- The EE Community

Anthony1900 · ‎28-12-2025

HI Ali,

Bit late to the party, but I have a nasty feeling I know what's going on. Digging around because I have the same problem (different mobile provider) I think it's the 2G/3G shutdown! Sounds strange?

But it appears that - for many phones - WiFi calling needs a mobile signal in order to work! Weird I know, but I've seen reports where people can see their call going over the router IF there is a mobile signal, but can't make a call if there is no signal. I'm getting the message "No signal you need to turn wifi on" when I have two strong, connected, wifi hotspots close by.

So if the network has been closing down "usused" 2G masts, they were unused because all the 4G/5G phones in range were using wifi. Now the mast is gone, wifi doesn't work and there aren't any (or sufficient) 5G masts in range!

bristolian · ‎28-12-2025

@Anthony1900 wrote:
Bit late to the party, but I have a nasty feeling I know what's going on. Digging around because I have the same problem (different mobile provider) I think it's the 2G/3G shutdown!
So if the network has been closing down "usused" 2G masts, they were unused because all the 4G/5G phones in range were using wifi. Now the mast is gone, wifi doesn't work and there aren't any (or sufficient) 5G masts in range!

User contributions to support fora are always welcome, but this is rather wide of the mark! First off, EE's 3G network was closed in early 2024, it's only O2 who're left now.

There is no such thing as a "2G mast", there are "EE masts" which carry a combination of technologies - no "G" is carried on its own. And EE are only "closing down" sites where there are legal/lease issues - it's certainly not a policy.

WiFi-calling is specifically designed to substitute for the radio access network in no-coverage situations.

Anthony1900 · ‎28-12-2025

@bristolian

I (sort of) understand all that. HOWEVER. There has been a heck of a lot of coverage about the 2G signal being turned off. So as of the end of this year there will be no 2G signal. Which (because 4G/5G has a much shorter range) means we need a lot of new towers to maintain the SAME coverage.

And yes, I know wi-fi coverage is meant to replace "no coverage" situations. But it appears to be BUGGY and DOESN'T WORK. The phone will quite happily switch to wifi if the network signal is crap, and it wouldn't surprise me if EE phones detect an O2 signal and - without checking if they can use that signal - say "Ah, there is A signal" and fire up wifi.

So as O2 shuts down their 2G, all those phones that relied on that signal to enable wifi, suddenly can no longer use wifi.

I don't know what the problem is. But the common factor seems to be the combination of "No signal" and wifi *no*longer* working. Seeing as 2G has a much greater range than 3G/4G/5G, if the phone is just checking for a signal - ANY signal - then this explanation makes sense.

bristolian · ‎28-12-2025

Your post is absolutely full of false and confused comments. Not even sure where to start with picking your claims apart! I suspect you've read a few quick Google searches and maybe even the so-called AI results. If you're not sure, please ask away - there's plenty of good knowledge on this forum.

1: EE's 2G coverage is NOT being switched off at the end of 2025 or even 2026 - the most recent PR I recall, regards early plans for 2029

2: No "G" has more or less range than any other. Coverage patterns are dictated largely by the frequency band used and NOT the radio technology carried over it. 4G & 5G can have both a much greater range if using low-bands such as 700Mhz & 800Mhz, and a much shorter one if using high-bands such as 2600Mhz & 3500Mhz.

Most EE sites carry a combination of bands on both 4G & 5G, so you could have "more or less range" (to use your words) from the exact same antenna, depending which frequency you are using.

3: If WiFi-calling genuinely did not work, this forum would be absolutely full of them. The last time there was a national VoWiFi/IMS outage, the resulting forum thread stretched to 30-40 pages in a matter of hours.

O2's network & radio design is different in many regards to EE's - to say something is an issue with them, does not automatically translate to other networks having the same problems.

Anthony1900 · ‎28-12-2025

@bristolian Maybe I am confused. In fact I'm pretty certain I am, because the facts I've got don't make sense. But the basic question to be answered (as asked by the OP) is "Why doesn't wifi calling work?". I'm just coming up with a weird and wonderful hypothesis - which relies on a bug in (in my case) Android, because I get a non-sensical error message.

Across three phones, two addresses, one virtual operator, wi-fi calling (in the presence of a strong wifi signal) doesn't work.

My phone is situated between two routers, 100% strength, it knows both passwords, and connects to either at random.

"No mobile signal, connect to a wifi network to enable wifi calling". Basically, the phone is a brick ... This seems a pretty common problem!

And I bet the reason you don't see many problems with wifi calling is the same reason you don't see many problems with network coverage - people choose a provider with decent network coverage, therefore it also has decent wifi coverage.

This problem ONLY surfaces when mobile network coverage goes away completely. And the obvious cause of that is the 2G/3G shutdown. Of which the latest status I'm aware of is that only O2 is left, and they are shutting down this year. You tell me you've seen different comms ...

But the OP's basic problem - and mine - was that wifi calling DOES NOT WORK in the absence of a mobile network (so your claim that it usually works very well is completely compatible with this), The question is why does wifi calling need some sort of mobile network to work?

Ali_A · ‎28-12-2025

Hi @Anthony1900

WiFi Calling lets you make and receive calls and texts using WiFi, even without mobile network coverage.

You only need a phone that supports WiFi Calling and access to a WiFi connection in the UK.
Please visit Using WiFi Calling | Help | EE page to find out more.

WIFI Calling is available to anyone with EE who has a compatible device. To see if your phone supports WIFI Calling, check the device specifications in our device guides.

The error you see "No mobile signal, connect to a WIFI network to enable WIFI calling" would suggest that you don't have WIFI switched on in your phone settings, or that you're not connected to a WIFI network.
Please make sure that you have WIFI setting switched on and that you are paired a WIFI signal.

WIFI calling works best with the WIFI setting left switched on in your mobile device for seamless transfer between services and coverage.

Ali

bristolian · ‎28-12-2025

@Anthony1900 wrote:
And I bet the reason you don't see many problems with wifi calling is the same reason you don't see many problems with network coverage - people choose a provider with decent network coverage, therefore it also has decent wifi coverage.

WiFi is a wireless connection between a mobile device and broadband router. It is fundamentally different to mobile network coverage, which is by definition wide-area and not limited to individual rooms or properties.

Just because one network operates their radio in a particular way does not mean other networks do. As an example, VF & O2 had some issues with their 3G shutdown which EE did not - because of their different radio spectrum holdings and how they'd built their network around it.

In EE's case, 3G shutdown has been complete since almost 2 years and 2G shutdown is several years away - both are irrelevant for WiFi-calling issues. I'd strongly recommend following Ali's advice to enable WiFi on your phone, the error message is clearly pointing at this simple solution.