Pixel 3xl drops calls after half hour

[Jengoddard]

My pixel 3xl drops every call (made or received) after exactly 29 minutes and 50 seconds. I don't know if this is related to phone settings, network or what so wondered if anyone had had similar issues or knew of a fix. It's a real pain in the backside as currently working from home and means I get cut off in every conference call!

[Mark]

I believe we've found your Facebook post @Sony1 and @Evie is going to pop a reply over to you there. If you don't receive anything from us, pop us another message on the thread with your community user name. If you could also copy and paste the below URL, this will also provide us with link to this thread and help us get your details over to the right team ASAP.

https://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Android/Pixel-3xl-drops-calls-after-half-hour/m-p/2704920#M150052

[neilhunter14]

Hi all, 

I have just upgraded from an Xperia which had all of the problems, to a Google Pixel 6. Seems fine. I called my home phone and it didn't cut off. I left it in a call to 35mins.

Neil.

[Sony1]

Is there any update on a fix for this problem. 

The Social Media team tried to get mine working including reenabling my account, new Sim card etc but it did not succeed.

[Skodaboy66]

Hi. There has been no news or updates from Vodafone regarding this ongoing problem for some time now. This issue is still unresolved for me, after over 2 years! I have a Sony Xz1 Compact. I've been in touch with Vodafone again recently, but I doubt they will ever resolve this. As a workaround, I have used the My Vodafone App to disable 'Wifi and 4g Calling' so my phone calls are made on 3g, and will then not disconnect at 29:50. The big problem is that Vodafone are switching off their 3g network next year(!), so if they haven't resolved it by then, I'll be forced to buy a new phone, as Vodafone is the only provider with good signal where I live. Truly appalling service from Vodafone! Let's hope they can actually get this sorted out for us, but as I've said, I doubt they will, as they've promised fixes so many times, and failed to deliver

[Sony1]

Thanks @Skodaboy66 , I knew 3g was being dropped but did not realise it would be next year😟 it looks like we and a lot of others are being swept under the carpet by Vodafone to put it mildly. I bought my phone from Vodafone so I don't know 4g will work with another provider because it has Vodafone firmware.

Has there been any update further to the request for more information in this thread last month? 

[Skodaboy66]

• Hi. No problem. There's been no update from Vodafone, but I am in touch with them. They're clueless, and now telling me it's because I'm on an older version of Android (9). I've just ordered a pay as you go Vodafone SIM card to see if that works on 4g calls beyond 29:50 in my phone. If it does, then it's clearly an issue with how some numbers are connected to their network. This has worked for some people, apparently. I've ordered an O2 SIM also, as they supposedly now have good coverage in my area. I suspect Vodafone are going to have a lot of angry Sony phone owners once they disable the 3g network. I had no idea 3g was being switched off either, until I read it in the news recently. I'll post here and let you know how I get on with the two SIM cards. Of O2 doesn't have a good signal, I'll probably end up having to replace my phone, which is an expense I could well do without

[Highlandfairy]

My mum and I are still experiencing the 29:50 cut off and it's infuriating. Vodafone social media team have taken our details and done nothing else. I'm now considering moving to Giffgaff as I can't afford to buy a new handset (which I assume is the kit way to fix this, though I didn't have this problem initially, it randomly started one day). I still can't believe that we're all paying for a faulty service and haven't even been offered compensation for the (sometimes) years we've had to put up with this. We obviously don't always have to make calls 30mins +, but try and do that to an energy provider, bank, the council.... 

[Amanda]

Good morning everyone 🙂 I just wanted to let you know that I've chased this up to see if we've had any news or further updates - I'll let you know once I hear back. 

[Amanda]

Thanks for your patience everyone 👍 The latest information from one of our Senior Fault Engineers is as follows: 

• Google Pixel 3 – Google released a software update in 2020 to resolve this issue (Across Vodafone network & non Vodafone sold devices).

• Sony XZ Premium – Sony lab tested and released a software update to resolve; however only for Vodafone Network devices (purchased from Vodafone); Sony confirmed it not possible to roll out to unbranded or other network purchased devices. 

• Sony Xperia 10 – a software update wasn’t possible to release to us by Sony; as the device was end of life (EOL). Terminals confirmed last software update was February 2021; from a single customer report this was originally reported April 2021. In this case the customer approached Sony and a good will gesture was offered by them, as a one off/case by case basis approach.

Terminals UK also advised at the same time as the Sony XZ Premium device was patched; the same fix was applied to the following models, but we suspect only for Vodafone provided models - 
XZ2
XZ3
Xperia 1
Xperia 5
Xperia 1 II
Xperia 5 II
XZ Premium
XZ1
XZ1 Compact

We can check again with Sony if anyone's still experiencing issues, to establish if the patch has worked for non Vodafone provided models - we'd just need you to get in touch over social media again, so we can escalate recent examples to the Senior Fault Engineer again. 

[Sony1]

Thanks for posting the information above @Amanda and hallelujah, my phone is now working correctly after updating to android 9 and all the subsequent Sony updates. I tested it this morning and it kept a 4g call for over an hour before I cut it off myself.

To cut a long story short I and a lot of other people had kept my phone on Android 8 because Google had messed up the UI on 9 especially for compact phones. If it had been made public that there was a problem and a fix was provided then people would not get too angry.

There seems to be a culture with companies, and not just phone ones to keep all problems and fixes secret from their customers, and in Sony's case not to have changelogs either, whereas if they were honest about things it would work in their favour, not against them. I hope you can pass this thought on to whoever appropriate.

@Skodaboy66 I don't know if your phone is a Vodafone customised one or not, mine was, but the latest Xperia System Update on mine is 47.2.A.11.234. If it has another providers customisation on it then it might be an Idea to check if you can get 4g calling on your phone and get a plan that allows it. Good luck.

I will let the social media team know as wee so they can close the case.