I cannot make or receive calls on a Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite tablet that has a TELUS LTE SIM installed. I want to be able to get this function working if feasible.
Background
The tablet is only a couple of months old. It is a Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite, model SM-T227U, with an activated TELUS LTE SIM card.
Both the Android OS and apps are all up to date. OS is Android 13. There are no third party apps on the tablet.
The tablet can send and receive SMS text and MMS messages.
I have contacted Samsung Support three times, two agents have remoted into the tablet using Samsung Smart Tutor. None have fixed the problem. One insisted that it would only work if the tablet was linked to my mobile phone (using the Samsung feature): this does not make sense because the tablet has a SIM and should not require a second device to make/receive a call. The third agent emphatically said the tablet canmake calls because he checked the IMEI number in Samsung's specs for this model; he did not remote into the tablet to fix it nor did he provide a solution other than to tell me to take it into a repair depot.
I have a distant relative in Australia who has just purchased a (new) Samsung Tab A8, model SM-X205, also with a SIM. My relative has exactly the same problem as I do - cannot make or receive calls.
So, two different Samsung tablet models, two different continents/countries, two different carriers, both new, both completely up to date software-wise.
I do not want to link the tablet to my mobile, to make calls. I want to use it independently, which is why I bought a SIM Mobile plan. I am not looking for a workaround, but rather a solution for why this doesn't work when by all appearances it should.
Symptoms
Starting the tablet's (Samsung) Phone app, the dialer insists on me logging into my Samsung account and providing my mobile's number so that "Call and Text on Other Devices" can be enabled. I cancel this and proceed to the dial pad. I enter the number I want to call. It appears to try and dial the number but immediately returns a "Call Failed" error, without me ever hearing a dial tone. The number I have tried calling is my landline.
My Troubleshooting Actions
I have looked through various settings and permissions for the Phone app and cannot see anything amiss or missing.
I have factory reset the device twice. No change, all call attempts fail.
I have removed the SIM from the tablet and put it in my mobile phone (iPhone). I can call and receive phone calls on my iPhone using the tablet's SIM. So that implies that there is not a problem with the tablet's SIM and TELUS service and calling plan.
I have removed the SIM from my mobile, which is with Virgin, and put it in the tablet. The tablet is still unable to make or receive calls.
Observations
Both SMS and MMS messaging with pictures work, so linking to a second devices, a mobile, is clearly not required, despite Samsung's insistence that it is.
The Phone dialer app, when launched, tries to get me to sign in to my Samsung account to enable the Calling and Texting facility and to enable this in the tablet's Settings. It would appear that something is being detected at launch time, and possibly that same thing is what also causes the call to subsequently fail (?).
From my troubleshooting and testing. it appears to me to be a software problem and not a physical hardware problem. If the tablet, with a SIM, could not make/receive calls and could only work with cellular data functions, then Samsung would be obligated to have stated this limitation in the product specifications: there is no such limitation in the specs on the Samsung site that I can find.
...If the LTE versions of tablets cannot make calls then why would Samsung bother to put a Phone app on the tablet in the first place...?
Also, as we all know, mobile phones have SIMs and can make calls using Wi-Fi Calling when there is no cellular signal or the signal is poor. An LTE tablet could use the same technique to get to a carrier network. [My tablet has a strong cellular network signal]
Hi, we really appreciate your efforts while performig the necessary troubleshooting steps.
You cannot make call and SMS from the tablet, to use the feature please enable the Call and text through other devices feature on the phone.
With the Call & text on other devices feature, you can make and receive calls or send messages on your tablet.
You just need to sign into the same Samsung account as your phone and activate the Call & text on other devices feature.
The Call & text on other devices feature is a Samsung account-based service that forwards and synchronizes calls and messages between your Samsung devices. You can use your phone’s number to make and receive calls and messages on your other Samsung devices. Your Galaxy phone and tablet must be signed into the same Samsung account and the Call & text on other devices function of both devices must be on.
Launch the Settings app, and then select Advanced features >> Tap the switch next to Call & text on other devices to turn it on.
Or you can also activate Call & text on other devices on the Quick panel.
The connection will occur automatically. Now you can make and answer calls or send messages on your tablet.
As I said in my post, Background.3, the tablet can and does make texts, both SMS and MMS, so the blanket statement that 'Call and Text' needs to be enabled doesn't appear to be valid as it relates to texting, which leaves us with only the calling being the problem.
The fact that texting works, and needs to work on the tablet, also supports the fundamental requirement these days for alldevices to be able to receive texts for 2FA authentication purposes: especially if you do not have a second mobile device.
Many elder seniors do not have a mobile phone and with eyesight issues have a preference for the larger screen of a tablet to help them with their daily activities, both online and offlline. Having to buy a second mobile device to make phone calls does not make economic sense.
Lastly, the Phone app installed on the tablet is significantly smaller in size than the app on a Android mobile. This may be indicative of the tablet's phone app being a degraded version.
