[modifier]

If T-Mobile wanted to give these services to Z30, Q5, Z3, Passport, Classic and future models is it in their capability to offer this on their network without the cooperation of BlackBerry?

The short answer is 'yes' since IMS is already in the devices thanks to BB10. Tmo has nothing to do with IMS implementation in the radio file. They neither write any of it nor have the capability to develop it. The same goes for wifi calling. Both are written by BlackBerry and baked into the OS.

BlackBerry enables IMS in all BB10 radio files. It's then up to the carrier to use it. Tmo can relegate this to IMEI subsets or open it for all devices.

Time will tell what happens since there are multiple things going against the Z30/Q5/Classic/Passport/etc. These devices are unsupported by Tmo Customer Care and Business Care, therefore no one is set up to handle calls regarding any IMS-based connectivity issues. Support still exists for the Z10 and Q10 but ends there for now. Things could change in the future but it's on Tmo right now to open IMS to all capable devices for VoLTE to function.

As you've discovered, the Z30 has IMS but it's not being leveraged by the network. There's a Catch 22 here; allowing IMS traffic on the Z30 for VoLTE would also open up wifi calling on an unsupported device. There are ways to block the latter but the former isn't as likely to happen due to the lack of support. Again, time will tell.

On the flip side, IMS is less expensive for a carrier to use compared to GSM so it's in all carriers' best interests to get LTE and VoLTE in working order on as many devices as possible. Legacy costs money. But, it all goes back to device support and that's a gigantic unknown right now.

[posted via CB10]

[gariac]

I was in Las Vegas, where supposedly there is VoLTE. However, I didn't get the feature.

I will say the LTE in Las Vegas is substantially better than it used to be, though hardly the fastest.I got a download speed of 28.35Mb/s. The last time I was in town, it was half that rate. I took a screen shot if some really insists on seeing it. ;-) IP address was 172.56.38.146

[raino]

Vegas just got the wideband upgrade.

[gariac]

Well yeah, but I was there a week after that announcement. No high speed data or VoLTE for me. Just less sucky data. ;-) I think the backhaul in Vegas may not be ready for really high speed LTE. Previous I was getting around 12MB/s, which was no better than 4G. So clearly they did SOME work on the network.

[Blackberry-Z10]

Hi,

T-Mobile recently turned on VoLTE nationwide (a number of markets).
Was curious to know if anybody was able to make a voice call while still being able to simultaneously browse on LTE on the Z10 ?

Meaning did anybody on T-Mobile network have real luck with VoLTE on Z10 ?
(or IMS status = Connected when wifi turned OFF)

[Doggerz]

Hi,

T-Mobile recently turned on VoLTE nationwide (a number of markets).
Was curious to know if anybody was able to make a voice call while still being able to simultaneously browse on LTE on the Z10 ?

Meaning did anybody on T-Mobile network have real luck with VoLTE on Z10 ?
(or IMS status = Connected when wifi turned OFF)

Yes - but only the Z10 that got the 3247 OS update OTA. This was a red developer Z10 that is unbranded and unlocked.

I'm updating my brother's Z10 to the same OS right now. When it's finished I'll test it and let you know. His is a T-Mobile branded but unlocked. Hopefully I'll post back here in an hour or so.

Q5-SQR100-1 / Z30-STA100-5 /OS-10.2.1.3247 / T-Mobile USA

[Doggerz]

UPDATE:

I updated a T-Mobile Z-10 to OS 3247 and VoLTE is working just like an unbranded Z10.
Previous OS was 2234 and it didn't work.

Good luck!

[gariac]

Wifi calling means an internet gateway has been provided. This is bait for hackers. I can totally understand T-Mobile locking it down.

VoLTE uses the established wireless network with all the associated authentication, so restriction of VoLTE is not consistent behavior. That is, there is no security issue, so not providing VoLTE for a particular phone is just plain laziness

ISIS is another service that could be hacked, hence the hesitancy to provide it to just anyone. .

[raino]

ISIS is another service that could be hacked, hence the hesitancy to provide it to just anyone. .

But what about phones from the other backers of ISIS (Verizon, AT&T?) TMO doesn't trust their security to allow ISIS to work on the same phone model?

