1. ninetynine99's Avatar
    I have been using a dual sim BlackBerry KeyOne BB100-7, purchased on Amazon, for over three years, most of that time with Consumer Cellular. In recent days, the reception has suddenly turned consistently very poor. To be precise, I hear the person on the other end fine, but they can't hear me.

    This issue can be mitigated as follows:

    1. Setting data and text messaging to one of the sim cards.
    2. Only calling and receiving calls with the other sim card.

    It doesn't matter which card is in which slot.

    For obvious reasons, I don't want to continue these mitigation measures indefinitely. But I haven't quite yet given up with this phone.

    The Consumer Cellular support people have not been able to help, and don't seem to understand the issue. Most of them don't even appear to know about the existence of dual sim phones!

    I believe the problem is related to the ongoing phase-out of 3G networks. Consumer Cellular considers the phone to be 3G only (even though it is not), and therefore relegate it to a status where I just don't get enough bandwidth to have data, text messaging, and voice calls all set to one sim card at one time.

    Is there a workaround available? Is it worth trying to reset my IMEI number (requiring a data wipe)?
    06-13-21 09:48 PM
  2. Chuck Finley69's Avatar
    I have been using a dual sim BlackBerry KeyOne BB100-7, purchased on Amazon, for over three years, most of that time with Consumer Cellular. In recent days, the reception has suddenly turned consistently very poor. To be precise, I hear the person on the other end fine, but they can't hear me.

    This issue can be mitigated as follows:

    1. Setting data and text messaging to one of the sim cards.
    2. Only calling and receiving calls with the other sim card.

    It doesn't matter which card is in which slot.

    For obvious reasons, I don't want to continue these mitigation measures indefinitely. But I haven't quite yet given up with this phone.

    The Consumer Cellular support people have not been able to help, and don't seem to understand the issue. Most of them don't even appear to know about the existence of dual sim phones!

    I believe the problem is related to the ongoing phase-out of 3G networks. Consumer Cellular considers the phone to be 3G only (even though it is not), and therefore relegate it to a status where I just don't get enough bandwidth to have data, text messaging, and voice calls all set to one sim card at one time.

    Is there a workaround available? Is it worth trying to reset my IMEI number (requiring a data wipe)?
    For all practicality, if your phone isn’t being VoLTE supported and this is now required, you’re stuck. You might have some additional usage on TMO but my BE KEYone has become partially crippled in a similar but different manner.
    06-14-21 11:42 AM
  3. ninetynine99's Avatar
    Thanks for the response. The way I understand it, the carriers have basically all decided to require VoLTE support from about now on. However, there are many phones from many manufacturers, including BlackBerry, which they consider to be "of international origin," which are technically capable of VoLTE, but have never been supported by the carriers because the carriers assume by default that all such phones are non-VoLTE. Some users may have been able to work around this issue by changing their IMEI number to a number recognized as VoLTE by the carriers. I'm very interested in whether anyone has gotten such a work-around to work on the KeyOne, and if so, how exactly they did it.
    06-14-21 08:40 PM
  4. conite's Avatar
    The way I understand it, the carriers have basically all decided to require VoLTE support from about now on.
    Not quite.

    3G is old technology and needs to be replaced if there is any hope of accommodating the exploding number of active devices / end-points coming online.

    Without 3G, VoLTE is the only other technology that exists to make calls.

    Most devices made in the last 5 years support the current VoLTE implementation - but some carriers only permit their own devices or specific whitelisted/approved devices to have access to advanced features (like VoLTE).

    In reality, only a small minority of people with fringe devices will have any issue.
    06-14-21 08:54 PM
  5. ninetynine99's Avatar
    In reality, only a small minority of people with fringe devices will have any issue.
    I have looked into many other carriers. They all appear to have the same issue. Please let me know if you can identify a carrier who does not have it. I suspect that they've all jumped on the opportunity to pressure users to buy new phones.

    The "small minority of people with fringe devices," translated onto a national scale, will be thousands, possibly tens of thousands of people. It would include, for example, I believe, most Huawei and Xiaomi devices.
    06-14-21 10:47 PM
  6. conite's Avatar
    I have looked into many other carriers. They all appear to have the same issue. Please let me know if you can identify a carrier who does not have it. I suspect that they've all jumped on the opportunity to pressure users to buy new phones.

    The "small minority of people with fringe devices," translated onto a national scale, will be thousands, possibly tens of thousands of people. It would include, for example, I believe, most Huawei and Xiaomi devices.
    Should be fine with TMO.
    06-14-21 11:15 PM
  7. ninetynine99's Avatar
    The image below shows that, according to T-Mobile, "This device is not compatible with T-Mobile’s network technology." (I edited out most of the IMEI number for privacy).

    I also called them and confirmed this.

