Google Voice Calling on WiFi

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, hpeabody said:

 

When I was on a cruise at a port stop in Papeete, Tahiti I had my first away from home experience with Google Voice.  At that time it was still very new to me.  I never thought of trying it ON THE SHIP using SHIP WIFI.  I was scared off by tales from people about huge expensive charges by calling from the ship.  I am witness to someone who had that experience, but that's another story)  I went to a little building right at the port in Papeete that had free Wifi and tried it there.  I made 3 or 4 fairly lengthy calls via Google Voice expecting to be charged using the credit I uploaded into my account ($10.00)  Lo and behold that credit was never charged!  I think I figured out that was because I was calling from a US number (my Google Voice number) to another US toll free number.  No International numbers involved.  My guess is if I had called an international number my credit would have been charged.  I love Google Voice, it just works for me 🙂

 

I "think" this is the same principle that Verizon works on (International Plan).  Probably the same for iphone to iphone, but I'm not testing out these theories. 

[Aggie83]

On 2/11/2024 at 12:29 PM, Teechur said:

Are you able to do this while the phone is in airplane mode? I have WiFi calling on my Google Pixel phone and my carrier is also T-Mobile. Can I call others on the ship using WiFi calling without additional charges? How about calls to iPhones on the ship?

You can place phone calls and send text messages.  I have a Samsung with T-Mobile.  I enabled WiFi calling and was in Airplane mode.  No additional charges.  This is from personal experience on the Island from FLL to LAX this January.  I also made a phone call via WiFi calling on the Sapphire when I was in South America in December 2022.  Dependency is obviously the internet connection you have.

 

For fun, at home, on land, set your phone to Airplane mode with WiFi calling enabled.  Make a phone call.  It should work.  If it doesn't, check your phone settings

 

On a side note, my phone defaults to WiFi  calling (Airplane mode not enabled) at home and anytime I'm connected to WiFi - regardless of location.

[Aggie83]

On 2/12/2024 at 5:47 PM, hpeabody said:

 

When I was on a cruise at a port stop in Papeete, Tahiti I had my first away from home experience with Google Voice.  At that time it was still very new to me.  I never thought of trying it ON THE SHIP using SHIP WIFI.  I was scared off by tales from people about huge expensive charges by calling from the ship.  I am witness to someone who had that experience, but that's another story)  I went to a little building right at the port in Papeete that had free Wifi and tried it there.  I made 3 or 4 fairly lengthy calls via Google Voice expecting to be charged using the credit I uploaded into my account ($10.00)  Lo and behold that credit was never charged!  I think I figured out that was because I was calling from a US number (my Google Voice number) to another US toll free number.  No International numbers involved.  My guess is if I had called an international number my credit would have been charged.  I love Google Voice, it just works for me 🙂

 

I believe the reason you weren't charged was because your calls were made via WiFi.  You weren't connected to a cellular network.  Nothing to do with the numbers you were calling.  Connection to a cellular network will result in international call charges.  It's also possible you would not have been able to connect to the Toll-free number if connected to a Tahitian cellular service.  If you use Verizon, their International plan will kick in for the 24 hour period when connecting to cellular service.

[jean-lynd]

On 2/11/2024 at 11:29 AM, Teechur said:

Are you able to do this while the phone is in airplane mode? I have WiFi calling on my Google Pixel phone and my carrier is also T-Mobile. Can I call others on the ship using WiFi calling without additional charges? How about calls to iPhones on the ship?

Yes - make sure to keep your phone in airplane mode. Try it at home to make sure that it works with your phone.

[cruisinsince75]

On 2/12/2024 at 4:54 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

And here's a very important note!  If you even *think* that you may be using wifi calling at any time (EVER!) just set it up NOW.  Do it and test it at home.  Some carriers *seem* to have a special provisioning method that *may* not work if attempted on a ship.  There is absolutely NO downside to leaving wifi calling enable ALL THE TIME!  I do...I've never had any issues and if you happen to need it on board...well, you're all set up.

 

To test at home.  Turn on wifi calling

Turn on airplane mode

Make a call or two...have someone call your number...send some texts.

 

Learn something new everyday!  

[RocknRoll22]

On 2/11/2024 at 8:03 AM, Gatorinmd said:

Has anyone had any success or experience with this (or even using WhatsApp) for voice calls? 

My phone wasn't able to use WiFi calling, so I installed Whats App. It's been working fine over WiFi for both text and voice calls. Only issue, the person receiving your text or call also needs WhatsApp installed on their phone. Otherwise, it works just like the normal text or voice apps on my phone.

[mahasamatman]

21 hours ago, Aggie83 said:

Nothing to do with the numbers you were calling.

 

Not true. With Google Voice, you only get free calls to U.S. or Canada. You need money in your Google Voice account to call any other country.

[Gatorinmd]

1 hour ago, RocknRoll22 said:

My phone wasn't able to use WiFi calling, so I installed Whats App. It's been working fine over WiFi for both text and voice calls. Only issue, the person receiving your text or call also needs WhatsApp installed on their phone. Otherwise, it works just like the normal text or voice apps on my phone.

This is why I chose Google Voice. Not all of my US friends use or have WhatsApp. Google Voice is like a substitute cell phone number. And hence the reason for my question. 

[hpeabody]

20 minutes ago, Gatorinmd said:

Google Voice is like a substitute cell phone number.

 

I see it that way too and use my Google Voice number more than my assigned carrier number.  I especially like it for texts, because I can also manage text from my PC.

[Thrak]

23 hours ago, Aggie83 said:

I also made a phone call via WiFi calling on the Sapphire when I was in South America in December 2022. 

 

Did you call from a US number to a US number? I made a WiFi call in New Zealand to a New Zealand phone and was charged an International Call fee.

[Aggie83]

26 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Did you call from a US number to a US number? I made a WiFi call in New Zealand to a New Zealand phone and was charged an International Call fee.

I called the US when I was on the Sapphire.  I also used the hotel WiFi in Santiago to call the US.  No charges were incurred for either call.

[RocknRoll22]

4 hours ago, Gatorinmd said:

This is why I chose Google Voice. Not all of my US friends use or have WhatsApp. Google Voice is like a substitute cell phone number.

My issue is that I need to use my original phone number for certain contacts, and not a new, substitute Google voice number. I also ended up turning on International Calling and using Cellular at Sea.... my phone bill will be whatever it ends up being, oh well...

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, Aggie83 said:

I called the US when I was on the Sapphire.  I also used the hotel WiFi in Santiago to call the US.  No charges were incurred for either call.

 

Yes. You called from your US phone number to another US phone number. I called from my US phone number to a New Zealand phone number and incurred a charge. Apples and Oranges.

[Aggie83]

13 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Yes. You called from your US phone number to another US phone number. I called from my US phone number to a New Zealand phone number and incurred a charge. Apples and Oranges.

Yes, you are correct. My post wasn't about calls my cell carrier would treat as international calls. The OP was not asking about international calls, which is what I responded to.

[obendus]

On 2/15/2024 at 7:21 PM, mahasamatman said:

 

Not true. With Google Voice, you only get free calls to U.S. or Canada. You need money in your Google Voice account to call any other country.

I've loaded around 500 minutes, and through a ton of testing, only a few dollars of use. Amazingly cheap, even if charges apply. Don't let the idea of few dollars scare you off. It's ridiculously cheap.