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Implemented 3CX mobile Client - Roaming 4G/WIFI

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Tifoso

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The mobile clients (iOS, adnroid) should handle the Roaming between different networks. If I change during a call the location from WIFI internal to outside (go out of the company). the mobile phone connect to 3G/4G and lose the active call. It should be possible also otherwhise (3G/4G to WIFI).

I made some tests:
- Wifi internal only -> Connection to 3CX and communication is possible
- 3G/4G only -> Connection to 3CX and communication is possible
- Roaming from Wifi to 3G/4G during a active call. -> Communication will be lost
- Roaming from 3G/4G to Wifi during a active call. -> Communication will be lost

I made also some tests with whatsapp call, skype, and cisco jabber. the other applications/solutions can handle the hopping/roaming.

this behavior is common. the customers move during a call through different networks an will be still connected in a active call.
 
Upvote 76
This problem came up for us, not too long ago, when we sold a 3CX system to a city of about 10000 people. They like 3CX, but the app, which they thought would be wonderful, was actually unusable to them, because of the fact calls drop when moving from wifi to cellular data and vice versa. If the app could just be set to only use cellular data and not wifi, then this would quickly resolve this problem.

John Rayfield, Jr.
 
I would love to see this implemented, especially after having it happen to myself!
 
+10
All our clients suffer from this issue.
Following the latest update from 3CX in update 6 15.5, the softphone has finally become very good.

This last issue with moving betweend 4G and WIFI is especially painful and forces some clients to keep DECT Phones when they could just leverage iOS and Android phones and there coverage in WiFi and 4G when out of Wifi.

This is the last big issue that needs to be resolved for this app to be highly used and a big added value to use 3CX over competing PBX that now feel ancient in comparaison.


If 3CX needs to implement a propriatary protocol between the server and the softphone, then please do it. No one cares that you use sip for the 3cx softphone!
 
+1
This should be possible. Android and iPhone could use both Connection to work with Network Connection. A must have functionality with a phone app.
 
Any progress ? We're about to lose a customer because of this roaming problem.
 
it is very uncomfortable to Park the call at the entrance/exit of the office . I often forget that.
 
I honestly dont see this being easily implemented. You can't expect a device to hold a call, drop it's wifi connection, pickup the call again in 4G/3G. They are 2 completely different connections. The best way would be to have an option in 3CX client to just ring out to mobile, most applications do this currently. Or, personally, i transfer the call to myself and let my forwarding rules send the call to my cell. However, a ringout option directly on the mobile (and softphone) clients would be great.

Even currently, if you use wifi calling with your mobile carrier, if you leave your wifi, your call will drop.
 
This really is not a bug, it is how SIP works. To overcome this hurdle, it is going to require an enterprise SBC (audiocodes or other brand), the reason your calls end, is because there is not a re-invite to update the server with the correct endpoint IP & port numbers for the RTP streams. I have experience with another vendor that has this capability in their mobility app (SBC required), they also have the ability to use your mobile number as an extension. However this could increase the concurrent call licenses needed. How this is handled is that instead of making a sip call, it places a call to the PBX and then establishes a call to the remote party and just relays the call (just like google voice). This does give the user the experience that is desired, however it does go against mobile plan minutes. The benefit of this is that the call always appears as if it is coming from the office with the correct caller ID, and calls can be routed to the cell number as if it were an extension.

I do agree this would be great to have implemented, it's going to take some more equipment I believe.
 
+10 please work out some solution to handle the hand-off/reconnect
 
+10

If 3CX needs to implement a propriatary protocol between the server and the softphone, then please do it. No one cares that you use sip for the 3cx softphone!

As far as I know, the mobile clients already use a proprietary protocol. They connect to the pbx by using 3CX tunnels.
 
Not to derail the thread, but enabling Rebound for ring groups and making an option to forward to cell but allow control of the cell call via 3CXPhone for iOS/Android (sort of like CTI mode but for Cell phones) would solve *all* of the call quality issues with the mobile app on Wi-Fi/3G/4G.

In many areas around us, 3G/4G calling is just not viable, and Cell Phone forwarding doesn't work because we can't forward any extensions that are a part of a ring group, else they'll go to personal cell phone voicemail when someone invariably goes around a bend and loses cell reception.
 
What about using something like https://www.zerotier.com to glue the client to the server instance over its own network then it shouldn't matter how a device is connected.

Documentation for the project show low level api access... Could be totally seamless the to end user.
 
As mentioned before 3CX clients use the tunnel protocol. Sending the sip and rtp traffic thru the tunnel solves most of the rtp, NAT etc. problems. It should be relatively easy to enhance the tunnel implementation in a way that it supports the change of IP-addresses and networks.
P.S. IMHO the tunnel should do some kind of encrypting as well.
 
I've also run into problems with customers not being able to use the 3CX apps on their smartphones because of this problem. The simplest/fastest fix would be to have the ability to set the app so that it would not use wifi, but only use cellular data. I think I saw someone else here suggest that. This would eliminate the roaming problem, until roaming between wifi and cellular data could be fixed.

John
 
+1

@simply7 That functionality you describe is a brilliant and simple solution to this problem. I don't think minutes are an issue anymore as most providers are unlimited, it's the data use that is often capped.
 
+1000 :)
We are also facing this issue there (already 1000 users using 3CX and more coming).
The app is really good and just miss that feature. Could be a killing one..
 
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