WiFi Calling failing after a week of uptime Hub 5

[berg1]

I've been a VM customer for 3 years and recently upgraded to a Hub 5 from a Hub 3.

WiFi calling on my iPhone disables itself after a week or so of uptime.

I had no wifi calling issues on the previous hub.

If I restart the hub, then WiFi calling works normally again.

If I use my mesh node network to make a call (in another part of the house) then it is not effected and works fine.

So it appears to be a Hub 5 issue.

Does anyone know of any setting changes I need to make on the hub to resolve this.

WiFi calling is critical as we have poor mobile reception in the house, and I don't want to buy another mesh node to cover all the house.

Some other Hub5 users have this issue, but I haven't seen a resolution. Links here

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Networking-and-WiFi/Hub-5-WiFi-Calling-stops-working-after-1-2-...

https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Networking-and-WiFi/Wifi-calling-Hub-5-Not-Working/m-p/5192535

[Client62]

To confirm the configuration is :
1)  a Hub 5 in Router mode + a Wi-Fi Mesh unknown if in Router or Wi-Fi mode.
2)  Wi-Fi calls fail via the Hub 5 WI-Fi.

Does your MESH network give out a Public DNS ( 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1 etc) where the VM Hub is giving out the VM Primary  &  Secondary DNS ?

If yes, having VM Child Safe enabled ( or it failing to have disabled ) may be an issue when directly using the Hub 5 WI-Fi

[berg1]

Thanks for the help Client 62.

To confirm the configuration is :
1)  a Hub 5 in Router mode + a Wi-Fi Mesh unknown if in Router or Wi-Fi mode. IN WIFI MODE
2)  Wi-Fi calls fail via the Hub 5 WI-Fi. YES

I'll need to check the MESH gives out a Public DNS. We do not have the mesh on all the time.

Child safe mode was on so I have toggled to disable it now. But I'm unsure of why that would be the issue when I had the Hub3 for 2 years with child safe mode on and had no WiFi calling issues.

[Adri_G]

Hi, berg1.
Thank you for taking the time to post on our help forums and for joining the VM community.
Nice to have you on board! 🙂

We're sorry to hear of the issues faced with Wi Fi Calling since you had a hub 5 fitted, we'd love to see how to best assist with this.

Firstly, to confirm this do you use your own 3rd party mesh network / Wi Fi extenders or is it our Wi Fi Pods you have connected in the house currently for boosting the wireless signal?

Also, just to be sure and rule this out: is your handset displaying Wi-Fi Calling on the screen when in range, and could you double-check that the device has both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Calling enabled in the handset's settings?

Let us know more on the above and we'll do our best to assist you.

[berg1]

Thanks Adri,

To confirm I’m using a 3rd party mesh which isn’t on all the time and we only use it in one part of the house.

The handset displays WiFi calling usually, though this displays as not present when the Hub5 doesn’t connect. When we reboot the hub5 (usually after 7 days or so when this issue occurs), wifi calling reappears.

to reiterate, we had the same setup for 2 years with Hub 3 and everything worked. he WiFi calling issue has only occurred since we installed Hub 5. We’ve made no other changes.

[Client62]

Some mobiles drop Wi-Fi and revert to mobile data, this would prevent Wi-Fi calling.

Settings to discourage mobiles from dropping Wi-Fi and reverting to the GSM mobile data.

For iPhones...

Disable "Wi-Fi Assist"    Ref:https://support.apple.com/en-us/102228

For Android phones...

Disable "Switch to mobile data"

Settings >> Connections >> Wi-Fi >> ... ( 3 dot menu ) >> "Switch to mobile data"  ( set to OFF )

[Adri_G]

I see, thanks for sharing more on what's happening, berg1.

What you've explained makes sense as our hub 3 works differently than our hub 5 in terms of how they broadcast the wireless signal / network.

As Client62 above suggests, could this be an issue where your Wi Fi signal coverage is poorer at some spots so your handset switches to mobile data and causes the Wi Fi Calling to disable?

If you're on 1Gig speed, we can see into adding Wi Fi Max free of cost and provide Wi Fi pods where needed - to check further you may use the scan feature on our VM Connect App where you can diagnose any weak and blind spots in the house for the Wi Fi.
Please, note we'd need the 3rd party equipment switched off while running these tests.

Let us know if you can troubleshoot this and see where we are, I'll be eager to assist and advise more based on your feedback.

[berg1]

Thanks Ardi, Client 62

One point to add to this is my phone is normally in airplane mode when at home.

As the mobile signal is so bad, airplane mode saves battery from the phone struggling to get signal.

This would disclude it from being an issue with switching to mobile data, as that is switched off in airplane mode.

[Client62]

Selecting airplane mode on my phone disables : GSM and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth i.e. total radio silence.