[OT] .::The Official 3G/4G LTE Thread::.

[murtaza12]

Jazz providing 10/10 service as usual. Went to their ISB Experience Center in Blue Area to get a replacement SIM issued.

SIM was issued, doesn't work at all in my S22 Ultra (says no SIM card detected). Works in another phone, but no VoLTE / WiFi Calling. IMS section doesn't even appear under APN settings.

Called 111 to find out why it doesn't work, agent couldn't help and said he would transfer me to supervisor. On hold for 20+ minutes, nobody ever picked up.

Can't get another replacement SIM for 8 hours because of the stupid NADRA BVS limit, so will have to go to a franchise tomorrow to get another one and see if I just got a bad SIM....

 

[shaheerk]

Posting because of stupid buggy forum software

 

[shaheerk]

Jazz providing 10/10 service as usual. Went to their ISB Experience Center in Blue Area to get a replacement SIM issued.

SIM was issued, doesn't work at all in my S22 Ultra (says no SIM card detected). Works in another phone, but no VoLTE / WiFi Calling. IMS section doesn't even appear under APN settings.

Called 111 to find out why it doesn't work, agent couldn't help and said he would transfer me to supervisor. On hold for 20+ minutes, nobody ever picked up.

Can't get another replacement SIM for 8 hours because of the stupid NADRA BVS limit, so will have to go to a franchise tomorrow to get another one and see if I just got a bad SIM....

No possibility for an eSIM?

I remember one agent (Twitter or 111, I can't remember) saying I should put my SIM in another phone.

Turns out they don't have this info readily available whether it's an ESIM or not. But it felt so satisfying telling them that I can't put my SIM in another phone to test it because it's an ESIM, since this is what agents often say.

Not that it's a wrong troubleshooting tactic, but some of them are so thick that if you have a billing issue, "sir, doosray phone mai SIM daalein aur bataein".

 

[noumaan]

Can anyone confirm call connection time on wifi calling?

I noticed that on Wi-Fi calling when I call someone it takes 4 to 8 seconds to ring and when I make repeated calls it starts ringing within a second.

However on VoLTE it always starts ringing within a second.

 

[murtaza12]

No possibility for an eSIM?

I remember one agent (Twitter or 111, I can't remember) saying I should put my SIM in another phone.

Turns out they don't have this info readily available whether it's an ESIM or not. But it felt so satisfying telling them that I can't put my SIM in another phone to test it because it's an ESIM, since this is what agents often say.

Not that it's a wrong troubleshooting tactic, but some of them are so thick that if you have a billing issue, "sir, doosray phone mai SIM daalein aur bataein".

Didn't want to pay 5k for eSIM just for it to not work. I reset my phone often anyway and going to the franchise to pay 5k every time for a QR code would be a huge pain.

I was also told to change my phone by the first agent. I even got a message from Jazz after ending the call that said 'Dear Customer, we would request you to kindly change your Mobile Phone for this issue. Thank you.'

So even though it's an issue on their end, they want me to just change phones because their stupid agents refuse to acknowledge my issue or pass it up the chain of command to someone more technical.

Next agent that called was convinced that 'Aap k settings out hai' and that her sending the APN settings would somehow resolve the issue. I asked her how she expects those 'settings' to be received on a number that has no signal because the phone won't recognize the SIM card and she said don't worry it'll definitely work, I asked what happens if it doesn't, she just said submit a new complaint on the Jazz World app then and hung up.

That was Friday evening, so there hasn't been any word from them since them cause of the weekend.

Can anyone confirm call connection time on wifi calling?

I noticed that on Wi-Fi calling when I call someone it takes 4 to 8 seconds to ring and when I make repeated calls it starts ringing within a second.

However on VoLTE it always starts ringing within a second.

WiFi Calling will always have a slight delay compared to VoLTE because it depends on the latency between the ISP you're using and Jazz, so it can be a bit slow at times.

Connection time will vary for everyone slightly cause there's too many factors at play.

 

[noumaan]

Didn't want to pay 5k for eSIM just for it to not work. I reset my phone often anyway and going to the franchise to pay 5k every time for a QR code would be a huge pain.

