What is VoLTE and How to Turn It Off?
Today, I want to walk you through VoLTE, which you might have seen enabled by default on your phone. We already talked about LTE architecture and how voice services were handled before. Now let’s take that understanding a step further to see how VoLTE fits in, and if needed, how you can turn it off from your device.
VoLTE stands for Voice over LTE. Instead of using older 2G or 3G networks for voice calls, it allows your phone to make voice calls over the LTE data network. This makes call quality better and reduces the time it takes for a call to connect. But I know sometimes you may want to turn it off — maybe because of battery saving, compatibility with older networks, or call drop issues in some locations.
Why VoLTE Is Used
Before you decide whether to keep VoLTE on or off, it’s good for you to know why it’s there in the first place:
- It allows faster call setup time.
- Voice quality is generally better than 2G/3G voice.
- You can use 4G internet while you’re on a call.
- It supports simultaneous voice and data services.
Still, if you’re facing problems like call drops or poor audio, or maybe using a network that doesn’t fully support VoLTE in your area, turning it off might help for more stable voice connectivity.
How to Turn Off VoLTE
Turning off VoLTE depends on your device. I’ll show you how you can do it on both Android and iPhone so you can follow the steps based on what you’re using.
| Device Type | Steps to Turn Off VoLTE |
|---|---|
| Android |
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| iPhone |
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What Happens After You Turn It Off?
Once you turn VoLTE off, your phone will fall back to 3G or 2G networks for voice calls. That means the call setup time might increase slightly, and you won’t be able to use 4G data while you’re on a voice call. But if your area has weak VoLTE support, this fallback can help improve voice reliability.
As we’ve seen earlier in our discussions about LTE call flow and RRC states, VoLTE is deeply integrated with how modern networks manage resources and mobility. So disabling it might affect how your device behaves in terms of handovers and idle-to-active transitions.
So now you know what VoLTE is, how it works, and how to disable it if necessary. If you’re also curious about how IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) plays a role behind VoLTE or what fallback to CSFB looks like, we can explore those topics next as they directly connect with how VoLTE operates.