manual for the phone, and came across this, encouraging, or a red herring?

[bristolian]

If you want a cast-iron guarantee that your chosen phone will work with VoWiFi, you have no option but to purchase from EE direct where their website confirms support.

Most recent Android releases will work although on an unsupported basis. Some of the less mainstream manufacturers will be a lottery to an extent. You will need to purchase online and use the 14day statutory right of return as a fallback.

[stephen5000]

Thanks for that, is my 'EDIT' above any use?

[bristolian]

It confirms what Google suggests - that the phone supports "Voice over WiFi" which is another way of referring to WiFi-calling. It's an Android device so should be OK, but I refer to my previous posts regarding the cast-iron guarantee that you're seeking - I can't give you that.

[stephen5000]

Well, I've taken the plunge and bought the Cat s52 phone. Though online, it is a used one so I won't have the 14 day returns obligation, but fingers crossed, worst that can happen is that I'll have to Ebay it if it doesn't do! 😁 No doubt I'll be back here if I have problems trying to set the darn thing up!