Hmm Thanks, good to know... I also did just check and noticed I don't have HDVoice coverage here in Lower CT... Surprised by that.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Wi-Fi Calling Now Available for AT&T Users
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Hmm Thanks, good to know... I also did just check and noticed I don't have HDVoice coverage here in Lower CT... Surprised by that.
You may need to get a newer SIM card only other possibilities I can think of is you may not be in a supported area or may somehow have WiFi Blocking on your account
Upon getting a new SIM if it doesn't activate/work I would advise contacting AT&T Customer Service ideally via their Twitter for best results and chances of getting it sorted out
It should as long as everything you have is compatible and you're connecting to a decent sufficient WiFi Source
AP Mode is just a pretty proven means of forcing WiFi calling
Ideally if you're using an iPhone 6/6P/6S/6SP and in an area where HD Voice or VoLTE are offered as long as WIFi and WiFi calling are enabled on your device in theory your phone should latch onto the best available signal at the time
If your WiFi = Better than your cell signal and is stronger then it should handover to WiFi
If Cellular is better it will stay on cellular unless forced via turning on AP mode then turning on WiFi
( AP/Airplane mode by default shuts off WiFi hence why you need to reconnect your device to a WiFi source )
Have you NOT Been reading comments on all these WiFi calling related articles?
It is true. This is NOT solely an AT&T decision.
AT&T has clearly designed and deployed their WiFi calling feature in a slightly different manner and format than Sprint or T-Mobile in how WiFi calling is handled and routed ergo yes they decided to deploy it differently no it's not their faults older devices don't support it.
Can a 5C 5S use WiFi calling? Yes on T-Mobile or Sprint
Can a 5 do WiFi calling? Yes only on T-Mobile and with some difficulties and mixed results
With the tech format and system AT&T deployed ONLY iPhone 6 6P 6S 6SP and likely future devices ( possibly other non Apple ones too ) will properly allow AT&T WiFi calling
What a T-Mobile device does is mostly irrelevant to AT&T customers whom may or may not wish to utilize this service on AT&T
In very rare lucky instances it can hand off to HSPA/LTE/4G but ideally mostly
HD Voice or VoLTE Coverage areas will give you your best performance for users with the feature enabled
they wouldn't give me one. they did pay for it, eventually by issuing me credits on my bill, i then sold it.
i can paste a url here from t-mobile's website that tells you we will give you one, if you qualify.
AT&T has no such page. all AT&T has for free microcells are stories]
your data shouldn't count if its wifi or not, because its your internet.
I can confirm that it switches to the better signal. I normally have 3 dots of AT&T signal here in my house. Today it one down to 2 dots and when I checked my screen I got the AT&T Wifi indication.
Doesn't work on my home network either. Worked fine when I tested it on a different WiFi network. I called my ISP and they said they don't block any ports. If they were, VoIP and FaceTime wouldn't work on my WiFi and they all do. T-Mobile WiFi calling has worked fine on my network for the past year. I spent a couple hours on the phone with AT&T last night and everything looks fine from their end.
The only thing left to troubleshoot is my (old model) Apple AirPort Extreme router. I did power-cycle it twice last night, but that didn't help.
Does VoIP work for you?
What router are you using?
In short the 5S and older were made too soon before ATT considered implementation of this. With the way AT&T designed and offered their WFC feature only 6/6P and newer can support it
WFC can however work for iPhone 5S 5C users on TMobile and Sprint or iPhone 5 users on TMobile but with some difficulties
ALL Messaging formats can/do/should work over ATT WiFi
Yep basically it's a game of strongest signal at the time wins. Your phone basically when you have WiFi on will always analyze the signals around and in theory prioritize the stronger of the what's available near you
Was finally able to toggle on wifi calling on my 6s Plus...but the AT&T Wifi icon is not coming up.
When I check my account/line features on AT&T website, it lists that I have a "Wifi Calling Blocker" enabled on my account.
I started up a quick chat with AT&T. They had me toggle off/on wifi calling and after about a half hour on the chat they claimed they succesfully removed the block from my account.
