Google is also planning to launch Wi-Fi Calling Service and many believe Google is ready to make announcement about it.
The next big thing in the mobile and smartphones industry is Wi-Fi or Wireless calling. Skype is facilitating the same for years and we have a lot of other apps like Google Hangout and Viber which provide the wireless calling feature. WhatsApp introduced the calling feature just recently and now the mobile networks and carriers are taking a lot of interest in Wi-Fi calling feature as well. Many of the cellular companies in US have started providing the Wi-Fi calling facility and now Google is also planning to introduce the Wi-Fi calling for smartphones very soon in US for now. The carriers in UK like EE have also announced to introduce Wi-Fi calling as well.
We are here discussing all you want to know about Wi-Fi calling and then we will discuss on how to enable Wi-Fi calling on your smartphone.
Wi-Fi Calling – How does it work?
With Wi-Fi calling enabled, one can make normal calls on his/her phone when one is connected to a Wi-Fi network on his/her phone. You do not need to use any third party app like Skype and you use the contacts list on your phone to make the call as normally you do on when you make the call through cellular network.
Despite a lot of third party apps are available like Skype, Viber, WhatsApp which let you make the voice calls over Wi-Fi but this more of a ‘voice over internet’ and you need to open the app and then there should be that contact in app which you want to call and more importantly the other user should be using that similar app as well. Like If you make a call on Skype, you add the person to your Skype contacts list and before you can make call the other user should be not only using the Skype but also signed in.
On the contrary as we mentioned earlier, when using the Wi-Fi calling feature of your phone, you make the call like you make a normal call without using any third part app and without any other hassle. But the problem here is to make a call over Wi-Fi without any third party app, your smartphone must support the Wi-Fi calling feature and the carrier or mobile network you are using has enabled the Wi-Fi calling feature as well.
Which phones and networks support the Wi-Fi Calling feature?
For the time being, following are the handsets which support Wi-Fi calling feature. Apple iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, HTC One M9, LG G3, G2, LG Optimus L90 and the Microsoft Lumia 640 phones have the Wi-Fi calling feature enabled or you can enable the feature on these phones with little effort.
When talking about the carriers or networks which provide the feature in US. T-Mobile and sprint provide the feature for now only. Whereas Verizon and AT&T have plans to offer the facility in near future, although none of them has provided any confirmed date yet.
The cost of the Wi-Fi calling depends completely on the carrier you are using although there is no extra cost in configuring it. Similarly you do not need extra speedy Wi-Fi network to make the calls but with below 1MBPS Wi-Fi connection you can experience decrease in call quality.