Advice on Wi Fi calling please

[Tedferg]

I have never made a cell call from onboard, however our upcoming transpacific has lots of sea days and so I need advice please. Do we turn on Airplane Mode and Wi Fi calling? Do we need to be logged in to the App to get to Wi Fi? And there is no cell charge for such calls, right?

[cr8tiv1]

Airplane Mode: Yes

Wifi Calling enabled:  Yes

Connected to Medallion Net:  Yes

 

If the call does not go through...try again.  Sometime my Verizon says service isn't available, but when I try again, it works.  Go figure.  It also works with Google Voice (that uses your cell number).  Haven't tried What's App, but others have said it works.  

 

FaceTime works

iMessages works without Medallion Net; but will use the INTRAnet onboard (most times).

 

Most recent experience:  Caribbean Princess sailing in Canada waters to make a call to Honolulu and California.  Worked well.

Edited August 26, 2023 by cr8tiv1

[NavyVeteran]

I have wifi calling on at home and leave it on all the time (iPhone with AT&T). My home does not have a strong cell signal. When both wifi and cell are available, it picks the best signal. I always have a good connection at home even when the cell signal is weak.

 

I suggest you try wifi calling at home. Activate wifi calling. Put you phone in airplane mode. Then connect to your home wife. Make and receive calls to verify that everything is working. If there are any problems, it's a lot easier to fix at home (with cell service available) than on the ship.

 

Anytime you are outside the service area you are paying for, put your phone in airplane mode. Then connect to Medallion Net or hotel wifi. Then you do not need an overseas cell plan and your cell carrier will not charge you for overseas or shipboard calls. 

 

I have used wifi calling on ships and in foreign hotels with no problems.

[AZjohn]

7 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

Put you phone in airplane mode. Then connect to your home wife.

I know this was a typo but just cracked me up (because I need to do this more often…lol) 🤣

[Megamixer]

20 hours ago, Tedferg said:

I have never made a cell call from onboard, however our upcoming transpacific has lots of sea days and so I need advice please. Do we turn on Airplane Mode and Wi Fi calling? Do we need to be logged in to the App to get to Wi Fi? And there is no cell charge for such calls, right?

Just to make sure you understand, it's not just the Medallion app you need to be logged into for the Wi-Fi calling.  You also need an internet package and be logged in to that.

[Tedferg]

16 hours ago, NavyVeteran said:

I have wifi calling on at home and leave it on all the time (iPhone with AT&T). My home does not have a strong cell signal. When both wifi and cell are available, it picks the best signal. I always have a good connection at home even when the cell signal is weak.

 

I suggest you try wifi calling at home. Activate wifi calling. Put you phone in airplane mode. Then connect to your home wife. Make and receive calls to verify that everything is working. If there are any problems, it's a lot easier to fix at home (with cell service available) than on the ship.

 

Anytime you are outside the service area you are paying for, put your phone in airplane mode. Then connect to Medallion Net or hotel wifi. Then you do not need an overseas cell plan and your cell carrier will not charge you for overseas or shipboard calls. 

 

I have used wifi calling on ships and in foreign hotels with no problems.

Good advice, I suppose Airplane mode forces the call to WiFi right. Hence the suggestion to test at home.

[leck57]

14 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Good advice, I suppose Airplane mode forces the call to WiFi right. Hence the suggestion to test at home.

 

Just remember that if you put your phone in Airplane mode your phone loses all ability to receive calls and text messages. I never put my phone in Airplane mode however I disable mobile data which avoids the horror stories you here about people getting large bills, but allows your phone to still work in the traditional way. I like to be able to receive text messages from home and it is a way of still being able to be contacted should it be necessary. 

[SargassoPirate]

3 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

Just remember that if you put your phone in Airplane mode your phone loses all ability to receive calls and text messages. I never put my phone in Airplane mode however I disable mobile data which avoids the horror stories you here about people getting large bills, but allows your phone to still work in the traditional way. I like to be able to receive text messages from home and it is a way of still being able to be contacted should it be necessary. 