[gariac]

I presume no Verizon phone would be identical to a T-mob phone, so this would be limited to say AT&T or some other GSM provider. I guess the answer is no, that is they only provide ISIS on their own phones for now. It is a question of how much money they will lose being so restrictive, versus how much they can gain being proprietary.

The only time I would like ISIS is for those situations where you have a discount coupon on your phone, and you have to also get out your credit card. Since you are in socal, if you go to Soup Plantation, they have perpetual email coupons. (Sweet Tomatoes in northern Ca.) It gets really clumsy if the cashier has to take your phone to the other register (sometimes they have two line but one register running) to scan the coupon, then hand the phone back to you while you hand the credit card. One of these days, a phone will be dropped.

[gariac]

Sticking to the main topic of VoLTE, I noticed that if your phone was on LTE before you made a call, it will go to 4G during the call, presuming you don't have VoLTE.

[mernisse]

Sticking to the main topic of VoLTE, I noticed that if your phone was on LTE before you made a call, it will go to 4G during the call, presuming you don't have VoLTE.

Correct -- LTE doesn't include a circuit switched (CS) path, which is traditionally used for voice calls. If you receive or place a call while on LTE without a connection to the IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) your phone will re-negotiate to a CS technology to setup the call. VoLTE is basically something looks kind of like but isn't quite VoIP that carries the calls over the carrier's IMS, allowing the phone to remain in LTE.

[raino]

I presume no Verizon phone would be identical to a T-mob phone, so this would be limited to say AT&T or some other GSM provider. I guess the answer is no, that is they only provide ISIS on their own phones for now. It is a question of how much money they will lose being so restrictive, versus how much they can gain being proprietary.

Well, there is some cross-compatibility now because of LTE band 4. Plus even befor that, a lot of phones had started coming with UMTS 850 and 1900 as well, so that makes them pretty compatible with AT&T and TMO. But you're dead on about the money aspect. Either ISIS is a really profitable venture (which would surprise me,) or they really, really don't want to yield whatever they're getting out of it to Google Wallet. In a monopolistic decision, TMO's pretty much ruled out supporting GW.

Anyway, back to voLTE. This is apparently how TMO is implementing it (according to Neville Ray: )

Enhanced Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (eSRVCC) is a new LTE Advanced function and we’re excited to be the first to deploy it in the U.S. All of this basically helps ensure that your capable phone won’t drop a call if you leave an LTE area and it switches to 4G HSPA+ or 2G coverage.

But there seem to be some...hiccups. IDK if this is device specific, platform specific or what. But given that TMO's pretty much all Android, I can see why they would be telling people to disable it.

[gariac]

The ISIS machines have Google branding, but I thought they are just one of many players. If my ISIS purchases are going to be sniffed by Google, count me out.

Next time I'm in a Peets, I will snap a photo of the reader. They have it tucked out of the way since nobody uses it. In fact the only person I ever saw use the reader was that guy with the pimped iphone (NFC jacket). He knew way too much about ISIS to be an outsider. You never know about people in the bay area since there are plenty of beta testers.

I tried to "sniff" the reader with my BB NFC and it saw nothing. Usually even when the system isn't compatible, such as the NFC transit passes, the BB at least recognizes that a NFC is present.

[gariac]

Well, there is some cross-compatibility now because of LTE band 4. Plus even befor that, a lot of phones had started coming with UMTS 850 and 1900 as well, so that makes them pretty compatible with AT&T and TMO. But you're dead on about the money aspect. Either ISIS is a really profitable venture (which would surprise me,) or they really, really don't want to yield whatever they're getting out of it to Google Wallet. In a monopolistic decision, TMO's pretty much ruled out supporting GW.

Anyway, back to voLTE. This is apparently how TMO is implementing it (according to Neville Ray: )



But there seem to be some...hiccups. IDK if this is device specific, platform specific or what. But given that TMO's pretty much all Android, I can see why they would be telling people to disable it.

