Why Jio SIM Cannot be used to Make Voice Calls in Most of the 4G Handsets

Jio SIM is used most of the mobile phone users all over India, and the most common problem faced by most of the people is the voice call issue. Many people are saying that voice call is not working on their mobile, but the data is working fine. Even if the handset is 4G LTE, the voice call was not working.

The issue is not from Jio’s end. It is because of the incompatibility of the handset with the Jio network. Which means, the normal 4G LTE mobiles can be used for Jio SIM in which, data will work as normal, but voice call will not work normally, here you need to install Jio 4G Voice application on the mobile to make, receive call and SMS.

(Also see: Jio Becomes the Best Mobile Network in India For International Roaming Services)

Jio is using the pure 4G LTE network for both voice and data, whereas the other mobile networks use 4G, 3G, and 2G network together, and voice call is done through the legacy 2G bands itself. Hence you will not find any difficulty in the connectivity. Here, while using data, it will use the 4G network, and while making the call, it will automatically connect to the 2G band and back to 4G soon after the call terminates.

But in the case of Jio, it is entirely different, Jio is purely 4G based, and there is no 2G and 3G bands for Jio. Here for both voice and data, Jio is using the 4G band itself. Technology, where Voice call made through the 4G network, is known as VoLTE (Voice Over LTE), and Jio is using VoLTE for its service. At the time Jio came to market, VoLTE technology was new to everyone, and most of the handsets available in the market were not having that technology in it.

It is the main reason where most of the 4G handsets cannot be used for voice calls and SMS using Jio SIM. To overcome that, Jio itself came with the mobile application called Jio 4G Voice which makes the normal 4G handsets to make and receive calls. But, for using Jio 4G Voice, all the calls and SMS are routed using the mobile data. If you are using a VoLTE handset, it will not use data for call and SMS.

(Also see: Airtel Upgraded their Rs 99 Prepaid Plan to Compete with Jio’s Rs 98 Pack)

Currently, most of the 4G handsets available in the Indian Market are VoLTE supported and can be used for Jio SIM. However, most handset purchased outside India is still are not fully compatible with the Jio SIM card. So if you are planning to use your new mobile with Jio SIM, make sure the handset supports the latest 4G bands used by Jio in it.

How to check a handset compatible for Jio SIM

The easiest way to check the comparability is using GSMArena website.

  • Step 1: Go to the website and search for your specified model.
  • Step 2: In the specification area, find the 4G bands section.
  • Step 3: Find the available bands, if the handset having B3(1800), B5(850), B40(2300) bands, then it is compatable with Jio network.

Huawei nov 2 jio bands min

4G Bands used by Jio

  • B3 (1800)
  • B5 (850)
  • B40 (2300)

22 thoughts on “Why Jio SIM Cannot be used to Make Voice Calls in Most of the 4G Handsets”

  1. I bought a S9+ Samsung latest device, a few months back from UAE , it supports according to GSM arena 3(1800):5(850):40(2300) 4G bands , and it supports volte calls in other countries, however when I came to India, it didn’t work with jio and I had to download the jio4g app, which does not allow me to log in to wifi even if it’s jio WiFi router, because then I will not receive calls or SMS.

    Reply
    • Hi Shyam,

      if your phone supports band 3, 5 and 40, then Jio should definitely work on your mobile without Jio4GVoice app. may be some issue with your SIM card. Kindly contact customer care and report the issue.
      Also, it is also strange that 4GVoice app also not working for you. It should also work, if the phone doesn’t have those bands. Only needs 4G enabled handset.

      Reply
  2. I had a same issue with S9 plus purchased in Singapore. Flashing the Indian software including CSC did not work for the S9 plus. It did work for S7 and S7 edge. Either Samsung should fix it in the software (which they might not, to keep out imported Samsung phones out of India) or JIO update their Sim.

    Reply
    • For S9 Plus, it should work, since the phone has all the 3 bands that Jio uses in India. But for some users, there are some issues like you faced. I suggest you contact the customer care and ask them for any solution. It would be great if you can share the feedback from them here.

