Wi-Fi Calling Now Available for AT&T Users

[zjazz]

What a bummer! I was hoping to use it abroad and was waiting for this to be available...luckily we have face time, Skype, etc., to place calls.
I can understand it being a handy feature if you have a bad reception at home or at work, but ATT WIFI is zero usage for me. I have a fantastic reception at home and unlimited minutes. Turned it off.
Disappointed ATT charges for international WIFI calling.....

 

[imlynxy]

What a bummer! I was hoping to use it abroad and was waiting for this to be available...luckily we have face time, Skype, etc., to place calls.
I can understand it being a handy feature if you have a bad reception at home or at work, but ATT WIFI is zero usage for me. I have a fantastic reception at home and unlimited minutes. Turned it off.
Disappointed ATT charges for international WIFI calling.....

I read a report here that somebody used it in Germany with VPN. I tried VPN and it works, same perfect voice. Just put your phone in VPN and Att cannot know where your phone is connected.
I also wish Att lower their roaming. I have to have addition t-mo for this reason.

 

[2298754]

So the only way I can evoke wifi calling is when I'm in airplane mode? I only get 1-2 bars in my house, so I can't use wifi calling unless my call fails? How do I force wifi calling?

Go to airplane mode briefly and then turn it off. It stays on wifi calling.

 

[gsmornot]

Tried this and it worked fine; made some calls to land lines and cell phones on other carriers, all successful. So will Wi-Fi calling happen automatically when the cellular signal drops below a certain threshold? Will it also kick in mid-call when it might otherwise be a dropped call?

I don't see any downside to activating this. Where I work has very bad cell service-we have to go outside to make calls. I hope this helps alleviate that situation.

Wi-Fi calling will activate automatically if/when you're in an area with a known Wi-Fi connection and a low cell signal. The call will move from Wi-Fi to cell as the signal improves as long as you're in an area with HDVoice but I'm not sure it will go the other way. I don't think that a call started on cell will move to Wi-Fi. I would have to test for myself.

 

[gsmornot]

So the only way I can evoke wifi calling is when I'm in airplane mode? I only get 1-2 bars in my house, so I can't use wifi calling unless my call fails? How do I force wifi calling?

It will activate on its own once you hit a minimum threshold built into the phone. Post above (403) explains the method to force Wi-Fi calling.

 

[paulsdenton]

Wi-Fi calling will activate automatically if/when you're in an area with a known Wi-Fi connection and a low cell signal. The call will move from Wi-Fi to cell as the signal improves as long as you're in an area with HDVoice but I'm not sure it will go the other way. I don't think that a call started on cell will move to Wi-Fi. I would have to test for myself.

Yes that's just what happened when I got to the office this AM; one cell service bar and ATT Wifi was activated. One possible problem is that it looks like battery drain is very high when it is on. I started out at 100% and after an hour on wifi it's down to 55%. I'll have to watch this. On balance I'd rather have the better service.

 

[2298754]

Yes that's just what happened when I got to the office this AM; one cell service bar and ATT Wifi was activated. One possible problem is that it looks like battery drain is very high when it is on. I started out at 100% and after an hour on wifi it's down to 55%. I'll have to watch this. On balance I'd rather have the better service.

One way around this is to go into airplane mode and turn wifi on. Lasts so long

 

[figaro331]

Works with unlimited data plans as well.

Agree on being charged normal long distance rates when calling internationally is not right.

It doesn't work with unlocked 6S or 6S plus whether you have unlimited(grandfather) plan or not - confirmed with AT&T representative today !

 

[2457282]

Turn on Airplane mode and turn on WiFi. Shows "AT&T Wi-Fi"

I went home and tried this and it worked well. At work, it odes not work. I guess they have this blocked, which kind of defeats the feature a bit. Has anyone tried it at a starbucks or other free access point to see if they get blocked or not?

 

[RickMorty]

So I did more testing. Turns out it's my home ISP that's blocking AT&T WiFi Calling. It works great everywhere else.
I was planning to drop them anyway, so this only helps with my decision.

 

[donrsd]

That stinks.
I have an unlocked iPhone 6s Plus.

 

[dshelby]

charging long distance fees when using a service that puts 0 load on their networks is criminal as does the reoccurring hd-voice fee.

It is not a direct connection from your phone to the other person's phone. The call must still get routed. AT&T will still incur expenses. While maybe not as much, it's not a 0 load for them.

 

[Narg]

charging long distance fees when using a service that puts 0 load on their networks is criminal as does the reoccurring hd-voice fee.

Wow, why not just say you have no idea how phone calls work? The WiFi connection only routes your call to the AT&T network a different way, then it still puts load on their system after that. Try to learn something before posting B.S. about it. OK?

 

[Narg]

Works with unlimited data plans as well.

Agree on being charged normal long distance rates when calling internationally is not right.

But you are not using WiFi to call long distance. The WiFi is only used to route your call to AT&T Networks locally to you, then it goes over their network to the local office of your long distance call destination. Stop the stupidity folks, seriously stop it.

 

[drknowusa]

Just spoke to AT&T technical support because I have not been able to activate wi-if calling feature on my 6s purchased a full price unlocked from Apple. I was told that there is a "known issue" with the unlocked 6s that they are working to resolve and "hope" to have fixed in "A few days" so that the feature can be activated on these phones.

 

[DotCom2]

I'm curious to see what this will do to battery usage.
Time will tell I guess.
Please report your experiences on battery usage.

 

[solodogg]

I don't live in a VoLTE area and have never had this problem and i'm often on the phone when i arrive home and it switches from cell to wifi, nor have i ever had calls drop when i leave wifi range on the way away from home.

