If the ROG Phone II stops working with US carriers, will ASUS support a trade-in?

[Android]

One of the biggest fears about purchasing an ROG Phone II is that it lacks VoLTE, which means that it will cease functioning as a phone in the United States when 3G is taken down around 2020-2021. Consumers purchase this device expecting to at least be able to call and text since it is, after all, a phone.
My question now is: if ROG Phone II is unable to support VoLTE by the time carriers shut down 3G, will ASUS allow us to trade in the ROG Phone II for a heavily discounted ROG Phone III or ROG Phone IV which are likely to support VoLTE in the future? It's only fair to take responsibility if we are being sold a $900 product only for it to last less than two years.
P.S. It isn't only T-Mobile that will stop supporting 3G, ALL major carriers in the United States will, and this phone will become completely useless as a phone in the United States if it fails to support VoLTE in time. There is honestly more pressure on ASUS to support this feature than on AT&T or T-Mobile since they will not lose a single customer because every carrier in the United States are doing this.

[LP_ASUS]

kchinnavigneshraja

Guys, a noob question? VoLTE work on ROG phone 2 here in India. But why not in US? UK? Can someone shed some light?.

View post

There are other threads, but this one has a pretty good explanation. https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/13892/reason-why-some-of-us-do-not-have-volte-on-rog-phone-ll
TL:DR Not all networks are the same, and requirements vary from country to country to enable it.

[Android]

LP_ASUS

https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/comment/46119#Comment_46119

There are other threads, but this one has a pretty good explanation. https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/13892/reason-why-some-of-us-do-not-have-volte-on-rog-phone-ll

TL:DR Not all networks are the same, and requirements vary from country to country to enable it.

View post

From what I remember after looking it up, carriers want certain bands to be supported before they certify VoLTE for the device. And since cellular band support is at a hardware level, I have doubts that the ROG Phone II will ever be able to support VoLTE in North America.
I'm just hoping that the ROG Phone III will be different and that it will support as many cellular bands as possible. I'm hoping that it will be compatible with the New T-Mobile network (https://newtmobile.com/) and support as many bands for it. This is important since 5G is coming and it is imperative for a device to support as many bands for a stable connection when using Google Stadia.
I hope this partnership with Google on Stadia will help develop a device that can support more cellular bands (meaning VoLTE in North America). Looking forward to the ROG Phone III.

[jetjosh92]

Well talking about this again, I have stopped talking about the VoLTE thing because it is just up to the guys at ASUS to just enable it from the software side of things. I have spoken to the technical guys from the service provider in my country and they are not blocking the VoLTE service just because it is not on their list of supported devices.
So it all comes back to...will ASUS enable it via software ? but here are a list of problems that I can think of. One you got a few variant of this phone for the different regions which uses different network bands. Two we don't know if VoLTE will just work if you enable it ? it has never been tested. 3 because of all the test not done..it could be a big problem for many.
As much as we would like to associate ASUS ROG as a premium gaming brand etc...and they should have all the features enabled. It is a niche phone for a niche market. The problem with niche phones is they don't get a lot of interest from the general public which means lesser sales and of lesser support overall for ASUS across the board.
Will VoLTE come to the ROG phone 2, I bet it will but just not now. But I guess most of you would just say...ROG phone 3 would be out by then and what is the point right ?
This is life of having a niche phone....not all of us know it but we should kinda know it before we buy it.
Just like to add, if ASUS turns it on for one it is turned on for all....because global shares one ROM with so many regions so just think if it works for you but it might not work for your buddy in another country and I am sure he will be mad.

[dt808]

i wish i had seen all these posts about asus phones not working well in the US before i bought my zenfone 6. they just lost a customer.