Communication method and apparatus, communication device, communication system, and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a communication method and apparatus, a device, and a storage medium. The communication method comprises: when a terminal accesses a first network by using Non-3GPP, the terminal receives at least one of first information, second information, third information, or fourth information, wherein the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information respectively indicate whether a network device supports a first handover, a second handover, a third handover, or a fourth handover; the first handover comprises: the terminal is handed over from accessing the first network by using the Non-3GPP to accessing the first network by using 3GPP; the second handover comprises: the terminal is handed over from accessing the first network by using the Non-3GPP to accessing a second network by using 3GPP, the second network being a network other than the first network; the third handover comprises: the terminal is handed over from accessing the second network by using the Non-3GPP to accessing the first network by using 3GPP; and the fourth handover comprises: the terminal is handed over from accessing the second network by using the Non-3GPP to accessing the second network by using 3GPP. The present disclosure improves the success rate of switching from a Non-3GPP access technology to a 3GPP access technology, and ensures the communication quality.

Description

Communication method and device, communication equipment, communication system, and storage medium Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to communication methods and devices, communication equipment, communication systems, and storage media. Background Art

[0002] In a communication system, a terminal may access the network through a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access technology or through a non-3GPP access technology.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides a communication method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0005] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, including:

[0006] When the terminal accesses the first network using a non-3GPP access technology, the terminal receives at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information sent by the network device;

[0007] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0008] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0009] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0010] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0011] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is proposed, including:

[0012] When the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology, the network device sends at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal;

[0013] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0014] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0015] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0016] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0017] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided for use in a communication system, the communication system including a terminal and a network device, the method including at least one of the following:

[0018] When the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology, the network device sends at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal;

[0019] When the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal receives at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information sent by the network device;

[0020] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0021] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0022] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0023] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0024] According to a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal is provided, including:

[0025] a receiving module, configured to receive at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information sent by the network device when the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology;

[0026] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0027] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0028] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0029] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0030] According to a fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a network device is provided, including:

[0031] a sending module, configured to send at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal when the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology;

[0032] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0033] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0034] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0035] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0036] According to a sixth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided, including:

[0037] one or more processors;

[0038] The processor is used to call instructions to enable the communication device to execute the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0039] According to the seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a communication system is proposed, characterized in that it includes a terminal and a network device, wherein the terminal is configured to implement the communication method described in the first aspect, and the network device is configured to implement the communication method described in the second aspect.

[0040] According to an eighth aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a storage medium is proposed, which stores instructions, and is characterized in that when the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the communication method described in the first aspect or the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and readily understood from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0042] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of some communication systems provided by embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0043] 2A-2C are interactive diagrams of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0044] 3A-3D are flowcharts of a communication method provided in yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0045] 4A-4C are flowcharts of a communication method provided in yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0046] FIG5A is a flow chart of a communication method provided in yet another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0047] FIG5B is a schematic diagram illustrating interaction of switching capability information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0048] FIG5C is an interactive diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0049] FIG6A is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0050] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0051] FIG7A is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0052] FIG7B is a schematic structural diagram of a chip provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method and apparatus, a communication device, a communication system, and a storage medium.

[0054] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, which is executed by a terminal. The method includes:

[0055] When the terminal accesses the first network using a non-3GPP access technology, the terminal receives at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information sent by the network device;

[0056] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0057] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0058] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0059] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0060] In the above embodiment, when the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the first network, the network device will send at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information to the terminal, wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the terminal supports switching from accessing the first network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology, the second information is used to indicate whether the terminal supports switching from accessing the first network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using 3GPP access technology, the third information is used to indicate whether the terminal supports switching from accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology, and the fourth information is used to indicate whether the terminal supports switching from accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using 3GPP access technology. It can be seen that the network device will inform the terminal of the network device's support for the process of "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology" by sending at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal, so that the terminal can know the switching capability of the network device. The switching capability is: whether the network device supports "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology". Therefore, when the terminal currently uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the network, if the terminal determines that it currently needs to switch to 3GPP access technology, the terminal can refer to the switching capability of the network device to determine whether the terminal currently needs to perform the process of "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology". Among them, when the network device supports "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology", the terminal can refer to the switching capability of the network device to determine whether the terminal currently needs to perform the process of "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology". -3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology", the terminal will determine to execute the process of "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology", otherwise, the terminal will determine not to execute the process of "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology", thereby avoiding the situation that "due to the terminal's inability to know the switching capability of the network it is currently accessing, the terminal determines to execute the process of switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology when the network currently accessed by the terminal does not support "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology", resulting in switching failure, resulting in call drop and bearer link disconnection", thereby improving the success rate of switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology and ensuring communication quality.

[0061] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN;

[0062] The second network is a fourth generation mobile communication system 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC.

[0063] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC;

[0064] The second network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN.

[0065] In the above embodiment, the method disclosed herein can be applied to situations where a terminal uses 3GPP access technology to access a 4G network or a 5G network, and thus has a wider scope of application.

[0066] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes at least one of the following:

[0067] The first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and / or the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the first handover or the second handover;

[0068] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing the second handover. If the terminal is in an idle state, when the terminal needs to access a network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal registers with the first network and re-registers with the first network or the second network through the 3GPP access technology.

[0069] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first handover, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second handover, and when the third information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the third handover, and / or the fourth information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the fourth handover, if the terminal is in a connected state, the terminal uses the Non-3GPP access technology to switch to the second network, and when the terminal needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the third handover or the fourth handover

[0070] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first switching, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second switching, the third information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the third switching, and the fourth information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the fourth switching. If the terminal is in a connected state, when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal registers with the first network and re-registers to the first network or the second network through 3GPP access technology, and / or reduces the priority of the first service, which is the service performed when accessing the first network or the second network using Non-3GPP access technology.

[0071] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first service includes a voice VoWiFi service based on a wireless fidelity network.

[0072] In the above embodiment, a method is provided for a terminal to determine whether to perform the first handover, the second handover, the third handover, and the fourth handover based on at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information, so that the terminal can successfully perform the first handover, the second handover, the third handover, and the fourth handover, and avoid the situation where "the terminal performs the first handover, the second handover, the third handover, and the fourth handover when the network device does not support the first handover, the second handover, the third handover, and the fourth handover", thereby ensuring the success rate of the first handover, the second handover, the third handover, and the fourth handover, improving the success rate of switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology, and ensuring communication quality. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal's execution of the first handover, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal's execution of the second handover, the third information indicates that the network device does not support the third handover, and the fourth information indicates that the network device does not support the fourth handover, if the terminal needs to access the network via 3GPP access technology, a terminal processing method is also provided, namely: the terminal can deregister with the first network and reregister with the first network or the second network via 3GPP access technology, and / or the terminal can lower the priority of a first service, which is a service executed when accessing the first network or the second network using a non-3GPP access technology. This provides a method for how the terminal specifically uses 3GPP access technology to access the network when the network device does not support the first, second, third, or fourth handovers, and the terminal currently needs to access the network via 3GPP access technology. This ensures that the terminal can access the network via 3GPP access technology in a timely manner when it needs to, thereby ensuring communication quality.

[0073] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, performed by a network device, comprising at least one of the following:

[0074] When the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology, the network device sends at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal;

[0075] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0076] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0077] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0078] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0079] In the above embodiment, when the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the first network, the network device will send at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information to the terminal, wherein the first information is used to indicate whether the terminal supports switching from accessing the first network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology, the second information is used to indicate whether the terminal supports switching from accessing the first network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using 3GPP access technology, the third information is used to indicate whether the terminal supports switching from accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using 3GPP access technology, and the fourth information is used to indicate whether the terminal supports switching from accessing the second network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using 3GPP access technology. It can be seen that the network device will inform the terminal of the network device's support for the process of "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology" by sending at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal, so that the terminal can know the switching capability of the network device. The switching capability is: whether the network device supports "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology". Therefore, when the terminal currently uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the network, if the terminal determines that it currently needs to switch to 3GPP access technology, the terminal can refer to the switching capability of the network device to determine whether the terminal currently needs to perform the process of "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology". Among them, when the network device supports "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology", the terminal can refer to the switching capability of the network device to determine whether the terminal currently needs to perform the process of "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology". -3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology", the terminal will determine to execute the process of "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology", otherwise, the terminal will determine not to execute the process of "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology", thereby avoiding the situation that "due to the terminal's inability to know the switching capability of the network it is currently accessing, the terminal determines to execute the process of switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology when the network currently accessed by the terminal does not support "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology", resulting in switching failure, resulting in call drop and bearer link disconnection", thereby improving the success rate of switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology and ensuring communication quality.