It is impossible for HSPA+ to transition to WiFi calling (and the phone isn't even supposed to attempt it), but it is possible to transition from WiFi to LTE or HSPA+. I have been able to replicate this issue on 4 different phones, with different iOS 9 beta, 9.0 GM, 9.0.1 and 9.0.2 final versions, and every one would mute the call until disconnected when going from strong signal to a low enough signal where WiFi would normally activate.

The only difference here is that you are initiating the call on HSPA+ while your phone is not in rage of WiFi signal. Each time I have had this issue appear, my phone was connected to WiFi, but the WiFi calling signal threshold had not been met. Once I moved to an area where signal dropped enough for WiFi calling to activate (while still connected to the same WiFi network), the call mutes until disconnected. As soon as I terminate the call, the status bar immediately changes from just AT&T to AT&T Wi-Fi.


*EDIT* just enabled WiFi calling, not in a VoLTE area, and while talking on the phone, I unplugged the router. The "call failed" screen appeared as the phone attempted to switch to VoLTE, but it's not available in this market. There is no way for the handoff from WiFi to HSPA+ to complete on AT&T.

 

[richwoodrocket]

I don't see this option on my iPhone on AT&T

 

[SlipperySlop]

That's right - it uses your minutes. Of course. You're being charged minutes to use your own wi-fi network when their cellular signal is insufficient to maintain a call.

Actually, it may not be the case that you are charged minutes for using wifi calling, even if you have an old minute metered plan.

Oh, but don't complain - plenty of people here will say that this logic is utterly ridiculous, and we should be HAPPY that AT&T is allowing us to use our own paid wi-fi to extend their network.

If it upsets you so much, turn off wifi calling and deal with the poor signal that you chose to have. If you aren't happy with att's coverage, then switch to another carrier. If you live in a dungeon with no signal from anyone, then don't use a cell or tie a string between two cans and communicate that way. You are being absurd. WiFi calling gives you an opportunity to use your phone in an area that you might not otherwise be able to use it. It's a good thing, not the bad thing you make it out to be.

Additionally to show you how absurd your logic is, I have a drop cam. I paid for it. Yet to use it, it needs to link to my wifi network. I paid for this device and now this device is using my wifi to make money. By your logic, the Dropcam should provide it's own network.

 

[SteveLV702]

wont let me activate wifi calling on my iPhone 6S Plus when contact AT&T they claim "AT&T doesn't support the following bring your own device models: A1688 and A1700 (6s) and A1687 and A1699 (6s Plus)" and mine they say is a A1687 I pre-ordered on Apple.com choose AT&T Model 128GB Space Grey and a 128GB Rose Gold doing PAY IN FULL so would be unlocked. Well guess in their eyes I didn't get a AT&T Model....

They suggest returning and getting right one... well problem is now its over the 14 day return period 2 they probably have none in stock as still on back order. So would be without a phone..

So warning if you have a UNLOCKED Phone don't expect to us AT&T WiFi Calling

 

[Narg]

So much confusion here about what this is and what it does...

1. This feature only works when your call via Cell network fails. It's seamless, and you can't force it or even notice it when it occurs. (unless you notice that you have zero cell bars, and are still talking....)
2. This does NOT bypass the AT&T network (or Sprint or T-Mobile or... or... or any other network you might use for Wi-Fi calling) The call origination is the only part that changes. Your call is still routed to your carrier's network, and still uses their equipment to complete the call. SO, yes, you still use minutes on your plan, and you still get charged for long distance as you should be charged for using their network, because you ARE using their network.

 

[Danimal1313]

My home router (ASUS-RT-N66U) has both a 2.4 and 5GHz SSIDs. VoWiFi works on the 2.4 SSID (with limited cell coverage and airplane+wifi) but the 5GHz SSID will not initiate it. Same AP, same internal/external IP, just a different SSID. The signal is strong on the 5GHz, and I can successfully do anything data related on it with 4x data transmission speed. I have a wireless poewerline repeater in the back of the house with a different 2.4GHz SSID and it works there too. The firewall settings are the same across the board (QoS is off). Has anyone else tried VoWiFi on a 5GHz SSID?

 

[tmoney468]

Bummer that this is only supported on 6 and above - would work great for the 5s my fiance has and crappy AT&T reception.

 

[gsmornot]

wont let me activate wifi calling on my iPhone 6S Plus when contact AT&T they claim "AT&T doesn't support the following bring your own device models: A1688 and A1700 (6s) and A1687 and A1699 (6s Plus)" and mine they say is a A1687 I pre-ordered on Apple.com choose AT&T Model 128GB Space Grey and a 128GB Rose Gold doing PAY IN FULL so would be unlocked. Well guess in their eyes I didn't get a AT&T Model....

They suggest returning and getting right one... well problem is now its over the 14 day return period 2 they probably have none in stock as still on back order. So would be without a phone..

So warning if you have a UNLOCKED Phone don't expect to us AT&T WiFi Calling

View attachment 591104

Interesting. Just looked and I received from Apple a A1634 model 6S Plus meant for AT&T. The only difference I see in the two is mine includes LTE band 30 where your's does not. I don't understand not being able to have this setup for WiFi calling.

 

[sbamberger]

WiFi calling seems to work fine for me (iPhone 6s, AT&T) but only when I put the phone in Airplane mode and turn on WiFi. The phone seems to prefer/default to regular cellular even though I have rock solid WiFi. This happens at home (defaults to the Microcell) and at the office (defaults to cellular) even though WiFi is perfect and works when I turn off the cellular.

Anyone have this problem and figure out how to make the phone default to WiFi calling?