Do you use Wi-Fi calling on your phone?

By Joe Maring
last updated

Making phone calls may not be the most exciting thing smartphones are capable of these days, but when you do need to make or accept one, having the call be reliable and clear is a top priority.

If you're in an area that doesn't have great wireless coverage, one way you can overcome this is with Wi-Fi calling — the ability to have your entire call handled over a Wi-Fi network.

This is a feature a lot of modern phones support nowadays, but does anyone out there actually use it?

Here's what the AC forum community says.

not at all , I have good service for most part but I also run 2 Carrier Sims AT&T and T-Mobile on different phones

mustang7757

Same here don't use Wi-Fi calling partly because I get great signal at both home and work. So never bothered with it or care if my phone has WiFi calling or not.

bhatech

I turn on and let it decide.

digitalbreak

I have a rural acreage at lake level with hills on all sides. Since a cellular connection is only line-of-sight, there is no cellular connection with any carrier at my house. The ONLY way to have calling or data is with WiFi. I have a reliable 180 Mbps Comcast connection. That's better speed and reliability than most cellular service in my area. I have excellent calling and data via WiFi at my...

TraderGary

What about you? Do you use Wi-Fi calling?

Join the conversation in the forums!

Joe Maring
Joe Maring

Joe Maring was a Senior Editor for Android Central between 2017 and 2021. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoeMaring1.

