Eight Telecom discussion thread

[loganrunning]

been hearing lots of complain about not able to make phone calls when roaming..

so what is the key to ensure voice call can be made?

if must be on eight roaming, then only go to countries where eight has VoLTE in their roaming arrangement.

YMMV, for me:
I use apps like whatsapp
or use telco with VoIP apps eg Simba, MR
or use 3rd party VoIP provider.

 

[Nevereatrice]

guys i am on auto recharge every month it will charge to my credit card
few days ago it already auto recharge for March
but on Saturday i accidentally press sign up on the website thus leading to double charge $8 for this month. (that means $16 this month)
anyone encounter this before? what's their hotline number? i send email to them no reply

 

[JAYSCS]

if must be on eight roaming, then only go to countries where eight has VoLTE in their roaming arrangement.

YMMV, for me:
I use apps like whatsapp
or use telco with VoIP apps eg Simba, MR
or use 3rd party VoIP provider.

What is 3rd party VoIP provider? So does it mean it will work for all telcos here?

 

[A7997A]

What is 3rd party VoIP provider? So does it mean it will work for all telcos here?

These are VoIP operations, and being on IP, don't care what telco or even type of connectivity you are on, as long as you have data connection of sufficient quality (latency & jitter)

 

[JAYSCS]

These are VoIP operations, and being on IP, don't care what telco or even type of connectivity you are on, as long as you have data connection of sufficient quality (latency & jitter)

Eg. WhatsApp and Viber works on only within the app but Simba and MR are able to call to any other Telco users. So this 3rd party VoIP operators work like former or latter? If it works like latter, which VoIP operator and is it free? It also means the traffic light Telcos can call with 4G devices without VoLTE capability!

 

[loganrunning]

What is 3rd party VoIP provider? So does it mean it will work for all telcos here?

i used to use starhub back when i was doing opensource PABX, singtel was also in the game. MR now appears to have a VoIP business too, separate from the mobile biz.

it just needs a data connection, and depending on the provider and how you do the routing, opening a port or two. it worked wonderfully in sg, and overseas.

the advantage is it provides you a single "follow me" number wherever you are, but this may be too elaborate for the average user. this setup is used mainly by businesses

the Simba/MR number and app will be enough for the average user

 

[JAYSCS]

i used to use starhub back when i was doing opensource PABX, singtel was also in the game. MR now appears to have a VoIP business too, separate from the mobile biz.

it just needs a data connection, and depending on the provider and how you do the routing, opening a port or two. it worked wonderfully in sg, and overseas.

the advantage is it provides you a single "follow me" number wherever you are, but this may be too elaborate for the average user. this setup is used mainly by businesses

the Simba/MR number and app will be enough for the average user

Indeed, sounds so complicated.

 

[A7997A]

Eg. WhatsApp and Viber works on only within the app but Simba and MR are able to call to any other Telco users. So this 3rd party VoIP operators work like former or latter? If it works like latter, which VoIP operator and is it free? It also means the traffic light Telcos can call with 4G devices without VoLTE capability!

Whatsapp/VIber etc do not use a phone number for calling, it is based on the app's account.
You can't call an regular phone number or vise versa using whatsapp/viber.

In a way you can say it is similar to Simba's voice app, but without the tie to the Telco's subscription.
It is phone number based operation, closer to commercial PABX, without ties to any specific telco.

Common implementations uses a voice app (can be specific or generic) that connects to a VoIP PABX setup (often paid) and typically you get an VoIP phone number as part of the service. This number is reachable using regular phone system, and only requires a data connection (including wifi) to operate. LIke what Logan mention the key advantages is that it works worldwide (unless specifically blocked) and you are not dependent on any specific telco or datacom technology. This is particularly an advantage if your telco blocks wifi-calling overseas.

Very common in North America. Examples include VoIP.ms, Fongo etc.
I am not familiar with SG examples.

 

[Aladdin Beast]

Getting technical. Eight has generated fans getting indepth into how they provide their network. Though it's difficult for layman like me to grasp, it's so enlightening to see users so loving to Eight in the discussion.

 

[Elon Jobs]

Yes, wonder why, cos I don't rmb having such issue in early March when I was in Msia.

Yes I second this. Been using eight for slightly more than a month, today is 3rd trip into Johor Bahru and first time I face this same issue. It shows MAXIS on the top left of my iPhone but no 4G. Totally cannot use, my Google maps went offline, my Spotify stopped playing, WhatsApp keep showing connecting. Not sure what settings eight changed on their end. Anyone knows if there is a fix on our end?

