Google is warning millions of Android users when apps might be spying on them. Stunning photos show total solar eclipse over Antarctica as moon completely covers the sun My Tinder date took me back to his flat but his bathroom revealed a grim secret If your phone doesn't have this option in the Phone app settings, you can try opening the main Settings app and searching for 'Wi-Fi call' or 'Wi-Fi calling' and - if your phone supports it - the relevant option should show up.My Google phone blocked me from calling ambulanceĪpple to let people fix their own iPhones for the first time – and they’ll even send you the repair tools
You should see a new symbol (see top image) at the top of your phone when using Wi-Fi Calling. Once you're set up, simply use your phone as normal.
Most of the time you'll need to switch on an option under Settings, and perhaps notify your carrier that you plan to use Wi-Fi Calling. Go to your carrier's website to find step-by-step guides to setting it up. Nowadays, this is relatively common, so you may find there are no issues at all. However, if or when your network supports VoLTE (also called 4G Voice) then you'll be able to move that voice call from Wi-Fi back to the network without dropping your call. So, if you start a call on Wi-Fi while at Starbucks, but then wander out of range, your mobile network won't be able to pick up the cal, unless you have VoLTE (voice over LTE).Ī lot of phones, particularly older models, use 2G or 3G to make calls and you cannot move a call to or from Wi-Fi. If yours doesn't, or you're in an area with poor 4G signal, you may find you get disconnected from the call. However, not every phone and carrier in the world supports this. It should seamlessly connect to the 4G network and continue the call. These days, if you have a modern, premium smartphone, it's not necessarily an issue as long as you have 4G coverage and your carrier supports VoLTE (voice over LTE). What happens when you get disconnected from Wi-Fi? In some cases, like iMessage, you get unlimited messaging and it's seamlessly integrated for use between Apple device users, but it's distinctly different from the proposition around network Wi-Fi Calling, where messages you send and calls you make will (probably) be deducted from your talk plan. Similarly, Apple's FaceTime and iMessage hand-off calling and messages to internet services using the device's data connection, but that's an Apple service, rather than from your network. Your phone number is used to verify your identity, but it has nothing to do with the network at all, other than the data you use. When using an app like WhatsApp, your calling activity is kept strictly within the app itself and between users of that app. Many popular apps - including messenger apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype - allow you to send and receive calls/texts over Wi-Fi or your data network, but this isn't Wi-Fi Calling. Aren't there apps that do the same thing? Most new phones support it - for example, the service is compatible with any iPhone launched since 2014. You need a network that supports it and you need a device that supports it. To use Wi-Fi Calling you need two things. That might be in rural areas with no network masts by using domestic Wi-Fi, or a basement nightclub that has Wi-Fi. It's a handy feature should you find yourself in an area with poor signal, because it lets you take advantage of Wi-Fi so your device is connected. More specifically, with Wi-Fi Calling, cellular packets of a phone call or text message are transferred over the internet from your mobile device to your carrier (whilst utilising higher data speeds than most cellular connections), then piped through the cellular network, and finally delivered to the intended recipient.
Wi-Fi Calling is exactly what you're thinking: a feature that allows you to make and receive calls (and send text messages) over a Wi-Fi network instead of a traditional mobile network. That's a good thing for those who want to remain connected in an area that perhaps doesn't support a particular network, letting you take calls and get messages where the cellular network might not reach. (Pocket-lint) - With customers driving the demand for always-on connectivity, mobile phone networks turned to Wi-Fi to enable services that their own masts might not be able to provide.