Fairphone Fairbuds launch with replaceable batteries, titanium drivers and ANC

schizoidman@lemmy.ml to Technology@lemmy.ml – 1011 points –
Fairphone Fairbuds launch with replaceable batteries, titanium drivers and ANC
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It's easy to forget that our pocket computers are also telephones, and thus emergency calling devices. These are regulated with good reason. The operator/their partners have to test the device on their network to ensure it is compliant and emergency calls can be made as expected; they also need to build the VoLTE/VoWiFi/IMS settings for that specific network into the handset's software before it will work - VoLTE has many complications, it is not one size fits all. Accordingly, some operators allow BYOD, while others will only whitelist the specific hardware and software combination they have tested and signed off on.

So why exatcly 3g or 2g never had this problem. Also why is that then that i can use 4g internet but somewhow making a phone call on the same network is not allowed?

Over 2G and 3G, voice calls are circuit switched. VoLTE and VoNR are packet switched, over IP, VoIP. Totally different. VoLTE is not as standardised as it may seem from the outside whereas 2G and 3G voice calls were.

Internet access is not regulated as an emergency service.

Does the 5g have the same problems or did they improved it . Because right now that may be a collosal problem if my country ever wanted to turn off 2g ( which to be fair likely wont happen for a long time ).

5G NSA does have the same problems since it's 4G with a 5G hat on, although the handset-side software stacks for IMS settings are slowly improving. 5G SA is still too new really.

5G theoretically replaces 2G for low-power machine-to-machine operations like connected power metres, which is the main reason 2G still exists, but of course requires new hardware.

The many joys and customer issues that happen when an older network tech is retired and the spectrum refarmed to the new standard (e.g. shutting down 2G/3G and using the bandwidth for 4G/5G) are well-documented and a smart operator can do it with comparatively minimal friction, it just takes a long time to do it right.