I was on two Caribbean cruises this past winter.  As soon as I got on board, I switched to airplane mode and the connected to the ships wifi.  I turned off mobile data and turned on wifi calling.

 

While I don't go around with my nose stuck to my phone, I was able to receive texts, emails, and send/receive phone calls. Wifi calling worked like a champ.

 

It also avoids those annoying texts that you receive in many of the ports, trying to get you to connect to their system.

 

 

[Rick&Jeannie]

Make sure that you set up wifi calling AT HOME before you leave on your cruise!  Make sure it is working correctly there, first.  (I speak from experience!)

[damiross]

4 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

Just remember that if you put your phone in Airplane mode your phone loses all ability to receive calls and text messages. I never put my phone in Airplane mode however I disable mobile data which avoids the horror stories you here about people getting large bills, but allows your phone to still work in the traditional way. I like to be able to receive text messages from home and it is a way of still being able to be contacted should it be necessary. 

You can put the phone in airplane mode then turn Wi-Fi back on.

[startedwithamouse]

On 8/26/2023 at 4:11 PM, Tedferg said:

I have never made a cell call from onboard, however our upcoming transpacific has lots of sea days and so I need advice please. Do we turn on Airplane Mode and Wi Fi calling? Do we need to be logged in to the App to get to Wi Fi? And there is no cell charge for such calls, right?

You can try this at home on Wi-Fi - try calling someone in the same home when they're on Wi-Fi too.

 

Don't wait until you're on the ship to try it for the first time. 

[NavyVeteran]

47 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

You can try this at home on Wi-Fi - try calling someone in the same home when they're on Wi-Fi too.

 

Don't wait until you're on the ship to try it for the first time. 

When you test it at home, you can call anyone. They don't need to be on wifi. You just need to have wifi calling activated, your phone on airplane mode, and your phone connected to wifi.

[startedwithamouse]

11 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

When you test it at home, you can call anyone. They don't need to be on wifi. You just need to have wifi calling activated, your phone on airplane mode, and your phone connected to wifi.

Yes, but if they're not on wi-fi, it uses a lot of of their data. I was suggesting this being mindful and courteous of using someone else's data plan if they're not using Wi-fi too. Most don't have unlimited data.  And both traveler's phones can be on airplane mode testing this. 

 

 

Edited August 28, 2023 by startedwithamouse

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

Yes, but if they're not on wi-fi, it uses a lot of of their data. I was suggesting this being mindful and courteous of using someone else's data plan if they're not using Wi-fi too. Most don't have unlimited data.  And both traveler's phones can be on airplane mode testing this. 

 

 

Whaaat? It's just a plain incoming call to whoever they are calling.  There's no data involved here.

[NavyVeteran]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

Yes, but if they're not on wi-fi, it uses a lot of of their data. I was suggesting this being mindful and courteous of using someone else's data plan if they're not using Wi-fi too. Most don't have unlimited data.  And both traveler's phones can be on airplane mode testing this. 

 

5 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Whaaat? It's just a plain incoming call to whoever they are calling.  There's no data involved here.

My suggestion would only be for someone who has unlimited wifi. Most people in the United States have unlimited wifi at home. If you have a wifi plan on a Princess ship, it is unlimited. Many hotels have unlimited wifi. The person you call will receive a normal phone call. It will use cell service or wifi depending on how they are set up. They will not know or care that you are using wifi.

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Whaaat? It's just a plain incoming call to whoever they are calling.  There's no data involved here.

Not if it's on Video Messenger or even regular Messenger. 

 

There's definitely data used. That's why I suggested the person receiving the call be on Wi-Fi too. 

Edited August 28, 2023 by startedwithamouse

[Roz]

Color me totally confused. 😁

[NavyVeteran]

58 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Not if it's on Video Messenger or even regular Messenger. 

