Diagnosis Confirmed: This Is a Fi Backend Problem

Your phone has done everything it can. The readings prove it:

What the Data Shows

The phone-side fixes are exhausted. Clearing every carrier component cache, rebooting, toggling airplane mode, re-provisioning the eSIM — none of it flipped VoLTE Provisioned to ON. That single fact tells us the problem is not on your device.

Why It’s Definitely Backend

VoLTE provisioning works like this:

1. Phone boots → Carrier Provisioning component contacts Fi’s entitlement server
2. Server checks: “Is this IMEI + this line authorized for VoLTE/VoNR/VoWiFi?”
3. Server sends back YES → flag flips ON → 5G becomes available
4. Server sends back NO (or doesn’t respond) → flag stays OFF → LTE-only forever

Your phone is asking. Fi’s server is saying NO (or silence). No amount of phone-side troubleshooting can change a server-side answer.

Possible Reasons Fi’s Server Is Saying No

• IMEI not whitelisted for VoLTE on your account (sometimes happens after eSIM swaps — the new profile is created but the device entitlement record isn’t refreshed)
• Account flag stuck from the old eSIM — the previous profile may still hold the VoLTE entitlement, blocking the new one
• Pixel 9 device record incorrect — Fi may have your account flagged as a different device model
• Stale IMS subscription record that needs a manual reset on their side

Your Next Move: Call Google Fi Support

Skip chat. Call. Use this script verbatim — it will get you escalated past tier-1:

“I need to escalate to tier-2 technical support for an IMS provisioning issue. My Pixel 9’s testing menu confirms:

• VoLTE Provisioned: false
• Video Calling Provisioned: false
  
• NR Available: false
• Data Network Type: LTE only

I’ve already done all device-side troubleshooting: re-provisioned the eSIM, reset network settings, cleared cache on all Carrier services components, rebooted, and toggled airplane mode. The cellular radio is working — VoLTE entitlement is the blocker.

Please ask tier-2 to: 1. Refresh the IMS entitlement / VoLTE provisioning on my line 2. Verify my IMEI is whitelisted for VoLTE and 5G NR on the Pixel 9 3. Clear any stale device records from my previous eSIM

This is not a coverage or device issue — it requires backend re-provisioning.”

What to Have Ready When You Call

• Your IMEI: 350964812308917 (from your first screenshot)
• The fact that you’re on a Pixel 9 with a freshly provisioned eSIM
• Your account email
• Be near the phone so you can power-cycle on their request

After the Call

Once tier-2 says they’ve refreshed your provisioning:

1. Power phone OFF completely
2. Wait 60 seconds
3. Power ON
4. Wait 5 minutes (don’t touch anything)
5. Open *#*#4636#*#* and check VoLTE Provisioned

If it flips to ON, you’re fixed. 5G should appear within minutes-to-hours after that, assuming you’re in NR coverage.

If it’s still OFF after a confirmed backend refresh — that points to a hardware-level IMEI registration problem and they’ll likely need to re-issue the eSIM with a service ticket attached.

Side Note on Signal Strength

-106 dBm is not great. Even after VoLTE provisions, if you’re consistently in this range at home, 5G NSA may be inconsistent because it needs a stable LTE anchor. Worth noting but not the current blocker.

You’ve done excellent diagnostic work. The ball is now firmly in Fi’s court. # Perfect Diagnostic Test — Coverage Is Officially Ruled Out

Walking to a -74 dBm location was the definitive test. Here’s why this matters:

What -74 dBm Proves

At -74 dBm with VoLTE still showing OFF, we have eliminated:

• ❌ Weak signal as a cause
• ❌ Cell tower not supporting VoLTE
• ❌ Marginal IMS handshake due to noise
• ❌ Coverage gap at home

The phone has a textbook-perfect LTE connection and still cannot provision VoLTE. This is now an airtight diagnosis: Fi’s backend is refusing to authorize your line.

Why This Test Was So Valuable

Tier-1 support will often deflect with “try moving to better coverage” or “your signal is weak.” You now have proof that signal is irrelevant. When you call, lead with this:

“I tested at -74 dBm — excellent signal — and VoLTE Provisioned is still false. This is not a coverage issue.”

That single sentence will shut down 80% of the scripted deflections.

