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tehgerbil

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#322713 15-Sep-2025 12:10
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Hi Spark/Geekzone team,

 

My grandad got a letter from Spark informing him the mobile he had was incompatible with the Spark 4G and he had to upgrade immediately to continue using it.

 

Except it is working currently on the 4G network, and is quite happily humming along without issues.

 

Now I'm curious if either:

 

a) the phone is wrong and states is on 4G when it's not.
b) Sparks data is wrong and has listed the phone as 3G only, when it's not.

 

Has anyone else heard or seen any other instances of this or is this just an unfortunate once off?
I haven't bothered calling Spark as it's just not worth either my time or the Servicedesk Engineers time if this is a known 'bug' and once off wrongly sent letter.

However this would be of concern if thousands of letters were sent by mistake. Or of concern if their mobiles were displaying 4G but actually weren't.
Happy to supply more details such as Grandads account/mobile details (I am an authorised contact) if any one would like to look into this further.

Thought this may be the best place to ask such questions without going too deep into things. :)

 

Thank you.


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Linux
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  #3415116 15-Sep-2025 12:16
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@tehgerbil The issue is not 4G but VoLTE - Voice over Long Term Evolution

 

Just cause the handset is displaying 4G on standby what does it display when on a Voice call?

 

What is the make / model of his handset?




xpd

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  #3415117 15-Sep-2025 12:17
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Can you tell us the exact model phone he has ? (Go into the phones "about")

 

That'll let you know.

 

 





XPD / Gavin

 

LinkTree

 

 

 


GregV
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  #3415118 15-Sep-2025 12:18
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What response is received when the text 3G is sent to 550 (free from your Spark number)




Behodar
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  #3415121 15-Sep-2025 12:32
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xpd:

 

Can you tell us the exact model phone he has ? (Go into the phones "about")

 

That'll let you know.

 

 

I'm going to second this. Some phones will do 4G for data, but not voice/text. Spark will flag the latter.


Asteros
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  #3415128 15-Sep-2025 13:01
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I believe this letter is saying that the Phone in question will not be able to make voice calls after the Spark 3G network is switched off sometime in 2026 because it doesn't have Voice over 4G or VoLTE. I would suggest trying all the other checks in the posts above to confirm whether it is correct.


nztim
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  #3415142 15-Sep-2025 14:07
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Ignore the 550 test all this does is compare the phone against databases of supported phones by the carrior rather than if the phone will ACTUALLY make VolTE calls, use one of the following tests

 

  • Hotspot the device in question to a laptop, get a continuous ping -t running to 8.8.8.8 (or any other IP which responds to pings) while this is running, call the phone from another mobile, if the ping breaks then your phone is using 3G for calls
  • download an app called iTest available in the Google Play or Apple store (costs NZD $1.99)

 





Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer. 


 
 
 

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  #3415147 15-Sep-2025 14:27
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All we need posted is make / model of handset the most important bit of information was not supplied


acetone
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  #3415165 15-Sep-2025 14:50
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I have been getting those messages also.  I have a Google Pixel 5 and assumed that because I was connected to 4G that I didn't need to be concerned.

I guess now I need to double check that.


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  #3415168 15-Sep-2025 14:56
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@acetone Yes do a Voice call and see if 4G passes down to 3G


acetone
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  #3415170 15-Sep-2025 14:58
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It does change from 4G when I make a call, dam it. I guess I need to get a new phone.


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  #3415171 15-Sep-2025 15:00
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acetone:

 

It does change from 4G when I make a call, dam it. I guess I need to get a new phone.

 

 

So SparkNZ was contacting you for a good reason


 
 
 

Shop on-line at New World now for your groceries (affiliate link).
tehgerbil

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  #3415190 15-Sep-2025 15:29
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I deeply regret creating this without the make and model of mobile, I'll get the entire wording from the letter and re-make this post to be more informative as the instructions were not clear and without sounding arrogant if this tripped me up, it's going to trip up many who get this letter.


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  #3415192 15-Sep-2025 15:36
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tehgerbil:

 

I deeply regret creating this without the make and model of mobile, I'll get the entire wording from the letter and re-make this post to be more informative as the instructions were not clear and without sounding arrogant if this tripped me up, it's going to trip up many who get this letter.

 

 

@tehgerbil: I work in IT for a large corporate customer of SparkNZ and the list they provided me was 100% accurate of handsets staff had that did not support VoLTE

 

The list also included 3G only modems 

 

OneNZ they contacted me with a list and it included iPhone 14 Pro's and Samsung S24 and bunch of other handsets that I know support 3G / 4G / 5G & VoLTE and will have no issues after the 3G shutdown


Jase2985
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  #3415193 15-Sep-2025 15:37
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tehgerbil:

 

I deeply regret creating this without the make and model of mobile, I'll get the entire wording from the letter and re-make this post to be more informative as the instructions were not clear and without sounding arrogant if this tripped me up, it's going to trip up many who get this letter.

 

 

it likely is but then again it isnt, they will likely be correct in their findings as they can see when you make a call what your phone is doing.

 

and no need to remake the post. just do an update with the info



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