G4/G4 Plus people -- How's the 3G "sunset" going for you? - Moto G4 Plus Questions & Answers

I've been following the phasing out of 3G and don't mind adjusting to change even if it renders my G4 Plus obsolete. My main question is whether or not G4/G4 Plus models are obsolete in reality. After all, it's a 4G phone that supports VoLTE and wi-fi calling.
AT&T Prepaid is telling me the phone is "3G dependent" and they're trying to muscle me into a newer phone. BS sales pitches from wireless carriers I get. But extra pressure in the form of a two-day notice is especially dubious.
Here's the interesting part of AT&T's notice sent yesterday:
"ALERT! It's time to replace your 3G dependent phone! ...If you don't replace your phone, by July 25, 2021, any calls you make will be redirected to customer service so we can help you upgrade to a newer phone. Some features like voicemail won't work when calls are redirected. To avoid service disruption please call (877) 475-2662 to get your new FREE phone today or stop by your AT&T store for other options."
First, my G4 Plus isn't from AT&T and is carrier unlocked. Second, what do they mean by "3G dependent" for a 4G phone? This would make sense if 4G traffic traditionally passed through 3G relays. But AT&T pretty much owns the market in my city and 4G signals aren't hard to find. What adds to my confusion is that whenever I read about the end of 3G the usual takeaway is that 4G devices 'should be ok' and not to worry.
Officially, 3G ends in February 2022 but I never intended to wait that long even if our athene models won't work as usual. I was hoping to make it to the end of summer or December at the latest. It seems the carriers are ratcheting up their unofficial dates.
For now I'm planning a stopgap that involves a different carrier. I'd appreciate hearing how other athene users are adjusting.

The situation is better for me. I have 2 sims, Airtel and Jio and haven't used 3G network since more than 2 years.
Jio offers 4G only network since its launch in September, 2016 and athene supports Jio 4G VoLTE officially. So, no problem with that.
Airtel discontinued its 3G service in many parts of the Country more than ~1.5 years ago, including where I live. But, athene unofficially supports Airtel 4G VoLTE on AOSiP Pie (at least for me, other Pie ROMs require Airtel VoLTE hack found in Themes, Apps and Mods sections). So, no problem with that either.
My primary device is Asus Max Pro M1 and will complete almost 3 years soon, but if something happens to the device then I won't be stranded and I can use athene as my fallback device because both carriers support 4G VoLTE.

From what I've figured out so far, the reason AT&T says their SIM will stop working come February 2022 is because they plan to blacklist older phones regardless of 4G capability. i.e., Just another extortion tactic US carriers are known for. Can't say for sure about other carriers, although I can't imagine Verizon not playing the same joker card.

