Question

WIFI Calling Preferences Being Forced to Cellular Preferred

  • 10 October 2020
  • 83 replies
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83 replies

S
Userlevel 2

Wow! That’s quite the “fix”. This is far more than I’d like to take on. This problem shouldn’t have to be fixed by adding some questionable app that controls all your permissions and then essentially hacking into the controls and experimenting your way to a solution….that, in the end, might just improve things (or not….or make them worse). I think it would be easier for me to just switch to Verizon! I think it’s up to T-Mobile to come up with a fix….a legitimate fix….not a hack! It seems an update they did caused the problem, why not come up with a fix update? It’s funny that my wife and I both had this issue starting about 5-6 months ago and now, thinking we could fix it with new phones (and sims)…...NOT….we had the exact same issue with the new phones and sims. Why OUR phones? Isn’t everyone having this issue? if not, why not? Who is affected and why? This should be at the top of T-Mobile’s diagnostics….and quickly! I can’t wait much longer and I’m certainly not hearing anything from them. Hmmmm…..why not? I thought they had excellent service! Well, they used to anyway. I’m not happy!

D
Userlevel 2

EDIT: Noticed it still flipped once in the middle of a meeting. I now made one last adjustment in App Ops for Wi-Fi Calling app setting the “Change Wi-Fi state” option to ignore, and another reboot. Will see what happens but I have verified while connected to an active wifi router, I unplugged the modem, Android status bar showed internet connection not available, bounced between this and my hotspot a few times back and forth, “Wi-Fi Preferred” selection is holding through all without any other intervention or pesky notifications, also while connected to dead wi-fi calls went through no issue from cell data while my meeting disconnected looking for wifi, also stretched out my hotspot to minimal signal detecting 2Mbps wifi speed with my meeting lagging out and full cell tower bars, now this actually fits the definition of WiFi Preferred, status in call settings now only changes to “Currently unavailable” occasionally if when travelling to outskirts of actual wifi signal and re-connects persistently as Wi-Fi Preferred once in adequate wifi range, partnered with a proper mesh wifi setup seems to be working properly smoothly for once

 

D
Userlevel 2

Solved! ! ! Not certain how may people are still having this issue since Android Pie update but I think I have found my solid working fix for WiFi calling continually flipping to cellular preferred, I am on TMO Samsung S8 Active but from the sounds of things this should do the trick for many other carriers or devices if any others could please followup with further testing. After trying numerous other discussed attempts and further digging I found out all I needed was a simple tool I already had from battery saving mods, no ROOT is needed at all but can be accomplished just the same if you are. First step coming closer to making this work, I turned off WiFi scanning by searching for it in the general settings menu of android, this is to help avoid any extra unneeded wifi signal interuptions, not certain how well thia plays with any "companion device" users but may, I have no purpose for these. I use Greenify and Island to debloat/disable unneeded apps from my user interface that application manager fails in ability to do, a computer with ADB installed and options enabled for such in Developer Options, search XDA for setting these up, most of this was just for battery savings essentially and is unneeded but good help. The app I installed which I found fixes our issue is App Ops - Permission Manager from play store, using a computer loaded with ADB and dos/command prompt terminal to send commands to grant needed permisions. Once in App Ops, make sure system app options are checked and scroll down almost all the way to the bottom to find your systems WiFi calling app and set "coarse location" option to "ignore" to prevent network scans from triggering this hated event and then also set the "modify system settings" option also to ignore blocking changes from occurring. I also have coarse location on my Phone app set the same too but I don't think it matters on that app, I had set the phone app previously as such with no effect until tweaking the permissions on the WiFi Calling app itself. Using App Ops I find you must reboot also for permissions to take effect. I have multiple wifi routers setup and hotspots from work I used to try to force a change-over to happen as WIFIs change or diminish out of range(as this function is implied with its label), my WiFi Preferred calling method is now finally under control. If you choose to use App Ops to resolve this issue or expirement with the others, only use the suggested options for the WiFi Calling app, all other options I tried on it either crashed the app or breaks IMS Registration otherwise which is needed for Video/VoLTE/WIFI Calling features. Tweak/debloat any other apps you wish to save battery/data at your own risk one by one, especially any other features in App Ops, very easy to break functionality of any of these or other functions if you tweak too much all at once like I did to try to fish through what messed up something else(good thing theres a select all/restore to defaults option) tweak little by little if you do, I was one of those standing at the store and on tech support for endless hours set on it being my out dated sim card then 2 new sim cards doing the same before finding out I tweaked to many settings same day I had got my new sim card