It's been about an hour since then and block is still listed and its still there. Looks like I have to call AT&T when I get out of work.
I would advise if at all possible contacting ATT thru Twitter ( @ATTCares ) for best most efficient most likely to work results
Not this guy I quoted below or ANY Other person on old outdated grandfathered plans w/limits
"Charged under your existing plan" is more or less obligatory legalese to cover their butts and set customer expectations that whatever your plan limits were before they remain the same we are just improving coverage/service options for you at no extra cost beyond whatever the structure of your current plan permits
So yes if your plan has UL Messaging then you can send/receive ANY Text IM Picture Video or MultiMedia messages to your hearts content over WiFi
If your plan includes UL Minutes then by all means chat it up and make/receive all the WiFi calls you want
I have an older AirPort Extreme and it worked fine. My provider is AT&T Uverse (DSL) so it had better work.
I got a 6s plus last week and put my 5s sim card in it and everything worked fine. When wifi calling was turned on I kept getting an oops pop up and no screen to input the 911 address. I read on this forum that you need a new sim card with VoLte so I just put in the new sim that came with the phone, called att and I activated it automatedly by phone. I was then able to finish setting up wifi calling. I guess I will be stuck with that $15 activation fee anyway.
I am in SC, but my home address in in NJ. The wifi calling just wouldn't turn on even after all my info was set up. It kept going to change the emergency address screen. So, I changed it to SC and turning wifi calling on then stuck in settings.. So I think I am good to go. There are times here where our phones don't ring or we drop many calls so this will be a big help.
I am not sure I like the constant hand off since we are right on the edge of a cell tower. I will have to see how it works. presently I have 3 bars. I wonder if the new sim with VoLte is making a difference. Usually it is only 1-2 bars.
I am in SC, but my home address in in NJ. The wifi calling just wouldn't turn on even after all my info was set up. It kept going to change the emergency address screen. So, I changed it to SC and turning wifi calling on then stuck in settings.. So I think I am good to go. There are times here where our phones don't ring or we drop many calls so this will be a big help.
I am not sure I like the constant hand off since we are right on the edge of a cell tower. I will have to see how it works. presently I have 3 bars. I wonder if the new sim with VoLte is making a difference. Usually it is only 1-2 bars.
I have an Asus RT-68R router connected to my FiOS router as an AP and it works fine.
Opened a ticket with AT&T tech support. Confirmed that my 6s+ will not accept calls on wifi from landlines. Cell phones from any carrier work. My husband's 6s accepts calls from both. AT&T tech reproduced the issue and comitted to a fix.
I'm going to defer you all to this post and assume yea WFC is So new for ATT most reps don't have a clue or proper training yet
------------------
No it can use ANY Network but it's encrypted so you should be safe. Also if it's any consolation or makes you feel safer just like ANY WiFi connection it can/will ONLY use networks you feel/deem as safe from whatever WiFi sources you choose to connect to in your settings so you do have some control over it
This is a gray area and wouldn't should NOT Be there. There won't be any extra charges but usage WILL Be billed per your existing plans if you visit the FAQ or disclaimers. So really yes you'll be using your plan minutes for the call as you would normally.
If you have unlimited NW or a high NW bucket
Or UL M2M I'd advise using those or otherwise not go too hog wild on WiFi calls
Giving up on it after a few tries seems short sighted. It's a fairly new feature to ATT give it time and a chance. There could be a number of reasons for any issues either of you had that could be fixed at a later
Basically the 5S doesn't offer sufficient HD Voice and VoLTE Capability hence NOT Compatible with AT&T's version of WiFi Calling
have you turned your phone to airplane mode with wifi enabled? if your signal is above 2 dots, wifi calling won't enable.