Related

samsung note 3 volte

is there any way to get volte in samsung note 3 sm-9005 by flashing official roms if yes then pls friend post the tutorial it will be very kind of you
I want volte tooo
surajyadav98 said:
is there any way to get volte in samsung note 3 sm-9005 by flashing official roms if yes then pls friend post the tutorial it will be very kind of you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
even i want it bro. have u got any way for it
prashantxpe said:
even i want it bro. have u got any way for it
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Click to collapse
Learn to search its the rules .
https://forum.xda-developers.com/search/forum/2494?query=volte
***voLTE, WiFi calling, Tmobile***
=======================================
(linked from XDA by David Ruddock)
T-Mobile Unofficially Speaks To Us About Band 12 LTE / VoLTE And Unlocked Smartphones,
And Yep It's Still Confusing
-----------------------------------
Yesterday, we published an article asking an open question: what is up with T-Mobile band 12 support being removed from some unlocked smartphones?
Today, T-Mobile contacted us to speak about said article. Unfortunately, T-Mobile was unwilling to provide any official on-record responses to our questions. But after a short discussion, I can provide you some information I have learned on background (journalist speak for "cannot be directly quoted or attributed to anyone"). First:
On T-Mobile, any device on its network with band 12 LTE data support must also support T-Mobile Voice over LTE services and E911.
The E911 part isn't particularly important in terms of the certification requirement - all phones sold in America are technically E911 compliant, because by law they have to be. The problem is that E911 compliance is inextricably linked to T-Mobile's VoLTE requirement for band 12. Without VoLTE support, a device on band 12 service would be unable to make phone calls of any kind if no other T-Mobile band was available (it will not know to fall back to AT&T roaming - the call will just flat-out fail), and that would include making 911 calls, meaning the device would for legal purposes likely be out of E911 compliance, and T-Mobile could get in trouble with the FCC. Not to mention, you could have somebody trying and failing to dial 911 in an emergency, which would of course be terrible. And yes, by removing band 12 support, you can make E911 work, because the phone then has no signal at all and knows to try to roam onto another compatible network (AT&T usually) to complete the call. This is both a safety and liability issue, and it is easy to understand where T-Mobile would be coming from in terms of concern about this - they do have something of a history with E911 debacles. Clearly this is a very real safety concern, and I do sympathize with T-Mobile in the sense that they obviously can't just sit here and do nothing about it. But there are practical concerns for OEMs here - adding T-Mobile VoLTE isn't just as easy as flipping a switch.
In order to obtain VoLTE compliance for band 12, phones must go through T-Mobile's rigorous network certification process (and yes, unlocked phones can go through this certification).
Speaking off the record to one major smartphone vendor, we have learned that there are very real costs and complexities associated with obtaining that certification, and it must be done on a device-by-device basis. Many phone OEMs, then, may simply choose to remove band 12 support from their unlocked smartphones sold in America. This could mean phones like the Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3 (4.7 and 5.5), the Huawei Ascend P8 Lite, the Huawei SnapTo, OnePlus 2, Moto X Style (aka Moto X 2015 PE), Moto X Play, HTC One M9 Unlocked and Developer Edition, Saygus V2, and various imported phones (ie, some global unlocked Sony or Samsung devices) or unlocked branded AT&T phone models may lose band 12 support in future software updates. The fact is, we don't know what will happen, or to which phones, or when. Some manufacturers may choose to get T-Mobile VoLTE certification (Motorola has hinted as much with the new Moto X 2015 PE), but many may also simply choose to quietly disable band 12 for T-Mobile in software updates. Motorola, as we know, has already done this with the Moto E.
It is not clear what action, if any, T-Mobile will take if a smartphone vendor refuses to remove band 12 data support from their device and also refuses to undergo the T-Mobile VoLTE certification process. (Ie, they want to keep B12 data but not bother with B12 VoLTE certification.)
This is basically the kicker. What will T-Mobile do if a vendor says "no way" to dropping band 12 data, but also doesn't want to go through the VoLTE certification process? We don't know. They might not do anything. But they might do something. Again, this is why speaking to T-Mobile about this situation was so frustrating. Not only we were unable to directly quote or attribute any of the information we were provided, but there was also no clarity as to what would happen in the event the band 12 situation comes to a head with an OEM that refuses to "play ball."
It seems unlikely that any OEM would refuse T-Mobile's request here, though, as most of them are also partnered with the company on T-Mobile-branded devices.
We have asked T-Mobile again for an on-record statement about this entire situation, because it would help clarify it immensely. As things stand now, T-Mobile is attempting to put the ball in the court of manufacturers. Which, to be fair, manufacturers do have a role to play here - they have to make the decision to drop band 12 or go through the T-Mobile certs for these unlocked band 12 devices. Or, potentially, just ignore T-Mobile's band 12 requirements entirely and see what happens. Unfortunately, as you might guess, most smartphone OEMs have zero desire to discuss upcoming software updates in detail, or to ever put their product in a situation where it is being highlighted for losing a feature. That makes our job here a difficult one.
We will update you on any more information we receive about this situation, including any response from T-Mobile or potentially-affected device manufacturers we have reached out to.
---------------------------------------------------------
surajyadav98 said:
is there any way to get volte in samsung note 3 sm-9005 by flashing official roms if yes then pls friend post the tutorial it will be very kind of you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Offical rom??? if your mean stock rom, yes it possible to have VoLTE, provided your network support!

VS995 - do 'Unlocked' versions still have HD Voice?

