Wifi Calling failure - SIM ID issue?

[John_M0EAV]

Wifi calling worked perfectly on my Samsung A50 for ages but since the beginning of December 2021 it has stopped working at home and is intermittent else where.

I live in the Welsh countryside where the mobile signal for any network is practically non-existent but I have noticed that the sim now reports that its EE (which is the most likely network to connect in the area). However, when the sim IDs as EE, wifi calling doesn't work (this is almost all the time at home). When I'm at another location, the sim reports as EE but then changes to Virgin and immediately connects to wifi calling. Randomly it then drops the wifi calling connection and reports as being EE again. 

I've tried another phone so I know it's not hardware and my company phone that is on the EE network uses WiFi calling perfectly fine. I don't really want to move supplier if its a simple fix. So....

Is this just a Virgin mobile bug, a settings issue or is there a problem with the sim card? Grateful for any suggestions. 

[enlli]

Are you sure you have not been moved to Vodafone? Many have and others will be moved in the next month.

[John_M0EAV]

Hi Enlli, thanks for your reply. 

I considered that but then why would the sim still report as EE and why would that be causing the problem? (assuming its not a red herring)

I wonder if its possible, or even worth, requesting a new sim card?

[enlli]

I'm surprised the SIM reports as EE. In reality it should read Virgin.

If you do a manual network search what networks does it show?

You can request a new SIM and that definitely will be on Vodafone.

[Robert_P]

Hello John_M0EAV

Sorry to hear of the recent issues with Wi-Fi calling, we appreciate you taking the time to raise this on the forum and welcome to the community.

As enlli has already advised, even though the network you may be connecting to is EE your handset should show Virgin. Can you perform a manual network search and see if the option is there to select Virgin?

You can find out how to do this here by selecting the make and model of handset, if this still doesn't resolve the issue let me know and we can look into this further and if a replacement SIM is required.

Rob

[John_M0EAV]

Hi Rob,

Many thanks for coming back to my post. 

I have done a manual search and the only options are EE and 23432 as per screenshot below.

Does that help identify what needs to happen next?

Many thanks

John

[enlli]

That seems to indicate to me you have been moved over to Vodafone but the signal is so weak it is not showing up as it should. (It would read Virgin not Vodafone)

Looks like it is a not spot for everyone but EE. (The numbered network is the national emergency network run by EE)

You could try a new SIM but failing that you will need to move to a EE based network 

[Robert_P]

That isn't the case enlli, which does make this more bizarre. The local area looks quite remote and there is a mast down which may mean there are more users using the local masts causing congestion in the area.

But it has worked previously, has it always shown EE as the carrier or has it ever shown Virgin?

Rob

[John_M0EAV]

Hi Rob & Enlli,

The sim used to show Virgin when it got enough signal to show a network and I don't recall it ever showing as connected to EE. But, when I was at my mother in laws house for Christmas, it randomly switched between Virgin & EE. When it's showing as connected to Virgin, the wifi calling kicks in but when it's showing EE, wifi calling drops. The Mother in laws House is in Kent and has better signal strength although still not greater than 1 bar inside. That's when I started looking more closely at the network name and noticed the anomaly. 

John

[Robert_P]

So it works in area's away from your home? Where Virgin shows as the network on the handset but not at home as it reverts to EE? This would appear to be a signal/network issue as opposed to a SIM or device problem.

Rob