AT&T Expands Wi-Fi Calling to Cover International Calls to U.S. When Traveling

[zorinlynx]

I never understood the whole Whatsapp/tango/viber craze. These features are built into every iPhone. If you are on wifi iMessage and FaceTime (video and audio) are free. No need to download any app. The only situation is if the other person doesn't have an iPhone. If they don't and I am away and it is really necessary to get in touch with them I will email them or spend the $2/min to call them.

I use Telegram a lot because it's cross platform and runs on EVERYTHING.

You can Telegram on an iPhone, on a Windows PC, on a Mac, on an Android phone, on a Linux box.. ANYTHING.

iMessage only works on iOS devices and Macs.

Text messages don't work well on desktop computers.

The simple truth is these apps make it easier for a wide variety of people to communicate. Not everyone has (or should have!) an iPhone. People like different things. Let them enjoy them.

 

[spacemnspiff]

Doesn't matter if you have a Facebook account, using WhatsApp is enough. They build a profile around your use of that app and then can still target you with the Facebook ad network which extends far far outside Facebook alone. Enjoy giving them text, voice, contact information, and more.

I barely use Google services and Facebook for this very reason, I don't want to be the product of their advertising business model.

 

[Thunderhawks]

So if you've decided to extend your trip a couple of days and you need to call your dentist and reschedule an appointment, you just call your dentist's receptionists smart phone with the WhatsApp app on the phone.

You find out your best friend has been in an accident and is in the hospital. But they don't allow cell phones in his room. You just call the main hospital switchboard's WhatsApp, and they connect you to your friend's room.

Making wifi calls for cheap or even free has been possible for a long time. Six years ago I used Skype to call home from the UK on my iPhone (I kept the phone in airplane mode to ensure I didn't accidentally make a call over cellular roaming). But AT&T (and the other carriers that now offer this service) has made it easier. You don't need a special app, and you can call any us phone number whether or not they have the matching app.

Plenty of ways to call for free from Europe. Why is ATT waking up a big deal?

 

[avanpelt]

I have the 20gb data plan, but ATT wont give me unlimited calling to Mexico/Canada because my current plan was actually a 10gb plan that they doubled a little over a year ago. Only way I can get it is if I downgrade to a 15gb which I'm not too happy about

Try the Retentions department. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they add it for you -- especially if you're not in a contract.

 

[ND40oz]

When wi-fi calling was first enabled by ATT, I tried calling my friend's iPhone 5 and it would not connect. It's possible that certain ports on my friend's router, as well as where I work, need to be opened in order for wi-fi calling to work.

When T-Mobile first released it for the iPhone I had no issues getting Netgear and Asus routers to work with it. But a Verizon Fios router needed to have SIP ALG enabled before it would work.

I use t-mobiles wifi calling for almost all of my voice calls and if I'm not on wifi, it's still only $.20 a minute for international roaming. I can't believe AT&T hasn't supported it until now, there doesn't seem to be a reason not to.

 

[vooke]

I love AT&T iphones. Why? Because they cost the least to unlock, even blacklisted devices.
I hate AT&T android devices. Why? Because from lollipop, they can't be rooted

 

[Carlanga]

It says "America" right there in the name...the United States of America

no, it says "of America" . America is a continent, its sad how bad geography textbooks and classes are taught in the US. Just like some sports call world championships some of their finals and contests played in the US.

 

[BuffaloTF]

It says "America" right there in the name...the United States of America

Yeah... but it's clearly a case of the actual literal name versus the internationally used shortened slang. Like saying "Mexico" ... where the real name is Estados Unidos Mexicanos. Technically -- key word there, don't everyone jump on me for saying it -- technically, since America is not 1, but 2 continents... anyone and everyone from them is American and from America. Canadian? American. Brazilian? American. Though it is the generally accepted shorthand/slang to say the United States is America... and United States Citizens are American. You won't be confusing anyone using the terms, just someone wanted to be literal in this case.

 

[CEmajr]

Nice of AT&T to finally catch up.

 

[boston04and07]

Does anyone have any more information about this feature - making phone calls from a cellular connected iPad? I have ATT - an iPhone 6s+ and an LTE ipad mini 2. I've had them linked for a while now so I could receive calls on my iPad while it was connected to the same wifi network that my phone was. But the above quote makes it sound like this should work even when the iPad is not connected to a wifi network. I just tried it over my iPad's LTE and got the following prompt: "Call Failed: Connect to a Wi-Fi network to make phone calls."

I couldn't find anything explaining further how to make this work - anyone got any ideas?

EDIT - NEVERMIND - i just saw that my iPad never updated to 9.3. I thought that it did overnight. I think that's required for the new features to work.

Did you ever sort this out? The article didn't cover this as much but I got a separate text from AT&T yesterdays stating exactly this - that cellular devices (i.e. iPads) would be able to use Numbersync to make and receive calls to your iPhone's number even when they weren't on a Wifi network. I don't have a cellular device to check myself but I believe this should work. Also, after you upgrade to 9.3, make sure you also upgrade to AT&T carrier setting 24.1 in the Settings app.

 

[BuffaloTF]

no, it says "of America" . America is a continent, its sad how bad geography textbooks and classes are taught in the US. Just like some sports call world championships some of their finals and contests played in the US.

