Bharti Airtel, a couple of days ago became the second Indian telecom operator after Reliance Jio to offer VoLTE services in the country. Although Reliance Jio is offering pan-India VoLTE services, Bharti Airtel is rolling it out in a phased manner, meaning Airtel VoLTE services will go live in select cities first. The pan-India roll out for the same is expected to be done by March 2018.
So, for now, Airtel has VoLTE coverage only in Mumbai. However, we have seen numerous comments from our Airtel Mumbai readers saying that they're not able to register on Airtel VoLTE network. There might be two reasons for this:
1) Smartphone compatibility: Yes, you heard it right. Not every VoLTE smartphone supports Airtel VoLTE service because the manufacturer has to separately enable a software patch, which can be done with a software update. For now, the Airtel VoLTE supported smartphones are:
Apple iPhone SE, Apple iPhone 6, Apple iPhone 6 Plus, Apple iPhone 6S, Apple iPhone 6S Plus, Apple iPhone 7, Apple iPhone 7 Plus, Samsung Galaxy J7, Samsung Galaxy A8, Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro/J2 2016, Xiaomi Mi Max Prime, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, Xiaomi Mi Max, Xiaomi Mi5, Gionee A1, and Oppo F3 Plus.
These are the supported smartphones for now, but the list will keep on increasing to add more smartphones to the list. Keep checking www.airtel.in/volte for the updated list.
2) Incorrect Settings
There are some users who're using a compatible smartphone, but unable to register on Airtel VoLTE network, which is underwhelming. The only reason for this might be the incorrect settings. Airtel has issued a universal method for all the compatible smartphones to register on the network. Follow the below steps to register on Airtel VoLTE network.
- Check for a software update: If you own any of the smartphones in the above list and still dont get Airtel VoLTE, then the first thing you need to do is to head over to the system settings and check for a software update. If you have any pending update, update the device right away, which might enable the Airtel VoLTE settings on your smartphone.
- Network Settings
To make the Airtel VoLTE work, you should be on 4G LTE network. So, choose your smartphone's network settings to 4G/3G/2G/auto, so that your device will register on the Airtel VoLTE network. Also, do check whether HD calling is turned on or off on your smartphone. - For Dual SIM users
Customers with dual-SIM handsets have to ensure that the Airtel 4G SIM has been inserted in the data SIM slot/slot 1 and network mode has been set as “4G/3G/2G (Auto)”.
By following these steps, your Airtel VoLTE network should show up. If not, just reboot the smartphone once. If you still can't able to get the Airtel VoLTE network, we suggest you head over the nearest Airtel store for a fix.
