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jamesm067
Beiträge: 15
Registriert: Sa 3. Sep 2022, 20:00

Cannot get Volla Phone 22 configured with Verizon APN in USA, to send or receive phone calls?

Hello Volla users out there,

I recently received my Volla 22 phone in the mail and it is truly a wonderful phone. I am running the stock Volla OS for now
but, I cannot seem to get Verizon LTE to work with this phone. In other words, I cannot make phone calls.

The SIM card is from an active Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, that is active and in use on the Verizon network. It is a 5G SIM, but, it should be downward compatible (I think) to 4G.

Anyway, I swapped the SIM card out of my Samsung and put it in the Volla 22 Phone (first SIM card slot) and I was able to send and receive text messages immediately. But again, I can not make or receive calls.

A friend told me about this website at: https://www.4gapn.com/us/en/verizon and then I went to try to edit or add an APN - only to find that all the settings were grayed out. Some more web and YouTube searches then showed me that I needed to install Shortcut Master (Lite), which is a free app that gets you into where you can add or edit APNs.

Another YouTube video showed a person getting root on their normal Android phone and then getting down into the ETC folder to edit the Apns-conf.xml file.


I was able to get a new APN assigned using Shortcut Master (Lite) app approach, but, I still cannot make or receive calls on the Volla phone.

Are there any software updates that I need to get for the dialer or for APNs or anything else, to fix this issue?
I spoke to a Verizon representative in the USA and they said I needed to check with Volla for any documentation related to APNs.
The Verizon representative pointed me to a website where you can enter your IMEI to check compatibility and of course the Volla phone was not compatible. But, I believe I can get it to work with the correct software settings.

At this point, I am not sure where to go from here. But, I do believe there are enough compatible frequencies on this phone for Verizon Wireless in the USA.
.
Are there any other Verizon Wireless users in the USA that are running into the same issue on the Volla/Volla 22 phones?

Thanks for any tips and suggestions you can provide on how to get this issue resolved, with Verizon.

Regards,

James
stu
Beiträge: 42
Registriert: Sa 6. Aug 2022, 08:08

Re: Cannot get Volla Phone 22 configured with Verizon APN in USA, to send or receive phone calls?

I don't really have any clue, but since nobody seems to answer I'll just try an unqualified shot in the dark:

Could it have to do with the frequency? Here https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/voll ... -freedom#/ it says:
We offer donors outside Europe to check carefully if the Volla Phone 22 supports the frequency bands of their provider's mobile network. The good news is that the Volla Phone 22 will support even more frequency bands than the previous model for international use.

GSM/2G: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
UMTS/3G: 900 / 2100
TDD/LTE/4G: 2300 / 2600
FDD/LTE/4G: 700 / 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600
Have you tried a SIM card from another provider? Sometimes certain providers have a problem with unusual phones. (I think AT&T does not like the Pinephone for example.)
jamesm067
Beiträge: 15
Registriert: Sa 3. Sep 2022, 20:00

Re: Cannot get Volla Phone 22 configured with Verizon APN in USA, to send or receive phone calls?

Thanks for the reply Stu. A representative from Volla said that there were customers in the USA that were having success with US phone carriers, before I made my purchase. And, there is a user in Texas (search recent Volla videos on YouTube) that recently ordered a first generation Volla X and has it working with T-Mobile or AT&T - I forget.

I may buy a simple voice plan from T-Mobile just to see if I can get phone calls working on it.

Perhaps, it isn't an APN issue but rather a frequency issue or VOLTE. I am just not sure.

Text messages were working great when I removed the SIM card from my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 (a SIM card labeled 5G) and put that into the Volla Phone 22 in SIM Card Slot 1.

Thanks for the reply. Are you in the states too? What Volla phone do you use?
Keep in touch. I will pass on any info I learn.

Regards,

-J
stu
Beiträge: 42
Registriert: Sa 6. Aug 2022, 08:08

Re: Cannot get Volla Phone 22 configured with Verizon APN in USA, to send or receive phone calls?

