Question

Wifi Calling won't work at home but works other places

  • 20 September 2020
  • 10 replies
  • 628 views
M
Badge

Hi, I’ve been having issues with Wifi Calling at home. It’s very strange actually, and I haven’t been able to figure it out, nor have any of the companies involved (Tmobile, Netgear, or Comcast)

 

Background: Wifi calling stopped working on my MOTO X4at home, but would work other places. At that time I had a motorola modem and an Apple Airport extreme router. I assumed that my router and modem were old, so I purchased a new netgear CAX80 (modem/router combo). It didn’t solve the problem. I get the ER081 message and the H01 (i believe). Regardless, it won’t work. I also am unable to send and receive MMS when I’m on my home’s wifi. The internet works great and is fast, but those two don’t function. 

 

 My wife’s iphone is able to make wifi calls (iphone 7s) and my work Iphone 11 also can make wifi calls at home.

 

So it’s the phone right

 

WRONG

 

When I’m at my office, I connect to xfinitywifi, and the icon for wifi calling turns on. I put my phone in airplane mode to test it, and i can make phone calls. 

 

So it’s not the phone, because I can make wifi calls other places, and it’s not the router, because other phones can make wifi calls on my home router.

 

So is it just Motorola X4 and Tmobile and Comcast at home? 

 

It’s bizarre. Anyone? Anything?

10 replies

drnewcomb
Userlevel 5
Badge +7

Sometimes it’s not one or the other. It can be something between the two. There are very few settings you can change on the phone, so I’d play with the modem. To start with, I’d assign your phone’s MAC address absolute priority for QOS and see if that changes anything.

I don't speak for T-Mobile.
M
Badge

Right now, I connected my personal phone through hot spot to my work phone. Wifi calling icon came on, and then I changed it to my home wifi. It stayed on, and is working. I will try to keep it like this without turning off the phone, or going to airplane mode. I guess I will do this until I get tired of it. Then I will try your QOS thing. Thanks for your response.

syaoran
Userlevel 6
Badge +13

Based on my personal experiences with NetGear trash, I would start by trying something different.  The only thing you have changed, is the modem/router combo so that is the best place to start.  NetGear’s firmware on their higher end stuff over the past year has been outright disgraceful at best! 

Check your firewall as that can block the ability for WiFi Calling to connect.  Check the QoS rules, if enabled.  If there isn’t enough bandwidth for WiFi Calling to work, it will not enable.  Getting back to my experience with NetGear…  Their firmware for devices made over the past year or so have had major wireless stability issues.  If the wireless connection is not stable, then WiFi Calling will not enable.  In some cases, this is a hardware issue but the NetGear forum might be your best bet for troubleshooting and the best info.  

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
M

Something I have found helpful in general is a signal strength app (plenty available for free). The one I'm currently using measures both cell signal and wifi signal. While there is nothing you can do about cell signal, you may be able to relocate your wifi router to get better coverage.

M
Badge

A little update, I have broadened the scope of it not working on any of my android devices. My mom and dad also have Android cell phones (also tmobile) 

 

so is it netgear and android or netgear and T-Mobile android? 
 

either way, my return window and support window are long gone! $400 in the trash 

syaoran
Userlevel 6
Badge +13

A little update, I have broadened the scope of it not working on any of my android devices. My mom and dad also have Android cell phones (also tmobile) 

 

so is it netgear and android or netgear and T-Mobile android? 
 

either way, my return window and support window are long gone! $400 in the trash 

I would say it's just NetGear.  I have no issues with my Asus RT-AC66U, Asus RT-AC68W, and 2 RT-AX86U's.  

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
M
Badge

I understand that, and it seems that's the only actual answer. There has to be a solution other than getting rid of this and getting a new modem/router combo, right? 

syaoran
Userlevel 6
Badge +13

Perhaps try the NetGear forum.  When I was last over there  there was a lot of good info on the issues with their routers and firmware.  I doubt that will solve your issue, but at least you will have a better understanding as to what is wrong with their products.  We didn't have our Nighthawk long enough to really mess with it.  A firmware update killed it.  We managed to revive it with a hard reset but confirmed it had a hardware issue.  We returned it to BestBuy for a refund and then bought the RT-AX86U's. 

With the pandemic going on.  Maybe take a look at the retailers extended return policy, if they have one, to see if you could return it. 

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
syaoran
Userlevel 6
Badge +13

With the Moto X4 and this is probably a long shot, but…  Have you tried talking to your ISP’s Support to see if they block the older implementation of Android’s WiFi Calling?  There have been a lot of changes with Android 10 and 11.  Have you tried a newer device with Android 10 or 11 on it to see if you can get WiFi Calling working on that at home?

Syaoran - I am not a T-Mobile Employee but I could use a new job!
tmo_mike_c
Rank
Userlevel 6
Badge +14

That’s a good suggestion. Have you checked out the post above to see if those steps work? Please let us know @mishkhanian.

Reply