Gtrev: Is your 10iii a bt52?

https://xpericheck.com/XQ-BT52
Apparently the EEA firmware has volte and wifi

Gtrev: No, I have no ims apn settings

scottjpalmer: I just got a Samsung S20 FE and VoLTE works on Vodafone, Skinny and 2degrees out of the box along with VoWiFi on Vodafone and 2degrees (Skinny/Spark don't have it yet).

I've been a huge Sony fan for 25 or so years, have had many Xperias and wanted that to continue. I didn't want to go back to Samsung (or Apple) but the ease and simplicity is refreshing.

Very sad that a solution couldn't be found for the Sony. It seems these issues shouldn't be a problem in todays day of age, locking hardware out of certain features when people travel with phones everywhere. 

I am still undecided and will wait for Black Friday to decide if I go either Google Pixel, Samsung 20FE or Sony (and touch wood they eventually get an update). 

LYuen: Hi, I would like to ask a question about VoLTE on Hong Kong region firmware.
Since the VoLTE toggle is removed a carriers not on their white list of detected, I would like to know if this whitelist include supported carriers outside Hong Kong? For example, can VoLTE be switched on in places like Taiwan, UK and Europe, where Sony does sell their latest phone there?

Since Sony kills the OTA after changing firmware region since Xperia 5 ii, I am not too keen on flashing firmware all the time...

They killed it but I'm sure there's a process to restoring OTA functionality.

Just make sure you don't flash persist and ta files - remove those files.

Flash the regions firmware then once you have the device on the new firmware use Xperia Companion app to do a software/firmware repair.

Starlith:

 

LYuen: Hi, I would like to ask a question about VoLTE on Hong Kong region firmware.
Since the VoLTE toggle is removed a carriers not on their white list of detected, I would like to know if this whitelist include supported carriers outside Hong Kong? For example, can VoLTE be switched on in places like Taiwan, UK and Europe, where Sony does sell their latest phone there?

Since Sony kills the OTA after changing firmware region since Xperia 5 ii, I am not too keen on flashing firmware all the time...

 

They killed it but I'm sure there's a process to restoring OTA functionality.

 

Just make sure you don't flash persist and ta files - remove those files.

 

Flash the regions firmware then once you have the device on the new firmware use Xperia Companion app to do a software/firmware repair.

 

What I have read from the newflasher thread on xda is that Sony has detached the part of the variables identifying different regions (CDF and CUST) from the firmware release fetched by xperifirm.

As a result, the newflasher could not change all parameters that are required to change the region, and that breaks OTA.

In my own experience, when I flash SEA firmware from HK fw using newflasher, it could not detect new OTA update for either region.

And then resetting the device with Xperia Companion will restore to HK firmware.

Neither the developer of newflasher nor xperifirm has plan to comply with the changes made by Sony, as they consider maintaining an offline database coping with every new phone troublesome.

OTA can be restored by manually creating a .ta file that contains the hex string to update CUST and FS versions, but an error here will likely hard brick the device.

The other way is to flash a firmware with newflasher every time and cancel data wipe by removing some .ta files, but missing any file there will wipe the device.

LYuen:

 

What I have read from the newflasher thread on xda is that Sony has detached the part of the variables identifying different regions (CDF and CUST) from the firmware release fetched by xperifirm.

 

As a result, the newflasher could not change all parameters that are required to change the region, and that breaks OTA.

 

In my own experience, when I flash SEA firmware from HK fw using newflasher, it could not detect new OTA update for either region.

 

And then resetting the device with Xperia Companion will restore to HK firmware.

 

 

 

Neither the developer of newflasher nor xperifirm has plan to comply with the changes made by Sony, as they consider maintaining an offline database coping with every new phone troublesome.

 

OTA can be restored by manually creating a .ta file that contains the hex string to update CUST and FS versions, but an error here will likely hard brick the device.

 

The other way is to flash a firmware with newflasher every time and cancel data wipe by removing some .ta files, but missing any file there will wipe the device.

 

Have you tried Flashtool?

I know newflasher works exceptionally well but I wonder if flashtool does better job at handling the customisation part of flashing firmware.

Starlith:

 

LYuen:

 

What I have read from the newflasher thread on xda is that Sony has detached the part of the variables identifying different regions (CDF and CUST) from the firmware release fetched by xperifirm.

 

As a result, the newflasher could not change all parameters that are required to change the region, and that breaks OTA.

 

In my own experience, when I flash SEA firmware from HK fw using newflasher, it could not detect new OTA update for either region.

 

And then resetting the device with Xperia Companion will restore to HK firmware.

 

 

 

Neither the developer of newflasher nor xperifirm has plan to comply with the changes made by Sony, as they consider maintaining an offline database coping with every new phone troublesome.

 

OTA can be restored by manually creating a .ta file that contains the hex string to update CUST and FS versions, but an error here will likely hard brick the device.

 

The other way is to flash a firmware with newflasher every time and cancel data wipe by removing some .ta files, but missing any file there will wipe the device.

 

 

Have you tried Flashtool?

 

I know newflasher works exceptionally well but I wonder if flashtool does better job at handling the customisation part of flashing firmware.

 

I don't think fllashtool is still actively maintained to support devices since the 1 5 10 series.

Anyway, after knowing that OTA will fail after changing region, I don't have a high incentive to further investigate and try to work around it.

Maybe I will do a one-go flash in the future when I decide it is the final firmware I will stick to and do no more update (in a belief that the firmware released during the last 6 months - 1 year of software support will be buggy and laggy)