No, I'm in Germany, no such problems here.

I hope you'll manage to get it work.

Good luck!
DenMoore
Beiträge: 6
Registriert: Di 9. Aug 2022, 05:26

Re: Cannot get Volla Phone 22 configured with Verizon APN in USA, to send or receive phone calls?

Long shot but worth a try, turn flight mode on, then off (resets network)
Had similar here in oz. Text works, cannot make/receive calls until do above.
If works, you only have to do it once after each start of the phone.
Works for me, hope works for you.

Cheers
jamesm067
Beiträge: 15
Registriert: Sa 3. Sep 2022, 20:00

Re: Cannot get Volla Phone 22 configured with Verizon APN in USA, to send or receive phone calls?

Hi there,

Thanks for the reply. I have already tried the Airplane mode switch with no luck.

I even took the active Verizon SIM card out of the Volla Phone and inserted a pre-paid and active T-Mobile SIM card in and had the same issues.

I have also tried programming the APN for T-Mobile too with no success.

I wonder if it is simply the frequencies that are being used here in the USA. See attached.

What frequency are you using in Australia? Are you getting 3G or 4G speeds? I would happy to get even 2G speeds.

Initially, I could send text messages with both SIM cards, but not at the moment. And, as stated above, I have never been able to make a call with either SIM card. The call immediately drops when I try.

Thanks for your feedback. I really appreciate it.

Regards,

James
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DenMoore
Beiträge: 6
Registriert: Di 9. Aug 2022, 05:26

Re: Cannot get Volla Phone 22 configured with Verizon APN in USA, to send or receive phone calls?

I am getting 4G speeds using LTE 1800 via Telstra. The Volla does not support Telstra's 3G band so the only way to make calls is via VOLTE.
I did try an Optus sim which supports both 3G & 4G and it makes calls out of the box. I assume calls via 3G and data via 4G.
The odd thing for me was the same Telstra sim works out the box on my old Volla. The Volla 22 just needs that flight mode on/off thingy.

I think you are correct in that "it is simply the frequencies that are being used here in the USA."
On the Ubuntu Touch forum there is a bit of chat about some sims work only in some parts of the USA due to frequencies being used changing from state to state.

It might worth asking Volla's customer support to confirm the phones frequencies before chasing a sim provider as I feel they did not update the frequencies in the manual. Looks like a cut and paste which may be correct or not.

I seem to recall there was a Telegram channel for Volla users in America which would be a good place to ask for idea's. I cant seem to find it but maybe ask on the "Volla User Community" channel and they can point you in the right direction.

Hope you get it sorted as the Volla is a great phone.

Cheers
stu
Beiträge: 42
Registriert: Sa 6. Aug 2022, 08:08

Re: Cannot get Volla Phone 22 configured with Verizon APN in USA, to send or receive phone calls?

jamesm067 hat geschrieben: Mi 7. Sep 2022, 12:29 I wonder if it is simply the frequencies that are being used here in the USA. See attached.
Actually I can't imagine that it's a hardware problem. Mobile phones should be working worldwide, after all, no matter where you travel with them. You don't want to disembark in New York or Delhi and realise you're offline. I have never heard of such problems from anyone and the US is not Antarctica.

Have you asked Volla's customer service? https://volla.online/de/contact-form/

If they can't help you might also try Gigaset's customer service, since the GS5 is very similar to the 22 (including frequencies): https://www.gigaset.com/de_de/gigaset-gs5/

Keep us posted.
edjec
Beiträge: 44
Registriert: Fr 9. Sep 2022, 06:39
Wohnort: Utah
VollaPhone mit: Volla OS 12
sonstiges Handy/iPhone mit Android Version/iOS Version: Volla 22 Multiboot running Volla OS, Ubuntu, & Sailfish. Well, I did have UT and Sailfish until the VOS 12 update...

