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iphone xs cannot be 4g enabled as it doesnt have voice

Has anyone else been unable to get 4g on their XS?


iPhone XS, iOS 15

Posted on Feb 1, 2022 11:42 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 1, 2022 4:24 PM

Thank you but my wireless provider has told me it cannot be 4G enabled. Best Buy Geek Squad says it cannot be enabled as well as a private phone repair serviceman. Under my selections in cellular data, no options are present so I cannot select Voice, Data or 4 G. It is up to date on all the OS upgrades. Is it possible if I ignore the 3G deadline of February 22, 2022 my phone will continue to work? It’s in excellent condition.

18 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 1, 2022 4:24 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Thank you but my wireless provider has told me it cannot be 4G enabled. Best Buy Geek Squad says it cannot be enabled as well as a private phone repair serviceman. Under my selections in cellular data, no options are present so I cannot select Voice, Data or 4 G. It is up to date on all the OS upgrades. Is it possible if I ignore the 3G deadline of February 22, 2022 my phone will continue to work? It’s in excellent condition.

Feb 2, 2022 9:15 AM in response to Cherisue

Your phone will continue to work on AT&T.


Until recently cell phones had a voice channel and a data channel. The voice channel was GSM (Global Standard for Mobile) and the data channel was 2G, 3G, or LTE (which is synonymous with 4G). With an iPhone 12 or 13 it can also be 5G.


Your phone had a voice channel and also a data channel that could be 3G or LTE depending on the network you were connected to.


Several things have happened recently. First, a couple of years ago carriers offered Voice over LTE, meaning that your calls would be digitized and use the LTE data channel instead of the voice channel. Now, recently, the major carriers completely eliminated their voice channels, and only use Voice over LTE, so essentially they went all digital. Since all calls now use VoLTE and all data LTE there is no longer an option to select it for voice or any other data option.


If you travel to an area that doesn’t support VoLTE the phone will revert back to the old system, so your phone will remain compatible around the world. It is smart enough to choose the right communications protocol.


To further complicate it, your carrier also has Wi-Fi calling, which means that when you are home on your Wi-Fi network (or anywhere that has Wi-Fi) your phone can use the Wi-Fi connection for calls. This happens automatically if you have this feature turned on. It’s better for the carriers, because it off-loads their towers, and better for you, because Wi-Fi calls don’t count against your calling “minutes” if you don’t have unlimited. And when traveling outside of the US any calls over your hotel’s Wi-Fi doesn’t count as roaming calls.

Feb 1, 2022 4:40 PM in response to Cherisue

Then your phone is broken, or your carrier’s tech support is incompetent. If there are no options present the phone is using Voice over LTE (which is 4G by any other name), or VoLTE. What do you see in the top bar next to the battery indicator when you turn off Wi-Fi? Do you see signal strength bars and either LTE or 5Ge (which is also LTE, but AT&T’s marketing name for it).

Feb 1, 2022 4:56 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence Finch wrote:

The XS supports 4G out of the box. Actually, all iPhones from the iPhone 5 and up (including the SE) support 4G/LTE.


AT&T explicitly says you will need an iPhone 6 or newer:


https://www.att.com/idpassets/images/support/pdf/Devices-Working-on-ATT-Network.pdf


Verizon specifically states:


4G LTE smartphones that do not support HD Voice:

Apple iPhone 5, 5C, 5S or Prior

https://www.verizon.com/support/knowledge-base-218813/


The iPhone XS does support VoLTE, so it will continue to work after the 3G sunset.

Feb 1, 2022 5:03 PM in response to Dogcow-Moof

Apple’s specs for the 5 said it supports LTE, and was the first iPhone to do so; if AT&T or other carriers choose not to support the device that is their decision. I can think of technical reasons that AT&T and Verizon many not support the 5/5C/5S, primarily that they can’t support VoLTE, and AT&T and many other carriers are dropping analog voice entirely, so their network can only work on phones that can support VoLTE.



Feb 1, 2022 5:13 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Correct.


AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have all stated devices that do not support VoLTE will not be allowed on their networks as of various sunset dates.


AT&T and T-Mobile already stopped activating non-VoLTE phones, with T-Mobile doing so back in 2020.


AT&T:


We no longer activate phones that don't support HD Voice since they won't be compatible to work on our network when 3G shuts down.

https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1324171/


Verizon:


What does CDMA (3G) network retirement mean to me?

After December 31st, 2022, if you are a Verizon customer still using a device that is 3G (CDMA) or 4G that does not support HD Voice (Non-VoLTE), the device will no longer make/receive calls, send/receive text messages, or use data services. Until this date, your device will still be able to use these services.

https://www.verizon.com/support/knowledge-base-218813/

Feb 2, 2022 8:56 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Thank you for your help!

So is LTE 4G not the same as VOLTE.? From the discussion, its VOLTE that my XS might be missing.

It’s the ATT network that said my XS phone wasn’t compatible. I thought they meant because of 4G but maybe it is VOLTE.

Thank you for your patience. I am 80 so this tech throws me off and I don’t want to be suckered into buying a new phone (I love mine) if I don’t need to.

Feb 18, 2022 4:14 PM in response to Ashleestella57

Yes, the XS supports 4G, as long as you understand that LTE is 4G. Note, however, that US carriers are dropping support for analog LTE/4G and moving exclusively to VoLTE.


GSM/EDGE

UMTS/HSPA+

DC-HSDPA


CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (some models)

Gigabit LTE

Wi‑Fi 6 (802.11ax) with MIMO

Bluetooth 5.0

Built-in GPS, GLONASS

VoLTE

NFC with reader mode

Wi-Fi calling

iphone xs cannot be 4g enabled as it doesnt have voice

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