Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?

kuailexs · 11 Jan 2024, 11:59

@beyolf said in Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?:

@kuailexs

Thank you for pointing this out but we are making tests with that plugin from about a month already. We don't want to use closed source plugin that's why we are just examining how the plugin works and trying to make a new open source one.

Have you figured out how the plugin works? How is the current progress?

beyolf · 16 Jan 2024, 08:51

@kuailexs

Hey excuse me for the late response. I didn't had the opportunity to work on UT recently, because of some real life stuff, but now I am trying to catch up. When I have some info to share I will post it here.

kuailexs · 17 Jan 2024, 03:03

@beyolf said in Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?:

@kuailexs

Hey excuse me for the late response. I didn't had the opportunity to work on UT recently, because of some real life stuff, but now I am trying to catch up. When I have some info to share I will post it here.

plug-in only does some status and action commands transparent transmission, there is no protocol related implementation, VoLTE protocol support is all in vendor.qti.hardware.radio.ims. Implementing this plug-in is relatively easy.

JohnB · 26 Feb 2024, 06:13

I am new to the UBPorts community and been wanting to get a Linux phone for a while, it seems like there are a lot of people here who are willing to pay towards a crowdfunding effort to get volte added to Ubuntu touch. I found an active open source bounty website that supports multi-user bounties, and talked to them in their discord and I get the impression they'd be willing to set up a page for this if the Ubuntu touch community can provide a set of concrete bounty targets. Then whoever is interested can contribute to the bounties. I personally would contribute a small amount to a bounty. Does this seem interesting to people? If so, I will need help distilling the report into concrete bounty targets by someone with domain expertise. I think this is a setting where a lot of small bounties could add up to enough to get this implemented.

fairose · 26 Feb 2024, 19:53

@JohnB said in Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?:

I found an active open source bounty website that supports multi-user bounties, and talked to them in their discord

Thank you for that work!

@JohnB said in Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?:

I think this is a setting where a lot of small bounties could add up

I am not a programmer. Do you have an idea of how exactly these "small bountys" could look like?

JohnB · 26 Feb 2024, 20:07

@fairose So I mean small bounties like each donator only donates a relatively small amount of money towards the same bounty but added together it could be a big enough sum of money to attract a team that could actually pull it off. In terms of defining the tasks to target with the bounties it could a single boutny with something like: "Volte works on these phones with these vendors" as the goal. That keeps it pretty simple and is outcome focused. We could also consider having a separate bounties for working volte on each each vendor/phone/region combo.

Tommy · 3 Feb 2024, 02:01

If the VoLTE implementation is going to take some time I believe we need a work around for this.

I had a OnePlus One phone & like others got text it would no longer be supported by my carrier.

My question is this? Would carriers allow you to use these same phones they are saying is incompatible with the network if we only wanted to buy just data service and use them as a tablet instead of a phone?

And if so would it be easier to work on a solution for us to have VoIP service in that case just kind of like before you could have services such as Google Voice on a phone and use that service just like your normal phone service thru your data?

I think that would be a good solution as long as whatever app/service has no privacy concerns.

Tommy · 3 Feb 2024, 02:37

Update to my question. I went on straighttalk website & discovered that to even get a tablet plan you must have a 5G capable tablet. Why are they so picky? Why can I have an only 4G capable phone and use data but to use a tablet they want me to have to have a 5G capable one. The only 2 phones I have that work with ubuntu touch(OnePlus One & Pixel 3a XL aren't 5G phones. Here is the screenshot from straighttalk.

Does anyone know of a carrier that allows the use of only 4G capable tablets & do you know if it would work if get a plan from them & use phone as tablet?

UPDATE:
Even without the first thing I mentioned, getting a VoIP service/app like Google Voice(and I mean like Google Voice but not, I hate google) for the phones, the biggest thing would be able to just get data on them so we can still use them like a tablet because I basically use my phone like that anyway I hardly ever actually make a call with it. But VoIP would be nice.

Moem · 2 Mar 2024, 09:14

@Tommy said in Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?:

If the VoLTE implementation is going to take some time I believe we need a work around for this.

You are not alone on this, and VOIP / SIP-based solution are certainly being looked at.
(By the way, when you're asking about carriers, it's generally a good idea to say where in the world you are.)

Tommy · 2 Mar 2024, 14:48

@Moem Thanks. I'm in the US. I was using a OnePlus One phone for about a year then started getting notifications that my phone would be incompatible with the network in 2022, and haven't been able to go back to Ubuntu Touch since due to this.

Tommy · 2 Mar 2024, 14:50

@Moem PS, what is SIP?

MrT10001 · 2 Mar 2024, 15:03

@Tommy SIP is service over internet, IE Voice over Internet Protocol. You have an app, sign up for a service and then when using data or at a WIFI hotspot, log into your SIP service and receive and make calls.
It is being worked on so you can receive calls all the time over it.