I am trying to buy a new V20 VS995 on ebay right now, but the only NEW ones all say they are 'Unlocked' (I need the VS995 because I have Verizon). I made a previous post yesterday and the responses made me do some research, and I have now learned that Verizon is retiring CDMA around the end of the year, and 4G NON-HD Voice phones will no longer work on the network beyond that. The VS995 does indeed have HD-Voice, but I am confused if the 'Unlocked' versions of the VS995 for sale are devoid of that feature, and if they are still Verizon compatible (since I also have read the "unlocked" US996 model no longer works on Verizon)? If so, then I'd rather get a non-unlocked VS995 phone because it would still be useful beyond 2020. I am a total noob compared to most people here... so these may be basic questions. If anyone can help me in making my decision, I'd be so so thankful.
I'm sorry if my post made no sense. I am just wondering if VoLTE is on the VS995 'unlocked' version. Or if I need to get a 'Network Locked' version to have the VoLTE feature. Verizon it seems will discontinue any non-VoLTE phones, and not allow me to activate them at this point. Just what I read, maybe I'm wrong. I don't want to waste my money. I hope this question makes some sense.
All VS995 phones actually came SIM unlocked out of the box because for a while up until last summer, Verizon was required by law to have their phones come unlocked as part of a deal when they purchased some network frequencies a while back. So, all VS995 models are the same and may only differ by the software that's currently installed when you buy one. VoLTE on Verizon should work on any VS995.
C D said:
All VS995 phones actually came SIM unlocked out of the box because for a while up until last summer, Verizon was required by law to have their phones come unlocked as part of a deal when they purchased some network frequencies a while back. So, all VS995 models are the same and may only differ by the software that's currently installed when you buy one. VoLTE on Verizon should work on any VS995.
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Thank you thank you thank you!!! I couldn't find that information anywhere, so it really helps a lot for you to share it.
Isn't VoLTE dependent on whether your service provider provides it. I only get voicemail messages when I put my fone on LTE/CDMA.
Settings>More>MobileNetworks>SystemSelect> NetworkMode give me options of Global, LTE/CDMA and LTE/GSM/UTMS. I don't get any calls if I select LTE/CDMA but data goes to 4G+ and won't throttle down to 3g. Advanced calling is greyed out as an option to select but that must be because my network provider doesn't provide it.
ezzony said:
Isn't VoLTE dependent on whether your service provider provides it. I only get voicemail messages when I put my fone on LTE/CDMA.
Settings>More>MobileNetworks>SystemSelect> NetworkMode give me options of Global, LTE/CDMA and LTE/GSM/UTMS. I don't get any calls if I select LTE/CDMA but data goes to 4G+ and won't throttle down to 3g. Advanced calling is greyed out as an option to select but that must be because my network provider doesn't provide it.
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Click to collapse
Yes, availability of VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling depends on the support of the carrier. And at least in the U.S., if the carrier provides those features, the phone also has to be on whatever certification whitelist the carrier uses. Within the next 2–3 years, all major U.S. carriers are planning to shut down all networks below LTE (2G/3G/CDMA), so VoLTE will become a requirement to make phone calls over here. This may become an issue for any unlocked US996 owners in the U.S. as I don't know if that model gets VoLTE on the other carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile, who strongly prefer their carrier-branded H910 and H918 variants.