      Reply
  3. My S8+ bought in Singapore which has all three said bands is not working with Jio sim in India. Had to install jio4gvoice app, which doesn’t work with wifi. called jio customer care, they are useless, just kept saying my device doesn’t support VoLTE…

    Reply
    • Jio4G Voice app will not work with other Wifi, either you need to use Jio mobile data from the same mobile or use JioFi as the wifi modem. Regarding the band, just double check if the specific model have the band available. Note: Don’t completely trust the words of the customer care. As they are trained in such a way that, if you tell them that you bought the handset from abroad, they will simply say that, handset bought outside India will not be compatible with Jio. Its not true completely.

      Reply
  4. my galaxy note 8 supports the following bands, but it still does not work on JIO, I can browse internet without any issue.

    CDMA 1X and EvDO Rev 0/RevA, LTE (Domestic) : B13/B4/B2/B5/B66, LTE (Global) : B3/B7/B8/B18/B19/B20/B28/B26, GSM/UMTS Quad, TD-SCDMA 34, 39, TDD LTE 38, 39,40 ,41, LAA : B46, CAT 4 / CAT 6 / CAT9 / CAT 11 / CAT 16

    Reply
  5. Hi,
    I have huawei p10 lite from UAE, this supports only
    B3 (1800) -Yes
    B5 (850)- No
    B40 (2300)-No
    in this case you think it will still work for me since one of these bands are available for this model
    Is there is any other possibility that i can make use of it to fix this said issue.

    Reply
    • Your Phone will work with Jio in UAE since it is in international Roaming. But to use it in India, you need B3, B5 and B40 bands. Alternatively, You can use Jio Call (Jio 4G Voice) app to make and receive call without the above bands.

      Reply
  6. HI, This Blog by Vipin is completely wrong and misguiding, me and my friend have all the above mentioned specification in both of our phones but jio is still not working. we called customer care they said from their side everything is fine. but our phone still not working with jio

    Reply
    • Can you please let me know the wrong information that i shared in the article. It will be helpful to me and other readers. Regarding the 4G bands used in Reliance Jio, we mentioned only the known facts from our and our users experiences. In the course of time, some changes might be there which we can point out.

      Reply
  7. Hello Vipin .. i have Samsung J5 Pro ..bought frm Dubai.. not able to make voice calls from jio sim but data is working fine. . Kindly provide me best option.
    Thanks and Regards
    Rashi

    Reply
    • Most probably your device is not compatible with the bands used by Jio. Try using Jio Call app and try to make calls and SMS with that. If it works, then it is a handset-based issue.

      Reply
  8. Hi Vipin,

    I have Honor 8x max model and it supports 4g bands supported by Jio sim and its bought from china.

    But still it does not work without jiovoice call app and it does not show the option to enable VOLTE also. It also does not understand by any UPI app.

    Please let me any way to make Jio sim work with this handset.
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Hi Viswanath,

      If you are using Honor 8X Max, then Jio SIM should work on that. 8X Max supports all the three bands that Jio uses for the 4G service. In that case, you need to check whether any settings went wrong with your handset. Also, if a handset that supports all the 3 Jio Bands, then the Jio Call (Jio4G Voice) app won’t work correctly. In that case, you can use the app only for messaging purposes, not for Calling.

      Reply
      • Thank you for your prompt reply.

        I am able to make call only with Jiocall app and only data works if I don’t use jio call app. I am told that VOLTE to be enabled for that and there is no option in the settings and I am struck up with that.
        Honor 8x max support says handset will support VOLTE and ask to check with network operator and JIO support says check with handset support. I am not sure if android 9 will only allow VOLTE settings as I have Android 8.25 only.

        Please suggest if there is any workaround.

        Thanks

        Reply
        • Hi Viswanath,

          If that is the case, it might be an issue with your OS/Software. If you can update it to Android 9, please proceed with that, and let see. If that doesn’t work, you need to check with someone personally who can take care of smartphones and their software update.

          Reply

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