[Realme GT Neo 2] BigLefty:
Hello all! I've posted on some other forms but never really had much luck. Sorry if this is a bit long. So I've had foreign phones here in the US for over 7 years now. Never had an issue until now. I have a Realme Gt Neo 2 5G which is global and unlocked. So about 8 months ago I purchased this phone from a friend. He's had multiple foreign phones and so have I in the past. I do automation and robotics for a living so I stay pretty up to date on tech. My previous phone was a Huawei which I had for several years with no issue. When I bought the phone off of him he informed me that he was using straight talk and had been for a few years. So I figured that I would do the same because I knew that we had a better chance of using straight talk, T-mobile, or AT&T with foreign devices. I went out and purchased the exact same sim card he did and registered the phone with no issue. When I activated the phone though I noticed within the first few days I was having issues with calling. My phone showed that I had full 5G but when I would make a call that would immediately change to just a few bars and did not sound too clear. I also noticed that in the town I live in I had full 5G almost everywhere, but every time I did any kind of testing I was only running at about 10% of 5G speed. I contacted him with my concerns so he came over to troubleshoot with me. Here's where things get weird. I also don't have access to turn on VOLTE or VOWIFI. We took my sim card out and put his in, keep in mind these are the same sim card with the same company. Upon putting his sim card into my phone he was immediately able to make calls with VOLTE while sitting in my driveway while I was not. We also ran a speed test with his sim and he was able to get full 5G speed. This was confusing to both of us. This guy is way more into phones than I am and probably has around five foreign phones at all times none of which had ever given him an issue with straight talk. I did a bit of research but eventually decided to go with AT&T to try them instead. I had heard they were more compatible with foreign phones. As soon as I switched to AT&T there was no change whatsoever. I tried calling tech support several times to resolve the issue with my speed and VOLTE but to no avail. I then tried Google FI, and no change. By this Point I've done hours and hours of research. I am currently using T-mobile. I heard after they shut down all of the 3G network and AT&T blacklisted a bunch of brands that T-mobile was my best shot. Keep in mind that several of my friends are still using foreign phones and using straight talk or T-mobile with no issues whatsoever.

I really like this phone and would love to be able to use it to its full capability so here's my current situation. If I show that I have full service of 5G and I attempt to make a call, 50% of the time it will make the call and if it does I can only stay in one location or else the call will drop. If it does make the call I go from full service 5G to a bunch of white bars. NO VOLTE, never has for me and the quality is not good. For instance, if I'm driving down the interstate and I make a call I have never had a phone call last over 2 minutes. If I don't move location I can hold a phone call indefinitely. The moment I hang up my phone immediately shows I have full 5G again. I've seen a few people talk about rooting the phone and installing third party software hoping that it will work, but I guess I'm trying to see if there is another option. The most confusing thing is how flawless it works with the guy I bought it from but not for me no matter what carrier I have chosen. All we did was switch sims and it's like it's instantly fixed. Also even if I have full 5G and someone calls me there's about a 50% chance it will go to voicemail and I will not even be alerted about the call. My friends have even called me in the same room when I have full service and my phone doesn't even light up and it goes to voicemail. So Irritated by this and hoping for any advice.

Thanks everyone!!