No Volte after Oreo update

Idk if any other variants have same issue, but I am at an end of searching so here I am.
I have an ls997 (Sprint/T-Mobile) and had volte on 7.0. But after arb was implemented and cant go back (on 8.0) I noticed volte was gone and so was option to turn on in settings/network/call. Like it was removed for some reason. I checked even all hidden settings with shortcut maker app. Volte is provisioned also. Ims oddly shows not registered. Customer service even said it was removed. WHY!? I asked and they didn't know and told me to contact LG and blah blah.
All and all this is bs that a feature is removed again.
I have ran into circles trying to find a solution as I am not the only one. I am here asking if anyone has found a fix? Or are we just screwed when it comes to to upcoming volte requirement for Service with tmobile/sprint or anywhere else? Google voice might be an option, but its still bs none the less.
I've never had VoLTE on my LS997 on 7.0 on a Sprint MVNO (status bar icon changes to 3G during a call), though that may be different on Sprint post-paid. Anyway, I think even if VoLTE currently works on Sprint's network, I'm not sure if it will work on T-Mobile's side later, even if the hardware is capable. The whole upcoming VoLTE requirement for all U.S. carriers in 2021–2022 is a huge mess as no one is quite sure which phones will have VoLTE working or not. The only V20 model guaranteed to have it on T-Mobile is the H918.
Sadly, the LS997 will no longer be usable in the U.S. after T-Mobile completely takes down the Sprint network a year from now.
C D said:
I've never had VoLTE on my LS997 on 7.0 on a Sprint MVNO (status bar icon changes to 3G during a call), though that may be different on Sprint post-paid. Anyway, I think even if VoLTE currently works on Sprint's network, I'm not sure if it will work on T-Mobile's side later, even if the hardware is capable. The whole upcoming VoLTE requirement for all U.S. carriers in 2021–2022 is a huge mess as no one is quite sure which phones will have VoLTE working or not. The only V20 model guaranteed to have it on T-Mobile is the H918.
Sadly, the LS997 will no longer be usable in the U.S. after T-Mobile completely takes down the Sprint network a year from now.
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Yeah, its dumb. Just a game of forcing us to have to buy a new cell if we want one. The whole take over sucks. Idk even if a h918 would work with our sprint plans. Carrier Unlocked or not I am not sure even if it would matter.
The H918 won't be able to use the Sprint SIM card, so you'd have to switch over to the T-Mobile side with their SIM card. A carrier-locked H918 (still lacks LTE band 71 which came on phones a year later) should work on any carrier that uses T-Mobile's network. Since I actually own an H918, I might do this switch when the time comes, but I'll probably wait as long as network coverage in my area allows before going there.

4g calling on US996?

I'm currently using a US996 (the "real" factory unlocked version, not the US cellular one), and was hoping to do so for as long as possible. Unfortunately, my current carrier is AT&T and it seems that they will be dropping support for 3g calling early next year- which I am told will render my model unable to place or receive phone calls.
Anyways, I have *heard* that my device will be supported if I switch to T-mobile, but this comes from some googling a year or so ago and probably some less-than-reliable sources.
I was hoping to get a run-down on what my options are if I want to retain both my current device and ability to make phone calls come 2022. I currently have an unlocked bootloader + LineageOS installed on my phone as well, and would prefer to maintain that rather than having to use a locked-down carrier ROM
I have seen mixed reports from users who got VoLTE working on T-Mobile for their US996 while others did not (I'm still on a Sprint MVNO, so I won't be able to test this myself until T-Mobile completely takes over the network). But what's certain is that only the H910 can get VoLTE on AT&T (they keep a whitelist that determines which phones can get it), and LineageOS on pretty much any LG phone will likely never have it working.
So, at a minimum, you'll have to at least go back to a stock-based ROM if you plan on using a V20 next year on any carrier in the U.S.
I am not XDA savvy so forgive me if this is not what you are asking.
I have US996 factory unlocked ,I am on stock 8.0 and use Net10 which is ATT and do calling with LTE. which I assume is 4G.
mghia said:
I am not XDA savvy so forgive me if this is not what you are asking.
I have US996 factory unlocked ,I am on stock 8.0 and use Net10 which is ATT and do calling with LTE. which I assume is 4G.
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Click to collapse
What OP is saying is that the calls on AT&T and its MVNOs for a US996 are actually done through 3G/HSPA and not LTE, unlike cellular data. AT&T's own H910 is the only V20 model that can make calls through LTE (VoLTE) on their network. Once AT&T turns off the 3G networks early next year, calls will no longer work on the US996 and any phone that's not on AT&T's whitelist.
You should be able to see this on your phone: When making a call, the LTE icon will not stay up, indicating that VoLTE is not working.
Oh nifty this phone becomes more and more an issue. So now I ahve to add this to my plate. Seems like it will still be a year. OK but the US996 has LTE so why is this still a problem? Why wont it just use the LTE band?
Please be kind I do not know all the acronyms or how any of this all works.
Cant the US996 also run on Verizon?
mghia said:
Oh nifty this phone becomes more and more an issue. So now I ahve to add this to my plate. Seems like it will still be a year. OK but the US996 has LTE so why is this still a problem? Why wont it just use the LTE band?
Please be kind I do not know all the acronyms or how any of this all works.
Cant the US996 also run on Verizon?
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Because of its whitelist I linked in the second post, AT&T actively blocks any phone not on the list from using LTE for calls (VoLTE = voice over LTE).
As for Verizon, they blocked direct activation of the US996 starting in 2018. You will see that entering your phone's IMEI number on Verizon's website will give you a message saying it's not compatible with their network even though it is perfectly capable. It may still work if you insert an already-active Verizon SIM card in there, but I don't use Verizon, so I can't say for sure if that still works.
Wow, talk about a way to force new contracts and phone sales. I never had a phone not be useable for PHONE CALLS. I guess I am grateful for the heads up as I was not aware and Net10 did not inform me of such things. I bought this phone because of specs and it was a removeable battery . But it seems this phone just was a pain from the start, with the screen issues, and the company claiming they would upgrade to Pie and never did.
T-mobile did not have useable coverage in my area when I tired it several years ago. So I really do not know what is going on since they now have Sprint.
Not sure if you're still looking at this thread but i have a v20 us996 factory unlocked and a G6 us997 factory unlocked and they BOTH get VoLTE on Red Pocket Mobile AT&T mvno. Calls DO NOT fall back to 3g or 2g and data stays active while in calls.

