Without Voice over LTE support, devices like Xiaomi’s Mi 10 Pro might not be compatible with T-Mobile in January.
Sareena Dayaram / CNET
T-Mobile is preparing to provide assistance for Voice over LTE a requirement for all new devices, according to a report Thursday. The move is reportedly detailed in internal T-Mobile documents obtained by Android police.
The requirement won’t mean much to users at first, but starting in January 2021, “T-Mobile will require that all devices connecting to our nationwide 4G LTE and 5G networks be VoLTE compatible.” That means that older generation devices that don’t include support for IP-based voice network won’t be able to use T-Mobile at all.
VoLTE has been in existence for several years and allows wireless operators to use the 4G LTE network to transmit voice services in the same way that they transmit data. Most current phones support the feature, including all iPhones dating back to iPhone 6 and all Samsung Galaxy devices dating back to Samsung Galaxy Avant. Those that do not include recent Xiaomi and Huawei P30 Pro devices, among others.
“We are making great progress in building a truly transformative national 5G network,” a T-Mobile spokesperson told CNET. “As part of that, we will phase out some older technologies over time to free up even more capacity for LTE and 5G. In preparation for that and to provide customers with the best experience, those who activate new lines at T-Mobile will need a VoLTE compliant device, which is all we have offered for years and represents the vast majority of devices on the network. ”