[0080] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN;

[0081] The second network is a fourth generation mobile communication system 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC.

[0082] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC;

[0083] The second network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN.

[0084] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method for a communication system, wherein the communication system includes a terminal and a network device, and the method includes at least one of the following:

[0085] When the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology, the network device sends at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal;

[0086] When the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal receives at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information sent by the network device;

[0087] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0088] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0089] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0090] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0091] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a terminal, including:

[0092] a receiving module, configured to receive at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information sent by the network device when the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology;

[0093] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0094] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0095] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0096] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0097] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a fifth generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN;

[0098] The second network is a fourth generation mobile communication system 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC.

[0099] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC;

[0100] The second network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN.

[0101] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the terminal is further used for at least one of the following:

[0102] The first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and / or the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the first handover or the second handover;

[0103] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing the second handover. If the terminal is in an idle state, when the terminal needs to access a network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal registers with the first network and re-registers with the first network or the second network through the 3GPP access technology.

[0104] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing a second handover, and when the third information indicates that the network device supports the terminal performing a third handover, and / or the fourth information indicates that the network device supports the terminal performing a fourth handover, if the terminal is in a connected state, the terminal uses a non-3GPP access technology to switch access to the second network, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the third handover or the fourth handover;

[0105] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first switching, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second switching, the third information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the third switching, and the fourth information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the fourth switching. If the terminal is in a connected state, when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal registers with the first network and re-registers to the first network or the second network through 3GPP access technology, and / or reduces the priority of the first service, which is the service performed when accessing the first network or the second network using Non-3GPP access technology.

[0106] In combination with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first service includes a voice VoWiFi service based on a wireless fidelity network.

[0107] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a network device, including:

[0108] a sending module, configured to send at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal when the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology;

[0109] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0110] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0111] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0112] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0113] With reference to some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN;

[0114] The second network is a fourth generation mobile communication system 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC.

[0115] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fifth aspect, in some embodiments, the first network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC;

[0116] The second network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN.

[0117] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication device, which includes: one or more processors; one or more memories for storing instructions; wherein the processor is used to call the instructions so that the communication device executes the communication method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0118] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a communication system, which includes: a terminal and a network device; wherein the terminal is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect and the optional implementation of the first aspect, and the network device is configured to execute the method described in the second aspect and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0119] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a storage medium, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the communication method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0120] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a program product. When the program product is executed by a communication device, the communication device executes the communication method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0121] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the communication method described in the first aspect, the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, and the optional implementation of the second aspect.

[0122] It is understandable that the above-mentioned terminals, network devices, communication devices, communication systems, storage media, program products, and computer programs are all used to execute the methods proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the beneficial effects of the corresponding methods and will not be repeated here.

[0123] The present disclosure provides invention titles. In some embodiments, the terms "communication method" and "information processing method," "information sending method," and "information receiving method" are interchangeable; the terms "communication device" and "information processing device," "information sending device," and "information receiving device" are interchangeable; and the terms "information processing system," "communication system," "information sending system," and "information receiving system" are interchangeable.

[0124] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive and are merely illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional implementation methods in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined. For example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0125] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or provided for by logic, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0126] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0127] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified, elements expressed in the singular, such as "a", "an", "the", "above", "said", "the", "the", etc., may mean "one and only one", or "one or more", "at least one", etc. For example, when using articles such as "a", "an", "the" in English in translation, the noun following the article may be understood as a singular expression or a plural expression.

[0128] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

[0129] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one of", "at least one of", "at least one of", "one or more", "a plurality of", "multiple", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0130] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, descriptions such as “at least one of A, B, C…”, “A and / or B and / or C…”, etc. include the situation where any one of A, B, C… exists alone, and also include any combination of any multiple of A, B, C…, and each situation can exist alone; for example, “at least one of A, B, C” includes the situation where A exists alone, B exists alone, C exists alone, the combination of A and B, the combination of A and C, the combination of B and C, and the combination of A, B, and C; for example, A and / or B includes the situation where A exists alone, B exists alone, and the combination of A and B.

[0131] In some embodiments, descriptions such as "in one case A, in another case B," or "in response to one case A, in response to another case B," may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: executing A independently of B (in some embodiments, A); executing B independently of A (in some embodiments, B); selectively executing A and B (in some embodiments, selecting between A and B); and executing both A and B (in some embodiments, A and B). The same applies when there are more branches, such as A, B, and C.

[0132] The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects and do not constitute any restriction on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description object, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restriction should be constituted due to the use of prefixes. For example, if the description object is a "field", the ordinal number before the "field" in the "first field" and the "second field" does not limit the position or order between the "fields". "First" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of the "first field" and the "second field". For another example, if the description object is a "level", the ordinal number before the "level" in the "first level" and the "second level" does not limit the priority between the "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by the ordinal number and can be one or more. Taking "first device" as an example, the number of "devices" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", then the "first device" and the "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different; for another example, if the description object is "information", then the "first information" and the "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their contents can be the same or different.

[0133] In some embodiments, “including A,” “comprising A,” “used to indicate A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0134] In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to...", "in response to determining...", "in the case of...", "at the time of...", "when...", "if...", "if...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0135] In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not less than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

[0136] In some embodiments, devices, etc. can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. Terms such as "device", "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", and "subject" can be used interchangeably.

[0137] In some embodiments, "network" can be interpreted as devices included in the network (eg, access network equipment, core network equipment, etc.).

[0138] In some embodiments, the terms "access network device (AN device)", "radio access network device (RAN device)", "base station (BS)", "radio base station" "fixed station", "node", "access point", "transmission point (TP)", "reception point (RP)", "transmission / reception point (TRP)", "panel", "antenna panel", "antenna array", "cell", "macro cell", "small cell", "femto cell", "pico cell", "sector", "cell group", "carrier", "component carrier", "bandwidth part (BWP)" and the like may be used interchangeably.

[0139] In some embodiments, the terms "terminal", "terminal device", "user equipment (UE)", "user terminal", "mobile station (MS)", "mobile terminal (MT)", subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0140] In some embodiments, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device can be replaced by a terminal. For example, the various embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied to a structure in which the communication between the access network device, the core network device, or the network device and the terminal is replaced by communication between multiple terminals (for example, it can also be called device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, it can also be set as a structure in which the terminal has all or part of the functions of the access network device. In addition, language such as "uplink" and "downlink" can also be replaced by language corresponding to communication between terminals (for example, "side"). For example, uplink channels, downlink channels, etc. can be replaced by side channels, and uplinks, downlinks, etc. can be replaced by side links.

[0141] In some embodiments, the terminal may be replaced by an access network device, a core network device, or a network device. In this case, the access network device, the core network device, or the network device may have a structure that has all or part of the functions of the terminal.

[0142] In some embodiments, obtaining data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

[0143] In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0144] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any elements, any rows, and any columns can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0145] The correspondences shown in the tables of the present disclosure can be configured or predefined. The values ​​of the information in each table are merely examples and can be configured to other values, which are not limited by the present disclosure. When configuring the correspondences between information and parameters, it is not necessarily required to configure all the correspondences shown in each table. For example, in the tables of the present disclosure, the correspondences shown in certain rows may not be configured. For another example, appropriate deformation adjustments can be made based on the above tables, such as splitting, merging, etc. The names of the parameters shown in the titles of the above tables may also adopt other names that can be understood by the communication device, and the values ​​or representations of the parameters may also adopt other values ​​or representations that can be understood by the communication device. When implementing the above tables, other data structures may also be used, such as arrays, queues, containers, stacks, linear lists, pointers, linked lists, trees, graphs, structures, classes, heaps, hash tables or hash tables, etc.

[0146] The predefined in the present disclosure may be understood as defined, predefined, stored, pre-stored, pre-negotiated, pre-configured, solidified, or pre-burned.

[0147] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 may include at least one of a network device 101 and a terminal 102. The network device 101 may include at least one of an access network device and a core network device.

[0148] In some embodiments, the terminal includes, for example, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device, a car with communication function, a smart car, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self-driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, and at least one of a wireless terminal device in a smart home, but is not limited thereto.