55 Comments
  • My phone has Wifi calling available but i never use it as I don't have wifi at home. Occasionally I connect to wifi at the laundry or in a restaurant but since At&t has dependable signal all over my town I never think about it. Glad its there tho.
  • If you've Sprint then yes LOL! Jokes aside, I do use it sometimes on Mint SIM in my P2XL. It works really well and voice quality is better.
  • I love it when it works. Recently I have been getting an annoying popup regarding location accuracy. It is associated with WiFi calling. I have turned it off and now it doesn't happen. I have an S8 Active on att.
  • Yes, when the tower signal are weak.
  • All of the time. I frequently work in hospitals where a cell signal is "iffy" at best. But I am on the WiFi network and use WiFi calling all of the time.
  • Yes, all the time. I have terrible coverage inside my house. Unlocked Note 8 running AT&T firmware in order to use Wi-Fi calling.
  • I definitely use wifi calling. There are several places that just don't have a good mobile connection in my area regardless of the carrier. Wifi calling makes the impossible possible. Also, you might think that I live in a small town in the middle of nowhere. Actually, the population of the local city is 40,000+. My thinking is that because it is near a lake, the carriers have trouble covering the area.
  • Well put.
  • I've never faced a situation that required WiFi calling.
  • Nope. Cellular for calls.
  • Comes in handy when deep inside large buildings that hinder cellular signals. Better to have it for that emergency than not.
  • Absolutely true.
  • I use Wi-Fi calling a lot, it's fantastic. I'm with AT&T, so yeah. But I don't want to switch. This helps a lot when I'm not in coverage but the same area has Wi-Fi.
  • I use it when I need to. There are times that I travel to out of population where no cell coverage is available. Having the ability to use wifi to make calls is quite beneficial.
  • I use it all the time. It's on most of the time so I don't have to worry about a missed call because the coverage was weak.
  • It's a requirement for me. I work in the basement of a hospital and don't get any signal unless I am on Verizon but Verizon is way too expensive. I have 3 lines with T-mobile for $100 after taxes with no dumb restrictions on streaming. An equivalent Verizon plan would probably be over $200 a month. I've passed on a few Sony phones due to them not going through the trouble of getting WiFi calling certified. Thankfully a lot of companies do go through the trouble. Even the Razer phone works.
  • I use it all the time when visiting the town I grew up in. I have no cell signal at all there and end up just leaving my phone in airplane mode with WiFi on and do all my calls that way.
  • I use it all the time with my P2XL, no issues at all. Voice quality is excellent!
  • I don't use WiFi on my phone period.
  • I have to use wifi calling. I work in the basement of a large office building. There is no cell signal that makes it down here.
    Mobile data doesn't make it here either.
  • No. My main reason for not using Wi-Fi calling is that 911 calling is not as reliable as it is with cellular. Thankfully, my cellular coverage is rock solid at home, work, and just about everywhere I frequently visit, or else I would reconsider. Finally, my mobile carrier doesn't give me a discount for allowing them to piggyback on the broadband that I pay for at home, so why should I help them reduce their overhead?
  • All the time! It is a great feature of T mobile. Left att a few years ago so not sure if they have it yet or not. I know they blocked it on my Pixel XL but t mobile allowed it.
  • I used to, but TMO has gotten much better in my area (New Orleans metro and rural) especially indoor. I find myself leaving it off most of the time. However, I am happy that I have the option though
  • I appreciate having it, since the strength of the connection varies in different parts of my home but WiFi is strong there. Also in some parts of work, cellular reception is poor. It's nice that I can still make and receive calls.
  • Yes. because I have Sprint. and work for Sprint
  • I would if I could. AT&T disables the feature if you committed the crime of buying your phone unlocked.
  • I just load the AT&T firmware on my unlocked phone.
  • I would use it but for some reason in the UK at least you can't get WiFi calling unless you have the phone from the mobile carrier. My pixel 2 XL is from Google and hence I have no option to set up WiFi calling on it. Apple handsets are independent of the carriers and I don't understand why it would be different for Android.
  • I'm on EE in the UK with an S9+ from Samsung direct and I get WiFi calling.
  • I use it quite often at home as phone coverage is iffy sometimes. On the Fido network in Alberta, Canada. Otherwise, very good cell coverage most everywhere I go.
  • HEEHOHO
    I am more likely to use my phone as a hot spot than my WiFi to call. That said, yes I do (from time to time) WiFi call.
  • With my Pixel 2XL being on Project FI and service spotty at best in our town, WIFI is great to have and I do not use my data on FI.
  • As much as I pay for my VZW services, I expect for it to work without having to switch to Wi-fi!! Have rarely had an issue home or away. Once Iw as in a remote location, and had to join wi-fi to get data, but I just used that as an opportunity to unplug mostly from calls.
  • Yes, I do, as I work in an large hospital, where mobile signal is sometimes non existent, and is the only way to make/receive calls & texts. Some handsets have WiFi Calling built in, but some require additional software to work.
  • In the past I have had to use it in areas where my carrier signal wasn't good. Verizon has better coverage than AT&T in rural areas in some Western States. What I found out - is you have to set up your WiFi calling - before - you lose your carriers signal; can't do it on strictly WiFi coverage...
  • Yes, all the time at home. I have decent coverage, but it works much better throughout the house. ATT&T was having issues last week in our area and we didn't experience any issues because of it (at home at least). I actually used it when I was on a cruise last spring. It worked really well, even with the ships crappy Internet service.
  • Can't. T-Mobile has a well known bug that prevents mms and sms to be reliable when using Wi-Fi calling. They know about it but haven't done anything to fix the problem.
  • Oooooojjj...!! I did not know this... Will start conducting tests...
  • Never have issues. I use wifi calling on T-Mobile at home and send and receive MMS messages all the time.
  • I've had it consistently, with multiple Samsung's and my mother's Moto. It's not 100% but it is well known.
  • I use WiFi calling. I just recently installed my T-Mobile cellspot, but I will still use the feature. I like WiFi calling...
  • I've used it once or twice to try it out but other than that I have good enough coverage on T-mobile not to need it. I think it's more of a rural thing
  • I've been using it for as long as I've had a phone where it worked-- at home, it's really not much of a big deal, as I already have a strong signal, but my WiFi signal is stronger, and it's nice to be able to wander around the house without a call glitching. The big one for me was on a recent trip-- my parents live in the middle of the woods, and I can barely get a T-Mo signal at their place, but thanks to WiFi calling, I didn't miss any texts. The only issue I've seen, and this was recent, is that sometimes downloading images sent over text times out-- when I get that warning,I just turn off WiFi for a second, retry, then turn it back on.
  • Unfortunately, I can't. The WiFi is so poor in my house that wifi calling just isn't an option.
  • WiFi Calling is enabled on my phone, but as a backup to cell. Mountains often interfere with signals, so if my calls aren't going through, I just find a WiFi Hotspot, connect up and place a call. It's a nice to have feature even though I rarely use it.
  • Since I'm home the majority of time, YES, most calls are WiFi.
  • Yes, WiFi calling has been useful when traveling outside of the US.
  • No, but now that I think about it, I rarely make calls (except at work). All of my family and friends seem to favor texting and video calling.
  • Would love to but my carrier and phone a Moto G4+ don't support it. Pity because cell cover where I live is crap.
  • It's an option that I use. WiFi signal at home is strong and occasionally I get a drop in cell coverage. Why not use it? Hand off between WiFi and cell calls are seamless. Signal is always strong at home. Sound quality is very good. Home is about the only place I use WiFi regularly, anyway.
  • Yep! Use it frequently on my Samsung Galaxy S8+
  • I was in Mexico with no phone service. I made perfect clear calls through wifi calling for free. Totally awesome.
  • Great for out the country
  • do you want a usable phone in any of my university's bulidings, or even outside but behind some of them? Better hope you have wifi calling supported.
  • Yes I use it. And I have t-mobile.