Which unlocked version works best with tmobile?

[PGrey]

Guys, don't forget that VoLTE is only half the equation. The device needs to also have E911 registered. Voice over data without the ability to call for police/ambulance is a no-go in the US.

How do all the VOIP services get away with this, do they just block 911 calls? I have both Viber and Skype installed, but pretty much just use Viber, while I wait for WiFi calling/texting, but have (fortunately) never made a 911 call over VOIP.
I tried Google Voice, for awhile, but it's obviously set up to NOT work well on the Windows Mobile OS, I suspect Google has some "features" in their mobile site.
Edit: found this: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/voip-and-911-service
Reading it, this sounds like ALL VOIP services must provide E911, and must also do their "best" to obtain/maintain location for E911, and inform users that E911 may not work correctly at times, in terms of location.
Wouldn't VoLTE fall into the same "bucket"?

 

[fatclue_98]

How do all the VOIP services get away with this, do they just block 911 calls? I have both Viber and Skype installed, but pretty much just use Viber, while I wait for WiFi calling/texting, but have (fortunately) never made a 911 call over VOIP.
I tried Google Voice, for awhile, but it's obviously set up to NOT work well on the Windows Mobile OS, I suspect Google has some "features" in their mobile site.
Edit: found this: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/voip-and-911-service
Reading it, this sounds like ALL VOIP services must provide E911, and must also do their "best" to obtain/maintain location for E911, and inform users that E911 may not work correctly at times, in terms of location.
Wouldn't VoLTE fall into the same "bucket"?

You may want to peruse this article. It seems you're assuming VoLTE and VoIP are one and the same.

https://www.shoretel.com/blog/difference-between-voip-and-volte

 

[PGrey]

You may want to peruse this article. It seems you're assuming VoLTE and VoIP are one and the same.

https://www.shoretel.com/blog/difference-between-voip-and-volte

No, not at all. I have two VOIP services on my 950XL (three if you count the mobile browser based GV one, which barely works).

I don't have VoLTE, obviously.

Although, if I make a VOIP call, say through Viber, and I'm on an LTE data connection, it's arguably the same, data-wise, just not routed by my primary cell carrier phone number...

Am I missing something here?

 

[slyronit]

Slight change

with a dual-SIM, in the UK, say on EE, you wouldn't be able to get WiFi calling enabled (the SIM option wouldn't be there), whereas if you had a 950 single-SIM, and moved the SIM over "and flashed the EE-UK firmware" , it would work fine.

 

[slyronit]

No, not at all. I have two VOIP services on my 950XL (three if you count the mobile browser based GV one, which barely works).

I don't have VoLTE, obviously.

Although, if I make a VOIP call, say through Viber, and I'm on an LTE data connection, it's arguably the same, data-wise, just not routed by my primary cell carrier phone number...

Am I missing something here?

Yes, the point is not IP to IP calls, but IP to PSTN calls. Your local regulation requires that if you are providing IP to PSTN services, you should allow calls to emergency numbers, too.

 

[PGrey]

Yes, the point is not IP to IP calls, but IP to PSTN calls. Your local regulation requires that if you are providing IP to PSTN services, you should allow calls to emergency numbers, too.

Sure, but if I make a Skype/Viber/GV/whatever call, to a local#, they're bound by the same rules, from the FCC document.
Is it just that your cell provider is held to a "hidden" higher standard?
I mean my voice is going over LTE, regardless if it's a third-party app, or the built-in one, that part's not being debated, correct?

 

[rdubmu]

I ended up getting the 950 XL from the MS store for $200 off and a free dock

 

[Sean N]

I did the same, @rdubmu, its working fine on tmobile. Signal strength indication isn't as good as some of my android phones (maybe I was using band 12 prior?) and no wifi calling sucks. Everything else seems to work fine though from the telecom side so far.