[0149] In some embodiments, the access network device is, for example, a node or device that accesses a terminal to a wireless network. The access network device may include an evolved NodeB (eNB), a next generation evolved NodeB (ng-eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a node B (NB), a home node B (HNB), a home evolved nodeB (HeNB), a wireless backhaul device, a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base band unit (BBU), a mobile switching center, a base station in a 6G communication system, an open base station (Open RAN), a cloud base station (Cloud RAN), a base station in other communication systems, and at least one of an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, but is not limited thereto.

[0150] In some embodiments, the technical solution of the present disclosure can be applied to the Open RAN architecture. In this case, the interfaces between or within the access network devices involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be transformed into internal interfaces of Open RAN, and the processes and information interactions between these internal interfaces can be implemented through software or programs.

[0151] In some embodiments, the access network device can be composed of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), where the CU can also be called a control unit. The CU-DU structure can be used to split the protocol layer of the access network device, with the functions of some protocol layers centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers distributed in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU, but is not limited to this.

[0152] In some embodiments, the core network device may be a device including one or more network elements, or may be multiple devices or a group of devices, each including all or part of one or more network elements. The network element may be virtual or physical. The core network, for example, includes at least one of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), and a Next Generation Core (NGC). Alternatively, the core network device may also be a location management function network element. Exemplarily, the location management function network element includes a location server (location server), which may be implemented as any one of the following: Location Management Function (LMF), Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Centre (E-SMLC), Secure User Plane Location (SUPL), and Secure User Plane Location Platform (SUPLLP).

[0153] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0154] The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in Figure 1, or a portion thereof, but are not limited thereto. The entities shown in Figure 1 are illustrative only. The communication system may include all or part of the entities shown in Figure 1, or may include other entities outside of Figure 1. The number and form of the entities may be arbitrary. The connection relationship between the entities is illustrative only. The entities may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, including direct or indirect, wired or wireless.

[0155] The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G new radio (NR), future radio access (FRA), new radio access technology (RAT), new radio (NR), new radio access (NX), future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) networks, Device-to-Device (D2D) systems, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), systems utilizing other communication methods, and next-generation systems based on and extending these methods. Furthermore, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A with 5G).

[0156] Optionally, when the terminal accesses the network through the Non-3GPP access technology, it can implement a voice over WIreless-FIdelity (VoWiFi) service based on a wireless fidelity network. The VoWiFi service can be understood as voice communication based on a WiFi network, for example. When the terminal accesses the network through the 3GPP access technology, it can implement a voice over New Radio (VoNR) service based on a new air interface network or a voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) service based on a long-term evolution network. When the terminal accesses the LTE network through the 3GPP access technology, the VoLTE service can be implemented, and when the terminal accesses the NR network through the 3GPP access technology, the VoNR service can be implemented. Optionally, the VoNR service and the VoLTE service can be understood as communication based on cellular technology, for example.

[0157] Optionally, when a terminal accesses a network through a Non-3GPP access technology, in some cases the terminal may need to switch to accessing the network through a 3GPP access technology, wherein the terminal may determine whether to switch from the Non-3GPP access technology to the 3GPP access technology. For example, when a terminal accesses a network through a Non-3GPP access technology, if the terminal is currently executing a VoWiFi service, at this time, when the WiFi signal of the network accessed by the terminal through the Non-3GPP access technology is not good, it will affect the voice communication quality of the VoWiFi service. The terminal will determine that the access technology needs to be switched from the Non-3GPP access technology to the 3GPP access technology, so as to avoid using the VoWiFi service for voice communication, and smoothly and seamlessly switch to using the VoNR service or the VoLTE service for voice communication. Alternatively, when the terminal accesses the network through Non-3GPP access technology, if the terminal is currently executing the VoWiFi service, at this time, when the terminal moves to an environment with only cellular signals, the terminal can only perform voice communication through the VoNR service or the VoLTE service. The terminal determines that the access technology needs to be switched from the Non-3GPP access technology to the 3GPP access technology in order to smoothly and seamlessly switch to using the VoNR service or the VoLTE service for voice communication.

[0158] However, in the communication system, the network may not support the process of "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology", and the terminal cannot know whether the network it is currently accessing supports "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology". It may happen that the network the terminal is currently accessing does not support "switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology", but the terminal is determined to switch from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology, and executes the process of switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology. This may cause switching failure, resulting in dropped calls, bearer link disconnection and other phenomena, affecting the quality of voice communication.

[0159] FIG2A is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for use in a communication system 100, the method comprising:

[0160] Step 2101: When the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access (e.g., initial access) a 5G network, the network device sends at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information.

[0161] Optionally, when the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access (for example, initial access) a 5G network, it can be understood that the terminal resides on VoWiFi under 5G SA (Standalone, independent networking).

[0162] Optionally, in some embodiments, the 5G network may be, for example, an NR network, and the 5G network may include a 5G Core Network (5GCN). The above-mentioned "terminal accesses the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology" may include, for example: the terminal uses a non-3GPP InterWorking Function (N3IWF) to access the 5GCN, and / or, establishes an Internet Protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) packet data network (PDN) connection between the terminal and the N3IWF, and establishes an IMS PDN connection between the N3IWF and the 5GCN.

[0163] Optionally, the network device may send at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal, and the terminal receives at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information.

[0164] Optionally, the first information can be used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first switch; the first switch may include: the terminal switches from accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology; optionally, "accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology" may include: the terminal accesses the network element in the 5GCN (such as the AMF network element, etc.) through the N1 interface or the N2 interface, and establishes an IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the 5GCN. It should be noted that the difference between "the terminal accesses the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology" and "the terminal accesses the 5G network using 3GPP access technology" here is that: "the terminal accesses the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology" means that the terminal accesses the 5G network through the N3IWF, while "the terminal accesses the 5G network using 3GPP access technology" means that the terminal establishes a link with the 5GCN, but the terminal does not establish a link with the 5GCN through the N3IWF. Based on this, optionally, in the embodiment of FIG2B , the first handover may also be referred to as: handing over the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the N3IWF to the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the 5GCN, or as: handing over the IMS PDN connection of the terminal from the N3IWF to the 5GCN. Optionally, the first information may be named, for example, HO_N3IWF_5GC.

[0165] Optionally, the second information can be used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover may include: the terminal switches from accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using 3GPP access technology; optionally, the 4G network mentioned in the present disclosure may be, for example, an LTE network, which may include a 4G core network (Evolved Packet Core, EPC), and optionally, the terminal accessing the 4G network using 3GPP access technology may include: the terminal establishing a link with the EPC, and / or, establishing an IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the EPC. Based on this, optionally, in the embodiment of Figure 2B, the above-mentioned second handover may also be referred to as: switching the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the N3IWF to the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the EPC, or as: switching the IMS PDN connection of the terminal from the N3IWF to the EPC. Optionally, the second information may be named, for example: HO_N3IWF_EPC.

[0166] Optionally, the third information can be used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third switching; the third switching may include: the terminal switches from accessing the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology; optionally, "the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the 4G network" may include, for example: the terminal uses an enhanced packet data gateway (evolution Packet Data Gateway, ePDG) to access the EPC, and / or, establishes an IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the ePDG, and establishes an IMS PDN connection between the ePDG and the EPC; it should be noted that the difference between "the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the 4G network" here and the aforementioned "the terminal uses 3GPP access technology to access the 4G network" is that: "the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the 4G network" means that the terminal accesses the EPC through the ePDG, while "the terminal uses 3GPP access technology to access the 4G network" means that the terminal establishes a link with the EPC, but the terminal does not establish a link with the EPC through the ePDG. Based on this, optionally, in the embodiment of FIG2B , the third handover can also be referred to as: handing over the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the ePDG to the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the 5GCN, or as: handing over the terminal's IMS PDN connection from the ePDG to the 5GCN. Optionally, the third information can be named, for example, HO_ePDG_5GC.

[0167] Optionally, the fourth information may be used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal performing a fourth handover; the fourth handover may include: the terminal switching from accessing the 4G network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using a 3GPP access technology. Optionally, in the embodiment of Figure 2B, the fourth handover may also be referred to as: switching the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the ePDG to the IMS PDN connection between the terminal and the EPC, or as: switching the terminal's IMS PDN connection from the ePDG to the EPC. Optionally, the fourth information may be named, for example, HO_ePDG_EPC.