Re: Cannot get Volla Phone 22 configured with Verizon APN in USA, to send or receive phone calls?

Hello,

I hope you don’t mind me jumping in here, but I also just received my Volla 22/Dual Boot on 9/8/22 after being assured by Volla that there were many people in the US using the phone - I live in Utah. I also watched the YouTube videos from Chris Titus and others that were using the phone. However, those videos were mostly from 2021 and the US carriers have now almost completely shut down everything from 4G LTE and prior (and will by 12/31/22), with only 4G VoLTE and 5G available now. Even if the bands we need were available, they will only be temporary.

I read that Mint Mobile (T-Mobile) would work and has a 7-day trial for $2 (SIM available at BestBuy) that will allow you to access their network. I bought a card and during installation, T-Mobil required the IMEI number for functional verification, which the Volla fails. However, T-Mobile does allow you to bypass that and manually activate the card. Wow, great!

Yeah, no. When you reboot the phone a little message scrolls at the top stating “Emergency calls only”. Text messaging does not work, of course, no phone calls, and the APN doesn’t have the phone number listed. I haven’t even been successful in sending txts or calls over WiFi.

The Volla 22 does not support 5G and is also missing the 1700/2100 band (B4/B66) that is required by the big three (Verizon, ATT, T-Mobile). Volla’s supported frequencies are:
GSM/2G: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
UMTS/3G: 900 / 2100
TDD/LTE/4G: 2300 / 2600
FDD/LTE/4G: 700 / 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 This is the band range we need, but it is missing the 1700 frequencies.

My research of the big three has shown that in most markets, about 80% of the traffic is now being routed over B4/B66 – 1700/2100. Also, the majority of the smaller carriers are wholesaling services from these major carriers. This means that the Volla phones won’t work on these systems.

I did find that Purism is offering cell plans called SIMple and AweSIM that support 4G/4G-LTE, but I have not located any data on either the bands covered or what carrier they are partnering with. Neither of these options is reasonably priced, but if the Volla will function on them, I guess that’s the price we pay. Info here: https://puri.sm/products/librem-awesim/. If anyone has additional info on this, please post it here. [Update] I did find that Purism is partnering with T-Mobile and ATT, so this doesn't look like an option. I'm waiting for a response from Purism on what frequencies they operate on.

A quick look on the FrequencyCheck site for Gigaset phones here: https://www.frequencycheck.com/country- ... mit=Search is not promising, but I don't know how current this data is.

The bottom line as far as I can tell is that unless the modem is replaceable with a BM818-A1 modem, we all bought a nice hand-held computer.

I really like this phone and want it to work. Please, someone, prove me wrong and point us to a viable carrier.
jamesm067
Beiträge: 15
Registriert: Sa 3. Sep 2022, 20:00

Re: Cannot get Volla Phone 22 configured with Verizon APN in USA, to send or receive phone calls?

Hello edjec,

I have written several emails to Volla, but, no reply to my last email. I live in southeastern Massachusetts (about 40 minutes from Providence, Rhode Island and about an hour south of Boston, Massachusetts. I read or heard that T-Mobile would work. But, you have to have a really strong signal. I live in the woods a bit. But, where I work, there is a cell tower next to my building and 5G is there because my Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is picking up 5G.

I would of course be very happy with just 4G or 3G on the Volla 22, but no such luck.

I will have some free time this weekend to do some more testing. But, I think Edjec is correct. Maybe the first generation of Volla phones worked last year and maybe those phones still work in some pockets of areas in the USA. But, I think the push to 5G is accelerating now and perhaps frequencies and network settings from last year are now obsolete.

If there are other Volla 22 owners in the USA, then I would encourage you to share what state you live in, what mobile phone carrier service you are using with Volla OS. And, if you have had any success with any of the telephone carriers.

I think we Volla Phone 22 purchasers, in the USA, just bougjt fancy pocket computers, that work only on WIFI.

What a shame. I really love this phone otherwise.

-J

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