Price of the eSim is 2K now and you can scan the same QR Code multiple times.

WiFi Calling will always have a slight delay compared to VoLTE because it depends on the latency between the ISP you're using and Jazz, so it can be a bit slow at times.

Slight delay is acceptable but 4 to 8 seconds is not. I think it is not latency issue , this is something else

 

[murtaza12]

Issue was resolved today thankfully. After several emails and calls back and forth, finally a technical person acknowledged the issue was with the physical SIM itself and he sent two employees from the Jazz Blue Area office to my house to deliver a SIM from a different batch than the ones I purchased earlier.

Worked on the first try. Quite frustrating that majority of the Jazz reps blamed my phone to be problematic and just closed the complaints without following up.

 

[EliTuS]

Quite frustrating that majority of the Jazz reps blamed my phone to be problematic and just closed the complaints without following up.

This is the situation with almost every telecom customer service rep.

 

[shaheerk]

Worked on the first try. Quite frustrating that majority of the Jazz reps blamed my phone to be problematic and just closed the complaints without following up.

Yep. It's what they do.

It's like "have you tried turning your computer off and on again?" - except in Pakistan, they'd close the complaint right after saying this sentence instead of keeping it open.

They also don't keep it open unnecessarily (because of their KPIs) but the norm, it seems, is to just close the complaint right away without actually following up (and I wonder how the PTA stats are calculated where they resolve 99% of the complaints assigned to the operators).

But sometimes, tweeting to their CFO (for genuinely long-standing complaints) helps. Unfortunately, people have the habit of abusing and misusing platforms and that's why we can't have nice things. I tweeted at the CFO once, told him (gently) my problem, someone from Mobilink rang me up, after having the issue fixed, I tweeted back to the CFO thanking him and to thank the employee...

And when I spoke to the employee later on, he confirmed that he actually did get an acknowledgement from his line managers about my interaction. Not many people actually bother to thank, and I think this is why customer servicing in Pakistan is a thankless, ruthless job - and very demoralizing.

So... take from that what you will, but we've lost the humane touch.

 

[EliTuS]

I was wondering why the eSims don't work on smartwatches in Pakistan? Do smartwatches require some different frequencies for the cellular functionality which isn't supported by our carriers or is there some other reason for it? Why are we so behind in every little technological thing, we don't even have any worldwide accepted NFC payment systems like Samsung Pay, Google Wallet or Apple Pay which is so much more convenient than scanning QR codes.

 

[murtaza12]

Seems like Jazz is planning to refarm more 3G spectrum for 4G

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1704492638471077903

 

[EliTuS]

Seems like Jazz is planning to refarm more 3G spectrum for 4G

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1704492638471077903

Only if they could improve their call quality as well.

 

[shaheerk]

They should sunset 2G first, then 3G. Apparently, some say "no, 2G is still needed for basic data yada yada yada" but that's probably because 2G doesn't require a fat chunk of spectrum anyway. 3G requires a minimum of 5Mhz, and perhaps that's why they'd rather shut down 3G.

But when you have phone manufacturers that don't support VoLTE (e.g. the Pixel series) and have placed artificial restrictions, then it makes things even more complicated.

Oh, and Samsung? One phone for the US, one for Europe, one for Asia, one for Africa, one for Australasia, one for Canada... like, why?! Even though I've read you can hack the sets (no root needed), it needs to be re-done on each firmware update. Just... why?

But personally, I'd still prefer retaining 3G over 2G - you at least get usable data and voice (and in the case of proper implementation, simultaneous data and voice). But I don't make the rules; my brain is just another needle in their haystack.

 

[smaaz]

They should sunset 2G first

Bro these days I literally have to switch my sim to @G only just to get decent call connections, no VOLTE was working and making a basic call is headache. And this is main Lahore.

Honestly 2G is better for calling still.

 

[zafarabbasrizvi]

Bro these days I literally have to switch my sim to @G only just to get decent call connections, no VOLTE was working and making a basic call is headache. And this is main Lahore.