[0168] Optionally, the above-mentioned first information, second information, third information, and fourth information can all be N bit codes, where N is a positive integer, wherein when the first information is a first value (such as 1), it can indicate that the network device supports the terminal to perform the first switching, and when the first information is a second value (such as 0), it can indicate that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first switching; when the second information is a first value (such as 1), it can indicate that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second switching, and when the second information is a second value (such as 0), it can indicate that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second switching; when the third information is a first value (such as 1), it can indicate that the network device supports the terminal to perform the third switching, and when the third information is a second value (such as 0), it can indicate that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the third switching; when the fourth information is a first value (such as 1), it can indicate that the network device supports the terminal to perform the fourth switching, and when the fourth information is a second value (such as 0), it can indicate that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the fourth switching.

[0169] Optionally, in some embodiments, the network device may send at least one of the above-mentioned first information, second information, third information, and fourth information to the terminal via a first message. Optionally, the first message may be, for example, IKE_SA_INIT, but is not limited thereto. When the first message is IKE_SA_INIT, at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information may be carried in the payload notification (Payload Notify) of IKE_SA_INIT.

[0170] Optionally, in some embodiments, since the switching capabilities supported by networks in different regions are different, or the switching capabilities supported by networks in the same region may change over time, each time the terminal accesses the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology, the network device will update and send at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information to the terminal to ensure that at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information obtained by the terminal indicates the latest switching capability of the current network, and thus when the terminal subsequently performs related operations based on at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information, accuracy can be ensured.

[0171] Step 2102: When the terminal determines that it needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal determines the method for accessing the network through the 3GPP access technology based on at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information.

[0172] Optionally, the aforementioned "needing to access the network via 3GPP access technology" may include, but is not limited to, the following: the terminal is currently performing a VoWiFi service based on WiFi technology via a 5G network, the current WiFi signal is poor, or the terminal moves to an environment where only cellular signals are available. For details on this part, please refer to the description before the embodiment of Figure 2A.

[0173] In some embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the first switching, and / or the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second switching (for example, it can be understood as: when VoWiFi is resident under SA, HO_N3IWF_EPC / HO_N3IWF_5GC supports), it means that the network device supports the terminal to switch from accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology, and / or, the network device supports the terminal to switch from accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using 3GPP access technology. At this time, when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal can perform the first switching or the second switching to switch from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology, thereby enabling the terminal to switch from VoWiFi service based on WiFi technology to VoLTE service or VoNR service based on cellular technology, so as to ensure that voice communication can continue smoothly and ensure the quality of voice communication. Optionally, in some embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device supports the first handover, if the terminal needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the first handover; when the second information indicates that the network device supports the second handover, if the terminal needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the second handover; when the first information indicates that the network device supports the first handover and the second information indicates that the network device supports the second handover, if the terminal needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the first handover or the second handover. The method for the terminal to perform the first handover may include: the terminal may first release the connection with the N3IWF (for example, the aforementioned IMS PDN connection) and release the connection between the N3IWF and the 5GCN. After that, the terminal may establish a connection with the 5G network through the N1 interface or the N2 interface based on the 3GPP access technology, such as establishing a connection with a network element in the 5G network (such as an AMF network element, a UPF network element, etc.), thereby achieving a switch from accessing the 5G network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using the 3GPP access technology. The method for the terminal to perform the second switching may include: the terminal may first release the connection between the terminal and the N3IWF, and release the connection between the N3IWF and the 5GCN. After that, the terminal may establish a connection with the 4G network based on the 3GPP access technology (such as the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), thereby realizing the switching from accessing the 5G network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using the 3GPP access technology.

[0174] In other embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the first switching, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the second switching, if the terminal is in an idle state (for example, it can be understood that when VoWiFi is resident under SA, HO_N3IWF_EPC and HO_N3IWF_5GC are not supported, and the terminal is in an idle state), at this time, when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal can register for the 5G network and re-register to the 5G network or 4G network through 3GPP access technology to initiate VoNR service or VoLTE service; optionally, the terminal here de-registers with the 5G network when the terminal accesses the 5G network based on Non-3GPP access technology, and the terminal re-registers through 3GPP access technology during subsequent re-registration, thereby changing the terminal's access technology from Non-3GPP access to 3GPP access. Optionally, the above-mentioned method for the terminal to deregister with the 5G network may include: the terminal sends a second message to the 5GCN through the N3IWF, and the second message is used to request deregistration. The 5GCN deletes the context information of the terminal based on the second message, and replies to the terminal with a third message, and the third message may indicate that the deregistration is successful. Afterwards, the terminal can re-register to the 5G network or the 4G network through the 3GPP access technology. Here, "the terminal re-registers to the 5G network through the 3GPP access technology" is introduced as an example. Optionally, the method of "the terminal re-registers to the 5G network through the 3GPP access technology" may include: the terminal sends a fourth message to the 5GCN, and the fourth message is used to request registration. After receiving the fourth message, the 5GCN can establish the context information of the terminal and can reply to the terminal with a fifth message, and the fifth message is used to indicate that the registration is successful.

[0175] It should be noted that the above-mentioned "when the terminal accesses the 5G network based on Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal registers with the 5G network, and re-registers to the 5G network or 4G network through 3GPP access technology" can change the terminal's access technology from Non-3GPP access to 3GPP access. The above-mentioned "the terminal switches from accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network or 4G network using 3GPP access technology" can also change the terminal's access technology from Non-3GPP access to 3GPP access. However, there are differences between the two. Optionally, taking the 5G network as an example, the difference between "when the terminal accesses the 5G network based on Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal registers the 5G network and re-registers to the 5G network through 3GPP access technology" and "the terminal switches from accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology" is introduced. The difference between the two is mainly: "When the terminal accesses the 5G network based on Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal registers the 5G network and re-registers to the 5G network through 3GPP access technology". Although the switch from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology is also realized, when de-registering with the 5G network, the 5G network will delete the terminal's context information, and when re-registering to the 5G network, the 5G network needs to re-establish the terminal's context information. When "the terminal switches from accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology", the 5G network does not need to delete the terminal's context information to achieve the switch from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology.

[0176] In some further embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the first switching and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the second switching, if the third information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to execute the third switching, and / or the fourth information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to execute the fourth switching, at this time, if the terminal is in a connected state (for example, it can be understood that: when VoWiFi is residing under SA, HO_N3IWF_EPC and HO_N3IWF_5GC are not supported, but HO_ePDG_5GC or HO_ePDG_EPC is supported, and the terminal is in a connected state), the terminal can use Non-3GPP access technology to switch access to the 4G network, and when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal executes the third switching or the fourth switching. Optionally, in the embodiment of Figure 2A, the terminal currently uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the 5G network. At this time, if the first information and the second information indicate that the network device does not support the first switching and the second switching, but the third information indicates that the network device supports the third switching, and / or the fourth information indicates that the network device supports the fourth switching, then it means that the network device does not support the switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology when the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the 5G network, but supports the switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology when the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the 4G network. At this time, the terminal can switch from the current use of No n-3GPP access to the 5G network falls back to using Non-3GPP to access the 4G network, so that when the terminal subsequently needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal can perform a third switch or a fourth switch to switch from using Non-3GPP to access the 4G network to using 3GPP to access the 5G network, or to switch from using Non-3GPP to access the 4G network to using 3GPP to access the 4G network, thereby achieving a successful switch from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology, and then enabling the terminal to switch from the VoWiFi service based on WiFi technology to the VoLTE service or VoNR service based on cellular technology, to ensure that voice communication can continue smoothly and ensure the quality of voice communication.

[0177] Optionally, the method for the terminal to fall back from the current use of Non-3GPP to access the 5G network to the use of Non-3GPP to access the 4G network may include: the terminal may first release the connection between the terminal and the N3IWF (for example, the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), and release the connection between the N3IWF and the 5GCN, after which the terminal may establish a connection with the ePDG (for example, the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), and establish a connection between the ePDG and the EPC. Optionally, the method for the terminal to perform the above-mentioned third switching may include: the terminal may first release the connection with the ePDG (for example, the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), and release the connection between the ePDG and the EPC, after which the terminal may establish a connection with the 5G network through the N1 interface or the N2 interface based on the 3GPP access technology, thereby achieving switching from accessing the 4G network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using the 3GPP access technology. Optionally, the method for the terminal to perform the above-mentioned fourth switching may include: the terminal may first release the connection between the terminal and the ePDG (for example, the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), and release the connection between the ePDG and the EPC. After that, the terminal may establish a connection with the 4G network based on the 3GPP access technology (such as the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), thereby realizing switching from accessing the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using 3GPP access technology.

