Phone issues post 3G turn off?

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Phone issues post 3G turn off?

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#3479356 8-Apr-2026 21:08

A friends Samsung S8+ is working on One NZ - intermittently. A message plays every time they make a call that their phone is not compatible yet it actually works fine for mobile data, VoLTE calling and even emergency calling - but not before around 10 AM each day. Truly odd. Staff in-store told this elderly pensioner that he needs to buy an $1800 S26 to fix the issue. It's not just a Spark issue, is why I say this.

richms:

I have loads of issues with no data at times on my skinny sim and have done for a long time. There is a thread about it where I called their network trash tier and some people called me out for it. Same devices all fine on 2deg and one, even the Tesla cellular has interruptions on their roaming spark connection.

Just change networks if its not working for you.

Best is when you get no working data but it says you're on 5g, and then when you go into the menu and lock it to 4g its away and working. Seems to be a known thing, yet they persist in selling that level of service.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=39&topicid=324204

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#3479358 8-Apr-2026 21:36

boosacnoodle:

A friends Samsung S8+ is working on One NZ - intermittently. A message plays every time they make a call that their phone is not compatible yet it actually works fine for mobile data, VoLTE calling and even emergency calling - but not before around 10 AM each day. Truly odd. Staff in-store told this elderly pensioner that he needs to buy an $1800 S26 to fix the issue. It's not just a Spark issue, is why I say this.

richms:

I have loads of issues with no data at times on my skinny sim and have done for a long time. There is a thread about it where I called their network trash tier and some people called me out for it. Same devices all fine on 2deg and one, even the Tesla cellular has interruptions on their roaming spark connection.

Just change networks if its not working for you.

Best is when you get no working data but it says you're on 5g, and then when you go into the menu and lock it to 4g its away and working. Seems to be a known thing, yet they persist in selling that level of service.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=39&topicid=324204

Still not fixed... Sigh... Yes that one can happen where the UE appears to be "unreachable" but in reality it's fine... A quick reattach would fix that... But that's temp.

That issue happened on my S23 Ultra, whilst I was still wearing that hat. Although mine was a lot less apparent. This does appear to be much worse and because the UE is pretty old and not getting updates... Wouldn't be surprised if a different UE made things potentially better(I will not say fixed, knock on wood my Pixel doesn't see this same behavior).

Ramblings from a mysterious lady who's into tech. Warning I may often create zingers.

MikeB4

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#3479369 9-Apr-2026 07:24

When I changed from IOS to Android my Android handset received warnings regarding compatibility when 3G is shuttered. I took the warnings and changed to a Nothing phone and I have experienced zero issues.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

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#3479372 9-Apr-2026 07:41

I have removed the latest reply from @Linux. Being sarcastic and unhelpful is not the way we do things here.

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#3479376 9-Apr-2026 07:56

Oblivian:

Internet suggests no band 28 on apac version.

So you will be on secondary.

Band 28 (700 MHz) – This is our main 4G coverage band. A device that does not support this will have limited 4G coverage.
Band 3 (1800 MHz)

Looking at https://imei.org/phone-model-lookup/nokia-g60_11625 - the International/APAC model has Band 28 for both 4G and 5G. Several other sites have the same details.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

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#3479386 9-Apr-2026 08:41

Band 28 (or lack there of) only affects rural areas where there are no urban frequences in the 2-3ghz and lower frequencies are used to extend range from the tower.

Also VoLTE/VoWiFi either works or it doesn't based on if the profile is there.... I would be looking at a potential fault with the device

I am on a Parallel imported iPhone 12 Pro from the US on ONE NZ and have had zero issues with B28/VoLTE/VoWiFi since the 3G shutdown

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#3479387 9-Apr-2026 08:52

openmedia:

TBH I'm seriously over these push backs.The whole switch has been a real mess and the Android side of the mobile industry needs to sort out broader compatibility.

Do you want over 10GB operating system like the iPhone has, with every carrier VoLTE profile loaded into it?

openmedia:

I'm asking if anyone else is seeing these issues. My wife's Samsung A36 is also having issues and it is Spark specific model bought locally.

Then in this instance you have the CGA on your side and can go back to Spark

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#3479388 9-Apr-2026 08:55

nztim:

Band 28 (or lack there of) only affects rural areas where there are no urban frequences in the 2-3ghz and lower frequencies are used to extend range from the tower.

