Hello Paulinep1,
Welcome to the community!
You should note these forums are community-driven and not intended as a venue for customer services. We do not have access to customers' accounts nor would we be able to adddress your issue.
Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the service Fido offers which uses that device. As far as I am aware, their Wireless Home Phone service does not allow for data services and their Home and Rural Internet cannot be used to make voice calls or send text messages...
That said, I suspect your issue could be related to other customer's issues with respect to voLTE (see here, here, etc). As mentioned in those posts, Fido traditionally have not supported certain services (ie voLTE and/or Wifi-calling etc) on devices or versions of devices they do not sell. So far, I have not been able to find any source suggesting Fido offers that device (see here). If they do not sell that device, it's unlikely voLTE will be supported on it.
@paulinep1 wrote:
...I then took out the sim card and put it in an iPhone. I made a call on VoLTE with no issue.
I then put the sim card back into the ZTE MF288 and made a phone call. Again, with no 3G error and the call being made on VoLTE. Which I thought was odd that now it worked? 5 minutes later tried to make another call and now the 3G error is back and no calls are being made on VoLTE....
There have been customers sharing similar experiences with different devices (see here). There have been request to add IMEI numbers to their accounts with the hopes of gaining the features. Unfortunately, adding an IMEI of an unsupported device would not allow voLTE and/or Wifi-calling to work.
I understand that once the '3G' network is decommissioned, limiting voLTE to only Canadian versions of devices they sell will be problematic for other device users. However, I am not aware of any official stance from Fido or Rogers on the matter.
If you wished to discuss your matter, you would need to contact customer service.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
Hello Plameng,
Welcome to the community!
@plameng wrote:
...The real issue is (mentioned by the Fido representative) that their system is not recognising Chinese phones and is automatically placing them on 3G network even though they support 5G, 4G and VoLTE....
That statement isn't necessarily true. As mentioned previously and in other posts, Fido traditionally have not supported certain services (ie voLTE and/or Wifi-calling etc) on devices or versions of devices they do not sell. Though, that does not necessarily mean people had to purchase from Fido. Fido sells the same Canadian versions of devices as the other Canadian mobile providers as well as local box stores etc. As long as the device was the same version as the one they sold, it was possible for those services to be supported.
On the other hand, non-Canadian versions of devices (ie US or Global Samsung S series etc) would likely not be supported for those services. In addition, other devices from manufacturers which are not generally sold from Fido or Canadian mobile providers (ie Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo, etc) are also likely not to be supported for those services (see here, here, here, here. etc).
I think the reason so-called non-Canadian devices were not supported for voLTE and/or Wifi-calling was that those devices had not been tested on the networks. For example, OnePlus had been reluctant to partner with any Canadian providers to allow for testing of their devices with the networks.
Currently, however, all devices regardless of where they were purchased or from what Country can use the UMTS/WCDMA network for calls and messaging (provided the device has compatible band/frequency). They can also access the LTE network for data (provided the device has compatible bands/frequencies). If you are not able to use data on your device, it's possible your device does not have sufficient compatible bands/frequencies.
As far as I am aware, these appear to be the bands/frequencies for that particuarl device:
| 2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| CDMA 800 & TD-SCDMA - China | |
| 3G bands | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 - Global |
| HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 - China | |
| 4G bands | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40 - Global |
| 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41 - China |
~taken from here.
Depending on the version of your device it may have fewer compatible bands/frequencies. You can view the compatible bands/frequencies here. It should be noted that there may also be other versions with differing specifications. While both of those versions appear to have some compatible bands/frequencies, it would be important to note that not all cellular towers use all of the bands/frequencies. You can get an idea of your local cellular towers here.
So, the issue is not necessarily that Fido is arbitrarily placing your phone on the '3G' network. Devices lacking compatible bands/frequencies might not be able to adequately gain access to the LTE network. In addition, even if the LTE network is accessible, devices which are not supported for voLTE would necessarily fall-back to the '3G' network for calls.
Hope this helps 😀
Cheers
