What does the VoLTE symbol mean on your phone?

In the 1990s, phone minutes were the essence of any phone plan, both landline and cellular. Imagine being charged 55 cents per minute to make a long distance call. These days, these calls are part of the package, along with text messages and even unlimited data in many cases. The way we handle these calls has also changed and we see signs of this through the symbols we see in our phone’s notification bar.

You may see a symbol for VoLTE, an acronym that stands for “voice over (4G) LTE.” In simple terms, this means as stated: your calls will use 4G wireless signals. This process cuts your voice into digital chunks, sending radio signals in packets, routed in all sorts of ways through the network and to your recipient where those packets are rearranged into the correct order. If you have an old enough device, you might even see a symbol for HD Voice, a more consumer-oriented brand that carriers have adopted for VoLTE. And yes, with 5G being the promotion of cellular network operators these days, there is also Vo5G, VoNR (Voice over New Radio) or 5G Voice, depending on the operator and phone you are using. The same principle of packet switching applies to it as to Voice over Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi Calling.

Another benefit of VoLTE technologies is that they allow simultaneous data connections, meaning you can browse the web, use apps, and download new maps while talking on the phone. Some earlier wireless technologies would slow down or even stop data during a call.

You can check the status of Voice over 5G or LTE on your phone by going to the system settings and navigating to the mobile network section. If you use multiple SIM cards, you may need to select one to access the appropriate toggle. You can also search for the term in system settings.

Voice over 4G and 5G are technologies enabled by your carrier. Manufacturers and service providers add specific VoLTE/VoNR configurations to your device during software updates. They also ensure that each cell tower’s settings are configured for carrier calling and roaming. If for some reason your VoNR-enabled device cannot receive or make VoNR calls (i.e. your device cannot recognize a profile or the tower cannot allocate your traffic), you will still be able to place them via VoLTE or Wi-Fi Calling, where available. Almost all US carriers also don’t count these voice calls towards your data plan, if you have a limit.

Until the very early days of 5G, calls that couldn’t be made over LTE were routed over 3G cellular service or even older 2G wireless service. Most calls on these networks were circuit-switched rather than packet-switched. This meant that a fixed, direct transmission line was established between the caller and the recipient, with some exceptions for certain calls on H+ networks. This old method blocked bandwidth, meaning your phone was usually unable to use data during a call.

VoLTE is different from VoIP, or essentially voice calls through chat apps like WhatsApp or FaceTime. These services use a standard Internet connection to deliver a voice or video call, although they must bounce from your wireless network to the application’s servers before returning to your recipient’s carrier, which is why they can sometimes be less reliable than a standard phone call.