 

S
Userlevel 2

Same issue here. The problem seemed to first appear about 6 0r 8 months ago or so after an update. I then starting missing many texts and calls both coming and going…..very frustrating! My wife was having the same problem with her Note 8. As with others here, the T-Mobile coverage here is marginal and we depend on the WiFi calling for the majority of our communication…...not anymore! We were actually due for new phones anyway so I thought, rather than try to fix the problem, well, it must be our old phones. We upgraded to an S21 Ultra and a Note20 Ultra…..$2300 worth of new phones! Things seemed good for a week or so….then we seemed to be missing texts and calls! Our phones were again swapping to “cellular preferred”! This is completely unsatisfactory!!!!  8 years ago I swapped from Verizon to T-Mobile (even though the Verizon coverage was better) because I believed in the T-Mobile customer service and extra perks. But if the phones can’t perform their basic functions, and, T-Mobile refuses to resolve this issue, it may very well be time to go back to Verizon! 

J

Sane issue with me, having poor signal in my house, my s21 won't stay on wifi preferred.  My pixel 2xl didn't have this issue.  I'll be switching to Verizon ASAP.

B
Userlevel 2
Badge

The fact that T-Mobile has not resolved this issue is horrible.

 

But - what is WORSE - is that if any customer WHO calls about this happening on their phone, technical support CLAIMS to know nothing about it. Like the customer calling is the first one to experience this.

 

They sent me to Samsung, and when I told the technician about the issue at Samsung, she started laughing and said T-Mobile should be able to fix the problem...

 

Perhaps T-Mobile higher ups dont’t know anything about it, which even reflects even more badly on T-Mobile. How could they not know with all these postings??

 

How can this company that spends zillions of dollars on advertising for new customers not spent some on IT to correct this problem?

 

Is this wi-fi issue only on the Samsung phones? I have an S9. If not corrected soon, I am moving to another carrier. T-Mobile does not deserve anyone’s business with such incredibly obnoxious and stupid technical support and their being unresponsive to a legitimate issue which troubles many of us for the very same reason.  I have read all the messages back and forth -- WHY HAS THIS NOT BEEN FIXED?????

S

as of the one UI 3.0 / android 11 update, there is now a solution for this that seems to work 100% of the time via tasker without any further interaction from the user. one profile and one task and it will keep you on wifi preferred...i've had this running for over a week now and it has worked perfectly.

 

https://www.grecobon.com/2021/01/unlocked-galaxy-s20-wifi-calling-issues/

 

tldr - since the android 11 update, there's now a custom system setting that controls this that we can monitor and change via tasker. the custom setting you're looking for is wifi_calling_preferred1. create a tasker profile that will automatically set it back to wifi preferred as soon as it changes to cellular preferred. my tasker profile and action are at the link above, as well as on taskernet (link in the blog post).

Thank you for this. I tried using this method, but still find my settings switching back to cellular preferred. I've set it up in Tasker several times, turned off battery optimizations, etc. But the change never seems to hold? Any ideas?

D
Userlevel 1

Having the same problem. Frustrating that Tmobile is not acknowledging their customer issues. This is a big one for ppl with bad service areas. 

G

I've been having this same issue on an S20 Ultra and an S21. The Tasker workaround doesn't seem to be effective anymore. I have 5G disabled on both phones which seems to improve the situation but it will still "optimize settings" and automatically switch back to "Cellular Preferred".

Like others I have poor service in my home (all carriers, not just TMo). I went with TMo because of wifi calling but now it is partially broken and I frequently miss calls/texts. This is not acceptable.

T

I've been having the same issue for months on my S10 and now also on my newly purchased S21 for a couple of weeks.

