Iphone Wifi calling

[CRUISINERRN]

Hello all,

Can you remind me what to set our phones to in order to get wifi calls (we are in a suite and have Zoom), but not get charged for data if the wifi drops?  

Thank you!

[Biker19]

Put in plane mode and turn on WiFi. Set up at home and try it there. 

[packedandready]

Just used it to Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamaica. Just put on airplane mode and wifi on. Some connections were clearer than others, don't really understand why (not techy). 

 

[h20skibum]

What Biker said.  We even used ours on a ship in the Med to call home.  No extra charges.  

 

Do set it up and test it at home, before you board the ship.  Then, once on the ship, don’t forget to turn WiFi calling on. 

 

[Seville2Cabo]

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

don’t forget to turn WiFi calling on

We leave WiFi calling on all the time.  Once set up on phone and with carrier, never worry about it.  Even at home we get a better signal over WiFi calling.  

[barbeyg]

1 hour ago, Seville2Cabo said:

 Even at home we get a better signal over WiFi calling.  

 

We do too. ☺️

 

To the OP, I've had to use this a few times in the past several years for work and family emergencies.  Works great, just be sure to be in airplane mode before turning on wifi.

[papaflamingo]

18 hours ago, Seville2Cabo said:

We leave WiFi calling on all the time.  Once set up on phone and with carrier, never worry about it.  Even at home we get a better signal over WiFi calling.  

Us too.  Our cell signal in our house is very weak so our phone is in WiFi calling anytime we're in the house.

Just one comment for clarity.  WiFi calling will take over if you are on the wifi and it is stronger than the cell signal.  We leave it on all the time and as I said, we are always in WiFi calling at our home, and often other places.  You don't even know it changed unless you look for it.  HOWEVER if the cell is strong then it'll stay on the cell.  That's why on the ship you MUST put the phone in Airplane Mode then turn on WiFi and log on.  This will force the phone into WiFi calling.  Same if you are in an Internet Cafe or Hotel in a foreign country.  Anytime the Cell is a strong signal the phone will naturally use it.  So to ensure WiFi calling you need to get rid of the cell signal, thus "Airplane Mode." 

[dancingfish]

Thanks for the explaination. 

[cruisegal40]

3 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

Us too.  Our cell signal in our house is very weak so our phone is in WiFi calling anytime we're in the house.

Just one comment for clarity.  WiFi calling will take over if you are on the wifi and it is stronger than the cell signal.  We leave it on all the time and as I said, we are always in WiFi calling at our home, and often other places.  You don't even know it changed unless you look for it.  HOWEVER if the cell is strong then it'll stay on the cell.  That's why on the ship you MUST put the phone in Airplane Mode then turn on WiFi and log on.  This will force the phone into WiFi calling.  Same if you are in an Internet Cafe or Hotel in a foreign country.  Anytime the Cell is a strong signal the phone will naturally use it.  So to ensure WiFi calling you need to get rid of the cell signal, thus "Airplane Mode." 

 

 

Question. My is always on wifi calling.  Should I shut it off, put iphone into airplane mode then turn back on?  Does that make a difference.  Thanks in advance

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, cruisegal40 said:

 

 

Question. My is always on wifi calling.  Should I shut it off, put iphone into airplane mode then turn back on?  Does that make a difference.  Thanks in advance

 

No need to shut off the phone, just put the phone in Airplane mode and turn on WiFi.

[cruisegal40]

Thanks Bob. Helpful as always.

[SRF]

One point, you MUST set up wifi calling before your cruise.

 

You need to be connected to your cellular service to initially set it up.

 

Once set up, you can turn it off and on, but no reason to every turn it off.  Unless you phone connects to a strong wifi signal, that has a poor internet connection.  It is not common, but can happen.

[Chiliburn]

Just to clarify,we are a little bit behind the technology rush in Australia.

 

Sounds like you need a fairly late model iPhone.

