ingenium

Can you link to the thread? To my knowledge the only way to do it is indirectly via Fi. I don't believe Sprint will directly allow the use of the eSIM. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

I'd be curious how they implement VoLTE roaming. Presumably they'd be able to get the roaming partner to properly prioritize the EUTRA session for it, otherwise it would basically be Calling+ while roaming. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

It depends on what phone you have and what you need it for. Do you have an SRLTE capable phone (does Signal Check Pro show both LTE and CDMA info at the same time? If so, then you have an SRLTE phone. If it's just LTE, then you do not)? It so, then it will work fine for LTE and voice as long as you don't turn on VoLTE. If you do not have an SRLTE capable phone, then skip it and wait for the 4. It will cause more problems unless you want to setup advanced firewall rules, and won't be any good unless your phone can't pickup an LTE signal at all from the closest tower. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

And the current software build has fairly serious bugs for older devices (Galaxy S6 or 7 era and Pixel 1) and VoLTE devices, that has been there for 9 months or so now. It basically prevents texts and phone calls from working when the Airave is in range (the phone can not be connected, it just has to be in range). It seems to mess up the IMS APN/EUTRA session. So texts and calls fail on eCSFB dependent devices and devices actively using VoLTE. As to why it affects devices if it's just in range.... I don't know. My solution to this was to disable just LTE on it, but leave CDMA active, via a firewall rule. It's an ugly hack, but it works. I assume a fix is never coming. It's a shame that they broke this on the last firmware build for it, since it worked on earlier builds. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

You can, I did it on mine. It's just buried in the settings. Also an option is to put it on a channel that you don't use, and turn the transmit power down all the way. So you can only see/connect to it when you're in the same room basically. Easier to access the config interface again if you need to. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

These are the ones that are deployed in the NY/NJ area via Altice. Also attached an old SCP screenshot while connected to one. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

This looks like it could be a viable alternative to the AT&T iPad plan https://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/at-t-will-offer-4g-lte-to-rvs-togo

Does anyone still have an active Pixel or Pixel XL that's rooted?