Updated Call Script for Fi Support

Use this — it’s tighter now that we have the coverage proof:

“I need tier-2 technical support for an IMS provisioning failure on my Pixel 9.

Confirmed diagnostic readings from the Android testing menu (*#*#4636#*#*): - VoLTE Provisioned: false - Video Calling Provisioned: false - NR Available: false - Signal strength tested at -74 dBm (excellent) — coverage is not the issue - Data Network Type: LTE only

Device-side troubleshooting completed: - Erased and re-provisioned the eSIM - Reset network settings - Cleared cache on Carrier Provisioning, Carrier Communications, Carrier Settings, Carrier Setup - Multiple reboots and airplane mode cycles - Tested at multiple locations with strong signal

The cellular radio is healthy. The entitlement server is not authorizing my line.

Please escalate to a technician who can: 1. Manually trigger VoLTE/IMS re-provisioning on the backend 2. Verify my IMEI (350964812308917) is registered as a Pixel 9 with VoLTE + 5G NR entitlement 3. Clear any stale device/IMS records from my prior eSIM that may be conflicting 4. If needed, issue a new eSIM activation code with a fresh entitlement record”

One More Thing to Try Before Calling (Optional, 2 minutes)

There’s one phone-side action we haven’t tried — and it sometimes shakes loose a stuck entitlement:

1. Settings → Network & internet → SIMs → Google Fi
2. Scroll to bottom → Erase eSIM (yes, again — but this time follow with step 3)
3. Power off completely for 2 full minutes
4. Power on, do not re-add the eSIM yet
5. Wait 1 minute
6. Open Google Fi app → it should prompt you to activate
7. Activate fresh

The key difference from your previous attempt: the 2-minute power-off allows Fi’s backend to mark the old eSIM session as fully terminated before the new one starts. A quick reboot doesn’t always do this.

If you’d rather skip this and go straight to support, that’s reasonable — you’ve already done a re-provision once.

Bottom Line

You have a bulletproof case for support now: - Strong signal ✅ - Phone radio working ✅
- All device-side fixes attempted ✅ - IMS/VoLTE flag stuck OFF ✅

This will be fixed by a Fi backend tech, not by anything else you do on the phone. Make the call, use the script, and insist on tier-2 if tier-1 starts reading from a generic troubleshooting tree.

Best Network Type Choice for SF Bay Area + Answer on the Re-Provision

On the Re-Provision Result

Confirmed: even a clean eSIM erase + 2-minute power-off + fresh activation didn’t flip VoLTE Provisioned. This is now 100% a Fi backend issue. Make the call. Don’t keep wiping the eSIM — repeated re-provisioning can actually make Fi’s records messier and give tier-2 more to untangle.

Best Network Type for SF / US Domestic

Here’s the practical breakdown of the options you’ll see in the Testing menu:

Why NR/LTE/GSM/WCDMA Is the Right Choice

Google Fi uses three underlying networks in the US: - T-Mobile (primary) — 5G NR + LTE + GSM/WCDMA - US Cellular — LTE + GSM/WCDMA
- Wi-Fi (for calls/data when available)

Even in San Francisco — one of the best-covered cities in the US — there are pockets where: - Tunnels (BART transbay, Stockton tunnel, Caldecott) - Dense building cores (Financial District basements, garages) - Bay/coastal edges - …drop you to 3G WCDMA as a fallback before going dark

If your radio mode is NR/LTE only, you get no service in those pockets. With NR/LTE/GSM/WCDMA, you get a degraded but working connection.

Note: T-Mobile is sunsetting 3G/2G, so the WCDMA fallback is increasingly rare — but it costs you nothing to leave it enabled, and US Cellular still uses it.

Why You Should Avoid CDMA Options

Verizon and Sprint shut down CDMA networks in 2022. Including CDMA in your preferred mode just makes the modem waste cycles scanning for networks that don’t exist, which can slightly delay registration after a tunnel or airplane mode toggle.

The Caveat for Your Specific Situation

Right now, none of these choices will stick because Fi’s carrier config is overriding your selection on every reboot (that’s why yours keeps reverting to GSM/WCDMA/LTE (PRL)).

