Vodafone vs Spark; voice vs data inconsistencies

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rjbathgate

52 posts

Master Geek

#295638 11-Apr-2022 19:48

Hey

Device: Google Pixel 5

I've been using Vodafone for ages but have terrible cellular reception at home; I'm not rural, rather very suburban and there's a tower 800m away, but the house is slightly lower than those around it.

The cellular reception is so poor I sometimes cannot send it receive sms and phone calls are pointless.

I can't get WiFi calling with Vodafone as a workaround as they don't "support" it on my device (because I didn't buy it from them!).

So today I grabbed a Spark PAYG sim and tested.

Voice calls were near perfect and no problem with SMS whatsoever.

However... Doing an internet speed test whilst on the two networks...

Spark is massively slower (16 down, 5 up) than Vodafone (160 down).

Spark reads as "4G". Vodafone reads as "LTE". I understand 4G is faster than LTE.

So I'm a bit confused. Why would calls and SMS be perfect on Spark, them useless on Vodafone, but totally the opposite when it comes to data?

Unless my internet speed test on Spark was just slow due to soft limits on their PAYG sim?

Ultimately I have home wifi so the slower data on Spark isn't a big issue (although haven't tested it in centre of town / good signal) and having my phone calls back is the goal so I'm likely to switch but keen to understand why...

Thoughts?!

Thanks
Rob

MaxineN

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#2900009 11-Apr-2022 20:11

4G is still LTE. Marketing and regional differences.

You're likely connecting to a very far away 3G tower hence poor call quality on VF and the Spark tower might just be closer. Area dependent. Lots of factors.

You won't get WiFi calling on any carrier because Google doesn't have the configuration files for our carriers because they don't sell them here welcome to the joys of parallel importing.

Quite frankly I'd be more concerned about getting a VoLTE capable device(because every call you make will drop down to 3G because ALL Pixels out of the box with no root and some tweaking do not support VoLTE) so you can actually stick on 4G the entire time and have even better voice calling.

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rjbathgate

52 posts

Master Geek

#2900011 11-Apr-2022 20:27

Hey

Thanks for the reply.

So am I right in understanding it like this:

On Vodafone, I'm using LTE/4G when using data, and it's good reception. But for voice, because my device doesn't support VoLTE, it has to use 3G, which is potentially miles away.

On Spark, I'm on 3G for both calls and data and the signal is good but it's just slow because it's 3G?

Cheers
Rob

PS buying a new device for VoLTE is a bit more expensive than a $5 spark sim though!

MaxineN

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#2900013 11-Apr-2022 20:36

rjbathgate: Hey

Thanks for the reply.

So am I right in understanding it like this:

On Vodafone, I'm using LTE/4G when using data, and it's good reception. But for voice, because my device doesn't support VoLTE, it has to use 3G, which is potentially miles away.

On Spark, I'm on 3G for both calls and data and the signal is good but it's just slow because it's 3G?

Cheers
Rob

PS buying a new device for VoLTE is a bit more expensive than a $5 spark sim though!

Spot on.

The thing is you're going to get 0 support for any parallel imported device. Buying a VoLTE capable device doesn't cost an arm or a leg either there are plenty around, hell of you can get an iPhone 6s second hand(and you can for very cheap), you'll have a VoLTE capable device.

I'm making a big deal out of it because nobody would want you to be an emergency situation and you can't call out because you're not in range of a 3G tower and there's only 4G towers around or at some point in the future carriers start turning off the 3G network(I know nothing of the thing other than what other countries are doing such as USA and Japan).

Unless Google decides NZ is a country worth supporting their handsets in you're going to have a pretty bad time in some situations (like this one which you've got a work around by using another carrier) unless you just happen to be in range of an ageing relic.

I know you probably love that Pixel. I want to have one(I'm running a imported device and I have the glorious luck of having VoLTE and 5G out of the box, thank you Xiaomi) but until such time... It's not going to be a great experience.

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

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Linux

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#2900016 11-Apr-2022 21:06

rjbathgate:

Spark reads as "4G". Vodafone reads as "LTE". I understand 4G is faster than LTE.

Rob

@rjbathgate 100% the same thing!

rjbathgate

52 posts

Master Geek

#2900426 12-Apr-2022 15:31

MaxineN: I have the glorious luck of having VoLTE and 5G out of the box, thank you Xiaomi.

@MaxineN What device do you have? And it works out of the box with VoLTE and 5G on Vodafone?

Essentials are a decent IP rating, wireless charging and 5G, which limits my options.

My options with Vodafone are the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G which doesn't have wireless charging or the S21+ series which are... expensive!

Thanks

Rob

MaxineN

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#2900458 12-Apr-2022 16:06

Don't look at my device (Xiaomi Poco F3) because it's not IP rated, no wireless charging and it's not officially listed by carriers. You also have to import the Poco F3.

Try the S20 FE.

Fits everything but 5G(for some odd decision, possibly product segmentation). PBTech have them in droves in all colors.

Also it will do VoWiFI(update for this came out recently to enable this) as well which will work well in almost 0 to no coverage if you can't get 4G.

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

Opinions are my own. They don't represent my employer.