[0178] In some other embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the first handover, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the second handover, the third information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the third handover, and the fourth information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the fourth handover, if the terminal is in a connected state (for example, it can be understood that: when VoWiFi is residing under SA, HO_N3IWF_EPC, HO_N3IWF_5GC, HO_ePDG_5GC, and HO_ePDG_EPC are not supported, and the terminal is in a connected state), when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal can register with the first network and re-register to the first network or the second network through 3GPP access technology, and / or reduce the priority of the first service (for example, reduce the priority of the first service to the lowest). Optionally, the first service can be a service executed when accessing the first network or the second network using Non-3GPP access technology, for example, it can be a VoWiFi service. By lowering the priority of the first service, the terminal is prevented from residing in the network based on non-3GPP access technology as much as possible, thereby avoiding the situation where "the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology but is still residing in the network based on non-3GPP access technology", thereby ensuring communication quality. For the relevant introduction of the above-mentioned "deregistration" and "reregistration", please refer to the description of the above embodiment.

[0179] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2101 to S2102. For example, step S2101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S2101+S2102 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0180] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0181] FIG2B is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for use in a communication system 100, the method comprising:

[0182] Step 2201: When a terminal accesses (eg, initially accesses) a 4G network using a Non-3GPP access technology, a network device sends at least one of first information, second information, third information, and fourth information.

[0183] Optionally, the terminal uses the Non-3GPP access technology to access (eg, initially access) the 4G network, which can be understood as: resident VoWiFi under 4G.

[0184] Optionally, in some embodiments, for the relevant introduction about “4G network” and “terminal accessing 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology”, reference can be made to the description of the above embodiments.

[0185] Optionally, the network device may send at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal, and the terminal receives at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information.

[0186] Optionally, the first information may be used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal performing a first handover; the first handover may include: the terminal switching from accessing a 4G network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a 4G network using a 3GPP access technology. Optionally, the first information may be named, for example, HO_ePDG_EPC.

[0187] Optionally, the second information may be used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal performing a second handover; the second handover may include: the terminal switching from accessing a 4G network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a 5G network using a 3GPP access technology. Optionally, the second information may be named, for example, HO_ePDG_5GC.

[0188] Optionally, the third information may be used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal performing a third handover; the third handover may include: the terminal switching from accessing a 5G network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a 4G network using a 3GPP access technology. Optionally, the third information may be named, for example, HO_N3IWF_EPC.

[0189] Optionally, the fourth information may be used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal performing a fourth handover; the fourth handover may include: the terminal switching from accessing the 5G network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using a 3GPP access technology. Optionally, the fourth information may be named, for example, HO_N3IWF_5GC.

[0190] For the relevant introduction of the above-mentioned "using 3GPP access technology to access 4G network", "using 3GPP access technology to access 5G network", and "using Non-3GPP access technology to access 5G network", please refer to the above-mentioned embodiment description.

[0191] Optionally, the above-mentioned first information, second information, third information, and fourth information can all be N bit codes, where N is a positive integer, wherein when the first information is a first value (such as 1), it can indicate that the network device supports the terminal to perform the first switching, and when the first information is a second value (such as 0), it can indicate that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first switching; when the second information is a first value (such as 1), it can indicate that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second switching, and when the second information is a second value (such as 0), it can indicate that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second switching; when the third information is a first value (such as 1), it can indicate that the network device supports the terminal to perform the third switching, and when the third information is a second value (such as 0), it can indicate that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the third switching; when the fourth information is a first value (such as 1), it can indicate that the network device supports the terminal to perform the fourth switching, and when the fourth information is a second value (such as 0), it can indicate that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the fourth switching.

[0192] Optionally, in some embodiments, the network device may send at least one of the above-mentioned first information, second information, third information, and fourth information to the terminal via a first message. Optionally, the first message may be, for example, IKE_SA_INIT, but is not limited thereto. When the first message is IKE_SA_INIT, at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information may be carried in the payload notification (Payload Notify) of IKE_SA_INIT.

[0193] Optionally, in some embodiments, since the switching capabilities supported by networks in different regions are different, or the switching capabilities supported by networks in the same region may change over time, each time the terminal accesses the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology, the network device will update and send at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information to the terminal to ensure that at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information obtained by the terminal indicates the latest switching capability of the current network, and thus when the terminal subsequently performs related operations based on at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information, accuracy can be ensured.

[0194] Step 2202: When the terminal determines that it needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal determines the method for accessing the network through the 3GPP access technology based on at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information.

[0195] Optionally, for details on the above “need to access the network through 3GPP access technology” part, please refer to the above description.

[0196] In some embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the first switching, and / or the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second switching (for example, understood as: when VoWiFi is resident under 4G, HO_ePDG_5GC or HO_ePDG_EPC supports), it means that the network device supports the terminal to switch from accessing the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using 3GPP access technology, and / or, the network device supports the terminal to switch from accessing the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using 3GPP access technology. At this time, when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal can perform the first switching or the second switching to switch from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology, thereby enabling the terminal to switch from VoWiFi service based on WiFi technology to VoLTE service or VoNR service based on cellular technology, so as to ensure that voice communication can continue smoothly and ensure the quality of voice communication. Optionally, in some embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device supports the first handover, if the terminal needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the first handover; when the second information indicates that the network device supports the second handover, if the terminal needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the second handover; when the first information indicates that the network device supports the first handover and the second information indicates that the network device supports the second handover, if the terminal needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the first handover or the second handover. The method for the terminal to perform the first handover may include: the terminal may first release the connection with the ePDG (such as the aforementioned IMS PDN connection) and release the connection between the ePDG and the EPC. After that, the terminal may establish a connection with the 4G network based on the 3GPP access technology (such as the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), thereby achieving a handover from accessing the 4G network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using the 3GPP access technology. The method for the terminal to perform the second switching may include: the terminal may first release the connection between the ePDG (for example, the aforementioned IMS PDN connection) and release the connection between the ePDG and the EPC. After that, the terminal may establish a connection with the 5G network through the N1 interface or the N2 interface based on the 3GPP access technology, thereby realizing switching from accessing the 4G network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using the 3GPP access technology.

[0197] In other embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the first switching, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the second switching, if the terminal is in an idle state (for example, it is understood that when VoWiFi is resident under 4G, HO_ePDG_5GC and HO_ePDG_EPC are not supported, and the terminal is in an idle state), at this time, when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal can register for the 4G network and re-register to the 5G network or the 4G network through 3GPP access technology; optionally, the terminal here registers for the 4G network when the terminal accesses the 4G network based on Non-3GPP access technology, and the terminal re-registers through 3GPP access technology during subsequent re-registration, thereby changing the terminal's access technology from Non-3GPP access to 3GPP access. Optionally, the method for the terminal to deregister on the 4G network may include: the terminal sending a sixth message to the EPC via the ePDG, the sixth message being used to request deregistration; the EPC deleting the context information of the terminal based on the sixth message, and replying a seventh message to the terminal, the seventh message being used to indicate successful deregistration. Thereafter, the terminal may reregister on the 5G network or the 4G network using 3GPP access technology. For details regarding reregistration, please refer to the above embodiments.

[0198] In some further embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the first switching and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the second switching, if the third information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to execute the third switching, and / or the fourth information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to execute the fourth switching, at this time, if the terminal is in a connected state (for example, it is understood that: when VoWiFi is resident under 4G, HO_ePDG_5GC and HO_ePDG_EPC are not supported, but HO_N3IWF_EPC or HO_N3IWF_5GC is supported, and the terminal is in a connected state), the terminal can use Non-3GPP access technology to switch access to the 5G network, and when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal executes the third switching or the fourth switching. Optionally, in the embodiment of Figure 2B, the terminal currently uses Non-3GPP access technology to switch access to the 4G network. At this time, if the first information and the second information indicate that the network device does not support the first switching and the second switching, but the third information indicates that the network device supports the third switching, and / or the fourth information indicates that the network device supports the fourth switching, then it means that the network device does not support the switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology when the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the 4G network, but supports the switching from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology when the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to access the 5G network. At this time, the terminal needs to switch from the current N On-3GPP access to the 4G network is switched to Non-3GPP access to the 5G network, so that when the terminal subsequently needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal can perform a third switch or a fourth switch to switch from using Non-3GPP access to the 5G network to using 3GPP access to the 4G network, or to switch from using Non-3GPP access to the 5G network to using 3GPP access to the 5G network, thereby achieving a successful switch from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology, and then enabling the terminal to switch from the VoWiFi service based on WiFi technology to the VoLTE service or VoNR service based on cellular technology, to ensure that voice communication can continue smoothly and ensure the quality of voice communication.