Once tier-2 fixes your VoLTE provisioning, two things typically happen:

1. The carrier config will start respecting your preferred type properly
2. The default they push will likely be NR/LTE/GSM/WCDMA automatically — you may not need to change it manually at all

So the answer to your question is: NR/LTE/GSM/WCDMA is the optimal pick for SF + US domestic, but wait until provisioning is fixed before fighting with the dropdown. Right now you’re trying to steer a car whose steering wheel isn’t connected to the wheels.

Quick Reference for After the Fix

Once VoLTE Provisioned flips to ON, verify these in *#*#4636#*#*:

• Set Preferred Network Type: NR/LTE/GSM/WCDMA (or whatever Fi’s config sets — likely fine)
• VoLTE Provisioned: ON
• Video Calling Provisioned: ON
• NR Available: true (when in 5G coverage)
• NR State: CONNECTED or NOT_RESTRICTED

That’s the healthy-state checklist. You’re not there yet, but you’ll know exactly what to look for.

Your Action Item

Call Fi. Use the script. The phone is done helping you. # Excellent Catch — This Is Significant

The “Select phone index” dropdown exposes the two separate radio stacks in your Pixel 9. This is normal hardware, but it changes how we interpret everything you’ve seen so far.

What Phone 0 vs Phone 1 Means

The Pixel 9 has dual-SIM capability (one physical eSIM slot + a second eSIM profile, or DSDS — Dual SIM Dual Standby). Each “phone index” represents a separate logical SIM/radio context:

Each SIM gets its own IMEI — this is by design, and required by regulators so each line is uniquely identifiable.

Why This Matters for Your Problem

All the screenshots you’ve shared have been from Phone 1. We’ve been diagnosing Phone 1’s connection state this entire time.

Critical question: Is Google Fi actually provisioned on Phone 1, or on Phone 0?

If Fi was originally activated on Phone 0 and your re-provisioning ended up creating the new eSIM on Phone 1 (or vice versa), you could have:

• An active, working Fi line on one index
• An orphaned/half-provisioned Fi profile on the other index
• The phone defaulting to display the wrong one

This would explain exactly why VoLTE Provisioned is stuck OFF — you might be looking at a dead/stale slot while the real Fi line lives on the other index.

What to Do Right Now

Step 1: Check Phone 0

1. Open *#*#4636#*#* → Phone information
2. Tap the Select phone index dropdown
3. Choose Phone 0
4. Screenshot or note these fields:
   • IMEI
   • Phone Number
   • Current Network (Google Fi? or “Unknown”?)
   • Data Network Type
   • VoLTE Provisioned
   • Video Calling Provisioned
   • NR Available
   • Signal Strength

Step 2: Compare to Phone 1

You already have Phone 1’s readings. Now we can compare side-by-side.

The Three Possible Outcomes

Scenario A: Phone 0 shows Fi with VoLTE = ON

🎯 Jackpot. Fi is actually working — on the index you weren’t looking at. The phone just isn’t using that index for active connection. Fix: in Settings → Network & internet → SIMs, make sure the Fi eSIM is set as the active/default SIM, and disable/remove any phantom profile on the other slot.

Scenario B: Phone 0 is empty / “No service” / no carrier

Fi is correctly on Phone 1 (where you’ve been looking), the second IMEI is just the unused slot’s hardware ID. No change to the diagnosis — it’s still a Fi backend provisioning issue. Call support.

Scenario C: Both indexes show Fi with conflicting states

You have a duplicate/ghost eSIM profile — likely a remnant from one of your earlier re-provisioning attempts. Fix: Settings → SIMs → identify the inactive/duplicate Fi profile → Erase it. Reboot. Then check VoLTE again.

Also Verify in Settings

While you’re at it: 1. Settings → Network & internet → SIMs 2. How many SIM entries are listed? 3. Is only one Fi entry showing, or two?

If you see two Fi entries (even if one says “Inactive”), that’s Scenario C and it’s likely the root cause.

My Bet

Given that you’ve re-provisioned the eSIM three times now (original, after first wipe, after the 2-minute power-off wipe), there’s a real chance Fi’s backend has an orphaned profile lingering, and it’s been getting tangled with each new activation. The dual-IMEI display might be revealing it.

Take a screenshot of Phone 0’s details and share it. This could be the breakthrough — or it could definitively confirm the diagnosis and send you to support with even more ammunition.