Falling back to 2G from anything "higher" is going to be a real problem. 2G has that strict 35km limit. That was why GSM needed more sites than CDMA. I don't know if T-Mob is putting LTE on every site since LTE seems to have more range than 4G, but I assume without V0LTE, T-Mobile doesn't have much choice. That is, you can't just have sites for data and not voice

I ran this on Verizon LTE about a year ago:
LTE Cell Scanner
It was pretty interesting how few LTE frequencies were in use in the bay area. I can't run it on AT&T or T-Mobile LTE because the rtlsdr dongle doesn't go high enough in frequency..

[gariac]

OK I'm in Peets, but can't figure out how to upload a photo of the ISIS NFC terminal from the CB app. Other than seeing the inch on dust on the reader, here are the logos on it:

American Express
Discover zip
Mastercard paypass
Visa
Google wallet

I put my z10 next to it and nothing on the phone registered. However the reader made a loud beep and flashed a light.

Hopefully the Feds won't show up and see if I'm a hacker.


Posted via CB10

Edit:

The Peets terminals are Vivotech, now owned by Sequent.
Sequent, the leader in HCE digital issuance & open wallet platform
Update: Google Wallet NFC app is now live | TG Daily

[raino]

Peets

Peet's Coffee seems to have a deal with Google Wallet: Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. - Peet's Coffee & Tea Offers Quick and Convenient Payment Options With Google Wallet and MasterCard� PayPass?

But...Isis has a partnership with Vivotech: VeriFone, Ingenico, ViVOtech and Equinox Announce Integration of Isis? Mobile Commerce Application Isis News

So assuming the machine at your Peet's predates the agreement, I think it may just accept Google Wallet. Google Wallet, btw, had a big security scare in 2012: Google Wallet's PIN Verification Cracked (Again), No Root Access Required

[gariac]

Yes, it has the Google Wallet logo at the far right side.

Now I would hope Google can't sniff my purchases, but who is to say Amex or Visa doesn't sell my data.


Posted via CB10

[Alberto8]

We have two Z10's at work. So far none of them show IMS connected when on LTE. Now that VoLTE has been deployed nationwide, I wonder why we are not getting volte to those handets. Both are able to use Wifi-Calling so they are not being blocked by tmobile on that end. Inuderstand that my Z30 will not work but I wonder about the Z10s... Should I call tech support?

[raino]

We have two Z10's at work. So far none of them show IMS connected when on LTE. Now that VoLTE has been deployed nationwide, I wonder why we are not getting volte to those handets. Both are able to use Wifi-Calling so they are not being blocked by tmobile on that end. Inuderstand that my Z30 will not work but I wonder about the Z10s... Should I call tech support?

Nationwide=! across the nation. TMO's using some really screwed marketing speak here lol. How are they going to have voLTE nationwide when they don't even have LTE nationwide!!

You need to be in a voLTE market. Here is a list, IDK how up-to-date it is: The Un-carrier Network: Designed Data-Strong | T-Mobile Newsroom

[gariac]

I think I rather trust a user report than that list.

Better yet, I'm going to stroll into the T-Mobile store and just ask them where exactly have they seen VoLTE.

Posted via CB10

[gariac]

I was at Costco today and asked the guys in the kiosk about VoLTE. They haven't seen it in use themselves, but said Sacramento has it.

Posted via CB10

[gariac]

Back to the NFC, supposedly the next iphone will have NFC. Now I wonder if the guy I saw that made an ISIS payment at Peets was field testing some app.

Posted via CB10

[gariac]

Well I was in San Francisco and no VoLTE.

Posted via CB10

[joecool1029]

Gonna bump the thread with an update. I bought a second Z10, this one unbranded. It pulled in the 3249 update OTA which is a good sign (my AT&T branded wants some later version that kills off the IMS/wifi calling bits). Still no voLTE or HD voice on T-Mobile USA. I live in NJ so it most certainly should be enabled. I have tried my sim at a t-mo store in some crapsung (s4 or something) phone and these features do work, so I don't think it's an account or sim issue.

I've yet to see someone post a screenshot of the switchable IMS screen.

Last try would be a T-Mobile branded I guess?

(I'll try to go out and test it to the east, my town has one of the last LTE towers going west in this part of NJ)