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iOS 8 Beta - WiFi Calling [How To Enable]

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The first post of this thread is a WikiPost and can be edited by anyone with the appropiate permissions. Your edits will be public.
cariacou

cariacou

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 21, 2010
507
428
Did anyone have time to check if one can now call over WiFi ?

(I believe T-mobile US is the only operator supporting this so far)


---------- EDIT (Summary this thread's info) --------

WiFi Calling is different than continuity
Continuity= call routed from iphone to ipad/mac over wifi.
WiFi Calling = calling from your phone without using your cellular connection.



FAQ:
* Compatible Devices: iPhone 5s, 5c (supposedly all versions. Known to work: A1533 T-mobile, A1533 Verizon)
* Incompatible Devices: iPhone 5, 4s (4s seems ruled out, but 5 could see a software update?)
* Compatible carriers: T-mobile ONLY (AT&T & Verizon have no plans to activate it. Sprint hinted about being interested)
* Compatible Plans: ALL (yes, all. even prepaid. the screnshot above is with prepaid)
* Costs the same price as a regular cellular call on your plan (free up to 10c/min nationwide. not sure about abroad)

Known Issues:
* Cellular Handover. Wi-Fi calls don't transfer to cellular when moving. The call drops.
* Yosemite/ios8 Handover/Continuity. >does it work seemlessly ? call/text from other device?

Required Steps To Activate Wi-Fi Calling:
* Hardware: Make sure you have a compatible SIM card: IMS-compatible sim (TM9177 or higher printed on your sim)
* Carrier Side: EDIT your home 911 address. (if it is already there, modify 1 line). ALL lines have to be entered (Address#2, ZIP,etc...), or Wi-Fi calling won't work.
* iPhone Side: Settings>Phone>WiFi Calling>Enable


Test Your Setup:
* Make sure you turned on Wifi Calling
* Go To Airplane Mode (make sure the airplane icon is here)
* Turn Wifi ON
* After 30seconds you should see "T-mobile Wi-Fi as the carrier" next to the airplane icon
* Send a text or make a call. It goes through!
 
Last edited:
aziatiklover

aziatiklover

macrumors 68030
Jul 12, 2011
2,704
269
8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
cariacou said:
Now that gives some good hope :)

Did you find anything in the settings to enable/disable wifi calling ?
Click to expand...

Screen-Shot-2014-07-07-at-20.34.27.png
 
S

Stuke00

macrumors 68000
Oct 11, 2011
1,674
74
Collinsville,IL
To activate Wi-Fi Calling functionality for T-Mobile (US only), please follow these steps:

Go to Settings -> Phone -> Wi-Fi Calling
Toggle the 'Wi-Fi Calling' switch to ON
If the carrier does not have user's registered emergency address, you will be asked to add it before the feature is activated
 
cariacou

cariacou

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 21, 2010
507
428
yay !!!

is it working ?

I'm buying a developper membership tonight :)
 
R

ronm99

macrumors 6502
Jan 13, 2012
334
83
I would be interested in hearing how well T-Mobile / WiFi calling works. I'm seriously thinking of switching to T-Mobile, but I need to be able to use my phone in my house (which has terrible reception with everyone). Right now, I have a Verizon network extender. WiFi calling would be much better!
 
aziatiklover

aziatiklover

macrumors 68030
Jul 12, 2011
2,704
269
8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
cariacou said:
yay !!!

is it working ?

I'm buying a developper membership tonight :)
Click to expand...

ronm99 said:
I would be interested in hearing how well T-Mobile / WiFi calling works. I'm seriously thinking of switching to T-Mobile, but I need to be able to use my phone in my house (which has terrible reception with everyone). Right now, I have a Verizon network extender. WiFi calling would be much better!
Click to expand...

http://9to5mac.com/2014/07/07/ios-8-beta-3-activates-wifi-calling-feature-for-u-s-t-mobile-iphones/
 
M

MattMJB0188

macrumors 68020
Dec 28, 2009
2,032
583
ronm99 said:
I would be interested in hearing how well T-Mobile / WiFi calling works. I'm seriously thinking of switching to T-Mobile, but I need to be able to use my phone in my house (which has terrible reception with everyone). Right now, I have a Verizon network extender. WiFi calling would be much better!
Click to expand...

