Very Poor Voice Call Quality on multiple Android Phones

[Kingdom]

I have a Pixel 6, up to date, my son has a Samsung, also up to date.

When making calls, with or without WiFi calling enabled, in areas with good 4G, 5G signal strength and/or strong WiFi on a fast Fibre connection, also with EE.

We are reported as faint, keep dropping out, the first sentence from us is not heard, breaking up, silences...

From the same location, my wife's iPhone give's clear calls. We're on a family bundle.

I've worked in digital telecoms and our problems seem to fit a situation where the wrong Codec is being used for the calls on the Android phones. An incorrect setting for the two SIMs at EE.

I haven't been able to talk to anyone at EE about this issue. They keep checking the network rather than the VOLTE/WIFi calling options in use.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks

Peter

[bristolian]

Your symptoms don't fit what I'd expect of a codec issue. Forgetting the "G" you're using, Android phones should show VoLTE next to the coverage indicators - do yours?

Your issues sound like handovers between VoLTE & VoWiFi. Both access bearers enable use of WB-AMR ("HD calling") & EVS ("HD+") which Android phones display on-screen during a mobile-based call. Apple unfortunately is not that helpful.

Unless you've forced WiFi-preferred, then "good coverage" should translate into VoWiFi settings being irrelevant.

[Kingdom]

Good afternoon,

Thank you for replying to my submission.

My phone doesn't show WiFi calling in the bar at the top of the screen,
however the settings say it is enabled and it says it's on, WiFi
Calling..Of you make a call the WiFi symbol appears during the call. Whilst
my Son's Samsung Galaxy S22 has the special.phone handset icon with the
WiFi symbol displaying on his screen.

I've checked and my Pixel 6 is currently on this version of the Operator
Settings: ee_gb-56000000049.64
2024-02-28

We have both been making calls from multiple locations in my hometown, at
my mother's, 16 miles away and my work, 45 miles away. With terrible voice
call quality at all the locations. To third parties and to each other.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards

Peter

[bristolian]

Here's some screenshots of various permutations, showing the on-screen symbols you should get..

HD-calling via VoLTE (mobile network)HD-calling via WiFi (VoWiFi)Non-HD calling via VoLTE (mobile network)Non-HD calling via WiFi (VoWiFi)

OS updates on Android phones seem to be removing the toggle switch for VoLTE, thus it's on by default. If VoLTE is not active, the consequences are..

1: Lack of handover between mobile & WiFi, calls will drop.

2: Narrowband voice codecs are used on 2G, thus significant degradation in audio quality.

3: Lack of mobile data whilst on a call.

[Kingdom]

Thanks again for replying.

I'm sitting in the car park of son's rugby club, getting a 5G. After restarting my phone, checking everything was turned on, WiFi calling, etc,  I tried calling 150.

This is what it looks like on my phone...

 You just seen just expanding semi circles radiating from the phone handset icon at the top of the screen.

Kind Regards

Peter Mangles

P.S. Been with EE and using this phone since 2021, didn't use to have any issues with call quality.

[Kingdom]

Using the same phones, calls and video in WhatsApp are rock solid, clear and crisp. We've actually setup FaceTime on my Mother's iPad because she can't make either of our when we call using our phones.

BTW We have 500Gb/sec EE Fibre at home, so there is not a shortage of bandwidth at home.

Kind Regards

Peter

[bristolian]

WhatsApp is an internet-based app, both your phone and the mobile network handle usage as data traffic not voice calls - thus this has limited diagnostic value.

Are you able to use mobile data whilst on a call? That's a good indication of VoLTE or VoNR being in use. I've had to take a photo of the VoLTE toggle switch on one of my older phones, as it's been SW-removed from mine, does yours have this?...

 

[Kingdom]

Good evening,

I turned off WiFi. Phone showin 

g as connected via 5G. Make a call to 150, connect, can hear the menu options. Try and play a YouTube video, nothing plays.

Can't find any VOLTE options, only WiFi calling, as shown above...

Kind Regards

Peter

[bristolian]

If you can't use mobile data when on a call, that's a very strong indication that it's used CSFB down to 2G. If the phone has no VoLTE option, it's defaulted to on, which begs the question...

When did this problem start? Something's changed, either in SIM or RAN config. If you're finding the same issue across a geographically-diverse area, that tends towards a SIM issue. Can you confirm the phone has been restarted since the symptoms started?

[Kingdom]

The phone has been restarted, I always restart the phone after the monthly Android update and also since this dialogue started.

Odd if it's a SIM issue, that my son is also being affected? Two SIMs affected?

If it's the RAN, who can I talk to at EE about this, I'm in this forum as I can't get to talk to anyone at EE tech support? It keeps sending me emails saying my local network is fine...

In terms of the issue starting, it might be when we linked all of our SIMs together in a bundle with Fibre Broadband as a family last year. There were lots of issues getting it set-up, with multiple attempts at getting the mobile aspect right, with data, roaming, access to EE WiFi, etc all requiring multiple attempts to get the SIMs all, "working" across our phones.

I could talk to someone at EE, who could say, "I see you're talking to me via 2G, let's look at you're setup. And then your son's...

Kind Regards

Peter