suddenly can't make or receive calls moto g5 plus

I do have full data = text, downloads, etc but no calls. All incoming are direct to VM. Any outgoing attempts fail immediately.
It's rooted and I have full ADB access. I replaced the ROM yesterday with 11 google pixle (something like that - I'm not at home where the files are). It worked for a while then stopped again. Dead as far as calls go. The original ROM is voLTE enabled without an option to toggle that. The newer ROM has voLTE and is toggled on. Of course I tried toggling voLTE, airplane mode, toggled cell-data, power cycle on off etc. Nothing gets it going. I'm on ATT. They recently did a G5 update on 2/22/22 and calls worked until yesterday (3/8) . ATT tried sending signals and a few times i was able to make (1).. yes - ONE call - then it fails afterwords - weird isn't it?
I'm hoping you guys might know a pretty solid ROM i can install (old or new - whatever works best with this phone) nothing fancy - just operational is fine. Or if you think I have a hardware issue and should add a hook to the phone for a lure I'd rather not if I can get it going again - I believe it should work but maybe something with the ATT G5 is adding to my troubles - any suggestions please - I'm at a loss
Thanks in advance - Jim
Hi Jim, I just joined xda in hopes of finding out if a new rom will solve this G5plus moto problem. From what I gather, the standard installed rom does not support Volte and when the wireless services dropped 3g, it somehow dinked with volte/lte (that level no longer supported). I am in the same situation with my g5+ - text but no voice. I use H2o wireless service. From my upfront investigation, volte is a software solution, and no extra chips are required, but I may be wrong, I am just getting started with this. It seems odd to me that I can take out my sim and put it in an older J3 Samsung, and calls go through fine and I can see Volte settings listed. What was moto thinking on the G5+, makes no sense. Sooooo, if anyone has any input to this problem or know if a rom might solve it, chime in please, the phone is still okay for low level use.
Thank you,
Barry
When I re-flash the ROM I can make one call again then nothing. This tells me it's not hardware but software. So I decided to visit T-Mobile to see how it works on their G5 voLTE network and it does quite perfectly. It's not the phone, never was!
So here's what I'm finding out so far. ATT has created a 'white list' of phones they are allowing on their new roll out of the 5G voLTE system. The Moto G5 Plus is not on that list. According to an ATT blog site they are blocking IMEI's that aren't on that list from making calls. The arguments on that site include comments that regardless of your phones proven and manufactured ability to process voLTE calls they aren't going to allow them. It's BS. According to this site it was up to the manufactures to submit phones for approval. Obviously they aren't going to submit discontinued phones, so...
I'm with ConsumerCellular which is ATT essentially. Finally after 4 days CC says they have a new SIM that has been fixing this issue and shipped one out for me today. I'll get it next week. I'll update here accordingly. They call it a "3-In-1 Smart Sim - A" I'll find out just how smart it is ;-)
Yea, I found the att whitelist and all the controversy. Let us know what happens when you get it, maybe H2o can send me one also. Possibly too much programming to allow the G5+ in the mix, could get interesting as time passes.
https://www.att.com/es-us/idpassets/images/support/pdf/Service-Capabilities-Unlocked-Devices-ATT-Network.pdf
I'm leaving ATT. Consumer Cellular sent me the newer SIM. They couldn't get it to work either. The T-Mobile sim worked perfectly in my existing phone - voLTE, 4G (not a 5G phone) and wifi calling. In the mean time to make matters worse, I received a Moto One 5G Ace (brand new phone) direct from Motorola claiming to have whatever upgrade was necessary. Doesn't work either on ATT. I called Moto to question why menu options are missing. Without hesitation she said it's not a 5g phone for ATT and offered a refund. Really.. ok, who am I to argue - I'm taking the refund. I'm moving my existing phone to T-Mobile and not fighting with the big bad ATT bully for doing this.
