Anyone use Wi-Fi Calling with their mobile device?

[statsman]

Just moved to an area with brutal cell strength. Almost non-existent. Will be in the middle of a call, and the other person will say they can't understand what we're saying. This assumes the call doesn't drop out completely, which is often. Drive a mile or two closer to civilization, and all is good.

We have cell phones that are capable of Wi-Fi Calling, and AT&T supports them. Yet, I can't get the feature to activate. Already talked with AT&T twice, with no solution. What am I missing here?

 

[travelover]

I use Google Voice in conjunction with Hangouts to WiFi call. Generally I use my desktop, but I also have it on my cell phone. Not convenient, especially to receive a call. https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/6023920?co=GENIE.Platform=Android&hl=en

 

[Alan]

I used to use WiFi calling with AT&T when we lived in the USA and it worked great. Whenever in good WiFi it defaulted to using it for phone calls. Wonderful for traveling overseas (or in Canada).

Our provider here in England also has this feature.

 

[MichaelB]

.
We have cell phones that are capable of Wi-Fi Calling, and AT&T supports them. Yet, I can't get the feature to activate. Already talked with AT&T twice, with no solution. What am I missing here?

Did you get these phones from AT&T or directly from the manufacturer for the AT&T network, or are they unlocked third party phones? We also have bad cell reception at home and rely on WiFi calling, and when I first set it up I read that Verizon and AT&T had numerous issues with generic unlocked phones.

 

[audreyh1]

Absolutely! Been using it for years.

WiFi calling solved a serious cell signal quality problem for us at home. It also let us switch to a preferred provider who supported WiFi calling sooner than our then provider. Amazing turnaround.

I used to have to be at the back of the house to receive calls on my simple flip phone, which would still often drop or become unintelligible. Or even step out into the back yard. DH’s smart phone was almost hopeless. Those problems completely went away.

It also makes calls to/from US free when we are out of country in all the countries we have traveled so far.

We switched from Verizon to T-mobile. DH may have had to call in to get it turned on on his initial phone which he had ordered as a T-mobile phone but bought from Apple. Later iPhone models we got it worked immediately. Have you gone by a store to have them try to make it work?

 

[Richard4444]

I often use wi-fi calling on my iphone when I travel outside the US. Works just fine!

Rich

 

[boog]

Similar situation here with signal strength. We use Verizon and wifi calling is the only way we can reliably use our phones inside the house. Had to enable the feature with Verizon on our account then enable it in Settings on the phones. Not a perfect solution, but works well enough. Don’t know AT&T’s procedure to activate, but may require something more than a setting on the phone.

 

[Midpack]

Maybe not what the OP is asking, we always use WiFi calling from home, but rarely if ever away from home. Always works fine, though we have the opposite problem - sometimes when away we have to turn off WiFi to use LTE, I assume there’s a weak WiFi signal nearby and we have to force the iPhone to use cellular.

 

[statsman]

Thanks everyone. The devices have an AT&T symbol, but were also claimed to be unlocked by the seller. I will force the issue with AT&T once again.

 

[street]

Interesting topic. So, I would say I do also just because that my WI-FI is turned on. If turned on I would assume that I would be calling with WI-FI. Right?

 

[REWahoo]

What am I missing here?

Sorry if this is beyond obvious, but did you go into the settings function on your phones to make sure "wi-fi calling" is "on", then do a restart?

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Or move back to civilization.

 

[statsman]

Sorry if this is beyond obvious, but did you go into the settings function on your phones to make sure "wi-fi calling" is "on", then do a restart?

Any attempt to turn on Wi-Fi Calling leads to an error message about the account.

 

[audreyh1]

Maybe not what the OP is asking, we always use WiFi calling from home, but rarely if ever away from home. Always works fine, though we have the opposite problem - sometimes when away we have to turn off WiFi to use LTE, I assume there’s a weak WiFi signal nearby and we have to force the iPhone to use cellular.

