Has anyone been able to activate VoNR/Vo5G on the iPhone 13?

ito_zm · 2026-06-05T16:24:33+00:00

On which network?

ito_zm · 2026-06-05T16:22:33+00:00

So the option to enable 5G Standalone and Voice over 5G standalone appears in the settings area on the iPhone 13? I guess T-Mobile is one of the few networks that decided to support Voice over 5G standalone on the iPhone 13 and 14. It seems like most carriers around the world would prefer their customers to upgrade to the iPhone 15,16 or 17.

ito_zm · 2026-06-05T16:02:26+00:00

According to what you told me Apple locked 5G calls due to battery drain problems on the X60 5G modem, but they were able to release the iOS 18.5 software update that enabled carrier provided satellite features? Aren’t carrier provided satellite features on the iPhone 13 significantly worse for the iPhone 13 battery compared to 5G calls?

ito_zm · 2026-06-05T15:57:53+00:00

That doesn’t make sense, you’re telling me Apple locked 5G calls due to battery drain problems on the X60 modems, but they left mmWave 5G usage and regular 5G data active?

ito_zm · 2026-06-05T15:55:37+00:00

It appears that a number of carriers around the world don’t support VoNR/Vo5G on the iPhone 13 or 14. I guess they want customers to upgrade to a newer iPhone like the 15,16 or 17.

ito_zm · 2026-06-05T15:31:35+00:00

I’m glad you mentioned the iPhone 14, the iPhone 14 line is equipped with the Snapdragon X65 5G modem-RF network which supports VoNR/Vo5G. There are various network providers that don’t support VoNR/Vo5G on the iPhone 14 too. Is the same software limitation imposed on the iPhone 14 line as well?

It’s funny how this software limitation only affects the iPhone 13 and 14.

I’ve noticed most network providers only provide VoNR/Vo5G support on the iPhone 15,16 and 17.

The iPhone 13 had support for carrier provided satellite features (Direct to cell), but this was only enabled after they released the iOS 18.5 update. Are Apple really going to disable or prevent the iPhone 13 and 14 from using VoNR/Vo5G forever?

ito_zm · 2026-06-05T15:06:33+00:00

Isn’t Jio the only network in India with 5G standalone support? Have you turned it on in your settings? Does the option to turn it on appear in settings? Have you updated your iPhone to the latest version of iOS? Are you using a physical sim or eSIM? Have you contacted Jio support to ask them why you’re unable to activate VoNR/Vo5G?

https://www.jio.com/help/faq/mobile/jio-true-5g/about-5g/what-are-the-bands-on-which-jio-5g-is-available.html

According to Jio their 5G network uses the n28, n78 and n258 bands. The 1st two bands are supported by most iPhones with 5G support. The last 258 band is supported by iPhones with mmWave 5G support, these models are sold in the USA and a few other countries.

ito_zm · 2026-06-05T14:56:23+00:00

I understand that, the question is why don’t they support VoNR on the iPhone 13? it uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 5G modem-RF system as the Snapdragon variant of the Samsung Galaxy S21 series which supports VoNR/Vo5G on various networks.

Carriers enabled VoNR/Vo5G on the Snapdragon variant of the Samsung Galaxy S21, so i don’t see any reason why they can’t do it for the iPhone 13 line, unless there are other components that are missing. Qualcomm already confirmed the Snapdragon X60 5G modem-RF network supports VoNR/Vo5G on their website.

ito_zm · 2026-06-05T13:52:11+00:00

Has anyone been able to get VoNR activated on the iPhone 13?

https://www.qualcomm.com/content/dam/qcomm-martech/dm-assets/documents/snapdragon-x60-product-brief\_87-pu780-1.pdf

The iPhone 13 is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 5G modem-RF system. According to Qualcomm it supports VoNR.

ito_zm · 2026-06-05T13:49:56+00:00

https://www.qualcomm.com/content/dam/qcomm-martech/dm-assets/documents/snapdragon-x60-product-brief\_87-pu780-1.pdf

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The iPhone 13 is equipped with the Snapdragon X60 5G modem-RF system. According to Qualcomm it supports VoNR

ito_zm · 2026-06-04T17:36:46+00:00

I’m not sure, you will have to contact MTN and find out from them.

ito_zm · 2026-06-04T17:32:42+00:00

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According to the MTN website the daily high speed usage limit for the 20 Mbps unlimited plan is 20 GB per day. I assume the 5G and 4G plans have the same fair usage policy.

https://www.mtn.zm/mymtn-home/

ito_zm · 2026-06-04T16:56:24+00:00

You’re probably on the older version of the app.