IMHO ATT doesn't deserve to keep any customer they've done this too. Laziest roll-out in history
So don't fight it, just leave. Any company that blocks IMEI's and dumps customers who own known good 4G voLTE phones is saying loud and clear - LEAVE US.
so that's how I'm fixing the ATT issue. Just the way they way want it.
Yeah, I'll echo this. My G5Plus is on StraightTalk (AT&T MVNO), and voice just stopped working days ago. The SIM works for voice in my Pixel 3a though so getting a new SIM would do nothing. Pretty bogus that VoLTE works with some carriers and/or variants of this phone, just not AT&T apparently.
According to the ATT blog they're blocking the IMEI's of any phone not on their white list. I'm confident it would work they just don't want to be bothered with testing it since the manufacture didn't send them a phone. It's a discontinued phone so why would Motorola do that. However being discontinued only means they made a production run of so many phones and have sold out. On to better iterations .. I get that. They still work and will for years to come on 4G and voLTE. It's an ATT thing. They work great on T-Mobile (not a fan but..)
jgdorado said:
I'm leaving ATT. Consumer Cellular sent me the newer SIM. They couldn't get it to work either. The T-Mobile sim worked perfectly in my existing phone - voLTE, 4G (not a 5G phone) and wifi calling. In the mean time to make matters worse, I received a Moto One 5G Ace (brand new phone) direct from Motorola claiming to have whatever upgrade was necessary. Doesn't work either on ATT. I called Moto to question why menu options are missing. Without hesitation she said it's not a 5g phone for ATT and offered a refund. Really.. ok, who am I to argue - I'm taking the refund. I'm moving my existing phone to T-Mobile and not fighting with the big bad ATT bully for doing this.
IMHO ATT doesn't deserve to keep any customer they've done this too. Laziest roll-out in history
So don't fight it, just leave. Any company that blocks IMEI's and dumps customers who own known good 4G voLTE phones is saying loud and clear - LEAVE US.
so that's how I'm fixing the ATT issue. Just the way they way want it.
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Click to collapse
I left, the ole Moto G5+ up and running with voice on T-Mobile, the 15 buck plan unlimited talk/text 3GB data. Cut my bill in half, will see how it goes and for how long.
Thanks for all of your replies. My wife's Moto 5 Plus suddenly stopped making or receiving calls last week and I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out why. She has a pay-by-the-minute plan through TracFone, which uses AT&T's network (among others). Guess she'll have to look for a different carrier now. Judging from others' replies here, T-Mobile seems to be the way to go.
Just got a notice from StraightTalk that my iPhone 5s will no longer work soon, for similar reasons. I probably should upgrade, as half of my apps no longer work on its old iOS... but I really don't want to give up my headphone jack.
jgdorado said:
According to the ATT blog they're blocking the IMEI's of any phone not on their white list. I'm confident it would work they just don't want to be bothered with testing it since the manufacture didn't send them a phone. It's a discontinued phone so why would Motorola do that. However being discontinued only means they made a production run of so many phones and have sold out. On to better iterations .. I get that. They still work and will for years to come on 4G and voLTE. It's an ATT thing. They work great on T-Mobile (not a fan but..)
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Click to collapse
jgdorado,
Thank You So Much! We went from Verizon, to AT&T to Pure Talk -only to find out what you just told us about being black listed by AT&T. We just switched today to T-Mobile and ey wallah -both Moto G5 Plus, XT1687 work on Android 8.1 perfectly now. WFI Calling, & voLTE working. You ROCK! God Bless y'all, especially XDA Dev's!

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