O2 wifi calling

[mg]

Will O2 load 02 firmware onto a new Samsung S7 (unlocked) to facilitate wifi calling? I have (and have had for years) an O2 contract but on this occassion got a new handset via another route. I'm not adverse to loading it myself but what little I've been able to read suggests this is not a job for an amateur.

I understand EE will upload wifi firmware onto handsets they have not sold and as the reception is so bad in my area, I fear I may have to change provider if O2 can not do the same.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[MI5]

You would have to do it yourself.
We aren’t allowed to tell you how any more but there’s plenty of info on the internet.

[BigDaddyUK]

If you have a phone with an open market firmware, then WiFi Calls works great !! Do not flash the O2 firmware ...
For me on S9 plus everything is great ...

[MI5 · Accepted solution]

It is Phone dependent currently.
Some will work on open firmware whilst others need o2 specific.
The S7 is one that requires o2 firmware to work. 

However, the list is constantly evolving so it could be made available at anytime. 

[BigDaddyUK]

Maybe ... Or maybe I had it, O2 support for about an hour told me that my phone would not work with WiFi Calls, because it was not purchased from O2 !! Because it's for the open market ...

[MI5]

S8 and S9 work fine on open firmware.

[BigDaddyUK]

But apparently not all of the O2 support staff know about this ..

[MI5]

No one is surprised to hear that

[churchin1975]

I'm not sure that you need to have the o2 firmware on the S7 any more.  From the Wifi and 4G Calling page it shows:

Wifi and 4G Calling is currently available on the following devices:

• Samsung Galaxy S9, S9 Plus, S8, S8 Plus, Note8, S7, S7 edge and J3 2017, A8, A3 2017, A6, J6, J5 (2017), A5 (2017)

It then says that you might need o2 firmware, click here.  Following the link shows:

If you are using a J3 (2017) to get Wifi and 4G Calling, your device will need to use O2 firmware. This is essentially the software that makes your device turn on and run. Sometimes there are different versions of firmware for the same device.

No mention of any other models requiring o2 firmware.

I'm just waiting for my account to have voLTE and Wifi Calling re-activated as they seem to have gone missing, but I previously had both on UK open firmware with Oreo on my S7.

Note that wifi calling only kicks in with low/no reception - you can force it by going into airplane mode then re-enabling wifi.  voLTE doesn't show an icon, you know it's working when you still have 4G when on a call rather than dropping down to 3G or 2G.

I'll confirm once wifi calling and voLTE have been re-enabled on my account.

[churchin1975]

Right, my account has been updated and I can confirm that both Wifi Calling and voLTE are both working on my S7 running non-o2 Oreo firmware.