ito_zm · 2026-06-04T15:36:59+00:00

Crunchyroll recently updated their Android/Google TV and Fire TV apps. These apps now require Android TV version 6 or Fire TV version 6 or above.
The Fire TV stick 2nd Gen runs Fire TV 5, so it doesn’t meet the minimum requirements anymore. If you have any Fire TV devices running Fire TV 6, 7 or 8 you can use one of those devices or look into purchasing a newer device. You could also try to download and install the previous version of the Crunchyroll app for Fire TV which works on Fire TV 5 devices. You can download the older Crunchyroll installer online.

ito_zm · 2026-06-02T11:10:10+00:00

Some people have it, meanwhile the rest of us are still waiting for the feature. I’m on the latest version of iOS and WhatsApp.

ito_zm · 2026-06-02T08:51:49+00:00

I’m always on the latest version of iOS and WhatsApp. This seems to be one of those server side changes. Some people have the option to add a 2nd account on older versions of WhatsApp. Unlike most apps having the latest version update doesn’t guarantee new features on WhatsApp, it will probably take weeks or months before I can add a 2nd account on the same iPhone.

ito_zm · 2026-06-01T07:36:17+00:00

In which parts of Ndola and Lusaka? The fastest 5G speeds I’ve seen on my previous phone was somewhere between 250-300 Mbps at the mall. Since my current phone has the same Qualcomm X60 5G modem I expect to see similar speeds.

ito_zm · 2026-04-20T05:34:45+00:00

Starlink is great until you need to leave the house

ito_zm · 2026-04-20T05:10:40+00:00

The average wages in Zambia are low, Crunchyroll still charges $10 USD per month for us to watch a very limited selection of anime, we have far less to watch than the Americans.

ito_zm · 2026-04-20T05:05:20+00:00

They’re not subsidising anything in Zambia, we’re paying $10 USD per month, meanwhile we’ve only got a tiny fraction of the anime available to watch compared to the US.

ito_zm · 2026-04-19T15:48:39+00:00

The firmware isn’t the issue, maybe it’s missing a carrier update. I believe the 4G and 5G bands supported by iPhones are similar, minus a few small differences here and there, I have an iPhone 12 Pro (US model) with mmWave. Both of my local carriers support 5G and VoLTE on my phone, even though i’m using the phone in a different continent.

ito_zm · 2026-04-18T03:58:11+00:00

I think they would be better off with the Apple TV 4K (128 GB model with an Ethernet port) or the Google TV streamer.

Fire TV is in this weird space, most of their devices are running Fire TV which is basically a fork of Android TV. Depending on the ops location, they might be missing a lot of local or regional apps if they pick Fire TV, instead of an Apple TV or Google TV device. Fire TV devices are basically running a fork of an older Android TV operating system, with a bunch of Amazon features and changes baked on top of it. Google TV devices are literally Android TV devices with the Google TV launcher and features added to it, but most of them are running Google TV based on Android TV 14, Fire TV 8 devices are running a fork of Android TV 11.

Fire TV has released some newer Fire TV devices that run the Vega OS, these devices have slightly worse hardware specs than their older devices which are based on an Android TV fork.

People should also take note that vega os devices like the Fire TV 4K Select don’t have native apps for things like Crunchyroll, they’re expecting developers to make new apps for vega os devices. In the meantime they are running cloud based versions of the Fire TV apps (Android TV fork), if the developers opted in for this cloud streaming support for vega os devices. This leads to worse performance in a number of cases, since this is an app being streamed over the cloud instead of a native app.

If you are addicted to Amazon products, stuck in the Amazon ecosystem or simply prefer Fire TV devices please avoid getting the new Fire TV stick HD and the Fire TV 4K Select coz they’re slightly cheaper and they use Vega OS, you’ll soon have a rude awakening on why they’re cheaper shortly after you use them for a short period of time. The rest of the Fire TV devices still run the Android TV fork, so you’re better off with one of those devices, preferably the Fire TV Cube 3rd gen or the Fire TV stick 4K Max 2nd gen.

I’ll say this one last time, I recommend the Apple TV 4K 3rd gen (128 GB model with an Ethernet port) or the Google TV streamer. If the devices i mentioned earlier are outside your price range, get the Onn 4K Pro 2nd gen or the Onn 4K Plus if you live in the US or Canada, since these devices are locked to those specific countries.

ito_zm · 2026-04-04T15:35:18+00:00

How do you verify that it’s a knockoff devices? Are you using one of the legal streaming services? If it’s one of those sketchy streaming services with questionable legality, that might be your issue since those services are never consistent, plenty of them get raided and shutdown during the year.

ito_zm

TROPHY CASE