Shopping for a newer budget phone compatible with Public Mobile VoLTE

[PhoneHome8932]

Hi.

I am shopping for a newer budget phone compatible with Public Mobile VoLTE.  

Is there an up to date list of allowed phones? 

Does it need to be a Canadian version of the phone? 

Will UMIDIGI phones work? Or the Motorola G7 XT1962-1? 

Is there a difference between "VoLTE approved" phones and "VoLTE Roaming" compatible phones? 

Thanks 

[will13am]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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@will13am wrote:

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I thought I was the only one that received a rug pull for using a Umidigi phone on this service.  I too had VoLTE working fine on the A13 pro for about 2 months and then it stopped working.  My inquiries why were not answered.  To this day, the phone has VoLTE on the dog brand.  

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I highly suspect that Telus could get into regulatory trouble for this.  As you were saying, this is a BYOD carrier.  Who is Telus to decide which devices are allowed on VoLTE at Public Mobile? This can be seen as an anti-competitive practice, and at the very least, even if there's no behind-the-scenes agreement, it gives the optics of a possible conflict of interest when it comes to phone suppliers with whom Telus has a relationship with. 

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That is a pretty deep rabbit hole that I am not going to go down.  That said, if the Umidigi was not retired and I continue to rely on it, then I would take arms against a sea of troubles...

[computergeek541]

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@will13am wrote:

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I thought I was the only one that received a rug pull for using a Umidigi phone on this service.  I too had VoLTE working fine on the A13 pro for about 2 months and then it stopped working.  My inquiries why were not answered.  To this day, the phone has VoLTE on the dog brand.  

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I highly suspect that Telus could get into regulatory trouble for this.  As you were saying, this is a BYOD carrier.  Who is Telus to decide which devices are allowed on VoLTE at Public Mobile? This can be seen as an anti-competitive practice, and at the very least, even if there's no behind-the-scenes agreement, it gives the optics of a possible conflict of interest when it comes to phone suppliers with whom Telus has a relationship with. 

[computergeek541]

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@Handy1 wrote:

@PhoneHome8932  Here PM white list for voLTE

VoLTE white list

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

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That's not a whitelist. Public Mobile has never provided a VoLTE whitlelist.  The whiltelist is based on IMEI as detected upon connection to the network.  There are also devices not on that model list provided by Public Mobile that do work on VoLTE here.  There are also devices that are of the same model name as devices that do work at Public Mobile on VoLTE that don't work on VoLTE because of it being sourced from a different carrier and having different firmware installed.

[will13am]

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@BKNS27 wrote:

@will13am @PhoneHome8932 

Sorry, it wasn't the Moto G Play that I thought had 5G.

It was the Moto G Stylus 5G. Sorry for the confusion and I confirmed with my friend. Also, it had a higher price of $399.

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A new deal came up today, pixel 6a for $299 at Bestbuy.  I have one of these phone in use and it is still very capable.  It is $100 less than the newer pixel 7a.  It might be worth it for those on a tight budget.  

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/google-pixel-6a-128gb-charcoal-unlocked/16299237

[BKNS27]

@will13am @PhoneHome8932 

Sorry, it wasn't the Moto G Play that I thought had 5G.

It was the Moto G Stylus 5G. Sorry for the confusion and I confirmed with my friend. Also, it had a higher price of $399.

[will13am]

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@BKNS27 wrote:

@PhoneHome8932 

A good budget phone is Moto G Play 5G from Costco at $139. If you are not a Costco member, just ask a friend to buy it for you or get them to get you a Costco gift card so you don’t need to be a member to purchase.

My friend got a Blackview phone from Amazon and he regrets it for the same price as the Moto phone.

What ever you decide, check whether the phone is compatible with Canadian frequencies:

https://www.kimovil.com/en/frequency-checker/CA 

Remember, you need a minimum of 2 frequencies in 3G, 4G or 5G.

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I think you might have the name of the phone wrong.  If this is the phone, there is no 5G support.  

https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g_play_(2023)-11957.php

As a 2023 phone, the specs are sure dated.  If the phone you are referring to is this one, it is so old that it is not worth buying at any price.  I wonder if VoLTE would actually work on this service.  Older hardware seems to be shunned.  

https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g_5g-10577.php

[will13am]

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@wetcoaster wrote:

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@hTideGnow wrote:

HI @PhoneHome8932 

the Umidigi is not VoLTE compatible.

Slightly inaccurate / incomplete statement... Umidigi phones do have VoLTE technology built-in, but the Public Mobile system is actively blocking them from accessing the VoLTE function.