[0199] Optionally, the method for the terminal to switch from the current use of Non-3GPP to access the 4G network to the use of Non-3GPP to access the 5G network may include: the terminal may first release the connection between the terminal and the ePDG (for example, the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), and release the connection between the ePDG and the EPC, after which the terminal may establish a connection with the N3IWF (for example, the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), and establish a connection between the N3IWF and the 5GCN. Optionally, the method for the terminal to perform the above-mentioned third switching may include: the terminal may first release the connection between the terminal and the N3IWF (for example, the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), and release the connection between the N3IWF and the 5GCN, after which the terminal may establish a connection with the 4G network based on the 3GPP access technology (such as the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), thereby achieving switching from accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using 3GPP access technology. Optionally, the method for the terminal to perform the above-mentioned fourth switching may include: the terminal may first release the connection between the terminal and the N3IWF (for example, the aforementioned IMS PDN connection), and release the connection between the N3IWF and the 5GCN. After that, the terminal may establish a connection with the 5G network through the N1 interface or the N2 interface based on the 3GPP access technology, thereby realizing switching from accessing the 5G network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 5G network using the 3GPP access technology.

[0200] In some other embodiments, when the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the first handover, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the second handover, the third information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the third handover, and the fourth information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the fourth handover, if the terminal is in a connected state (for example, it is understood that when VoWiFi is resident under 4G, HO_N3IWF_EPC, HO_N3IWF_5GC, HO_ePDG_5GC, and HO_ePDG_EPC are not supported, and the terminal is in a connected state), when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology When the terminal deregisters with the first network and reregisters with the first network or the second network through the 3GPP access technology, and / or reduces the priority of the first service, where the first service is a service executed when accessing the first network or the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology, for example, it may be a VoWiFi service. By reducing the priority of the first service, the terminal is prevented from residing in the network based on the Non-3GPP access technology as much as possible, thereby avoiding the situation where "the terminal still resides in the network based on the Non-3GPP access technology when it needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology", thereby ensuring the communication quality. For the relevant introduction to the above-mentioned "deregistration" and "reregistration", please refer to the description of the aforementioned embodiment.

[0201] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2201 and S2202. For example, step S2201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S2201+S2202 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0202] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0203] FIG2C is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for use in a communication system 100, the method comprising:

[0204] Step 2301: When a terminal accesses a first network using a Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal receives at least one of first information, second information, third information, and fourth information sent by a network device.

[0205] Optionally, the first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0206] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0207] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0208] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0209] Optionally, the first network is a fifth generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN;

[0210] The second network is a fourth generation mobile communication system 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC.

[0211] Optionally, the first network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC;

[0212] The second network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN.

[0213] In some embodiments, the first network is: the network to which the terminal currently accesses the network, for example, it can be a 4G network or a 5G network; when the first network is a 4G network, the corresponding scenario can be: "the terminal is resident on VoWIFI under 4G", when the first network is a 5G network, the corresponding scenario can be: "the terminal is resident on VoWIFI under 5G SA".

[0214] In some embodiments, the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information may correspond to: HO_ePDG_EPC / HO_ePDG_5GC / HO_N3IWF_EPC / HO_N3IWF_5GC, respectively.

[0215] Optionally, when the first network is a 4G network and the second network is a 5G network, the first information is: HO_ePDG_EPC; when the first network is a 5G network and the second network is a 4G network, the first information is: HO_N3IWF_5GC.

[0216] Optionally, when the first network is a 4G network and the second network is a 5G network, the second information is: HO_ePDG_5GC; when the first network is a 5G network and the second network is a 4G network, the second information is: HO_N3IWF_EPC.

[0217] Optionally, when the first network is a 4G network and the second network is a 5G network, the third information is: HO_N3IWF_EPC; when the first network is a 5G network and the second network is a 4G network, the third information is: HO_ePDG_5GC.

[0218] Optionally, when the first network is a 4G network and the second network is a 5G network, the fourth information is: HO_N3IWF_5GC; when the first network is a 5G network and the second network is a 4G network, the fourth information is: HO_ePDG_EPC.

[0219] Optionally, when the first network is a 5G network, the first switching corresponds to: when residing in VoWIFI under SA, switching between N3IWF and 5GC; when the first network is a 4G network, the first switching corresponds to: when residing in VoWIFI under 4G, switching between ePDG and EPC.

[0220] Optionally, when the first network is a 5G network, the second switching corresponds to: when residing in VoWIFI under SA, switching between N3IWF and EPC; when the first network is a 4G network, the second switching corresponds to: when residing in VoWIFI under 4G, switching between ePDG and 5GC.

[0221] Optionally, when the first network is a 5G network, the third switching corresponds to: when residing in VoWIFI under SA, switching between ePDG and 5GC; when the first network is a 4G network, the third switching corresponds to: when residing in VoWIFI under 4G, switching between N3IWF and EPC.

[0222] Optionally, when the first network is a 5G network, the fourth switching corresponds to: when residing in VoWIFI under SA, the switching between ePDG and EPC; when the first network is a 4G network, the fourth switching corresponds to: when residing in VoWIFI under 4G, the switching between N3IWF and 5GC.

[0223] It should be noted that only “the first network is a 4G network and the second network is a 5G network” or “the first network is a 5G network and the second network is a 4G network” is used as an example for introduction. It should be understood that the first network can also be other networks (such as other existing networks or other networks in the future), and the second network can also be other networks (such as other existing networks or other networks in the future). For example, the first network can also be a 6G network and the second network can also be a 7G network, or the first network can also be a 6G network and the second network can be a 5G network, etc. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0224] Optionally, in some embodiments, since the switching capabilities supported by networks in different regions are different, or the switching capabilities supported by networks in the same region may change over time, each time the terminal accesses the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology, the network device will update and send at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information to the terminal to ensure that at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information obtained by the terminal indicates the latest switching capability of the current network, and thus when the terminal subsequently performs related operations based on at least one of the first information, second information, third information, and fourth information, accuracy can be ensured.

[0225] Step 2302: When the terminal determines that it needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal determines the method for accessing the network through the 3GPP access technology based on at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information.

[0226] Optionally, the first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and / or the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the first handover or the second handover;

[0227] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing the second handover. If the terminal is in an idle state, when the terminal needs to access a network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal registers with the first network and re-registers with the first network or the second network through the 3GPP access technology.

[0228] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing a second handover, and when the third information indicates that the network device supports the terminal performing a third handover, and / or the fourth information indicates that the network device supports the terminal performing a fourth handover, if the terminal is in a connected state, the terminal uses a non-3GPP access technology to switch access to the second network, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the third handover or the fourth handover;

[0229] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first switching, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second switching, the third information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the third switching, and the fourth information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the fourth switching. If the terminal is in a connected state, when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal registers with the first network and re-registers to the first network or the second network through 3GPP access technology, and / or reduces the priority of the first service, which is the service performed when accessing the first network or the second network using Non-3GPP access technology.

[0230] Optionally, the above content may be: VoWIFI registration processing logic and handover (HO) function judgment under 5G, or VoWIFI registration processing logic and HO function judgment under 4G.

[0231] Optionally, the above-mentioned "the first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the first switching, and / or, the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the second switching" can be understood as: when the first network is a 5G network, when residing in VoWIFI under SA, it supports HO_N3IWF_5GC, and / or, supports HO_N3IWF_EPC; when the first network is a 4G network, when residing in VoWIFI under 4G, it supports HO_ePDG_EPC, and / or, supports HO_ePDG_5GC.

[0232] Optionally, the above-mentioned "the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the first switching, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the second switching, if the terminal is in an idle state" can be understood as: when the first network is a 5G network, when residing in VoWIFI under SA, HO_N3IWF_5GC is not supported, HO_N3IWF_EPC is not supported, and the terminal is in an idle state; when the first network is a 4G network, when residing in VoWIFI under 4G, HO_ePDG_EPC is not supported, HO_ePDG_5GC is not supported, and the terminal is in an idle state.

[0233] Optionally, the above-mentioned "the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first switching, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second switching, and when the third information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the third switching, and / or, the fourth information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform the fourth switching" can be understood as: when the first network is a 5G network, when residing in VoWIFI under SA, HO_N3IWF_5GC is not supported, HO_N3IWF_EPC is not supported, and the terminal is in a connected state, and at the same time, HO_ePDG_5GC is supported, and / or HO_ePDG_EPC is supported; when the first network is a 4G network, when residing in VoWIFI under 4G, HO_ePDG_EPC is not supported, HO_ePDG_5GC is not supported, and the terminal is in a connected state, and at the same time, HO_N3IWF_EPC and / or HO_N3IWF_5GC is supported.