Tommy · 3 Feb 2024, 19:21

@MrT10001 Thanks, basically it was what I was asking for just never heard of it called SIP i've always just heard of VoIP like with services like google voice number & when was able to call phone numbers with Yahoo Messenger way back in the day. Thank you for clearing it up. Speaking of WIFI hotspot that may be my only option to be able to use my phones with ubuntu touch as I don't think I'm going to be able to get them to have phone service or just a tablet plan with them. The other option I'm thinking is this https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-an-aircard-818325 finding an aircard meant for devices like laptops & tablets but then that is something I'd have to keep plugged into the phone & probably with an adapter depending on the USB port.

EDIT:
For example this card isn't USB-C so would have to have an adapter to plug it in to my pixel 3a. Also I didn't see any option on straighttalk when I looked to sign up for service with an aircard so I would have to find alternative for service with it. https://www.ebay.com/itm/224551936685?epid=1622974835&itmmeta=01HR09MZXGJX2JG22PJ5H1NYJR&hash=item344856a2ad:g:-J0AAOSwwvhhAZzo&itmprp=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwAnkYFoEcJILDeIQr%2BSY%2BMDPSGZ%2B5DD%2FqTqxWmPEYWn3yyQQlWlwL4ci%2F3VJd1XFWE%2BRqMX1OAk1vn3NZeRyHaU%2FfOa5r5%2Fm85iwc03VhY%2FXwWddLU8x28PTxt94uC355v8aNHP3Kj5y9MNNiAUKCLvA34y1K4bpQBYHokZIFrhZbJrGTlKPLzdaQiF00MA4bzrGBxO9J48YF6sF9bHzHvJzov0E97YshOARejzGqZzsw8rOd4I9DiEyYb9Adym%2FhQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5T_04nAYw

MrT10001 · 2 Mar 2024, 19:34

@Tommy Those devices are for PC's or laptop for mobile internet over 4G where wifi or a wired network is not available. To work with that you would have to have it plugged in to a PC or Laptop and set the wifi on the PC or Laptop for sharing. Then it acts as a gateway to the internet via the 4G modem and your phone wifi connects to the laptop/PC wifi and routes out. It sounds complicated and can be tricky to set up. It would be easier to have a cheap 4G/5G mobile phone and set it up for wifi sharing, then your UT phone could attach via wifi to that and the 4G/5G phone would route it to the internet.

Tommy · 3 Feb 2024, 19:49

@MrT10001 Those would be perfect. Yes they are designed for laptop or PC but should work alone with a tablet or phone as long as whatever drivers/software are there, which makes your statement correct because it probably wouldn't be, and speaking of that it probably wouldn't even work on my laptops because I have linux and not windows. That being said anyway I just got done with chat at straighttalk and was informed they don't offer plans for those devices anyway & I would have to get a mobile hotspot device and plan for that anyway.

EDIT:
I just hate thinking that in order to use my phone with ubuntu touch in any meaningful way I would have to now carry around two separate devices with me that have to stay charged.

EDIT 2:
Also I don't know why the heck they are so picky and nosy about what devices you use. Never gone thru that with home internet. I don't understand why here in the US you can't just get a sim card, buy a 4G data plan & put it in whatever the heck device you want to. Cause if that was the case I would just have a data plan & be using my phone that way now with just data.

MrT10001 · 2 Mar 2024, 19:55

@Tommy said in Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?:

Also I don't know why the heck they are so picky and nosy about what devices you use. Never gone thru that with home internet. I don't understand why here in the US you can't just get a sim card, buy a 4G data plan & put it in whatever the heck device you want to. Cause if that was the case I would just have a data plan & be using my phone that way now with just data.

Like here in the UK, the US Cell providers enjoy rinsing you of your hard earned $$$$ (Our case ££££):beaming_face_with_smiling_eyes: However, data only plans don't make them money unless it's corporate trade (building, law enforcement).

I just wish mobile phone manufacturers would make life easy and provide open source BLOBs (drivers) for their devices and have a standard way of implementing things!

rocket2nfinity · 3 Mar 2024, 00:45

@Tommy The 4G data network is not going away anytime soon. Even Verizon is allowing any device that is a Pixel 2 or later on their network. I just gave away a P2XL that I was using as a data device on Verizon with Sip for calls. So, you should be able to continue using them after the final T-mobile 2g cut-off (which had been postponed).

There is ongoing work to get VoLTE going, and Sip is available now with the experimental linphone app and the google voice web app. You should join the NA Issues UT group on Telegram. We can help you better there.

vandys · 5 Mar 2024, 01:44

@Tommy You might look at https://jmp.chat/

I got it for pure XMPP access to SMS/MMS, but later got their SIM and a data plan. They're a MVNO--T-Mobile here--and have a fork of Android Conversations to also do telephone calls (based on WebRTC, apparently).

So it might help, though of course I recognize an Android app isn't an immediate solution for UBports! But they do support SIP into telephony for your phone #.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.cheogram.android/