Hope this helps answers and clears some of the questions up for some of you:
From At&T:
AT&T Wi-Fi Calling: Requires AT&T Wi-Fi Calling-capable smartphone with Internet connection via an existing Wi-Fi network. Once enabled, phone automatically makes and receives calls/text messages through Wi-Fi Calling only when AT&T network coverage is weak or unavailable. Wi-Fi Calling-capable device selection is limited at this time. Charges: Domestic calls made/received within U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S.V.I. have no additional charge and won't count against plan usage limits. For international long distance calls, international rates under your existing rate plan or international package apply. All text messages sent/received are charged under your existing rate plan or international package and will count against usage limits. Service Limitations: Not available for use outside U.S., Puerto Rico, or U.S.V.I. If you move in or out of Wi-Fi coverage while using Wi-Fi Calling, your call will disconnect unless you have AT&T HD Voice coverage (911 calls will disconnect even if you are within HD Voice coverage).HD Voice is not available in all areas. Due to technical limitations, Wi-Fi Calling cannot be used to initiate calls to 211, 311, 511, and 811. To enable Wi-Fi Calling, you must have a postpaid wireless account provisioned for AT&T HD Voice. Visit att.com/hdvoice for more info. TTY Limitations for 911 Calls: Wi-Fi Calling cannot be used with TTY devices and will not support 911 calls over TTY devices. Persons with communications disabilities can still reach 911 services by either (1) calling 911 directly using a TTY over the cellular network or a landline telephone, or (2) sending a text message to 911 directly (in areas where text-to-911 is available) using a wireless device over the cellular network, or (3) using relay services to place a TTY or captioned telephone service (CTS) call over the cellular network or a landline telephone, or (4) using relay services to place a IP Relay or IP CTS call over a cellular data or other IP network. For additional Wi-Fi Calling details, see the Wi-Fi Calling FAQ.
From At&T:
AT&T Wi-Fi Calling: Requires AT&T Wi-Fi Calling-capable smartphone with Internet connection via an existing Wi-Fi network. Once enabled, phone automatically makes and receives calls/text messages through Wi-Fi Calling only when AT&T network coverage is weak or unavailable. Wi-Fi Calling-capable device selection is limited at this time. Charges: Domestic calls made/received within U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S.V.I. have no additional charge and won't count against plan usage limits. For international long distance calls, international rates under your existing rate plan or international package apply. All text messages sent/received are charged under your existing rate plan or international package and will count against usage limits. Service Limitations: Not available for use outside U.S., Puerto Rico, or U.S.V.I. If you move in or out of Wi-Fi coverage while using Wi-Fi Calling, your call will disconnect unless you have AT&T HD Voice coverage (911 calls will disconnect even if you are within HD Voice coverage).HD Voice is not available in all areas. Due to technical limitations, Wi-Fi Calling cannot be used to initiate calls to 211, 311, 511, and 811. To enable Wi-Fi Calling, you must have a postpaid wireless account provisioned for AT&T HD Voice. Visit att.com/hdvoice for more info. TTY Limitations for 911 Calls: Wi-Fi Calling cannot be used with TTY devices and will not support 911 calls over TTY devices. Persons with communications disabilities can still reach 911 services by either (1) calling 911 directly using a TTY over the cellular network or a landline telephone, or (2) sending a text message to 911 directly (in areas where text-to-911 is available) using a wireless device over the cellular network, or (3) using relay services to place a TTY or captioned telephone service (CTS) call over the cellular network or a landline telephone, or (4) using relay services to place a IP Relay or IP CTS call over a cellular data or other IP network. For additional Wi-Fi Calling details, see the Wi-Fi Calling FAQ.