While what you're driving at is true...

...there's not an individual on earth, including yourself, that would be confused by someone saying they are from America... considering they, too, refer to the country as America and the peoples as Americans. It's a cultural reference used globally, and there's an understanding of exactly what they're doing when they do so.

 

[iMerik]

Does anyone have a roundup of any privacy concerns for this?

 

[igorsky]

no, it says "of America" . America is a continent, its sad how bad geography textbooks and classes are taught in the US. Just like some sports call world championships some of their finals and contests played in the US.

Since you're a fan of technicalities, "America" is not a continent either. Classes and textbooks in the US teach the difference between North America and South America.

 

[avanpelt]

Looks like AT&T enabled the international use of Wi-Fi calling back to the U.S. for no charge only because Verizon enabled Wi-Fi calling for iPhone 6 and later with the iOS 9.3 update on Monday and Verizon's Wi-Fi calling allows the use of Wi-Fi calling while abroad to call U.S. numbers for no charge.

So, AT&T wasn't being overly generous. They were just keeping pace with Verizon. Even so, as a former Verizon customer who's now with AT&T, I'm glad to be able to use Wi-Fi calling abroad regardless of what pushed AT&T to finally allow it. The other big story (which I'm surprised MR hasn't mentioned) is that Wi-Fi calling is finally enabled for Verizon customers now.

 

[imlynxy]

Att should bring the same roaming rates like 10 dollars per day (2 for Canada) Verizon has. Passport is a way outdated and the most expensive on the market.

 

[avanpelt]

Att should bring the same roaming rates like 10 dollars per day (2 for Canada) Verizon has. Passport is a way outdated and the most expensive on the market.

AT&T offers roaming in Mexico and Canada with unlimited calling to numbers in the country you're in and to U.S. numbers, unlimited texts, and 1 GB of data per device per month for no additional charge. That's actually better than Verizon's offering as long as you're staying in North America and don't need more than 1 GB of data per device.

 

[User008]

Because 99% of all people don't have Whatsapp.

This is a free service that seems to be mostly targeted toward US travelers to be able to call home for free while abroad. Considering how few things AT&T gives us for free, I think you should just take this as a huge win and keep using Whatsapp if you want to.

Wow, you don't leave the States much, do ya?

 

[doelcm82]

Plenty of ways to call for free from Europe. Why is ATT waking up a big deal?

It's not a big deal. It's a little deal that makes calling back to the US for free a bit more convenient for people with iPhones and AT&T plans.

If you have an iPhone on an AT&T plan, you likely got a text about it. A text. Just a text. A tiny little text. Not a big deal.

 

[igorsky]

Because 99% of all people don't have Whatsapp.

This is a free service that seems to be mostly targeted toward US travelers to be able to call home for free while abroad. Considering how few things AT&T gives us for free, I think you should just take this as a huge win and keep using Whatsapp if you want to.

WhatsApp has something like 700 million active users, so it's pretty prevalent. I was never a big fan of WhatsApp myself until I realized how convenient it is for travel. You can text/call anyone in the world from anywhere in the world, unlike wifi calling.

I like to give credit where credit is due, but I'm not giving AT&T any credit for being slightly less greedy. More than likely this wasn't a big revenue generator for them and it didn't cost them anything.

 

[Tinmania]

Was there some sort of legal/FCC reason that this wasn't the case before? Seeing that AT&T would actually have to go out of their way to DISABLE WiFi calling outside the US (the Internet is the Internet; it doesn't care where you are so it must use GPS to do this), I'm really curious about the reason.

I assumed WiFi calling would work anywhere! I'm glad I didn't travel before today assuming it would work and then be annoyed when it didn't!

I don't think it used GPS since it worked/works in airplane mode (with wifi on). Presumably they based it on IP.

I doubt there was any legal reason, especially FCC. It was almost certainly a revenue decision that had to be abandoned in light of the competition.



Mike

 

[Rigby]

Does anyone have a roundup of any privacy concerns for this?

Wifi calling uses IPSec encryption, so it is not possible for anyone to eavesdrop on your calls on a public Wifi, if that's your concern.

 

[imlynxy]

AT&T offers roaming in Mexico and Canada with unlimited calling to numbers in the country you're in and to U.S. numbers, unlimited texts, and 1 GB of data per device per month for no additional charge. That's actually better than Verizon's offering as long as you're staying in North America and don't need more than 1 GB of data per device.

With old plans Att offers "a hole from a swiss cheese", they say change the plan. This Bonus is not for every plan.

 

[darngooddesign]

no, it says "of America" . America is a continent, its sad how bad geography textbooks and classes are taught in the US. Just like some sports call world championships some of their finals and contests played in the US.

America is not a continent, North America and South America are. Two continents, not one. Perhaps you should brush up on your geography.

 

[Popeye206]

I travel to Belgium often and this will rock! At least I'll be able to phone home from the hotel and the office without having to pay or use Skype. Glad this finally got added.

 

[avanpelt]

With old plans Att offers "a hole from a swiss cheese", they say change the plan. This Bonus is not for every plan.

That is true. Most (if not all) of the benefits they're adding are only available on Mobile Share Value plans and maybe the new "Unlimited" plan.