VoLTE whitelisting and phone compatiblity

[mc211]

 Could someone help me understand the telus / public mobile VoLTE phone whitelisting system and how it will affect phone / network compatibility as 3g is phased out soon?  Is there any transparency or way to check on phone compatibility? Are other Canadian providers not blocking phones that I should consider? ( it looks like i have rogers in my area as well)

 I am looking at some specific phones ( small form factor, limited, or dumb) ie unihertz atom  but it seems really difficult to check for compatibility now and i don't want to end up with a brick.

 thanks

[Lar1]

Just bought a Galaxy phone.  Yes it's much bigger than the last one.  I ski, mountain bike a lot plus ride a motorcycle so I was concerned about breaking the thing in half.  I bought a sling bag at the dollar store.  It holds the phone in big compartment and my keys, wallet in the small one. Maybe MC211 give that a try, it's working for me.

[Handy1]

@mc211  One never here really likes the cat 22  @Chalupa_Batman  can explain more on that phone features 

[mc211]

thanks for the insights. 
i'd destroy an iphone in an afternoon.  i need a tough outdoorsy minimalist phone that's small enough to pocket. i never carry my galaxy with me as it's too big and fragile, it sort of my land line... but life is changed and i need to keep a phone handy now.
   I do need maps and voice texting so the one flip phone that telus has isn't quite adequate.   Cat s 22 or unihertz atom. But who knows if they'll actually work...  maybe i'll get a big leather case for the galaxy and just see how long it lasts

[Handy1]

@mc211  My suggestion is to buy iPhone 8 or up is always a safe bet 

[mc211]

 any sources or references for the confidence that any volte phone will work later??  i can't afford to buy a paperweight 😞

[Phil_Adelphus]

@mc211  ( it looks like i have rogers in my area as well)

Rogers has announced it is shutting down 3G for Rogers, Fido and Chatr as of March 2025, so you would need to check compatibility if thinking of switching there.  I had a VoLTE capable phone on Rogers which wasn't able to use VoLTE on their system.

[Handy1]

@mc211  

voLTE IMEI checker

https://www.telus.com/en/support/article/how-to-use-volte

[mc211]

can we whitelist our individual imei's?   is there any sense on when or if canadian carriers are going to relax their whitelist requirements?  any pressure to do so?

[hTideGnow]

hi @mc211 

won't be 2025, the sunshine will be delayed for a year or two 

and by then, any VoLTE phones will work,  no more whitelist by then

[Handy1]

@mc211  I’ve heard rumours about 2025 but I can’t say for certain I’m just a customer like you trying to help . But 3G will be shut down eventually for sure 

[mc211]

 This makes me also wonder about my current phone, a samsung galaxy a71.  It's also not on the white list. It's going to stop working when 3g phases out?  This is happening in 2025 or so?

[Handy1]

@mc211  Yes I would say so especially  now when it comes to roaming in the U.S. 

[mc211]

thankyou!  So if a phone isn't on that small list it's basically going to be nonfunctional on public fairly soon as 3g is taken down?  And they aren't willing to add your phone to the whitelist through customer service?

[Handy1]

@mc211  

VoLTE white list

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/get-help/articles/volte