VoLTE post is up! https://s4gru.com/entry/439-sprints-casting-call-of-voice-over-actors-an-in-depth-analysis-of-volte-calling-and-vowifi/ Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Josh HillSprint 4G Rollout UpdatesFriday, April 5, 2019 - 3:06 AM PDT Now that VoLTE is actually rolling out on Sprint, it's a good time to dive into what exactly is VoLTE, and how is it different from Calling+ and VoWiFi (Wifi Calling). Background Terms E-UTRA or EUTRA: Stands for Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access. This is the technical name for the actual LTE airlink. QoS: Quality of Service. This is a way of tagging / flagging certain types of traffic to have priority above or below other traffic. When traffic has a QoS tag higher than other traffic, network equipment (the tower, routers, etc) will drop or ignore lower priority traffic to ensure that this traffic goes through instead. The equipment can also be configured to reserve a certain amount of bandwidth to only be used by traffic with a particular QoS tag. For example, if a router has 10 Mbps available, it can allocate 1 Mbps for a certain QoS tag. Normal traffic will only be able to use 9 Mbps, with 1 Mbps reserved for that QoS tag. The number of QoS priorities / tags varies between equipment vendors, but can be in excess of 256 priority levels. QCI: QoS Class Identifier. This is a value that an LTE / E-UTRA session can be assigned that corresponds to a particular QoS tag and specific attributes of that particular QoS queue. For example, it may or may not specify a guaranteed/dedicated bandwidth allocation (GBR). APN: The APN is the name of the gateway on a mobile network. It identifies the packet data network that should be used for that E-UTRA session. IMS: IP Multimedia Subsystem. It is a method for sending SMS over LTE, along with setting up VoLTE calls and other signaling. eCSFB: Circuit Switched Fall Back. For phones / UEs that can only listen on either LTE or CDMA rather than both simultaneously, it is a method for the LTE network to tell the device that a call is coming in, and to switch over to CDMA to process it. SRLTE: Single Radio LTE. This is a capability of newer devices that allows them to listen on both CDMA and LTE at the same time, but only transmit on one at a time. This replaces the need for eCSFB, allowing the device to see a call coming in over CDMA while it’s using LTE. It is also more reliable and reduces the number of missed calls due to failed fallback. When a call is active, the LTE session is stopped / paused. SIP: Session Initialization Protocol. This is the standard protocol for VoIP in telecom networks. How VoLTE Works While we typically think of LTE as a single connection, multiple E-UTRA “sessions” can actually be established, creating what are essentially virtual/multiple LTE interfaces, each with their own IP address, QoS level, APN, etc. Each session has a numerical QCI assigned that dictates the actual QoS priority and whether or not it has a GBR (Guaranteed Bitrate). QCI Resource Type QoS Priority Packet Delay Budget Packet Error Loss Rate Example Services 1 GBR 2 100ms 10−2 Conversational Voice 2 GBR 4 150ms 10−3 Conversational Video (Live Streaming) 3 GBR 3 50ms 10−3 Real Time Gaming, V2X messages 4 GBR 5 300ms 10−6 Non-Conversational Video (Buffered Streaming) 65 GBR 0.7 75ms 10−2 Mission Critical user plane Push To Talk voice (e.g., MCPTT) 66 GBR 2 100ms 10−2 Non-Mission-Critical user plane Push To Talk voice 75 GBR 2.5 50ms 10−2 V2X messages 5 non-GBR 1 100ms 10−6 IMS Signalling 6 non-GBR 6 300ms 10−6 Video (Buffered Streaming) TCP-Based (for example, www, email, chat, ftp, p2p and the like) 7 non-GBR 7 100ms 10−3 Voice, Video (Live Streaming), Interactive Gaming 8 non-GBR 8 300ms 10−6 Video (Buffered Streaming) TCP-Based (for example, www, email, chat, ftp, p2p and the like) 9 non-GBR 9 300ms 10−6 Video (Buffered Streaming) TCP-Based (for example, www, email, chat, ftp, p2p and the like). Typically used as default bearer 69 non-GBR 0.5 60ms 10−6 Mission Critical delay sensitive signalling (e.g., MC-PTT signalling) 70 non-GBR 5.5 200ms 10−6 Mission Critical Data (e.g. example services are the same as QCI 6/8/9) 79 non-GBR 6.5 50ms 10−2 V2X messages (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QoS_Class_Identifier) As you can see in the above table, the QCI does not necessarily correspond to the QoS level. For example, QCI 1 has a QoS priority of 2, but QCI 5 has a QoS priority of 1, making it actually higher priority traffic. On Sprint, traditionally one E-UTRA session was used, with a QCI of 9 and QoS priority of 9. This is the lowest QoS priority, and does not have a guaranteed bitrate. On devices which use eCSFB or VoLTE, another E-UTRA session is established for the IMS APN using a QCI of 5 and QoS priority of 1, and is used for IMS. This session also does not have a guaranteed bitrate, but it has the highest QoS priority. IMS is used for SMS over LTE, along with setting up VoLTE calls. eCSFB devices use it for SMS, and likely also for triggering eCSFB. On newer device which instead use SRLTE, IMS is not used unless VoLTE is enabled, and they instead use CDMA 1x for SMS, so an IMS E-UTRA session is often not setup. When a VoLTE call is initiated, a third E-UTRA session is established, also using the IMS APN. This session has a QCI of 1 and QoS priority of 2. Unlike the other two sessions, this one does have a guaranteed bitrate. For Sprint, this bitrate is 39 Kbps. The screenshot below shows all 3 sessions: VoLTE E-UTRA sessions This is how VoLTE calls are prioritized over regular data. Normal data usage, such as loading a web page or watching a video, will still use the lower, default QoS (QCI of 9), while the data for the VoLTE call will be at the second highest priority (QCI 1), just after IMS signaling (QCI 5). The tower / eNB will ensure that the VoIP session always is able to use up to 39 Kbps by reserving that bandwidth and dedicating it to the call. This is in contrast to “Calling+”, which does not establish a separate E-UTRA session, and instead uses the normal QCI 9 session. The below screenshot shows an active Calling+ call. Note the presence of only a single E-UTRA session. Calling+ E-UTRA sessions So now that we have the airlink for VoLTE, what happens? VoLTE, Calling+, and VoWiFi are essentially standard SIP VoIP calls. The below screenshots show the SIP details for an active call, and the LTE Signaling messages that setup and then end the SIP call. VoLTE SIP details VoLTE Signaling For VoLTE, the traffic for the SIP call goes over the QCI 1 E-UTRA session instead of the normal QCI 9 session. This means that the eNB (tower) will reserve and guarantee 39 kbps for the call, but other traffic from the same device will not be prioritized and will use the normal session. So starting a VoLTE call will not make the rest of your traffic prioritized, it will apply only to the VoLTE call. So as a recap, when VoLTE is enabled, the UE / phone establishes multiple E-UTRA sessions. One is used for normal usage, one is used for texting and signaling, and one is used for the VoLTE call. Think of these like separate virtual ethernet cables. On the QoS prioritized and guaranteed bitrate VoLTE session, the UE establishes a SIP VoIP connection for a call. On Calling+ devices, the same SIP connection is used, however it runs over the default QCI 9 session instead, and therefore isn’t prioritized and doesn't have a guaranteed bandwidth. This is why Calling+ calls are more likely to cut out or not sound as good. VoLTE call Calling+ call VoWiFi (Wifi calling) operates almost the same way. Like VoLTE and Calling+, it also uses the same SIP connection for calls and presumably IMS for signaling, but instead of using an LTE E-UTRA session, the phone establishes an IKEv2 IPsec VPN connection to Sprint. This is an encrypted connection that allows data to be tunneled directly into Sprint’s network. The SIP and IMS traffic are then routed over this VPN to Sprint, but not other, normal traffic. From a QoS perspective, VoWiFi is identical to Calling+, in that neither are prioritized above other traffic. VoWiFi call Because VoLTE, Calling+, and VoWiFi all use the same SIP servers and connections, under normal conditions they sound the same and can technically hand off to one another. They can all take advantage of HD Voice codecs and should sound the same, since the call itself is identical across all three. The difference is how the data for that call makes it to Sprint. VoLTE is able to use a dedicated, guaranteed airlink to ensure that congestion on the network (LTE or WiFi) won’t adversely affect the call. One final performance benefit is that VoLTE is able to take advantage of something called RoHC (Robust Header Compression), seen in the above 3 screenshots. This compresses the IP, TCP, UDP, and RTP headers from 60 bytes to 1-3 bytes, resulting in up to 60% bandwidth savings. It’s only possible on a dedicated link, which is why VoLTE has it but Calling+ and VoWiFi do not. So not only does VoLTE have guaranteed, dedicated bandwidth, it will use potentially half as much, which matters a lot for maintaining the call in edge of cell scenarios.