I have an Umidigi Bison (2021), and when VoLTE was activated on my account early last year, it worked flawlessly. A few months in Public Mobile started reinforcing their whitelist and blocked VoLTE on my phone. Switching the SIM into my friend's Pixel 6A confirmed that VoLTE is active on account level and works perfectly in a whitelisted phone.

There is a slim chance that VoLTE does work on start-up of an Umidigi phone, until the system properly classifies the device as not on the whitelist and refuses to continue to provide the feature. Which can be a couple of days, or weeks, or, potentially, months. But it's pretty much just a matter of time until they'll yank VoLTE support from non-white-listed devices.

There are people that will defend white lists. I personally believe that, with 3G sundown on the horizon in the second half of the century, a pure BYOD provider like Public Mobile should just allow any VoLTE capable device access to VoLTE network features. To cover their rearsides, put a prominent disclaimer up that they can't help trouble shoot the feature if the phone wasn't bought through the Telus group. 

TL:DR: If you are looking for a new phone to use on Public Mobile, be prepared to shell out for the more expensive phones that are actually whitelisted.

(Side note: I now have a SIM from the orange label competition in my Umidigi Bison, VoLTE works like a charm... )

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I thought I was the only one that received a rug pull for using a Umidigi phone on this service.  I too had VoLTE working fine on the A13 pro for about 2 months and then it stopped working.  My inquiries why were not answered.  To this day, the phone has VoLTE on the dog brand.  

[will13am]

@PhoneHome8932 , I would recommend the pixel 7a.  This phone is definitely VoLTE and 5G capable.  Since this is a very current device, software support is good to May 2028.  

https://store.google.com/ca/config/pixel_7a?hl=en-GB&selections=eyJwcm9kdWN0RmFtaWx5IjoiY0dsNFpXeGZO...

[computergeek541]

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@BKNS27 wrote:

Remember, you need a minimum of 2 frequencies in 3G, 4G or 5G.

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That's not correct.  A phone needs to only have one of the compatible bands to work (although it wouldn't work ideally).

[PhoneHome8932]

Thanks for the tip! That is a good deal.

The "whitelist" shows a few Motorola phones, but not exactly the  Moto G Play 5G.

Does anyone have the Moto G Play 5G on PM with VoLTE working?

[BKNS27]

@PhoneHome8932 

A good budget phone is Moto G Play 5G from Costco at $139. If you are not a Costco member, just ask a friend to buy it for you or get them to get you a Costco gift card so you don’t need to be a member to purchase.

My friend got a Blackview phone from Amazon and he regrets it for the same price as the Moto phone.

What ever you decide, check whether the phone is compatible with Canadian frequencies:

https://www.kimovil.com/en/frequency-checker/CA 

Remember, you need a minimum of 2 frequencies in 3G, 4G or 5G.

[wetcoaster · Accepted solution]

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@hTideGnow wrote:

HI @PhoneHome8932 

the Umidigi is not VoLTE compatible.

Slightly inaccurate / incomplete statement... Umidigi phones do have VoLTE technology built-in, but the Public Mobile system is actively blocking them from accessing the VoLTE function.

I have an Umidigi Bison (2021), and when VoLTE was activated on my account early last year, it worked flawlessly. A few months in Public Mobile started reinforcing their whitelist and blocked VoLTE on my phone. Switching the SIM into my friend's Pixel 6A confirmed that VoLTE is active on account level and works perfectly in a whitelisted phone.

There is a slim chance that VoLTE does work on start-up of an Umidigi phone, until the system properly classifies the device as not on the whitelist and refuses to continue to provide the feature. Which can be a couple of days, or weeks, or, potentially, months. But it's pretty much just a matter of time until they'll yank VoLTE support from non-white-listed devices.

There are people that will defend white lists. I personally believe that, with 3G sundown on the horizon in the second half of the century, a pure BYOD provider like Public Mobile should just allow any VoLTE capable device access to VoLTE network features. To cover their rearsides, put a prominent disclaimer up that they can't help trouble shoot the feature if the phone wasn't bought through the Telus group. 

TL:DR: If you are looking for a new phone to use on Public Mobile, be prepared to shell out for the more expensive phones that are actually whitelisted.

(Side note: I now have a SIM from the orange label competition in my Umidigi Bison, VoLTE works like a charm... )

[hTideGnow]

HI @PhoneHome8932 

the Umidigi is not VoLTE compatible.

But those new Samsung 1x /3x/5x series should be good

if you like, get it directly from MobileKlinik.  They have good phone with good warranty 

[Handy1]

@PhoneHome8932  Here PM white list for voLTE

VoLTE white list

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