Can I use Cricket Wireless for Ubuntu Touch on Google Pixel 3 a

kuuga

Do I need T-Mobile to make calls with Ubuntu Touch? But Cricket Wireless can’t do that? Why?

Moem

I guess that T-Mobile still offers other mobile connectivity than just VoLTE. Which UT does not yet support on the Pixel 3a.
VoLTE is one of the highest priorities with the UT devs right now and it's a very tough nut to crack. You might want to view the most recent Q&A; there is some news about it.

stanwood

@Moem @kuuga Unfortunately no good news regarding VoLTE on Pixel 3a.
Indeed, great new progresses have been done recently and VoLTE should land on more devices, and even quite soon (that's the good news part).

But also Alfred was clear in the latest Q&A that it certainly won't be done on Pixel 3a since it would need a complete new Halium 12 port - which by the way won't guarantee VoLTE to work. Moreover his carrier in Austria doesn't handle this model through VoLTE.

You can watch his explanations at 37:30:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irXEtukxpJQ&ab_channel=UBports

However, if someone else is interested to dive into this, why not...
But let's be honest, the chances are tiny...

Moem

@stanwood Thank you, I could not get the whole video to play so I have only watched the first minute so far!

carl

true or false ?

Telus Canada network
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Rodgers Canada Network
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Moem

@carl Just having a compatible device does not mean that UT supports it on that device. You need it supported by both the hardware and the OS.

wally

@carl Although if you're indeed in Canada, 3G is still supported for now. Rogers has said end of 3G is July 31 2025, Telus Dec 31 2025. Bell seemingly will keep it for longer, some say til Dec 31 2026, except in Manitoba.

The Q&A was very, very encouraging on VoLTE overall, but as stated, it's unknown which devices will get it, and it didn't sound like good news for Pixel 3a.

I don't know if Alfred has moved on to other things, but he was really looking for help from people in the USA to test the Pixel 3a, and wasn't getting it. Maybe since it's supported for VoLTE on those networks, you could see about helping him?

carl

@wally Thank you for your reply. I'm from Quebec, and I don't think I have a choice but to stay with Bell in the worst-case scenario.

I'm with Rogers, and I received this message about 3G, which ends on July 31, 2025.

stanwood

@carl So you might consider changing your device if you still wish to continue with UT beyond July 31 / 2025, as Pixel 3a has nearly 0 chance to handle VoLTE. Or move to another carrier to gain some time.

As @wally said above, there's no official VoLTE time table right now at UBports, but things are moving well and some crucial steps have been done those last weeks.

This is what I've been able to understand from the various community channels - and with all due caution - as I can be wrong:

Volla 22 and Volla X23 have already jumped in since OTA-8. Some users would probably need to upgrade their Halium port from 9 to 12. (No idea how to do this though...)
Fairphone 4 / Fairphone 5: Already running on FP5 (dev mode). Should land with Noble on the FP4. Both did provide pretty decent results. 5G/NR bands should also come at the same time. .
Redmi Note 9S / Pro / India: It happens right now. Our gorgeous team has just merged VoLTE into devel (both Focal and Noble) for further tests. Seems to run pretty well, including SMS over LTE and Bluetooth car audio calls. High chances to land within the next Stable release. (Big big Kudos to Adam, Beyolf, Vlad, Marius and all others...)
Pocco X3 NFC: Also running tests. Some users report that the recipient person has no sound. To be followed, but should eventually be fixed soon.
New upcoming devices: Brax3 / Volla Quintus: I assume VoLTE will be part of the port. No official info so far. Stay tuned....

I don't know about the other devices, especially regarding OnePlus - F(X)Tec - Pine64 and Asus supported smartphones. Maybe involved people will communicate in appropriate time.

So here are some clues if you need to choose a new device. But I strongly advise to wait for clear official announcements before to get a new one.