E

I am experiencing my WIFI Calling Preferences always being forced to “cellular preferred”, as are others.   I live in an area with poor T-mobile mobile data signal and this recent behavior makes my phone unable to make and receive calls and text messages.   I believe the problem only started happening after the next to last T-Mobile software update.  Everything was fine for my first 5 months of ownership.  A Google search shows posts of other users experiencing the same issue, but no options other than a tedious workaround of manually switching the phone to Airplane mode and changing the WIFI calling preferences back to “WIFI preferred”.  I have to do this kind of process each time I enter and leave my home, and sometimes have to reboot my phone as well.   The times I’ve forgotten, I’ve missed package deliveries and went to a doctor appointment when the doctor had left a message that he was out sick.  This appears to be a carrier specific issue as far as I can see.   I even tried replacing my rock solid Netgear R6400 router with an ASUS AX3000 router with no resulting changes.   I’m in a small apartment only 10 feet from the router, with a very strong WIFI signal.  I have two Samsung Galaxy S20 phones (March 2020) which both exhibit the exact same behavior.   I spoke with T-Mobile Tech support which appeared to be clueless about this issue other than to send me two new S20 phones under warranty to my T-Mobile store.   I do not have high confidence in this approach but will try the new phones and report back. 

Does anyone know anything more?   I am not aware of T-Mobile publicly acknowledging this issue.

I am having the same problem and tech support advised I turn off 5G which made things better for a few days, but now the phone is back to switching to "cellular preferred" on its own. This is very frustrating because I constantly drop calls. I live in an area with poor t-mobile coverage so I rely heavily on Wi-Fi calling. I have an unlocked Samsung Galaxy Note 20 ultra 5G with the January update. 

E

Same here (GS9+ from VZW, recent switch)

Thanks for the workaround, but T-Mobile needs to fix this from their side. I understand why they do this - i.e. for E-911, you should ideally always call from a cellular signal if available because then they can triangulate your position in an emergency - but I travel a lot (even with this ridiculous pandemic), and when I’m roaming that would be an extra cost.

The ideal workaround will be for T-Mobile to have any emergency call be forced over cellular regardless of this preference (and fall back to Wifi as a last resort), but all calls normally go over Wifi if that is preferred, and NOT MESS WITH THIS SETTING.

A
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

a quick update: in the few weeks i’ve been using this fix, i have since seen the notification come back up again from time to time, but it seems the fix does still hold. you can just disregard the notification (or silence it if you’d rather do that), tasker will still handle making the switch for you.


Yeah, I noticed your message about that.  I figured I would disable the notifications for that if possible or whatever.  Thanks!

C

a quick update: in the few weeks i’ve been using this fix, i have since seen the notification come back up again from time to time, but it seems the fix does still hold. you can just disregard the notification (or silence it if you’d rather do that), tasker will still handle making the switch for you.

A
Userlevel 2
Badge +1

as of the one UI 3.0 / android 11 update, there is now a solution for this that seems to work 100% of the time via tasker without any further interaction from the user. one profile and one task and it will keep you on wifi preferred...i've had this running for over a week now and it has worked perfectly.

 

https://www.grecobon.com/2021/01/unlocked-galaxy-s20-wifi-calling-issues/

 

tldr - since the android 11 update, there's now a custom system setting that controls this that we can monitor and change via tasker. the custom setting you're looking for is wifi_calling_preferred1. create a tasker profile that will automatically set it back to wifi preferred as soon as it changes to cellular preferred. my tasker profile and action are at the link above, as well as on taskernet (link in the blog post).


Nice.  I am bookmarking your site for when the Galaxy S10+ gets the Android 11 update.  My wife will be very happy for this issue to be fixed.

M

@crackers8199 Just tried your fix and it worked! It’s been years since I’ve used Tasker, never thought I’d need it again but here we are :) I see the UI is still as bad as ever...

C

as of the one UI 3.0 / android 11 update, there is now a solution for this that seems to work 100% of the time via tasker without any further interaction from the user. one profile and one task and it will keep you on wifi preferred...i've had this running for over a week now and it has worked perfectly.

 

https://www.grecobon.com/2021/01/unlocked-galaxy-s20-wifi-calling-issues/

 

tldr - since the android 11 update, there's now a custom system setting that controls this that we can monitor and change via tasker. the custom setting you're looking for is wifi_calling_preferred1. create a tasker profile that will automatically set it back to wifi preferred as soon as it changes to cellular preferred. my tasker profile and action are at the link above, as well as on taskernet (link in the blog post).

