PAYG vs Pay monthly SIMs

[Wildcat]

I have recently bought a PAYG SIM for an elderly relative for emergency use only (as they are an infrequent user), but I have found that the PAYG SIM does not make/receive calls, whereas a pay monthly SIM in the same phone, in exactly the same location, can make/receive calls. Can anyone tell me why this would be?

[Wildcat]

Hi @Leanne_T , I'll try again, but I did try calling them last night and was waiting of half an hour, never got to speak to anyone, so i hung up

[Leanne_T]

Hi @Wildcat

The team will answer your call as quickly as possible, if you can keep holding until this is connected to an agent. 

Thanks 🙂

Leanne.

[Wildcat]

Hi @Leanne_T I managed to speak to EE tech support level 2, between us testing various bits we came to the conclusion that the PAYG SIM worked perfectly fine, so it has to be something with the Doro 6820. After a rather protracted conversation with Doro Support (not a patch on EE support btw) the Doro agent accepted that there was something wrong with the Doro 6820 as it would not update the software, it apparently was out of date - this is a brand new model, only released earlier this year!  She said I would have to discuss the phone issue with the reseller, so I said that's you, Doro, I went on Doro's website, found the phone, to buy it you click on a link which takes you to Doro's Amazon retail page. After a considerable amount of hassle, she agreed it was Doro's issue and apparently they knew there was a problem with this model phone not getting updates over the air and she would escalate this. I mentioned I'd emailed Doro support last night, she found my email, took my details and the Amazon order reference and said she would escalate my complaint. That was this morning, but so far nothing, not even an acknowledgement email. Quite disappointed with Doro.

[Leanne_T]

Hi @Wildcat

Thanks for coming back and letting me know. 

I hope this is sorted soon for you. 

Leanne 🙂

[Wildcat]

HI @Leanne_T so Doro are still working on this issue but they say:

Thank you for all the information. It has helped me better understand your issue. It seems that maybe EE VolTe is not supporting this type of calls for the version of this phone, as you may check here below:

It seems that actually we have now 2 things to consider:

1. The update of your system - and will this solve the VolTe issue?
2. Will this phone support this type of calling with EE?

These questions will have to be discussed directly with our 3rd line support. I will escalate it to their end and see what can be suggested - and if they have a solution or better guidance on what follows.

I will come back to you ASAP.

Best regards,
DORO TECHNICAL SUPPORT

There is no such setting in this phone, so it either means the software needs updating or VoLTE needs to be enabled on the phone or SIM or both?  Any ideas? Can you confirm if the Doro 6820 is supported for VoLTE?  

[Leanne_T]

Hi there @Wildcat

Thanks for coming back to me. 

If you have a chat with our pay as you go team on 150, they will check all the account settings and make sure everything is set up correctly at our end for you. 

In regards to the phone, we do advise to check when buying a phone from a non-EE retailer whether or not it supports 4G Calling, as we cannot guarantee phones purchased from third parties will support the feature. 

Leanne.

[Wildcat]

Hi @Leanne_T, please see posts above, I did call 150 and got through to 2nd level EE support and we tested everything and the SIM is correctly set up.  We tested the PAYG SIM by putting it into a Samsung Galaxy A40 and we could make and receive calls no problem. I have also since tested the same PAYG SIM in another Doro 7080 and it works in that too.  So something must be slightly different between the 6820 and the 7080 but I am at a loss to figure out what. I bought the 6820 from Doro and checked before that it was a 4G phone, so I assumed it would be able to use 4G to make calls - evidently I was mistaken?  I do so wish there was clearer guidance out there. EE only sell a handful of Doro phones and none of them were suitable, so I had no choice but to buy from Doro, via their Amazon retail outlet.

[Leanne_T]

Hi @Wildcat

If the SIM works in another phone and all settings are correct at our end, this would be the phone. 

I would suggest getting back in touch with Doro for further investigations.

Leanne.

[Wildcat]

Hi @Leanne_T so, after several emails back and forth with Doro's UK MD, they pushed out the over-the-air software update for the Doro 6820 and it now has the latest version. They also sent me another 6820 which they updated their end and sent that to me as well. So, after doing tests with the 2 phones and an EE SIM in each, one a pay monthly contract SIM and the other a PAYG/subscription SIM, it seems there is a difference in both types of SIM. The contract SIM instantly recognises the EE 4G network and registers and connects. The PAYG/subscription SIM does not register on the EE network (despite being able to see it) and says connection failed, emergency calls only. The only way to get the PAYG SIM to work is to walk half a mile up a hill to try and connect to EE 2G/3G network for it to register, then it works on 4G. I was advised previously there is no difference between a Pay monthly contract SIM and a PAYG/subscription SIM, but evidently there is. I await your response.

[Leanne_T]

Hi @Wildcat

Does the same happen if you put the pay as you go SIM card in a different device? 

Leanne.