    BlackBerry KeyOne reception gone bad-screenshot.png
    06-15-21 12:26 AM
  8. IETZR1S's Avatar
    I think the Sprint whitelisted bb100-3 was the only keyone to support VoLTE out of the package.
    06-15-21 03:12 AM
  9. Deimos10's Avatar
    Thanks for the response. The way I understand it, the carriers have basically all decided to require VoLTE support from about now on. However, there are many phones from many manufacturers, including BlackBerry, which they consider to be "of international origin," which are technically capable of VoLTE, but have never been supported by the carriers because the carriers assume by default that all such phones are non-VoLTE. Some users may have been able to work around this issue by changing their IMEI number to a number recognized as VoLTE by the carriers. I'm very interested in whether anyone has gotten such a work-around to work on the KeyOne, and if so, how exactly they did it.
    These carriers are excluding many devices, TCL BlackBerry is just one example, that are perfectly capable of supporting VoLTE only because they can. Nothing but a money grab.
    to boldly go likes this.
    06-15-21 07:40 AM
  10. Dunt Dunt Dunt's Avatar
    These carriers are excluding many devices, TCL BlackBerry is just one example, that are perfectly capable of supporting VoLTE only because they can. Nothing but a money grab.
    It's their networks and it's their responsibility to deal with support issues that can be very specific to some devices.... Limiting their exposure to a smaller subset of devices that have been tested and certified for their network... is business.

    Majority of these 10's of thousands... realize they are on old hardware and won't have any issue with the FREE (not a money grab) options that the carriers are offering them. That will leave a few thousand that are hung up on their device of choice for one reason or another (keyboard, brand or just that it is old and they are comfortable with it).

    It's really going to be more frustrating for those buying brand new phones like the Pocket or Astro Slide...
    06-15-21 08:16 AM
  11. bh7171's Avatar
    The image below shows that, according to T-Mobile, "This device is not compatible with T-Mobile’s network technology." (I edited out most of the IMEI number for privacy).

    I also called them and confirmed this.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    I have the NA Black Edition KeyOne I use on T-Mobile here in California with zero issues. Interestingly I seem to keep getting improved speed on my device. (Reception has never been an issue)

    I am attaching a screen shot when out at a burger joint with my wife and daughter last night. We ran her iPhone 12 5G side by side for a comparison and my BE actually had much higher upload speeds. (Download were similar) Obviously the 5G is a bit overrated at this time. I had read Florida for all intents and purposes doesn't even have true 5G yet. BlackBerry KeyOne reception gone bad-screenshot_20210614-201944.jpg
    06-15-21 08:18 AM
  12. conite's Avatar
    I have the NA Black Edition KeyOne I use on T-Mobile here in California with zero issues. Interestingly I seem to keep getting improved speed on my device. (Reception has never been an issue)

    I am attaching a screen shot when out at a burger joint with my wife and daughter last night. We ran her iPhone 12 5G side by side for a comparison and my BE actually had much higher upload speeds. (Download were similar) Obviously the 5G is a bit overrated at this time. I had read Florida for all intents and purposes doesn't even have true 5G yet. Click image for larger version. 

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    5G is just as much about accommodating more devices as it is about speed.

    Mind you, on a bad day I still get over 200 Mbps even on 4G when I'm in town.
    06-15-21 08:29 AM
  13. Deimos10's Avatar
    It's their networks and it's their responsibility to deal with support issues that can be very specific to some devices.... Limiting their exposure to a smaller subset of devices that have been tested and certified for their network... is business.

    Majority of these 10's of thousands... realize they are on old hardware and won't have any issue with the FREE (not a money grab) options that the carriers are offering them. That will leave a few thousand that are hung up on their device of choice for one reason or another (keyboard, brand or just that it is old and they are comfortable with it).

    It's really going to be more frustrating for those buying brand new phones like the Pocket or Astro Slide...
    Selling more phones and plans is also business. Paying customers can take their business elsewhere, and the carriers won't "own" anything after they go bankrupt disatisfying enough customers. This is simply a calculated risk. It's not based on an overwhelming majority of phones they can't afford to support. It takes no more than 5 minutes to register a device on the network. It's no more an excessive cost to carriers than fielding a question about your phone bill.
    bh7171 likes this.
    06-15-21 08:36 AM
  14. conite's Avatar
    Selling more phones and plans is also business. Paying customers can take their business elsewhere, and the carriers won't "own" anything after they go bankrupt disatisfying enough customers. This is simply a calculated risk. It's not based on an overwhelming majority of phones they can't afford to support. It takes no more than 5 minutes to register a device on the network. It's no more an excessive cost to carriers than fielding a question about your phone bill.
    The whitelists are still pretty comprehensive.

    What we're really talking about here are a few fringe devices, perhaps numbering in the tens of thousands.

    I don't really blame the carriers for not wanting to provide network support for a customer producing a device they obtained off Kickstarter.

    It's likely cheaper for them to essentially give you a supported phone, which they are pretty much offering to do.
    06-15-21 08:49 AM
  15. bh7171's Avatar
    The whitelists are still pretty comprehensive.

    What we're really talking about here are a few fringe devices, perhaps numbering in the tens of thousands.

    I don't really blame the carriers for not wanting to provide network support for a customer producing a device they obtained off Kickstarter.

