VoLTE support progress

I am currently on mint as well, I have a A1 modem. I have added the tools to /usr/bin/ as quoted by the readme. I have ran both as sudo and as the dialout group and unable to get VoLTE, and restarted multiple times. Picking my brain trying to figure out why VoLTE still says disabled in the GUI, and why when calls are started 2G is still the default.

Doubt this will help,
but I just went here(https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/bm818-tools/-/pipelines) and downloaded the first artifact deb, unzipped it and installed the deb file. Then opened it via the gui and enabled it from there.

Is this firmware version issue still accurate? Iā€™ve noticed Iā€™m running the 09 2021 version so maybe that is why my VoLTE isnā€™t happy. Is it easy to roll back to an earlier version?

I not sure if it is for the firmware or a diferent ADSP that firmware over 092021 VoLTE does not working.
Maybe @dos it knowing if it is possible rollback to firmware -v xx2019?

perhaps. Iā€™m running 201905

That pipeline .deb resolved my issue.

and your modem is running the 09 2021 firmware?

This firmware version is the only thing I can see that is different than others who are reporting success. That app is telling me that volte is enabled, Iā€™ve got it in 4G only, mobile data happy, and dialout group is assignedā€¦

and your modem is running the 09 2021 firmware?

Yes, I wasnt sure where to check but I just checked and it is that version after running that app.

I did a fresh OS install on this last night, took everything Iā€™ve learned over my past week of ownership, and I will agree, VoLTE for the 202109 firmware is not working properly for me. It appeared to work the first time while running the check. Ive called from both phones to and from, and it will only make and receive calls in 2G. The dialout group is set properly, Ive installed the latest VoLTE .deb pipeline tools and they are in my App drawer, etc.

How do I go about getting the 2019 firmware you speak of to test it?

I donā€™t know where to find the 2019 firmware either :frowning: I saw a reference to a purism repo that might have had it, but I think it is private because the link comes up as a 404 for me.

So annoying because I feel like Iā€™m so close to getting this to act like a phone again, but missing one simple thing. Iā€™m surprised there arenā€™t more conversations about this because I would think it would be happening to all the backers that are getting their phones recently.

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I was keeping an eye on this thread and decided to try it out. I did the same procedure you described and I too have the firmware ending 20210907. It still drops to 2G or 3G to make a call despite VoLTE stating its enabled both gui and terminal command

Let is wait for this to dumping the modem firmware: L5 Modem BM818 - Open Firmware

Without having any other good ideas on how to move forward I talked with Mint Mobileā€™s (US MVNO for T-Mobile) support line to figure out if my IMEI was blocked from VoLTE calls. After some digging around they said this modem should have no problems on their network. Which is good because that is also what the T-Mobile IMEI checker reported too.

Not sure where Iā€™m headed next, but at least it seems like back to thinking it is something to do with the modem configuration, not network blockingā€¦

The research continuesā€¦

  • VoLTE calls are working on my L5.
  • VoLTE doesnā€™t work on my L5.

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You have to keep in mind it appears many BM818-E1 users appear to have success in Europe. I use my A1 on Mint with no success so I am going to retry my E1 modem on Mint tomorrow and see what happens. I tried using my Pixelā€™s IMEI and Mint didnt like that unfortunately. So I ruled that out as well.

Is it an old Pixel? Iā€™m using a pixel 5a on Mint with no issues.

One missing element of this task, is in the communications (or lack of it) between Purism and the network operator. If you are an MVNO, you work on a much higher level with the network operator. The Engineers at the very top (far above any phone owner customer service level), work together cooperatively to make everything work. Information, code, and more is all shared until the MVNO phones all work flawlessly. Purism needs to be an insider, not an outsider in this process. Kyle needs to be able to call someone (a top-level Engineer) at the network operator and get both answers and support. This is another reason why Purism needs to become an MVNO. Purism will never catch up with the current technology, when theyā€™re having to guess and hack from the outside, what should be a collaborative resolution to a technology integration gap. More than anything else, this practice of living as outsiders to the network operators, could lead to Purismā€™s failure in the long-term.

I can confirm no such luck on Mint with a E1 modem either. My A1 defaults back to 2G as well.

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@rpm I sent you a DM about this.

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@digitalprairie I also sent you a DM

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Yes, users have used the E1 modem with VoLTE in different EU countries. Also carriers in the US are phasing out 3g faster than European countries.

To be a bit more specific we had users reporting using VoLTE in countries like UK, Germany, Czech Republic and few other countries that I cannot remember at this moment.

In the community wiki there is this page where different users reported their tests with their carriers.

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