M

Same happens on my note 20 ultra, seems like I have to switch it back to wifi preferred at least once a day while I'm stuck at home this year. Actually making me consider going back to Verizon when I upgrade phones again because I get poor cell service just while inside my house, thus T-Mobile's implementation of this feature makes using a basic phone function a daily fight that is wearing my patience thin.

W

Same here, Galaxy s8+. Very annoying, I'm guessing it's deliberate so tmobile can get you to use their network as much as possible. Pisses me off when working from home where my cell signal is basically between zero and two bars. Drops calls all the time. When you select wifi preferred it should mean use wifi whenever you have it goddam it, not act like a smart-ass and keep 'optimizimg' it so that you cannot make or receive phone calls and miss messages. 

R

Same promelem for me on the note 20 ultra. I constantly have to switch back to wifi preferred at work because I get no signal. 

V
Userlevel 1

Same thing happens to my s10 5g, switches back to cellular preferred and causes dropped calls in a WiFi area.  Been going on for about a year.  Called tmobile but the kid on the other end was so stupid he couldn't understand what I was talking about.  After about 5 minutes I jist hung up.

M
Userlevel 2

I have been frustrated with this issue for some time. I switched to T-Mobile years ago when they were the first to offer Wi-Fi calling. I needed it for a vacation, as the resort we stayed in had no cellular signal.

It worked fine for many years, always staying Wi-Fi preferred, until a software update caused it to start resetting to Cellular, even as I sit with 3 feet of my router. I switched from T-Mobile CellSpot router (ASUS RT-AC68U) to a pair of ASUS RT-AC86U routers with latest AIMesh firmware. No difference.

I update software every time it is offered, but can’t get Wi-Fi preferred to stay. With the latest November update, Wi-Fi preferred will stay for several days and then seemingly hourly continue to switch to cellular.

I have done the network reset and clear cache partition, but didn’t change a thing.

The last time I reported this to T-Mobile they replaced my SIM card, but didn’t fix it.

T-Mobile suggest S10 customers turn off 5G, but that isn’t an option for my S9.

I tried the Airplane mode with Wi-Fi on and Wi-Fi preferred, and Wi-Fi did stick, but my Windows 10 Phone Companion app wouldn’t connect to the phone. If I am on my computer, I prefer to use the app.

Except for this I am fairly happy with T-Mobile and happy with my S9. I live in Asheville, NC, and mobile service is spotty where I live. I hope the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint will offer better coverage.

As for 5G, if I ever do upgrade to get it, I will wait for the mid-range C-Band to be supported.Sprint already owns a lot of frequencies in the C-Band range that can be used for 5G.

I don’t understand the message.

“wi-fi calling preferences updated to optimize network experience”. If I have it set to Wi-Fi preferred  and am not connected to Wi-Fi, the phone will use cellular. If I connect to Wi-Fi, I want to use Wi-Fi. I set my preference and don’t want T-Mobile to reset it.

My only option may be to switch to Spectrum Mobile using Verizon network. I will have to buy a new phone, but the frustration with this issue may push me to do it.

T
Userlevel 2

Hey T-Mobile…

You need to fix this!  It is more than frustrating to have the Wifi Calling setting automatically switch to: “Prefer Cellular” when I have purposely set it to prefer Wifi.   Time and time again,  a contact will complain about my connection and sure enough...my setting has switched back to prefer cellular.  The LTE, around my home, isn’t consistent enough to support the prefer cellular option, which is why I select prefer Wifi.  

I echo this frustration.  When this crap happens during the phone conversation, it actually drops the call. 

S
Userlevel 1

Hey T-Mobile…

You need to fix this!  It is more than frustrating to have the Wifi Calling setting automatically switch to: “Prefer Cellular” when I have purposely set it to prefer Wifi.   Time and time again,  a contact will complain about my connection and sure enough...my setting has switched back to prefer cellular.  The LTE, around my home, isn’t consistent enough to support the prefer cellular option, which is why I select prefer Wifi.  

T
Userlevel 2

I am having the same issue.  Wifi preference is being forced to cell preferred.  I just don’t understand why Tmobile is not taking this issue as a widespread issue.

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