Don't be taken in by all their advertisements. They have A LOT of work and then SOME to do on their network. The band 4 LTE is horrible. The signal is so bad, even though all the towers have been upgraded. Using the iphone 5S, it bounces back and fourth from Edge to 4G to LTE. The battery drains so much faster with T-Mobile. It also gets a lot hotter.

Try T-Mobie thoroughly in your area before committing.
 
E

etie27

macrumors newbie
Feb 3, 2008
6
0
cariacou said:
dang it... I'm on prepaid too :/ the walmart $30/month is just too good...
Click to expand...

chekz0414 said:
I don't have that... is Wi-Fi calling only for monthly subscribers?
Click to expand...

T-mobile allows wifi calling on other phones with prepaid plans. So I'd assume it will work the same for the iPhone on the 30 dollar plan (which I have). It will count against your minutes apparently, but I'm fine with that. At least I'll be able to make/receive calls in all areas of my house.
 
cariacou

cariacou

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 21, 2010
507
428
etie27 said:
T-mobile allows wifi calling on other phones with prepaid plans. So I'd assume it will work the same for the iPhone on the 30 dollar plan (which I have). It will count against your minutes apparently, but I'm fine with that. At least I'll be able to make/receive calls in all areas of my house.
Click to expand...

you were faster than me !
I just asked the question on Tmobile live chat, and got the same answer. (without any explicit support for the iphone, but I don't see why it would be any different)
 
P

powerbookduo

macrumors newbie
Jun 18, 2009
10
0
My phone doesn't seem to be showing the new setting. I'm postpaid and have already tried rebooting the phone and force quitting settings. Any ideas?
 
cariacou

cariacou

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 21, 2010
507
428
powerbookduo said:
My phone doesn't seem to be showing the new setting. I'm postpaid and have already tried rebooting the phone and force quitting settings. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

did you get the carrier update ?

if not, try going to airplane for ~5minutes, and come out of it.
or connect it to your computer with itunes.

this should force the carrier update to happen
 
B

BruiserB

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2008
1,731
705
T-Mobile Wifi Calling

Anyone activate it yet? Is it as simple as turning it on? Any other enrollment necessary?

I believe it still uses your plan minutes, correct? Has anyone tried from overseas to make a "local" call without roaming charges?

Please post your experiences with this feature in this thread! Anxious to know more about it!
 
P

powerbookduo

macrumors newbie
Jun 18, 2009
10
0
cariacou said:
did you get the carrier update ?

if not, try going to airplane for ~5minutes, and come out of it.
or connect it to your computer with itunes.

this should force the carrier update to happen
Click to expand...

I tried that, but I didn't receive an update. I was running the new carrier version 16.3 already.
 
gmanist1000

gmanist1000

macrumors 68030
Sep 22, 2009
2,832
824
ronm99 said:
I would be interested in hearing how well T-Mobile / WiFi calling works. I'm seriously thinking of switching to T-Mobile, but I need to be able to use my phone in my house (which has terrible reception with everyone). Right now, I have a Verizon network extender. WiFi calling would be much better!
Click to expand...

Try the T-Mobile test drive program.
 
R

ronm99

macrumors 6502
Jan 13, 2012
334
83
MattMJB0188 said:
Don't be taken in by all their advertisements. They have A LOT of work and then SOME to do on their network. The band 4 LTE is horrible. The signal is so bad, even though all the towers have been upgraded. Using the iphone 5S, it bounces back and fourth from Edge to 4G to LTE. The battery drains so much faster with T-Mobile. It also gets a lot hotter.

Try T-Mobie thoroughly in your area before committing.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback! It is something I am a bit concerned about since Verizon is famous for having the best network.

I'll probably try out their "test drive", and worst case, I can always go back to Verizon since there is no "contract".

Interestingly enough, right around my neighborhood, my T-Mobile iPad gets MUCH better download speeds than Verizon does.

----------
gmanist1000 said:
Try the T-Mobile test drive program.
Click to expand...

I definitely want to try out the test drive, although I was going to wait until I could try out WiFi calling while I'm at it.

I was going to wait until iOS8 is released, but since I'm a developer, maybe I could get one of their iPhones, update it to iOS8, and then revert it to iOS7 before returning it. Hmm ...
 
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