Since others arguments don't seem to be getting through to some of y'all let me try my hand
1> from a business perspective there are costs associated with the feature. R&D wasn't free, beta testing it and training staff weren't free and although "your WiFi" is extending their coverage they are still to some extent routing your call,allowing compatibility for incoming calls not just outgoing ( think how Skype as long as connected acts yet Skype isn't entire Free use some things req subscription or credits ) and you're STILL Using an ATT # additionally you can send/receive messages of ANY Type over WFC Feature
Furthermore for legal, and GOV compliance call/usage records must still be kept even of your WiFi call or text which also not entirely free
2> at the costs of these expenses rather than collect extra money from customers by charging for the feature they are counting use against existing plans which as long as you stay within what your plan allows equates to a $0.00 charge this means ATT is NOT even colecting or making back a single cent on your usage anyway unless you incur overages
If this feature were never introduced like Verizon you'd still be using your plan minutes anyway and potentially more if you're in an area where you drop calls like rappers drop the beat
3> Before you or anyone tries the "oh but other cariers don't count it or offer unlimited WFC" argument it still costs Sprint and TMO money or at least did at some point the difference here is they ate the costs fully because A they made it up on influx of new customers or B found other ways to recoup the costs
4> On the argument of using your WiFi who cares? Is your home WiFi capped at X amount of usage? Ok assuming it is still the data usage is negligible
You were already paying for it anyway! Had ATT NOT Introduced this feature you'd still be using and paying for your home WiFi
5> There are things businesses don't tell people telecom/wireless/ISP are no different for all we know ISP are charging TMO , Sprint, ATT something for the use of their bandwith/network load vs using their own cell network for 100% of it
6> this isn't just a home WiFi thing. You can seemingly use ANY WiFi ( Home , Starbucks, McDonalds , your doctors office, work/office, ATT/Sprint/Verizon/Cricket retail store etc) as long as the needed ports/connection isn't restricted and all of those places pay too. Do you walk into ( insert store w/WiFi ) connect your device then have them say "sorry but we've reached our WiFi quota for now you're going to have to make 2 purchases or pay extra"? No you don't most likely.
7> No ones forcing you to use this feature or your WiFi. Don't like it don't use it but have fun STILL Consuming your plan allowances anyway but with lesser call quality
Fun fact of life you NEVER EVER Get something entirely for nothing someone somewhere is paying a price even if you aren't
Not true several persons with unlocked phones bought thru Apple have had successes with it I'm guessing it's still hit or miss being so new and all.
Also there's probably so many people trying to use it now and so many yet to be properly trained ATT Staff that bugs that couldn't be caught by the smaller Beta crowd are now becoming more prevalent now that the general iPhone wielding public are joining the fun by the masses
Yes, worked on getting it connected at home for hours yesterday including on the phone last night with AT&T and read all posts in this thread. I have put it in Airplane Mode at each place I've tried it which includes home and 4 public wifi locations such as Starbucks. It works fine everywhere but at home. I'm thinking it's either Time Warner Cable and/or my ASUS router which is about 7 years old. AT&T had me do resets and turn things on & off etc...with no solution. If others have Time Warner &/or older ASUS routers if you can please let me/us know if there seems to be a common link as to what may be causing the problem.
Last edited:
They might in the case of PR be able to get away with calling it "available" in the sense that if your home/billing address is say in Washington DC you enabled it then travel/move to PR you could retain the ability to use WFC
I'm by no means against it being available in PR just stating that this could be a possibility and legalese loophole.
As stated by others there could just be issues cropping up now that it's gone from around 6000-10000 beta testers to millions of eligible users
Also it's been pointed out you NEED To Google your own Address or look it up on maps and copy/paste it exactly as Google officially lists it for some reason
Ex: If you live on Mexicana St. But Google for some reason spells it out as Mexicana Street full instead of abbreviated you have to have it that way
5S DOES NOT AND WILL NOT Support ATT WiFi calling as had been mentioned in these comments
T-Mobile, Sprint and ATT ALL employ/offer WiFi calling thru different technical means and specifications
( 3 separate methods )
Unfortunately when the 5S was made Apple had no foreseeable means of know what tech/specs/etc they'd need or for that matter that ATT would rollout WFC as such the compatibly is not built into the 5S the 5S did however come out in time to be specced out for TMO and Sprint Compatibility
As for the iPhone 6 Trebuin is trying to use you'll NEED to update from iOS 8.4 to iOS 9.0.2 or higher
( iOS 9.1 public beta is open )
The call quality is beyond amazing! ATT is getting better over time and WiFi calling was a huge step forward regardless of what some naysaying haters may be saying
It doesn't appear to be a simple "number of dots" rule. There's likely more involved in determining when to use Voice over Wi-Fi. My signal at home has had 3 dots for a while, and my phone has been on AT&T Wi-Fi a lot.