And this is a service of your phone service provider and not a voice over thing like Skype?

[Biker19]

53 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

 

And this is a service of your phone service provider and not a voice over thing like Skype?

Correct. WiFi calling availability depends on phone model, OS version of the phone and service provider. 

[Chiliburn]

1 minute ago, Biker19 said:

Correct. WiFi calling availability depends on phone model, OS version of the phone and service provider. 

Thanks 

Sounds a lot cheaper than global roaming and hotel calls.

[Clarea]

11 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

Thanks 

Sounds a lot cheaper than global roaming and hotel calls.

 

It is, but remember that any call you make with WiFi calling is as if you are in your home coverage area.

 

So if you are in Barcelona on WiFi calling, and call a Barcelona phone number, billing wise it is as if you are calling from home.

[Chiliburn]

Technology 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, Chiliburn said:

And this is a service of your phone service provider and not a voice over thing like Skype?

It is a service that must be provided by your mobile provider. However, it it similar to Skype. It is voice over IP. If you have Skype setup to be able to dial phone numbers at home, then stick with something you know how to use. 

[papaflamingo]

8 hours ago, cruisegal40 said:

 

 

Question. My is always on wifi calling.  Should I shut it off, put iphone into airplane mode then turn back on?  Does that make a difference.  Thanks in advance

If your phone is always in WiFi calling it's likely because the WiFi signal is significantly stronger than the cell tower.  If you want to bias it to the cell tower, simply disconnect it from the WiFi by shutting WiFi off. Then your phone will hook up to the cell towers.  No need to go into Airplane Mode.  But there is no real reason to do this except for an issue with your WiFi.  Remember, when you are on WiFi calling you aren't using up any cell time.  

Hope this answers your question. 

[Clarea]

51 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

 ... But there is no real reason to do this except for an issue with your WiFi. ...

 

I used to be on AT&T and many times did not receive SMS/MMS messages while on WiFi calling  It got so that I had to turn off WiFi periodically to make sure I received the messages.  Has not happened once in the last 6 months since I switched to Verizon.  Same phone, same IOS version.

[papaflamingo]

34 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I used to be on AT&T and many times did not receive SMS/MMS messages while on WiFi calling  It got so that I had to turn off WiFi periodically to make sure I received the messages.  Has not happened once in the last 6 months since I switched to Verizon.  Same phone, same IOS version.

I don't remember that problem with AT&T, but I switched to Verizon a while ago too.  Verizon does seem better for us.  

[Croozin Soozin]

I’ve never used WiFi calling before but when I’m on my cruise starting on Thursday on the Anthem going up north,  I need to be able to receive calls from my veterinarian. If I enable WiFi calling can I also receive calls, even when I’m at sea?  I’ll have Voom during the cruise.  My provider is Verizon. 

 

Sorry if this is a stupid question, I just have no knowledge or experience with this.   Thank you!

Edited September 9, 2019 by Croozin Soozin

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, Croozin Soozin said:

I’ve never used WiFi calling before but when I’m on my cruise starting on Thursday on the Anthem going up north,  I need to be able to receive calls from my veterinarian. If I enable WiFi calling can I also receive calls, even when I’m at sea?  I’ll have Voom during the cruise. 

 

Sorry if this is a stupid question, I just have no knowledge or experience with this.   Thank you!

 

Yes, you can receive calls if you have WiFi calling set up.

 

Set this up at home and test by putting the phone in Airplane mode and turning on WiFi.

[Croozin Soozin]

Thank you, Bob!

[SRF]

On 9/7/2019 at 6:34 PM, Chiliburn said:

Just to clarify,we are a little bit behind the technology rush in Australia.

 

Sounds like you need a fairly late model iPhone.

And this is a service of your phone service provider and not a voice over thing like Skype?

 

iPhone 5C or later. 

 

Plus support for it from you cell phone provider.

 

It is voice over IP, just it works just like normal cell calling.  No apps.