Also VoLTE/VoWiFi either works or it doesn't based on if the profile is there.... I would be looking at a potential fault with the device

I am on a Parallel imported iPhone 12 Pro from the US on ONE NZ and have had zero issues with B28/VoLTE/VoWiFi since the 3G shutdown

The iPhone is a different case as it has profiles for every operator, regardless of where the phone comes from.

Also, lack of proper band can affect both rural and urban areas, as it's not something split like suggested.

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#3479408 9-Apr-2026 09:46

nztim:

Do you want over 10GB operating system like the iPhone has, with every carrier VoLTE profile loaded into it?

This is an exaggeration. Carrier bundles on iOS are very, very tiny!

2degrees - 90 KB
One NZ - 82 KB
Spark - 101 KB

That is to say that all three main carriers come in at under a quarter of a megabyte, and much of that will be Info.plist and other signing-related files pumping the numbers up. The actual data required to map radios to carriers is very, very small.

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#3479410 9-Apr-2026 10:02

boosacnoodle:

nztim:

Do you want over 10GB operating system like the iPhone has, with every carrier VoLTE profile loaded into it?

This is an exaggeration. Carrier bundles on iOS are very, very tiny!

Not quite. Just downloaded latest iOS this morning. Just over 10 GB. There should be carrier profiles for every single carrier worldwide; obviously that doesn't all add up to 10GB, but I think the point @nztim was making is iOS is big, but absolutely everything is covered.

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#3479411 9-Apr-2026 10:12

boosacnoodle:

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=39&topicid=324204

That is the thread, yes.

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boosacnoodle

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#3479456 9-Apr-2026 12:59

RunningMan:

Not quite. Just downloaded latest iOS this morning. Just over 10 GB. There should be carrier profiles for every single carrier worldwide; obviously that doesn't all add up to 10GB, but I think the point @nztim was making is iOS is big, but absolutely everything is covered.

Just downloaded every carrier profile and had a quick look. It totals 27.6 MB. There's absolutely no reason that something similar couldn't be on every Android phone, other than a willingness to do so.

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#3479467 9-Apr-2026 13:30

Apple get away with saying no to the telcos because they have the most desirable product. android vendors will all bend over backwards to sell phones to telcos and allow for the bundling of malware and limiting the provided settings in firmwares made for specific telcos. Possibly samsung is the only one with products in enough demand that they could say no to that carryon, but with them even still doing it, the hassle of only ever getting your phone from your provider if you care about their non data services will be an ongoing issue.

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#3479609 9-Apr-2026 23:39

richms:

Apple get away with saying no to the telcos because they have the most desirable product. android vendors will all bend over backwards to sell phones to telcos and allow for the bundling of malware and limiting the provided settings in firmwares made for specific telcos. Possibly samsung is the only one with products in enough demand that they could say no to that carryon, but with them even still doing it, the hassle of only ever getting your phone from your provider if you care about their non data services will be an ongoing issue.

That has got nothing to do with the phone manufacturer deciding if or if not to put the VoLTE profile into the phone, that is entirely the choice of the phone manufacturer and nothing to do with the Telco

27.6 MB I highly doubt that is every telcos call server and sip settings etc, but if it is, then Samsung or Pixel or whoever could load them all in but they choose not to

Let's take the latest Samsung S26 for example they have 4 variants SM-S942B, SM-S942U1, SM-S942N, SM-S9420 all exactly the same phone, all with a completely different set of VoLTE profiles depending on market served, Samsung is choosing to do this, making roaming, and inter compatibility a complete nightmare

Can't blame the telcos for any of that carry on.

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#3479610 10-Apr-2026 03:48

nztim:

27.6 MB I highly doubt that is every telcos call server and sip settings etc, but if it is, then Samsung or Pixel or whoever could load them all in but they choose not to

Alot of the ims stacks as far as UE's are concerned have a RFC based dns record that's resolved.

as an example, that I can see in my dns cache at the moment for wifi calling, epdg.epc.mnc005.mcc530.pub.3gppnetwork.org

Its kinda funny really, ims services such as VoLTE and VoWiFi from the UE perspective is very well defined as a standard. things like dynamic carrier bundles also go a long way to simplify things.

however, services like VoLTE-Emergency really is where UE support gets iffy... nobody wants to be to blame for an emergency call not working.

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