Attachments
I called AT&T today since I received the message that I had to call. Although I bought my iPhone 6S from Apple I bought an unlocked t-Mobile unit and that is why it won't activate wifi calling. I spoke to a very good rep and she had to create a case. She said it would be corrected by Oct 20 but it should be complete before that.
Bill
Yep. I had three dots and still had the wi-fi calling enabled. I'm glad, because no matter 1 or 3 dots in my house, the signal sucks and I get drop outs, garbled audio complaints, and dropped calls.
There are a lot of signal values and variables, and the dots are just a dumbed-down estimation of signal people can understand.
I have some interesting information. I have a T-Mobile unlocked version of iPhone 6S plus that I use with my AT&T account. I have tried to activate W-FI calling and it would give me the oops message to call AT&T. What was weird is that if I put my wife's SIM (which is on the same AT&T account) in my phone, WI-FI calling turned on without a problem. She is also able to activate WI-FI calling on her own AT&T version iPhone 6 Plus without a problem.
So I called AT&T and after 30 minutes, they couldn't figure it out and said that maybe it was my T-Mobile phone but that didn't make sense since my wife's SIM worked in my phone. They suggested I get a new SIM which I did today and it didn't make any difference. The people at the AT&T store were very helpful and called technical support for me. After 30 minutes of trying different things, what we discovered was that if they put in the IMEI from any AT&T iPhone 6S in the store into my account (that is, I didn't actually remove my SIM from my T-Mobile iPhone 6S and they just changed the IMEI in their system), I can activate WI-FI calling without an issue. So basically, they left that in place -- on my AT&T account, for my phone #, the IMEI their system has is not from my phone but for another AT&T iPhone.
I don't how long that will last -- I mean if the system will figure it out the correct IMEI later and deactivate WI-FI calling in the future. I also don't know what would happen if I put my SIM into another phone and then back in my phone, will the WI-FI calling feature no longer work?
I guess the lesson in the future for me is to buy the AT&T version. I just wanted to get an unlocked version from the start.
I suppose if someone wanted to switch from another carrier to AT&T using their old non-AT&T iPhone 6/6S and didn't want to buy AT&T's version of iPhone 6/6S, WI-FI calling is a feature that may not work. I think this is silly since AT&T would certainly want people to switch services even if they didn't want to buy a new phone, and obviously some non-AT&T versions do work with their WI-FI service (at least my T-Mobile version does).
So I called AT&T and after 30 minutes, they couldn't figure it out and said that maybe it was my T-Mobile phone but that didn't make sense since my wife's SIM worked in my phone. They suggested I get a new SIM which I did today and it didn't make any difference. The people at the AT&T store were very helpful and called technical support for me. After 30 minutes of trying different things, what we discovered was that if they put in the IMEI from any AT&T iPhone 6S in the store into my account (that is, I didn't actually remove my SIM from my T-Mobile iPhone 6S and they just changed the IMEI in their system), I can activate WI-FI calling without an issue. So basically, they left that in place -- on my AT&T account, for my phone #, the IMEI their system has is not from my phone but for another AT&T iPhone.
I don't how long that will last -- I mean if the system will figure it out the correct IMEI later and deactivate WI-FI calling in the future. I also don't know what would happen if I put my SIM into another phone and then back in my phone, will the WI-FI calling feature no longer work?
I guess the lesson in the future for me is to buy the AT&T version. I just wanted to get an unlocked version from the start.
I suppose if someone wanted to switch from another carrier to AT&T using their old non-AT&T iPhone 6/6S and didn't want to buy AT&T's version of iPhone 6/6S, WI-FI calling is a feature that may not work. I think this is silly since AT&T would certainly want people to switch services even if they didn't want to buy a new phone, and obviously some non-AT&T versions do work with their WI-FI service (at least my T-Mobile version does).
According to many the SIM Card might be your issue. You may likely need a newer SIM since that one is pretty dated and won't offer the most up to date network and signal compatibility
The New SIM is most definitely helping to some degree.
Also the handover is basically a constant tug of war game between which of the nearest signals are stronger WiFi or Cell network basically this is designed to give you the best coverage it can at the present time in your immediate location
See response above to the other person