Some shops are selling "EU" version of samsung phones at a substantial discount compared to the "CH" version (almost 200.- on certain phones!). The only catch is, they claim that wifi calling and volte is "deactivated" or doesnt work with swiss providers.
I know that in the past phones were "region differentiated" as some countries didnt adopt certain standards. But with wifi calling and volte now pretty much available in every developed country, does anyone know if the latest samsung "EU" models actually dont work with volte/vowifi on swiss providers or is it just a case of shops covering their asses. I'm looking to buy an S22 and wifi calling especially is a must for me.
I can't tell about this specific phone, but I know that VoLTE and wifi calling are also carrier specific. I have a Pixel 4a which has those features on Swisscom but not on Sunrise (Digitec). For a few months, every time i saw an update to the Carrier Services app, i would get excited that it might enable the missing features. I have now finally accepted the fact that i will never have them. It's odd, because I think Digitec is the official Google phone importer in CH and this is on their own network. The Pixel 6a does have the features enabled, also on digitec sunrise network.
I think the only way to guarantee that it will work is to try it or to hear from someone else that has the same phone. You might also check with your carrier, either in support forums or asking their technical support. It's not about different technology, it's about the carrier enabling that feature on their network for that specific model. If it's not a common model in Switzerland, or a model that they sell, they might not bother to enable it.
I actually sold my Pixel 6a because volte/vowifi doesnt work on Salt. But I think you are wrong, its not the carrier that has to activate it (contrary to what the phone makers say when you complain to them). The phone maker simply has to include the carrier settings in the phone. I'm convinced of this because there are ways to add the settings manually and activate volte/vowifi on "usupported" devices (guides are on XDA). The process however is tedious and you have to root your phone.
Further evidence of this (that the phone maker, not the carrier activates volte) is that some models of the same phone have these features depending on the region. Meaning its a form of region/carrier locking. I wouldnt be surprised if carriers have to pay phone makers to have their phones "supported".
Ironically, the cheap chinese phone makers (oppo, vivo, xiaomi) seem actually better at supporting volte/vowifi than the big brands.
On a side note, carriers will be in a pickle when they try to decommission 3G. Seems they dont realise that 4G only work with volte else there would be a bigger push to support it on every phone. They will be forced to keep 3G much longer just because so many phones will not be able to place calls anymore