We have the automatic ask to join WiFi network turned off and so almost never connect to WiFi away from home except for specific hotels that we have enabled. Unless you are connected to a specific network LTE should work fine.

 

[audreyh1]

Or move back to civilization.

Sorry, this does not work. We are in civilization in an area with multiple housing developments and some areas simply have very poor cell reception indoors. And marginal outdoors.

 

[bizlady]

We have a cabin we spend lots of time at. We use Ooma for calling on our cell phones regularly as cell service is spotty. Fortunately, we still have internet access. When at home, we default to wifi and have high speed access at home. Negligible difference when ooma is used.

 

[audreyh1]

Any attempt to turn on Wi-Fi Calling leads to an error message about the account.

It’s got to be the account configuration then. Have you taken your phone by an AT&T store?

 

[audreyh1]

Interesting topic. So, I would say I do also just because that my WI-FI is turned on. If turned on I would assume that I would be calling with WI-FI. Right?

No. Your phone and provider have to support it and you have to turn on the feature. My phone shows WiFi next to the carrier name when it’s on.

 

[statsman]

It’s got to be the account configuration then. Have you taken your phone by an AT&T store?

We're now being told since these devices were not purchased at an AT&T store, and even though they are branded with an AT&T symbol, AT&T does not currently support them for Wi-Fi Calling.

 

[audreyh1]

We're now being told since these devices were not purchased at an AT&T store, and even though they are branded with an AT&T symbol, AT&T does not currently support them for Wi-Fi Calling.

Well, that’s very unfortunate. How old are the phones?

Apple sells AT&T iPhones. I’m sure those must be supported.

 

[street]

No. Your phone and provider have to support it and you have to turn in the feature. My phone shows WiFi next to the carrier name when it’s on.

Thanks audreyh1 >>

 

[statsman]

Well, that’s very unfortunate. How old are the phones?

Apple sells AT&T iPhones. I’m sure those must be supported.

Old enough. We weren't interested (or needed) the latest and greatest, so we purchased a couple of Samsung Galaxy S5 Actives last year. Pretty nice device for a first smartphone, although it won't upgrade past Android 6.0.1 (or at least AT&T won't supply the latest Android security patches to it).

When your primary uses for a smartphone is texting, phone calls, and the occasional navigation lookup, having a $1,000 device seems like a waste.

Have been notified this issue is being escalated, primarily because our cell reception at the house we're renting is brutal. And we're expected to be here for at least 5 more months.

 

[audreyh1]

Old enough. We weren't interested (or needed) the latest and greatest, so we purchased a couple of Samsung Galaxy S5 Actives last year. Pretty nice device for a first smartphone, although it won't upgrade past Android 6.0.1 (or at least AT&T won't supply the latest Android security patches to it).

When your primary uses for a smartphone is texting, phone calls, and the occasional navigation lookup, having a $1,000 device seems like a waste.

Have been notified this issue is being escalated, primarily because our cell reception at the house we're renting is brutal. And we're expected to be here for at least 5 more months.

Plenty of phones way under $1000 support WiFi calling.

 

[45th Birthday]

Look into getting a MicroCell. https://www.att.com/att/microcell/ It will cost you, although you might get ATT to reimburse you. It doesn't require WiFi calling and works very well. We have had one at our summer home for years, and used it before we had phones capable of WiFi calling.

 

[statsman]

Look into getting a MicroCell. https://www.att.com/att/microcell/ It will cost you, although you might get ATT to reimburse you. It doesn't require WiFi calling and works very well. We have had one at our summer home for years, and used it before we had phones capable of WiFi calling.

We'll see what AT&T does with their "escalated issue". They claim a response will happen within 48 hours. We might mention this if they are unsuccessful, particularly since we're on their AT&T Uverse and Internet service (housing track is exclusively AT&T).

Also (from the above link): "AT&T has discontinued sales of new AT&T MicroCells. You can use Wi-Fi Calling to talk and text over an active Wi-Fi connection where it’s hard for a strong cellular signal to reach." Sort of spiraled back to the original idea.