 

[hkchew03]

Yes I second this. Been using eight for slightly more than a month, today is 3rd trip into Johor Bahru and first time I face this same issue. It shows MAXIS on the top left of my iPhone but no 4G. Totally cannot use, my Google maps went offline, my Spotify stopped playing, WhatsApp keep showing connecting. Not sure what settings eight changed on their end. Anyone knows if there is a fix on our end?

Yes exactly what happened. I just happened to have hotlink as my second secondary SIM which uses maxis network as well, if not I also cannot narrow down to eight or maxis issue.

 

[Aladdin Beast]

Yes I second this. Been using eight for slightly more than a month, today is 3rd trip into Johor Bahru and first time I face this same issue. It shows MAXIS on the top left of my iPhone but no 4G. Totally cannot use, my Google maps went offline, my Spotify stopped playing, WhatsApp keep showing connecting. Not sure what settings eight changed on their end. Anyone knows if there is a fix on our end?

Could it be a maxis-iphone-google conflict?

 

[kashix]

Wah I need help .. My eight was inactive, then I went to topup $8 and re-activated the plan. Now I want to go to the $11.80 plan instead, possible for me to topup the diff and upgrade to that plan instead? Have to pay another $11.80 to upgrade? Anyone can advise?

 

[Habrosus]

Wah I need help .. My eight was inactive, then I went to topup $8 and re-activated the plan. Now I want to go to the $11.80 plan instead, possible for me to topup the diff and upgrade to that plan instead? Have to pay another $11.80 to upgrade? Anyone can advise?

Think got to pay full amount...

https://www.eight.com.sg/faq-manage-my-account

• What eightplans can I change to? Can I upgrade or downgrade my plan?
  • Learn more about our plans here ($0, $8 and $18 Mobile Plans).
  • Change plan can be done via eight account or simply head down to our eight retailers/ service centre.
  • Your latest entitlements will take effect as soon as you upgrade. For downgrade, your plan will take effect after your current cycle of plan ends.

 

[kashix]

Think got to pay full amount...

Wah so sad, not worth to pay full amount as I've just recharged the plan. Have written in to see what they say.

 

[Aladdin Beast]

Wah I need help .. My eight was inactive, then I went to topup $8 and re-activated the plan. Now I want to go to the $11.80 plan instead, possible for me to topup the diff and upgrade to that plan instead? Have to pay another $11.80 to upgrade? Anyone can advise?

Upgrade near the last three days of current ongoing plan. By the time they answer you with a answer also around there. Q&A already answered on the 'upgrade' and 'downgrade' rules. Bro here already mention

 

[hkchew03]

Could it be a maxis-iphone-google conflict?

Don't know about iphone, but it was perfectly fine in late Feb/early March. On the same Android phone, same area. Theres definitely some changes on the backend, either deprioritised or AP switching preference. I leaning towards the latter, as it just doesn't go back to 4g even after one whole day

 

[Elon Jobs]

Could it be a maxis-iphone-google conflict?

I doubt so, for context, I have been on RedOne for more than a year before I ported to eight. Redone when in Johor Bahru uses a different network, MAXIS HOMESTAY, and the connection was pretty decent, but the transition over at the checkpoint is a bit problematic occasionally, maybe because my iPhone is sticky? Meaning stick to Singapore Redone network, but usually I turn on airplane mode, wait for the custom officer to stamp and return my passport, and turn off airplane mode, my iPhone will be connected before I exit the custom check area.

For eight, before my trip yesterday, no such issues, everything was working fine the past two times in March. So I’m pretty sure eight and/or their partners in Malaysia changed something on their end. I’m still using the same phone and driving the same usual route, so yesterday when I was on EDL and I noticed my Google maps was grey in colour instead of the usual blue and Spotify playlist greyed out. I saw that my phone was connected to MAXIS but no 4G. Then I turned on airplane mode and waited 30 seconds and turned it off and MAXIS 4G came back on.

 

[Elon Jobs]

Don't know about iphone, but it was perfectly fine in late Feb/early March. On the same Android phone, same area. Theres definitely some changes on the backend, either deprioritised or AP switching preference. I leaning towards the latter, as it just doesn't go back to 4g even after one whole day

Did you try turning on airplane mode, wait a while and then turn it off? Coz it worked for me. I have to manually do it three times.

 

[hkchew03]

Did you try turning on airplane mode, wait a while and then turn it off? Coz it worked for me. I have to manually do it three times.

Yes it worked, but it will randomly go into 2g mode again. Not a solution if you had to do like 10 times daily. Yes, its that bad, sometimes it switched back to 2g in less than 5 minutes.