    It's likely cheaper for them to essentially give you a supported phone, which they are pretty much offering to do.
    Do you have to worry about where you purchase your devices and if they are locked or unlocked with your carrier of choice in Canada?
    06-15-21 09:32 AM
  16. conite's Avatar
    Do you have to worry about where you purchase your devices and if they are locked or unlocked with your carrier of choice in Canada?
    Not at the moment, but the true day of reckoning doesn't come until the end of 2025 with the demise of 3G here.

    So all bets are off.
    06-15-21 09:34 AM
  17. bh7171's Avatar
    It's their networks and it's their responsibility to deal with support issues that can be very specific to some devices.... Limiting their exposure to a smaller subset of devices that have been tested and certified for their network... is business.

    Majority of these 10's of thousands... realize they are on old hardware and won't have any issue with the FREE (not a money grab) options that the carriers are offering them. That will leave a few thousand that are hung up on their device of choice for one reason or another (keyboard, brand or just that it is old and they are comfortable with it).

    It's really going to be more frustrating for those buying brand new phones like the Pocket or Astro Slide...
    Reads like a page from some of the US carriers marketing Kool-Aid. Any carrier limitations imposed on capable devices is purely a way for them to control. In almost all other parts of the world you can buy the device of your choosing throw in one or even two SIM's in and start using the device with its capabilities.

    Phone OEM's do not sale a device in a country where it couldn't realize it's capabilities. (Unfortunately for the OP the device being used was never intended for the NA market and likely the cause of the issue)

    Still US carriers have been neutering unlocked NA intended devices and their capabilities for years. Since they have all our politicians and their re-election campaigns in their back pockets this poor behavior of limiting consumer choice and unnecessary premature waste won't change anytime soon.

    (Someone should dump all the millions and millions of devices that will soon have to be replaced at the foot of the stage of whichever goofball US politician is stumping for change on "Earth Day.")
    06-15-21 09:40 AM
  18. conite's Avatar

    (Someone should dump all the millions and millions of devices that will soon have to be replaced at the foot of the stage of whichever goofball US politician is stumping for change on "Earth Day.")
    Thousands.

    You've already repeated many number of times that it is already a two OEM country anyway. And all of those are whitelisted.
    06-15-21 09:44 AM
  19. bh7171's Avatar
    Thousands.

    You've already repeated many number of times that it is already a two OEM country anyway. And all of those are whitelisted.
    9% of the US population in late 2019 is a lot more than thousands. Certainly less now but a lot more than mere thousands.

    https://onezero.medium.com/3g-could-...m-102e53eba151

    What's ridiculous is that devices produced but 6 years ago and with 4G LTE will be rendered useless and that's unnecessary waste for those that would like to continue using what works for them.
    06-15-21 10:05 AM
  20. conite's Avatar
    9% of the US population in late 2019 is a lot more than thousands. Certainly less now but a lot more than mere thousands.

    https://onezero.medium.com/3g-could-...m-102e53eba151

    What's ridiculous is that devices produced but 6 years ago and with 4G LTE will be rendered useless and that's unnecessary waste for those that would like to continue using what works for them.
    They are already past patch support anyway.

    And yes, we are only talking thousands now - not millions.
    06-15-21 10:31 AM
  21. bh7171's Avatar
    They are already past patch support anyway.

    And yes, we are only talking thousands now - not millions.
    Are the demographics similar in Canada? Why would Canada and Europe keep 2G and 3G options open for many things other than cellular devices that use them and those that want to continue using their devices as they choose to until 2025 or later?

    The article noted 9% of the US population in 2019 were using a 3G device that will be affected. With approximately 331,000,000 population that was 29,790,000 persons to be impacted. That's now down in the thousands? If so why would they even keep those 2G and 3G on after tomorrow?
    06-15-21 11:02 AM
  22. conite's Avatar
    Are the demographics similar in Canada? Why would Canada and Europe keep 2G and 3G options open for many things other than cellular devices that use them and those that want to continue using their devices as they choose to until 2025 or later?

    The article noted 9% of the US population in 2019 were using a 3G device that will be affected. With approximately 331,000,000 population that was 29,790,000 persons to be impacted. That's now down in the thousands? If so why would they even keep those 2G and 3G on after tomorrow?
    Most of the devices alluded to in that article are likely flip/feature phones.

    Replacements are, as we discussed, free - or $50 if purchased outright.
    06-15-21 12:15 PM
  23. Deimos10's Avatar
    Discontinuing 3G is one thing. Not supporting a 4G capable device that is also fully VoLTE capable is quite another matter and completely unacceptable IMHO.
    bh7171 and the_boon like this.
    06-15-21 12:25 PM
  24. conite's Avatar
    Discontinuing 3G is one thing. Not supporting a 4G capable device that is also fully VoLTE capable is quite another matter and completely unacceptable IMHO.
    Well, they are businesses. Feel free to take your money elsewhere if you are unhappy about any one of their service offerings.
    Last edited by conite; 06-15-21 at 01:36 PM.
    06-15-21 01:11 PM
  25. Deimos10's Avatar
    Well, they are businesses. Feel free to take your money elsewhere if you are unhappy about any one of their service offerings.
    Yes, obviously. I was stating my opinion on the matter. Quite certain that is allowed but thanks all the same.
    06-15-21 01:43 PM
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