I'm not sure, but maybe. Calling+ is sort of like a hack because Sprint didn't have the LTE layer ready yet. Calling+ is essentially wifi calling over LTE. What you're seeing is probably an artifact of them repurposing the existing VoLTE interface in Android. They essentially removed the part that sets up a dedicated LTE interface for it. I can say with certainty though that as of the March update, the Essential phone is using Calling+ and not VoLTE. Whenever Robert approves my write up it should help clear things up. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

It is the exact same protocol (SIP VoIP call with the same codecs), however the LTE layer is different. I wrote a wall post on this that is being revised now and should hopefully be up this week. It will illustrate exactly how they're the same and different (along with wifi calling). Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Interesting. I'm not sure how else to verify what it's using other than with root. It is odd that they're actually disabled there. I wonder if there was just some kind of fluke and it accidentally got toggled, and if it would persist after a reboot. You didn't do anything special trying to enable it? It just happened out of the blue? Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

My guess is VoLTE, since the Pixel has the correct profile for it. I'm finishing up a write-up on VoLTE vs Calling+ and the differences, including NSG screenshots to explain. But there's no way to really know for sure without NSG or connecting it to a computer running diagnostic software that can read modem engineering info. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Open SCP and in the overflow menu go to Radio Info. Does it show VoLTE provisioned? Can you post a screenshot? Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Does the enhanced 4G option show up for you in settings? Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Samsung markets meaning they're the tower equipment vendor. Newer Samsung phones have UL CA working. But B25-41, B26-41, and B25-26 CA is not supported by Samsung eNBs (towers) yet, even though phones support it. I'm pretty sure it's not on Nokia equipment either. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

For any devices. Or rather, they aren't enabled on the eNB yet (at least in Samsung land), so no device is able to use them. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Pixel 3 at least can supposedly do B25-26 CA, and I *think* 26/25 + 41. Also the RF front end is capable of 2x UL CA b41, but it was not certified for such and is not enabled. I guess we just have to wait and see when Sprint actually enables those combos. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

VoLTE works surprisingly well on an unsupported device at the moment. I've forced it on the Pixel 3 XL, which Sprint insists is not possible, and it works great. It ignores all the per eNB enable/disable settings that Sprint broadcasts, so it's working on magic boxes and in theory unlaunched markets. I tested the QoS on it today in a rush hour subway station where Hangouts messages were taking 30-60+ seconds to send due to congestion, and it worked flawlessly. Honestly, I think whatever weird/non-standard(?) thing Sprint is doing to enable/disable it on a per eNB level is causing a lot of stability problems with supported devices, where it turns off and won't go back on, etc. Once that is overridden, it works really well, at least if you're in an area without 3G drops Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Data has not been used for SMS since the Pixel 1, which uses IMS. The 2 and 3 both have constant SRLTE and use 1x for SMS instead. If wifi calling is enabled and set to preferred on the 3, it will use that for SMS over 1x (though MMS still needs LTE or CDMA). Likewise, if you force VoLTE on the 3, I THINK it uses IMS for SMS instead of 1x (it should), but I haven't been able to confirm that yet. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Yeah. Even though B26 would be the PCC, I wonder if the network can basically just not use it for download (even if there is capacity) and instead almost exclusively use the SCC. Thus keeping B26 free for people who need it. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Just noticed that I have it too. Updated UI. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

If you don't want to root, you can't get VoLTE for now. The phone supports it, but we're just waiting on Sprint/Google to flip the switch. No idea when that might be. Could be next month, could be 6+ months from now. I used to use Google Voice, but wifi calling on the Pixel 3 breaks conditional call forwarding. This forced me back to Sprint voicemail. So far I haven't had any issues with the Sprint Visual Voicemail app, but then again I rarely get voicemails. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Do you have an Essential that's rooted? If so, I'd be really curious to see the results and what NSG shows. On the Pixel we've confirmed that it's true VoLTE. Note the EUTRA session with QCI 1. That's the VoLTE call. The session with QCI 5 is the IMS session, and QCI 9 is the normal data session. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk