Roaming in the USA - do EE offer VoLTE

[_MrR_]

I'm heading to the States in a few weeks and wanted to understand if EE have a solution in place (namely VoLTE) to ensure trouble free roaming in the States.

As you'll know, when we roam abroad. We can access 4G (and now in some places 5G) for data services but when you make a call, the network jumps back to 3G (same way it used to domestically before 4G calling / VoLTE became a thing). 

All fine and when roaming in the States, we can roam on AT&T or T-Mobile.

AT&T have this year closed down their 2G and their 3G network meaning that whilst you can still log onto AT&T for 4G data, there's no 3G (or 2G) network to route calls. 

T-Mobile are about to close their 3G network on the 1st July meaning again, whilst data is un-impacted, roamed voice calls will be run over their (soon to be congested) 2G network. 

Vodafone have dedicated support pages on their personal and business websites to flag the issue to customers and are basically about to launch VoLTE / 4G calling for customers roaming in the States (although no firm launch date agreed yet).

My question is, where are EE on this? Have they launched 4G calling for customers roaming in the States yet (as they'll have a lot of customers, me included, expecting a full service with their roam further bundles) or are they too likely to be impacted when T-Mobile closes their 3G network this upcoming Friday?

[Chris_B]

@_MrR_  you have answered your own question if these networks and have shut down or are shutting down the 2G and 3G networks your phone cannot fall back to them therefore has to remain on 4G for calls.    

[_MrR_]

No - I've not answered my question at all. 

My question is, have EE launched VoLTE / 4G calling when abroad (specifically in the USA).

Vodafone haven't and are warning customers that until they do, no voice calls will be offered over AT&T. In fact they have been steering roaming traffic to T-Mobile as until July 1st, they still have a 3G network for calls.

For T-Mobile, once the 3G network is closed this Friday, the only route for voice calls will be via T-Mobile 2G which is likely to get very congested and offer a reduced quality of service. 

EE needs to have launched 4G calling (VoLTE) when abroad in other to offer calls over a 4G network. It's not a case of it has to remain on 4G because there's no 3G to fall back onto. The service has to have been launched.

Hopefully the service has already launched and that's why there's no specific call out. After all, 3G networks will be getting retired left, right and centre over the next few years so 4G calling is essential. 

Just I haven't yet seen it. Even when roaming in Ireland and Spain recently getting 5G from EE, it still jumps back to 3G for calls. 

Hope this helps.

[James_B · Accepted solution]

Hi @_MrR_,

If your phone is 4G Calling capable, you can make calls using AT&T's 4G network when roaming in the USA.

Hope this helps.

James

[_MrR_]

Brilliant reply @James_B 

That's absolutely reassured me. There's a very large group of us heading there in a few weeks and was considering getting local sims rather than roaming if you guys were in the same situation as Vodafone. 

But as you've specifically called out that we can make calls over AT&T 4G (as they're the ones who shut down their 2G and 3G network months ago) then we're absolutely good to go.

Thanks for the response 👍

[James_B]

No problem @_MrR_ 🙂

James

[chistery]

It's going to be interesting to see how this works in reality.

Google only updated their Pixels to support VoLTE roaming earlier this month. I suspect iPhones have it already and a smattering of Androids like the latest Samsungs will support it with the rest already getting very poor levels of updates, will it work via a carrier services update or a firmware update or maybe never?

So you need a supported handset with it enabled, and the roaming and home network need to support it. That's not going to be easy to troubleshoot if it isn't working.

Anyway, @_MrR_  please keep us updated!

[_MrR_]

I promised to update this thread based on my experiences.

The good news is that @James_B was absolutely spot on with his reply. 

I've not had any issues roaming with EE since I arrived.

What I didn't expect was 5G roaming on AT&T but that's what I got. With both voice and data traffic working perfectly on both 4G and 5G.

Looks like it's only Vodafone who weren't / aren't ready for the 3G switch off here.

[Jon_K]

Thanks for updating us on this, @_MrR_ 🙂