 

[PGrey]

I did the same, @rdubmu, its working fine on tmobile. Signal strength indication isn't as good as some of my android phones (maybe I was using band 12 prior?) and no wifi calling sucks. Everything else seems to work fine though from the telecom side so far.

You can test it, disable everything except band 12, and see what happens, in terms of a throughput test. T-Mobile is handy like that, speedtest.net is free to run checks.

 

[Sean N]

lol @pgrey, Im somewhat new to windows 10 mobile (2 days), I wasn't aware i had those kinds of options available. Can i test under settings extras network? I have 0 signal right now so i can't even open the option for sim 1. Im still not even able to disable the phone profile on a bluetooth device I only want to use for audio! Anyway learning is half the fun!

 

[PGrey]

Sure, it's more of a Lumia thing, been around awhile, "##3282#", from the phone app, gets you into the field test.
From there, you can go into "Band Locking" (I think that's the setting, don't have my phone right here), and turn off all except 12.

Then, exit out, and run your test, in a comparable known-good location, and see how 12 works for you (it worked great for me, in areas where I had it, per the above).
When you're done, go back in and re-enable (I'm pretty sure the "default" option does the job) all the bands, since you want the full spectrum from your provider, for everyday stuff.

The field-test is handy for other things too, like measuring signal strengths with boosters and other, I've used it from time to time, handy to have the real-time data that the phone is processing...

 

[Sean N]

Thank you for this info, gonna give it a shot tomorrow. Stuck on a conf call for a change tonight, but Im anxious to find out if band 12, actually IS supported. I'm finding that my signal is a lot lower than the oneplus 3 right next to it with my data only sim installed. 2 bars vs 4. It would be good to know for sure, though in all honesty, it could be false signal indicator boosting, or simply a better antenna? Either way, my calls are pretty solid, haven't had any unexepected drops that originated from my end. Im still trying to figure out what to do about voicemail, I dont' want to give up google voice, but I would consider it if tmobile visual voicemail is supported on the 950xl. Phone OS and Camera are too good to give up now on some fringe benefits from teh old platform.

 

[Kevin Rush]

I would say to ignore the two bars vs three bars comparison. There is no industry standard that relates a certain number of decibels of signal strength to a certain number of bars. Every phone, (especially, read apple) is different. Two bars could easily be a stronger signal than three bars on another manufacturers phone. It's all just relative to the specific, individual phone.

For voice mail, look at YouMail using ISeeVM. If you research the forums, you'll find good information and happy customers.

 

[PGrey]

@Sean N, the VVM implementation worked fine on T-Mobile, at least when I had them for about a month, back in March-April. Once I called the VM number once, and set up my mailbox, it "just worked", the VVM protocol did everything right from there on-in.
I should say, once the dual-SIM issue got fixed, because the first week or so of my T-Mobile experience was before that fix went in.

Seconded on the "bars" comment, there's no real industry standard scale for this, as Kevin Rush mentioned, 2 bars could be a lot faster than 4-5 on another phone or band. If you want a more accurate measurement that's valid, look at the dB measurements, if they're on the same band, it's a bit more apples-apples (although still not perfect).

 

[lvalen91]

I was told by a T-Mobile rep once that the signal bars are for Voice strength only, not specifically data. Same guy who went on to explain how Data is more dependent on line of sight for overall speed while voice can be bounced around to an extent. That dude was one of the few golden eggs in the customer service house.

 

[PGrey]

Try "##3282#", for the field test, this will give you a VERY definitive idea of your signal strength, LTE, 4G, 3G, etc.
You can set it on the dynamic-mode, and walk around, and observe the best signal locations.

 

[Sean N]

Thank you for all your suggestions. I switched to stock VVM, and its working perfectly. I haven't been able to test band 12 yet, every time i have an opportunity, I have no service (usually im in the office). Ideally, I would rather just have wifi calling working, shame that doesn't look like its going to happen.

 

[Allen Rhodes]

i dont care for the OP's avatar. My $.02