 

There's definitely data used. That's why I suggested the person receiving the call be on Wi-Fi too. 

I never suggested using one of these. I suggested using wifi calling. On my iPhone with AT&T, when I set up wifi calling, it acts like a normal phone call to the recipient. Unlike these other messages, I can call anyone with a phone, and I don't pay anything to call anyone in the United States. This may be carrier dependent - I don't know if other carriers have the same option.

 

There are a lot of ways to communicate with someone with specific equipment. Wifi calling allows me to communicate with anyone with a phone. I can even call someone with a landline (yes, some people still have those).

[damiross]

Your Wi-fi calling enabled phone may not allow you to use Wi-Fi calling if the phone is unlocked for all carriers.  I have AT&T.  My phone was listed on their page as Wi-Fi calling enabled but it wasn't enabled on AT&T.

 

A good work-around is to get Google Voice.  It's free for personal use.  Though I live in California, I picked a number in Idaho. (You can also use Google Voicer for those times you need to register on a site with your phone number but don't want to use your main phone number.)

 

Information on Google Voice

 

[leck57]

20 hours ago, damiross said:

You can put the phone in airplane mode then turn Wi-Fi back on.

 

My point was that you do not need to put the phone in Flight mode - just disable mobile data. Then you'll still have a phone that can receive messages and, in many places, calls as well. You will not receive messages over your phone network if it is in flight mode.

[NavyVeteran]

2 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

My point was that you do not need to put the phone in Flight mode - just disable mobile data. Then you'll still have a phone that can receive messages and, in many places, calls as well. You will not receive messages over your phone network if it is in flight mode.

If you receive calls over a cellular network, then you will be paying for the international or shipboard roaming, and this can be expensive. 

[Rick&Jeannie]

3 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

My point was that you do not need to put the phone in Flight mode - just disable mobile data. Then you'll still have a phone that can receive messages and, in many places, calls as well. You will not receive messages over your phone network if it is in flight mode.

 

1 hour ago, NavyVeteran said:

If you receive calls over a cellular network, then you will be paying for the international or shipboard roaming, and this can be expensive. 

@NavyVeteran is absolutely correct.  Just turning off mobile *data* does NOT inhibit the cellular VOICE capabilities.  You may very well be surprised when you get home with a HUGE cell phone bill.

[leck57]

6 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

 

@NavyVeteran is absolutely correct.  Just turning off mobile *data* does NOT inhibit the cellular VOICE capabilities.  You may very well be surprised when you get home with a HUGE cell phone bill.

 

I have to disagree based on my experience over quite a few years. Data searching is what racks up the bills, not calls. I'm also on a pre paid amount each month so if for some reason I hit my allowance (never have) I guess my device will just cut out.

Of course the other option if you want to watch voice costs is simply don't answer the phone. However if you might need/want to be contactable this way and it gives people that option. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by leck57

[NavyVeteran]

In the United States, we usually have unlimited calls included. However, that includes only calls within the United States. Some plans include calls in some other countries, and some do not. Cellular services outside of our service area cost extra - sometimes a lot extra depending on the specific plan. I have no idea what an Australian plan would charge for cellular service outside Australia, so your case may be completely different from mine.

[Rick&Jeannie]

 

7 minutes ago, leck57 said:

 

I have to disagree based on my experience over quite a few years. Data searching is what racks up the bills, not calls. I'm also on a pre paid amount each month so if for some reason I hit my allowance (never have) I guess my device will just cut out.

There is obviously a lot of confusion about how cell phones work (or don't work!) Voice calls and text use the cellular signal...not data. I fully agree with you that *data* is what "runs up the bill".  It is the data that is tracked in cell phone plans (at least in the US) and once you hit whatever cap you have contracted for in your plan you go into extra charge.  Calls are unlimited (most plans)...because they don't use data.