Some Inland Cellular customers get relief

Relief has come for many of the Inland Cellular customers who have been unable to call or text when they travel outside of the company’s coverage area.

System configuration updates that correct the problem became available this week for those who use S21, A12 and S10e models of Samsung phones. Updates for Samsung models A51, S20FE and S21FE are expected to be available next week.

However, in order to receive the “system configuration update,” phone owners must first make sure they have already downloaded and installed on their phones the latest Samsung software, which is separate from the the system configuration update required to allow for callings and texting.

Mobile device makers constantly update the software that operates their phones. Some users religiously download and install those updates but many ignore them.

“We had one that was 14 updates behind,” said Chip Damato, executive vice president of Inland Cellular at Lewiston.

Software can be updated by accessing the “Software update” tab in phone settings. Those who are far behind may have to go through several versions to get caught up. Damato said the process will be quickest if done over Wi-Fi.

The latest software version is G991U1UEU5DVL1 for S21 phones; A125U1UES4CVJ2 for A12 models; and G970U1UES7IVJ2 for S10e models.

Damato said Inland customers with those phone models, installed with the latest software update, will receive “system configuration update” notifications. If they allow that system configuration update, their phones will be able to connect to cell towers operated by national carriers like Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.

More information on the update, including instructions, is available at inlandcellular.com/volte.

The technology that allows cellphones to connect to cell towers is changing across the country. National carriers like Verizon have already switched to VOLTE, or voice over long-term evolution technology and dropped the old (CDMA) technology. Think of it as switching from 3G technology to 4G technology.

The new technology requires updates for the phones to work. IPhones can be made VOLTE capable by an easy switch in the phone settings. But Samsung phones require the system configuration update and that update has to be tailored to specific cell phone carriers and to individual phone models sold by those carries.

Damato said Samsung prioritized national carriers with millions of customers when it began writing the needed updates. It is just now getting to small regional carriers like Inland Cellular. Because of that lag, some Inland customers have been unable to call and text when they travel outside of the company’s coverage area. The phones still work within Inland’s territory because the company is maintaining its 3G coverage, which Damato said is better for the complicated topography of north central Idaho and southeastern Washington.

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.