Call + Hotspot at the Same Time?

[ninaco]

I'm new to the iPhone (coming from a Galaxy S4). Last week FiOS went down in my neighborhood. Quite a shock - that's never happened to me before.

Unfortunately, it happened when I was on a critical conference call and sharing my desktop. So, I called into the conference bridge via the iPhone and turned on hot spot to connect my laptop. But, while I was on the call, there was no connectivity via the iPhone/wi-fi.

I tried it again this evening, and the laptop lost connectivity when I made a call on the iPhone. Am I doing something wrong? Or, is the iPhone incapable of handling a call & being a hot spot at the same time?

If the iPhone can't support call + hot spot, I'll be second guessing the switch. Staying online while running conference calls is key to keeping my teleworking status. (FiOS is stable, but the power occasionally goes out. That's when I rely on my cell.) Never occurred to me to question whether the iPhone had this basic functionality.

 

[eyoungren]

I'm new to the iPhone (coming from a Galaxy S4). Last week FiOS went down in my neighborhood. Quite a shock - that's never happened to me before.

Unfortunately, it happened when I was on a critical conference call and sharing my desktop. So, I called into the conference bridge via the iPhone and turned on hot spot to connect my laptop. But, while I was on the call, there was no connectivity via the iPhone/wi-fi.

I tried it again this evening, and the laptop lost connectivity when I made a call on the iPhone. Am I doing something wrong? Or, is the iPhone incapable of handling a call & being a hot spot at the same time?

If the iPhone can't support call + hot spot, I'll be second guessing the switch. Staying online while running conference calls is key to keeping my teleworking status. (FiOS is stable, but the power occasionally goes out. That's when I rely on my cell.) Never occurred to me to question whether the iPhone had this basic functionality.

Basic functionality if your carrier is GSM such as AT&T and T-Mobile. If your carrier is CDMA such as Verizon and Sprint you'll have to wait until VOLTE is implemented before you get talk/data at the same time.

 

[lamborghini392]

In the settings app if you go into the cellular settings, you should see the "Enable LTE" box. Just click it and select "Voice + Data". You should be able to make a call and use data at the same time now. Now if you're talking about wifi + voice then I'm not sure.

 

[ninaco]

In the settings app if you go into the cellular settings, you should see the "Enable LTE" box. Just click it and select "Voice + Data". You should be able to make a call and use data at the same time now. Now if you're talking about wifi + voice then I'm not sure.

Thanks lamborghini. When I tried enabling LTE for Voice + Data, the message "Cannot activate LTE calls. To enable LTE calls on this account, contact Verizon" was received.

When I went to Verizon's site, I discovered that they don't enable "Advanced Calling" on prepaid accounts. So, to get the functionality w/Verizon I would have to switch from prepaid to post-paid. Verizon prepaid suits me perfectly - flat fee of $45 a month (no additional taxes) for unlimited calls/texts & all the data I've ever needed.

Verizon prepaid didn't have this restriction on the Android phone. But, I feel better knowing it's a carrier issue rather than an iPhone restriction. Because the 6s+ is paid for, my carrier options are open.

 

[off_piste]

Basic functionality if your carrier is GSM such as AT&T and T-Mobile. If your carrier is CDMA such as Verizon and Sprint you'll have to wait until VOLTE is implemented before you get talk/data at the same time.

Not sure what you're talking about as I had it on my Note 3 on Verizon.

 

[eyoungren]

Not sure what you're talking about as I had it on my Note 3 on Verizon.

I'm talking about the iPhone and CDMA. Not your Note 3 and CDMA.

There is a certain way it can be done (voice/data) on CDMA by switching radios fast enough so that it appears simultaneous. The iPhone is not currently capable of that or designed that way for CDMA carriers.

 

[rsbacon]

Thanks lamborghini. When I tried enabling LTE for Voice + Data, the message "Cannot activate LTE calls. To enable LTE calls on this account, contact Verizon" was received.

When I went to Verizon's site, I discovered that they don't enable "Advanced Calling" on prepaid accounts. So, to get the functionality w/Verizon I would have to switch from prepaid to post-paid. Verizon prepaid suits me perfectly - flat fee of $45 a month (no additional taxes) for unlimited calls/texts & all the data I've ever needed.

Verizon prepaid didn't have this restriction on the Android phone. But, I feel better knowing it's a carrier issue rather than an iPhone restriction. Because the 6s+ is paid for, my carrier options are open.

Yeah it's usually either your phone or plan or both. My office iPhone 6s doesn't have voice + data (VoLTE) since it's on a business account, but my personal 6s+ does in my postpaid plan. I also think Verizon only supports VoLTE for iPhone 6 and later devices

 

[cynics]

Like mentioned this is an unfortunate limitation of the iPhone in combination with Verizon's CDMA network. If you were using a GSM carrier this wouldn't be an issue, conversely if you were using a different phone of Verizons network there is a good chance it would work....like your Galaxy S4.

VoLTE is really your only option however like you found out that isn't available on pre paid plans.