iPhone Wi-Fi Calling: Make & Receive Voice Calls Using Wi-Fi Connection

Wi-Fi calling is a great technology to make and receive voice calls and text messages over Wi-Fi. This technology is available for both iPhone and Android devices. As this is an iPhone related website we will be talking about iPhone Wi-Fi calling first.

You can enable Wi-Fi calling on iPhone, iPads, iPods and even on MAC device.  You will need iPhone 5c or later to make use of this feature on your device. Older version of iPhones does not support Wi-Fi calling due to hardware & software limitations.

I will be showing all the settings that you need to make in order to turn on Wi-Fi calling feature. It’s obvious that the settings will vary depending on the Apple device you will be using this feature with. I will also talk about everything related to this wireless technology in detail.

If you do not wish to read all the details you can directly jump to How To Enable iPhone Wi-Fi Calling.

There are times when your mobile carrier network gets blocked. Be it in the basement or in the building elevator or maybe in your room.

Also Read: How To BackUp Your iPhone Or iPad/iPod?- Backup & Restoration

Your phone tries hard to connect to its carrier network but fails due to no network signals. Not to mention,  we had all experienced the mobile network coverage issue multiple times. This is where Wi-Fi calling make great sense if you have Wireless Internet Connection in the range.

There are many other reasons you should use this technology, we will talk more about this later in this article.

Why You Should Enable Wi-Fi Calling On Your Phone?

Apart from the reasons listed previously in this article. There are many other reasons that will convince you of using iPhone Wi-Fi calling.

1. If you are an avid traveler who loves to explore the world, you must enable this awesome feature on your phone. This will let you place and receive calls over WiFi from your phone number. The roaming charges will not be applied if you are using this feature. Your carrier will only charge you international calling rates. By the way, there are other free apps like Facetime, Skype, Whatsapp, Google Hangout that you can use free of charge. But these apps only work if the other party you are trying to communicate uses the same apps.
2. There are many people who love to live in a remote location near to nature where there are no carrier towers to provide telecom services. I know many people in the US who follow nomad lifestyle and use Wi-Fi call over there carrier in order to maintain communication with the outside world.
3. Areas with no consistent mobile network, meaning sometimes you get the network sometimes not or there will be disturbance or cut-outs during the calls. I know this makes any caller very irritated.
4. The other thing is your iPhone will consume more battery power when continuously trying to connect to a carrier network in an area with a fluctuating signal. The best thing to do in this situation is to turn off the carrier network and start using Wi-Fi calling on iPhone or other supported devices.
5. In case there is an emergency and you want to call 911, what’s the better option than placing a Wi-Fi call.
6. Wi-Fi hotspots are increasing every year as compared to mobile towers. Implementing hotspots are way cheaper than adding mobile towers to the areas. I have a strong feeling that mobile companies in the future will use Wi-Fi calling instead of regular analog transmission.

How Wi-Fi Calling Works & Other Important Details

When you place a call using your iPhone Wi-Fi calling also called VoWiFi (Vice Over Wi-Fi). The call packets get routed to your registered carrier using Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) technology.

There is a device located at the mobile network tower called GAN Controller (GANC) which receives the Wi-Fi call packets from the internet and transmit it through the phone network as if the call is placed using the regular network and not Wi-Fi.

How much does Wi-Fi calling cost?

You will not be charged extra while using VoWiFi (WiFi Calling) feature. The carrier will deduct the minutes or the balance used by the consumer from its system.

If you are calling locally, local rates will apply. International call rates will apply if you are placing the call internationally. Roaming will be always free of charge.

However, you can use apps like Whatsapp that support VOIP tech for calling and texting purpose without having to spend a dime. One of the advantages of using Wi-Fi calling is that the receiver will see your phone number on their screen.

Is VoWiFi supported by every Carrier?

The answer is NO! Wi-Fi Calling is not supported by each and every mobile carrier out there in the market.

To use iPhone Wi-Fi Calling you should be registered on a supported carrier. Moreover, Wi-Fi calling is not available to every country on this earth. You can find out the supported carrier and countries using this link.

These are the major carriers which support this feature:

• Sprint: You can use Sprint Device support to get more information about your device and WiFi Calling.
• Verizon Wireless: You can go through Verison’s Wi-Fi Calling FAQs to clear your doubts and get answers to any questions you have regarding the feature.
• AT&T: Like other carriers, ATT also have Device Support to walk you through the process of Internet Calling.
• T-Mobile: Phones & Tablets devices tutorials can be accessed using this link.

We have talked a lot about the Wi-Fi Calling in detail. I think its enough for anyone who is considering using the feature. Now let’s have a look at the various settings that you have to do if you want to use Wi-Fi calling on iPhone and other devices.

How To Enable WiFi Calling

On iPhone:

You can Turn on WiFi calling On iPhone by navigating to:

Settings > Cellular > Toggle On Wi-Fi Calling

You might need to “Update Emergency Address”. This address is used by emergency response service like 911 to track your details with the help of your carrier in case you need help.

Notice the screenshot above, there is an option “Add Wi-Fi Calling For Other Devices”. If toggled On, this will allow you to use WiFi Calling with other Apple devices.

Your iCloud account acts as a medium between your iPhone & other devices. So to use this option you must have an iCloud account that I am sure every iPhone user has.

On Other Apple Devices:

The other devices that you want to add to your WiFi Calling devices list should have the latest version of the iOS software.

Adding other devices in the calling list helps when you do not have your iPhone near you.

That’s all I have to share with you guys on this topic. But before we reach the end of this comprehensive article on iPhone Wi-Fi Calling. Let’s see how you can use Wi-Fi Calling on Android devices.

Wi-Fi Calling Android Devices

On your Android Device, Navigate to  Settings > Networks & Internet > Mobile network > Advanced > Wi-Fi Calling (Toggle On).

Again for Wi-Fi call feature to work you should be using the cellular networks that support this feature. In Android, this feature comes with Android Pi software. so make sure you are on the latest version.

Must Read: iCloud Photo Sharing: How to Enable and Disable it?

Is The Article helpful?

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iPhone WiFi calling is not that complicated as it sounds, it’s a great technology that will be for sure used worldwide in the future by almost all mobile carriers.

The smartphones are getting smarter day by day and we are very lucky to see this in our lifetime. Don’t know what’s next. By the way, I am eagerly waiting for a transparent smartphone to come out to the market.

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