[0234] Optionally, the above-mentioned “the terminal uses Non-3GPP access technology to switch access to the second network” can be understood as: when the first network is a 5G network, it corresponds to: falling back to VoWIFI under LTE; when the first network is a 4G network, it corresponds to: switching to VoWIFI under 5G.

[0235] Optionally, the above-mentioned "the first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the first switching, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the second switching, the third information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the third switching, and the fourth information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the fourth switching, if the terminal is in a connected state" can be understood as: HO_N3IWF_5GC is not supported, HO_N3IWF_EPC is not supported, the terminal is in a connected state, and at the same time, HO_ePDG_5GC is not supported, and HO_ePDG_EPC is not supported.

[0236] Optionally, the above-mentioned “the terminal de-registers with the first network and re-registers with the first network or the second network through 3GPP access technology” can be understood as: the terminal re-registers with the first network or the second network through 3GPP access technology to initiate a VoNR or VoLTE call.

[0237] Optionally, the first service includes a voice VoWiFi service based on a wireless fidelity network.

[0238] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S2301 and S2302. For example, step S2301 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S2302 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S2301+S2302 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0239] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0240] FIG3A is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a terminal 102, the method comprising:

[0241] Step 3101: When the terminal accesses the 5G network using the Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal receives at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information sent by the network device.

[0242] Step 3102: When the terminal determines that it needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal determines the method for accessing the network through the 3GPP access technology based on at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information.

[0243] For a detailed description of steps 3101 - 3102 , please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0244] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3101 and S3102. For example, step S3101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S3101+S3102 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0245] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0246] FIG3B is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for terminal 102, the method comprising:

[0247] Step 3201: When the terminal accesses the 4G network using the Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal receives at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information sent by the network device.

[0248] Step 3202: When the terminal determines that it needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal determines the method for accessing the network through the 3GPP access technology based on at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information.

[0249] For a detailed description of steps 3201 - 3202 , please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0250] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3201 and S3202. For example, step S3201 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3202 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S3201+S3202 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0251] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0252] FIG3C is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3C , the present disclosure embodiment relates to a communication method for terminal 102, the method comprising:

[0253] Step 3301: When a terminal accesses a first network using a Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal receives at least one of first information, second information, third information, and fourth information sent by a network device.

[0254] Step 3302: When the terminal determines that it needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal determines the method for accessing the network through the 3GPP access technology based on at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information.

[0255] For a detailed description of steps 3301 - 3302 , please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0256] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S3301 and S3302. For example, step S3301 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, step S3302 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and steps S3301+S3302 may be implemented as independent embodiments, but are not limited thereto.

[0257] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0258] FIG3D is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3D , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for terminal 102, the method comprising:

[0259] Step 3401: When a terminal accesses a first network using a Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal receives at least one of first information, second information, third information, and fourth information sent by a network device.

[0260] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0261] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0262] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0263] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0264] Optionally, the first network is a fifth generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN;

[0265] The second network is a fourth generation mobile communication system 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC.

[0266] Optionally, the first network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC;

[0267] The second network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN.

[0268] Optionally, the method further includes at least one of the following:

[0269] The first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and / or the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the first handover or the second handover;

[0270] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing the second handover. If the terminal is in an idle state, when the terminal needs to access a network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal registers with the first network and re-registers with the first network or the second network through the 3GPP access technology.

[0271] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal performing a second handover, and when the third information indicates that the network device supports the terminal performing a third handover, and / or the fourth information indicates that the network device supports the terminal performing a fourth handover, if the terminal is in a connected state, the terminal uses a non-3GPP access technology to switch access to the second network, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the third handover or the fourth handover;

[0272] The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first switching, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second switching, the third information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the third switching, and the fourth information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the fourth switching. If the terminal is in a connected state, when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal registers with the first network and re-registers to the first network or the second network through 3GPP access technology, and / or reduces the priority of the first service, which is the service performed when accessing the first network or the second network using Non-3GPP access technology.

[0273] Optionally, the first service includes a voice VoWiFi service based on a wireless fidelity network.

[0274] For a detailed description of step 3401, please refer to the above embodiment description.

[0275] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0276] FIG4A is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4A , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a network device 101, the method comprising:

[0277] Step 4101: When the terminal accesses the 5G network using the Non-3GPP access technology, it sends at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information.

[0278] For a detailed introduction to step 4101, please refer to the content of the above embodiment.

[0279] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0280] FIG4B is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4B , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a network device 101, the method comprising:

[0281] Step 4201: When the terminal accesses a 4G network using a Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal sends at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information.

[0282] For a detailed introduction to step 4201, please refer to the content of the above embodiment.

[0283] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0284] FIG4C is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG4C , the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a network device 101, the method comprising:

[0285] Step 4301: When a terminal accesses a first network using a Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal sends at least one of first information, second information, third information, and fourth information.

[0286] For a detailed introduction to step 4301, please refer to the content of the above embodiment.

[0287] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0288] Figure 5A is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5A, the embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a communication method for a communication system including a terminal and a network device, wherein the method includes at least one of the following:

[0289] Step 5101: When a terminal accesses a first network using a non-3GPP access technology, a network device sends at least one of first information, second information, third information, and fourth information to the terminal;

[0290] Step 5102: When the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal receives at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information sent by the network device;

[0291] Optional implementations of steps 5101 and 5102 may refer to the description of the above embodiments.

[0292] In some embodiments, the above method may include the method described in the above embodiments of the communication system side, terminal side, network device side, etc., which will not be repeated here.

[0293] The communication method involved in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include at least one of steps S5101 to S5102. For example, step S5101 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step S5102 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0294] In this embodiment or example, unless there is any contradiction, each step can be independent, arbitrarily combined or exchanged in order, the optional methods or optional examples can be arbitrarily combined, and can be arbitrarily combined with any steps of other embodiments or other examples.

[0295] The following is an exemplary introduction to the above method.

[0296] The applicable scenarios of this disclosed method include:

[0297] Scenario 1:

[0298] Under the same network, different regions support different switching capabilities. Updating the network switching capabilities each time you register for VoWiFi allows terminal devices to identify them in advance and take corresponding response mechanisms.

[0299] Scenario 2:

[0300] For operators initially deploying VoWiFi capabilities (ePDG / N3IWF), problems often occur in specific base stations or areas. By issuing signaling in real time, terminal devices are prevented from switching or staying in the area.

[0301] Optionally, FIG5B is a schematic diagram showing the interaction of switching capability information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0302] As shown in Figure 5N, 1. When the device terminal initiates VoWiFi registration, the ePDG / N3IWF sends a Payload Notify through IKE_SA_INIT with the switching capability between ePDG / N3IWF / EPC / 5GC.

[0303] Payload Notify:

[0304] HO_ePDG_EPC / HO_ePDG_5GC / HO_N3IWF_EPC / HO_N3IWF_5GC. HO_ePDG_EPC refers to the ability to switch from accessing a 4G network using non-3GPP access technology to accessing a 4G network using 3GPP access technology; HO_ePDG_5GC refers to the ability to switch from accessing a 4G network using non-3GPP access technology to accessing a 5GC (or 5GCN) using 3GPP access technology; HO_N3IWF_EPC refers to the ability to switch from accessing a 5GC (or 5GCN, 5G network) using non-3GPP access technology to accessing a 4G network using 3GPP access technology; and HO_N3IWF_5GC refers to the ability to switch from accessing a 5GC (or 5GCN) using non-3GPP access technology to accessing a 5GC (or 5GCN) using 3GPP access technology.

[0305] 2. Terminal devices avoid scenarios based on different capabilities

[0306] Figure 5C is an interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5C, the method may include: when VoWiFi resides under SA (i.e., using Non-3GPP access technology to access the 5G network), if the terminal supports HO_N3IWF_EPC, then when it is necessary to switch from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology, switching between N3IWF and 5GC can be performed; if the terminal does not support HO_N3IWF_EPC, when the terminal is in idle state (IDLE), if it is necessary to switch from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology, the terminal de-registers 5GC; when the terminal is in connected state (Connect) and the terminal supports HO_ePDG_EPC, if it is necessary to switch from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology, the terminal de-registers 5GC; when the terminal is in connected state (Connect), and the terminal supports HO_ePDG_EPC, if it is necessary to switch from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology, the terminal de-registers 5GC; If it switches to 3GPP access technology, the terminal falls back to VoWiFi under LTE, that is, the terminal switches from accessing the 5G network using Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the 4G network using Non-3GPP access technology; when the terminal is in the connected state (Connect) and the terminal does not support HO_ePDG_EPC, if it needs to switch from Non-3GPP access technology to 3GPP access technology, the terminal deregisters with 5GC and re-registers with the 4G network or 5G network based on the 3GPP access technology to switch and initiate VoNR calls or VoLTE calls, and the VoWiFi priority can be set to the lowest to avoid VoWiFi persistence as much as possible after VoNR calls or VoLTE calls or circuit switched (CS) domain network voice.