Honestly 2G is better for calling still.

That's because 2G uses 900 MHz which penetrates better in indoor and basement areas. Once this frequency will be shifted to 4G it will start working fine as well.
But shutting both 2G and 3G requires alot of issues to resolve. First of all, all networks need to introduce VoLTE (may be VoWiFi as well) since Ufone and Zong aren't providing atm. Secondly all PTA approved feature phones being sold in Pakistan should be 4G and must support allnetworks VoLTE. Secondly MNO need to contact those companies as well who does not officially operate in Pakistan and ask them to include their VoLTE and VoWiFi support in their devices like pixel phones, Motorola, Oneplus, Sony etc.
For me by doing a little bit of effort both by PTA and MNO Pakistan can shut both 2G and 3G untill end of 2025

 

[EliTuS]

That's because 2G uses 900 MHz which penetrates better in indoor and basement areas. Once this frequency will be shifted to 4G it will start working fine as well.
But shutting both 2G and 3G requires alot of issues to resolve. First of all, all networks need to introduce VoLTE (may be VoWiFi as well) since Ufone and Zong aren't providing atm. Secondly all PTA approved feature phones being sold in Pakistan should be 4G and must support allnetworks VoLTE. Secondly MNO need to contact those companies as well who does not officially operate in Pakistan and ask them to include their VoLTE and VoWiFi support in their devices like pixel phones, Motorola, Oneplus, Sony etc.
For me by doing a little bit of effort both by PTA and MNO Pakistan can shut both 2G and 3G untill end of 2025

It still amazes me that Zong has not announced or even hinted at anything related to VoLTE and VoWiFi. Jazz's 4G coverage is just not it in my area and I keep switching back to Zong.

 

[irfan2050]

in my area jazz recently lunch only 4G this i bad idea no 3G calling problem for toch mobile users big problems in sifting network from 4G to 2g

 

[murtaza12]

It still amazes me that Zong has not announced or even hinted at anything related to VoLTE and VoWiFi. Jazz's 4G coverage is just not it in my area and I keep switching back to Zong.

While they haven't said anything, it seems like internally both Telenor and Zong are VoLTE ready. Just haven't gone ahead with the licenses from PTA.

When you insert either SIM in a Samsung phone, it shows IMS profiles and the VoLTE toggle for both Telenor and Zong, but enabling it does nothing.

Radio silence from Ufone about VoLTE, launching it alongside ONIC could've been good, but Ufone likes staying 5 years behind everyone else.

 

[zafarabbasrizvi]

While they haven't said anything, it seems like internally both Telenor and Zong are VoLTE ready. Just haven't gone ahead with the licenses from PTA.

When you insert either SIM in a Samsung phone, it shows IMS profiles and the VoLTE toggle for both Telenor and Zong, but enabling it does nothing.

Radio silence from Ufone about VoLTE, launching it alongside ONIC could've been good, but Ufone likes staying 5 years behind everyone else.

Samsung phones are Zong VoLTE ready since 2019 but still no announcement. So God knows what is holding back Zong for official launch.
Telenor on the other hand has launched VoLTE before Jazz. But initially very few devices supported but now almost all devices supports it. On some devices it enables automatically and for other devices you need to ask help line for activation.
As far as Ufone is concerned they are holding their 4G expansion and VoLTE adoptation in the hope of Telenor acquisition. Once they will acquire Telenor, they will automatically get vast 4G coverage of Telenor and VoLTE working system.

 

[murtaza12]

According to a screenshot from PTCL group chat (thanks to Nabeel), Telenor is using B3 (1800) + B1 (2100) CA in Wah Cantt.

The phone (Huawei P30 Pro) seems to support Band 5, but it was not being aggregated or shown at all in the list of Telenor cell sites. Curious as to why they're only doing 2CA and not 3CA with Band 5 as well.

Status bar icon showed 4G+ but Huawei phones don't report LTE BW so the NetMonster app couldn't show it.

Can anyone else with a Telenor SIM and a Samsung phone test their 4G (while a speedtest is running) and see what bands are active in Service Mode?