"Call can't be placed by T-Mobile" error - can't place phone calls

General Bug reports
#1

I tried placing my first phone call today (I hate phone calls, actively avoid making or taking them, and yes, it’s that rare).

This wonderful message greeted me.

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I tried airplane mode toggle, switching off WiFi calling, and switching off WiFi completely. No change.

“Call can’t be placed by T-Mobile. Try using a different call redirecting app or contacting the developer for help.”

I don’t know what call redirecting app it’s referring to - but I have T-Mobile Scam Shield and Visual Voicemail installed. Closest thing I can get to contacting a developer is the phone manufacturer now, so here we are :wink:

I’ve just got standard T-Mobile, not an MVNO or anything.

I’m going to try beating my head against this to resolve the immediate need to make a call, but I thought it needed to be mentioned since I can’t find a single occurrence of this error being quoted by anyone in the context of a Teracube so far! Or anyone else with any useful input, for that matter… I seem to be alone in this issue.

#2

Problem solved: there is a literal app called “T-Mobile” which the system was trying to use for calling.

That app had all its permissions denied by default, since I’d never opened it (it was restored when I set up the phone from a backup), and it hadn’t been initialized.

I just went through the T-Mobile app’s permissions (long-press the T-Mobile app, “app info” button, then “permissions”) with a sledgehammer and allowed all its requested permissions, then went through the setup process for the app (simply opened it and made it happy, signed in, etc). Then, no problems making calls! Yay.

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#3

None of our TMobile connections require/use this app. Are you using their Digits system to make calls or have you inserted an actual TMobile SIM in the phone? If using the SIM, then you don’t need that app.

#4

Didn’t say I needed it, just said I have it. It was installed from the backup, and honestly, part of the reason I have T-Mobile and not an MVNO is that I like the features offered by T-Mobile in their app (and I like letting T-Mo know what phone I’m using :wink: ).

All I had to do was remember that an app called T-Mobile was actually installed (which I did by finding it in the “default apps” page of Settings), and voila… it had all its permissions denied by default, which caused the issue.

Of course I have a T-Mo SIM, but the entire idea of “needing the app” doesn’t play in here at all - I already had it installed (partly unknowingly - by restoring from a backup), and that was the problem.

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