Google Blocks Apps That Allow Pixel Users To Enable VoLTE ANYWHERE

Pixel phones are known for their unique software features (photo: x @Arsenal)

JAKARTA - The 2025 October Pixel update has turned off the Pixel IMS application, a tool that many people use to activate VoLTE and VoWiFi on Pixel phones imported in unsupported areas.

The app takes advantage of loopholes that allow users to rule out operator settings, but Google has now patched them and classified them as high-level vulnerabilities (CVE-2025-48617).

Even so, new solutions have been found to enable VoLTE in unsupported areas, but users who want VoWiFi must root on their devices or wait for Google to officially expand operator support.

Pixel phones are known for their unique software features, but their availability is limited in many countries compared to the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy. This prompted many fans to import Pixels from other markets, which unfortunately could interfere with important calling features such as VoLTE and VoWiFi.

VoLTE (Voice over LTE) allows voice calls via the 4G LTE network, a crucial feature because many global operators have started to disable 2G and 3G networks. Without VoLTE, users may not be able to make calls at all on modern networks. Meanwhile, VoWiFi (Voice over WiFi) allows calls via Wi-Fi networks, useful when cellular signals are weak.

In theory, phones with hardware compatible with the operator's cellular frequency should be able to use VoLTE, and phones supporting VoWiFi with the appropriate pack should also work. However, the reality is more complicated.

Many operators only allow VoLTE and VoWiFi on devices they sell or officially test. As a result, imported Pixels are often blocked from this feature, even if the hardware supports it.

This problem became an obstacle until Korean developer Kyujin Cho released a solution in 2023 through the Pixel IMS' application. The app enabled VoLTE and VoWiFi on unsupported operators by ruling out operator checks that Android usually performs.

Pixel IMS takes advantage of a gap that allows shell' users (users who carry out ADB orders) to change operator configurations, using Shizuku's open-source app to get these privileges.

However, this gap has now closed. After the 2025 Pixel update, many users reported that the IMS Pixel was no longer working and crashed while trying to activate VoLTE or VoWiFi.

Log error shows that the overrideConfig' function is no longer accessible to shell users. Although not listed in the official changelog, Google appears to have patched this gap and classified it as a high-level privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2025-48617). This vulnerability is likely to be included in the next quarter security bulletin in December.

Luckily, other developers have reportedly found new solutions. Although the instructions in Mandarin and its APK are distributed through the developer's Telegram channel, this solution seems to be successful for VoLTE.

Unfortunately, this solution does not yet support VoWiFi. Users requiring VoWiFi must root their devices, which requires opening a bootloader step that could disrupt Gemini-based features and complicate the use of Google Wallet. Another alternative is to wait for Google to officially expand VoLTE support to more markets, which it recently requires is being worked on.