I bought a Note 20 Ultra 5G outright and wanted to enable Smart Call features because the native phone dialer application allows features that are only available via subscription in the Verizon Call Filter application. The main one is that Smart Call will automatically redirect to voicemail for suspected spam calls. Currently I can only block phone numbers but that would never allow the caller to reach my voicemail and doesn't work for me.
I spoke with a Verizon Representative via chat and have the pictures of the conversation where they admit that the feature is disabled because they offer a Call Filter app and want us to use the Verizon Call Filter. We discussed that the native feature may not work through Verizon's server which is why the feature may be disabled but I quickly was able to download Hiya and it works and coincidentally Smart Call uses Hiya just enables premium features at no cost.
So why should we be restricted access to features that come free with the phone and be forced to just Verizon's overlay Call ID which uses battery and is much less seamless experience overall. Just because I want to buy a phone plan with Verizon shouldn't mean that I have to also buy your Call ID or have limited features.
If I chose to buy the unlocked version of the phone, I would be unable to use WiFi calling or HD Voice, so I had to buy the Verizon model for the same cost as the unlocked. So shouldn't my phone be able to do everything the other one can? Me having to buy the Verizon branded one to use WiFi calling and HD Voice is controlling enough and now this. What else can't my phone do that I don't even know about?!
So petition to have access to Smart Call and be able to undo any restrictions placed on my phone without my knowledge or permission, or to be able to subscribe to premium Caller ID at no cost since my phone should have these features built in.