[0307] Optionally, the registration processing logic and switching function judgment of VoWIFI under 4G (i.e., using Non-3GPP access technology to access the 4G network) are similar to the process in Figure 5C above.

[0308] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0309] It should be understood that the division of the various units or modules in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity, or they may be physically separated. In addition, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, and the memory stores instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the various units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory within the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules can be realized by designing the hardware circuits. The above-mentioned hardware circuits can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which realizes the functions of some or all of the above units or modules by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuit; for example, in another implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit can be realized by a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by configuring the configuration file, thereby realizing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices can be realized in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in part by the form of software called by the processor, and the rest by hardware circuits.

[0310] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capabilities. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capabilities, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP). In another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationship of the hardware circuit. The logical relationship of the above-mentioned hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable. For example, the processor is a hardware circuit implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and implementing the hardware circuit configuration can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

[0311] FIG6A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6A , it includes:

[0312] a receiving module, configured to receive at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information sent by the network device when the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology;

[0313] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0314] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0315] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0316] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0317] Optionally, the receiving module is configured to execute the steps related to "receiving" performed by the terminal in any of the above methods. Optionally, the terminal further includes at least one of a sending module and a processing module. The sending module is configured to execute the steps related to "sending" performed by the terminal in any of the above methods, which are not described in detail here. The processing module is configured to execute the steps related to processing performed by the terminal in any of the above methods, which are not described in detail here.

[0318] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of the structure of the network device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG6B , it includes:

[0319] a sending module, configured to send at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal when the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology;

[0320] The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology;

[0321] The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing a first network using a non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network;

[0322] The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology;

[0323] The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switching from accessing the second network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using a 3GPP access technology.

[0324] Optionally, the sending module is used to execute the steps related to "sending" performed by the network device in any of the above methods. Optionally, the network device further includes at least one of a processing module and a receiving module. The processing module is used to execute the steps related to "processing" performed by the network device in any of the above methods, which are not described in detail here. The receiving module is used to execute the steps related to receiving performed by the network device in any of the above methods, which are not described in detail here.

[0325] Figure 7A is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 7100 proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Communication device 7100 can be a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network device, etc.), a terminal (e.g., a user equipment, etc.), a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a network device to implement any of the above methods, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports a terminal to implement any of the above methods. Communication device 7100 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiments.

[0326] As shown in Figure 7A, the communication device 7100 includes one or more processors 7101. The processor 7101 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. The processor 7101 is used to call instructions to enable the communication device 7100 to perform any of the above methods.

[0327] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more memories 7102 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 7102 may be located outside the communication device 7100.

[0328] In some embodiments, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more transceivers 7103. When the communication device 7100 includes one or more transceivers 7103, the communication steps such as sending and receiving in the above method are performed by the transceiver 7103, and the other steps are performed by the processor 7101.

[0329] In some embodiments, a transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter, which may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, and transceiver circuit may be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, and transmitting circuit may be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, and receiving circuit may be used interchangeably.

[0330] Optionally, the communication device 7100 further includes one or more interface circuits 7104, which are connected to the memory 7102. The interface circuits 7104 may be configured to receive signals from the memory 7102 or other devices, and may be configured to send signals to the memory 7102 or other devices. For example, the interface circuits 7104 may read instructions stored in the memory 7102 and send the instructions to the processor 7101.

[0331] The communication device 7100 described in the above embodiment may be a network device or a terminal, but the scope of the communication device 7100 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device 7100 may not be limited by FIG. 7a. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: 1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data or programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0332] 7B is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip 7200 proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. If the communication device 7100 can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 7200 shown in FIG7B , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0333] The chip 7200 includes one or more processors 7201 , and the processor 7201 is used to call instructions so that the chip 7200 executes any of the above methods.

[0334] In some embodiments, chip 7200 further includes one or more interface circuits 7202, which are connected to memory 7203. Interface circuit 7202 can be used to receive signals from memory 7203 or other devices, and can be used to send signals to memory 7203 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 7202 can read instructions stored in memory 7203 and send the instructions to processor 7201. Optionally, the terms interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, and transceiver are interchangeable.

[0335] In some embodiments, the chip 7200 further includes one or more memories 7203 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of the memories 7203 may be located outside the chip 7200.

[0336] The present disclosure also proposes a storage medium having instructions stored thereon. When the instructions are executed on the communication device 7100, the communication device 7100 executes any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a temporary storage medium.

[0337] The present disclosure also provides a program product, which, when executed by the communication device 7100, enables the communication device 7100 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0338] The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the above methods.

[0339] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0340] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this disclosure.

[0341] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0342] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: When the terminal accesses the first network using a non-3GPP access technology, the terminal receives at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information sent by the network device; The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology; The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing a first network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network; The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology; The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using the 3GPP access technology.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first network is a fifth generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN; The second network is a fourth generation mobile communication system 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC; The second network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises at least one of the following: The first information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover, and / or the second information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the first handover or the second handover; The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform the second handover. If the terminal is in an idle state, when the terminal needs to access the network through the 3GPP access technology, the terminal registers the first network and re-registers to the first network or the second network through the 3GPP access technology; The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform a first handover, and the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to perform a second handover, and when the third information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover, and / or the fourth information indicates that the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover, if the terminal is in a connected state, the terminal uses a Non-3GPP access technology to switch access to the second network, and when the terminal needs to access the network through a 3GPP access technology, the terminal performs the third handover or the fourth handover; The first information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the first switching, the second information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the second switching, the third information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the third switching, and the fourth information indicates that the network device does not support the terminal to execute the fourth switching. If the terminal is in a connected state, when the terminal needs to access the network through 3GPP access technology, the terminal registers with the first network and re-registers to the first network or the second network through 3GPP access technology, and / or reduces the priority of the first service, which is the service executed when accessing the first network or the second network using Non-3GPP access technology.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The first service includes a voice VoWiFi service based on a wireless fidelity network.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: When the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology, the network device sends at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal; The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology; The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: The terminal switches from accessing a first network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network; The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology; The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using the 3GPP access technology.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first network is a fifth generation mobile communication system 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN; The second network is a fourth generation mobile communication system 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first network is a 4G network, and the 4G network includes a 4G core network EPC; The second network is a 5G network, and the 5G network includes a 5G core network 5GCN.

9. A communication method, characterized in that: Used in a communication system, the communication system includes a network device and a terminal, and the method includes at least one of the following: When the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology, the network device sends at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal; When the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology, the terminal receives at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information sent by the network device; The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology; The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing a first network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network; The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology; The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using the 3GPP access technology.

10. A terminal, comprising: A receiving module, configured to receive at least one of first information, second information, third information, and fourth information sent by a network device when the terminal accesses the first network using a Non-3GPP access technology; The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology; The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing a first network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, and the second network is a network other than the first network; The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology; The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using the 3GPP access technology.

11. A network device comprising: A sending module, configured to send at least one of the first information, the second information, the third information, and the fourth information to the terminal when the terminal accesses the first network using the Non-3GPP access technology; The first information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a first handover; the first handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the first network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using a 3GPP access technology; The second information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a second handover; the second handover includes: The terminal switches from accessing a first network using a Non-3GPP access technology to accessing a second network using a 3GPP access technology, where the second network is a network other than the first network; The third information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a third handover; the third handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the first network using the 3GPP access technology; The fourth information is used to indicate whether the network device supports the terminal to perform a fourth handover; the fourth handover includes: the terminal switches from accessing the second network using the Non-3GPP access technology to accessing the second network using the 3GPP access technology.

12. A communication device, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; The one or more processors are used to call instructions so that the communication device executes the communication method according to any one of claims 1-5 and 6-8.

13. A communication system, characterized in that: The invention comprises a terminal and a network device, wherein the terminal is configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and the network device is configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 6 to 8.

14. A storage medium storing instructions, characterized in that: When the instruction is executed on a communication device, the communication device is caused to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and 6 to 8.

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