Does iPads support VOLTE? Or not?

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Level 1

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Does iPads support VOLTE? Or not?

I have an iPhone 5s but my carrier is switching to VOLTE, so that leaves my phone in the dust.

Tonight, I was going to purchase the iPhone 7s Plus or the 8s Plus, but thank goodness, I see they dropped the 3.5mm jack on these models, so NO way I am buying either of these 2 models. Why? Because, #1 I just bought a brand new 3.5mm HyperX 2-3 months ago This would mean shucking out more money for a lightning adapter. And secondly, that brings me to the dilemma of charging the phone. I would have to unhook the headset just because I have to recharge. This is bologna.

Instead of getting the iPhone 6s Plus, I was thinking about buying an iPad, instead. Just last week I contacted Apple support pre-sales and they said as long as I get an iPad with the wi-fi + cellular I could utilize VOLTE, but just now, looking on these forums for answers to a couple other questions I have, I see a thread that said NO iPad, has VOLTE capability. So, who am I to believe... and Apple pre-sales rep, or a poster on the Apple Community forums?

This isn't funny. I have a very limited budget and cannot afford to end up with something that isn't going to fit my needs.

Thank you for your help.

iPad

Posted on Aug 28, 2020 6:45 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

rcosta887

Level 4

3,604 points

Aug 28, 2020 7:06 PM in response to DerBengel

iPads w/ cellular support LTE data, they don't support voice cellular calling at all, VoLTE (Voice over LTE) or otherwise.

You can only make voice calls from your iPad, Voice over LTE or otherwise, through a companion iPhone.

https://support.apple.com/guide/ipad/make-and-receive-phone-calls-ipadf97892b2/ipados

If you need something more official (since you have gotten mixed feedback) you can compare the "Audio Calling" specifications of an iPad w/ Cellular, vs an iPhone:

https://www.apple.com/ipad-pro/specs/

https://support.apple.com/kb/SP806 (iPhone 11 Pro Max)

To save you the time, here is the difference in the specifications sheet:

iPhone:

FaceTime audio
Voice over LTE (VoLTE)
Wi‑Fi calling

iPad w/ Cellular

FaceTime audio
iPad to any FaceTime-enabled device over Wi-Fi or cellular

In short, you can't make any kind of cellular phone calls with an iPad, only relaying through an iPhone w/ a cellular calling plan.

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Answer 2

Aug 28, 2020 7:03 PM in response to DerBengel

No iPad supports VoLTE because no iPad supports connections to any cellular telephone voice network. iPads are data devices only. The WiFi+cellular models support connecting to cellular data connections only, thus only support VOIP calling apps like FaceTime, Skype, etc.

And a lightening to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter is 9 bucks - Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter - Apple so in the context of buying and iPhone or an iPad, it’s a trivial extra expense (it’s less then the tax on the iPhone or iPad).

If you want an iPhone and you want VoLTE support, then you need an iPhone 6 or newer - no other option. But if buying a new iPhone, you should likely wait as Apple traditionally offers new models in the fall.

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Answer 3

DerBengel Author

Level 1

4 points

Aug 29, 2020 8:24 AM in response to DerBengel

WOW! Thank you guys, you saved me! I am VERY thankful I did not listen to that Apple rep! I was about to buy one of their refurbished iPads and had a few more questions-was just luck I ran into that info from another post.

Going to go ahead with an iPhone 6 model I guess, cause it fits my budget.

Ah, that adapter is cheap enough! But, dumb question here, is there an adapter that allows me to use the 3.5mm and charge at the same time? Guess that is pushing it? lol

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Does iPads support VOLTE? Or not?

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