Wi-Fi calling is a feature found on Android for many years, but most of us don’t know such a feature exists on your phone. Some people may notice a Wi-Fi calling option in the notification bar of their Android phone.
What is Wi-Fi Calling?
Wi-Fi calling uses Wi-Fi networks to make and receive calls anywhere, without connecting to a mobile network. Worried of weak signal, with Wi-Fi calling you can make calls and send messages over a Wi-Fi connection. But to use this feature your phone must be connected to a Wi-Fi network and have an active SIM card inserted on your phone.
Wi-Fi calling on Android
To turn on Wi-Fi calling in your Android phone, swipe down to view the instant notification screen, turn on Wi-Fi calling. You can also enable it from Settings>Connections>Wi-Fi calling, slide the switch to the right to turn on. When making calls you may need to provide any one of the options like Wi-Fi preferred or Cellular network preferred.
Wi-Fi calling on iPhone
You can make or receive a phone call with a Wi-Fi connection using Wi-Fi calling. If there is no cellular coverage and you have a good Wi-Fi connection you can make a voice calls using Wi-Fi calling. To use it you need an iPhone 5c or later and a supported carrier. First, turn on Wi-Fi calling in Settings>Phone>Wi-Fi Calling. If Wi-Fi calling is available, you can see W-Fi after your carrier name in the status bar. Now your calls will use Wi-Fi calling. On your iPhone, go to Settings>Phone>Wi-Fi calling. Turn on Add Wi-Fi calling for other devices. Then go back to the previous screen, then tap Calls on other devices. Turn on Allow calls on Other Devices. A list of Wi-Fi call ready devices appears under Allow Calls On. Turn on each device that you want to use with Wi-Fi calling. You can see the setup instruction to make a call with Wi-Fi calling in the Apple support site.
Applications like Whatsapp, Messenger, Skype, Viber, etc. use a similar service called VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) through Wi-Fi or data connection. But, Wi-Fi calling is directly integrated into the Phone’s dialer, so you don’t need an external app to use this feature. You can also set this as the default way of making a call when your phone didn’t get the cellular signal.
