Wifi calling not working iOS 18.2

[Ipadlover29]

Anyone else having issues with wifi calling? Since I updated to iOS 18.2 yesterday wifi calling is not working. The icon doesnt show up at the top. I tried all the troubleshooting- disabling and enabling wifi calling, restarting phone, re-entering 911 address and resetting network settings.

 

[aihpcfl]

When I'm connected to wifi, I see my carrier name followed by Wi-Fi on the left in the status bar. On the right of the status bar I see the bars of mobile network signal and the wifi icon, followed by the batter icon. (iPhone 16 Pro with 18.2)

I only looked into this because of your question. I did find results in a search indicating the wifi calling symbol is the usua wifi incon but with a phone symbol next to it, which I gather is wrong or out of date information. It appears what I am seeing is current and correct information.

What are you seeing, exactly?

 

[FreakinEurekan]

What "icon" are you looking for? I don't know of a specific Wi-Fi calling icon... do you mean "Wi-Fi" after the carrier name?

 

[Maloney~888]

WiFi calling icon is specific to Android isn’t it? It’s an icon that combines the WiFi signal with a phone.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

WiFi calling icon is specific to Android isn’t it? It’s an icon that combines the WiFi signal with a phone.

View attachment 2461951

Def nothing like that on iPhone.

 

[Grumpus]

The steps in this Macworld article from 2020 seem to have worked for me. One bit of confusion, at least on my iPhone 13 Mini running 18.2, is that the abbreviated carrier name + Wi-Fi text do not appear at the top left of the screen when the phone is unlocked, but do appear when the phone is locked. They also appear in Control Center, as outlined in the article.

 

[waw74]

WiFi calling icon is specific to Android isn’t it? It’s an icon that combines the WiFi signal with a phone.

View attachment 2461951

nope, it's available on iPhone too, But it's a carrier thing, and not just a particular call. So instead of "t-mobile" as my provider, it will show "t-mobile wifi". then all cell calls and SMS go out over wifi, as opposed to going to a cell tower. You can even disable cell, but enable wifi, and it will still work.
not talking about FaceTime calls.

 

[Cobold]

No problems with Vodafone WiFi Calling on iOS 18.2 here in Germany. Just had a call with my wife on her way home.

 

[Maloney~888]

nope, it's available on iPhone too, But it's a carrier thing, and not just a particular call. So instead of "t-mobile" as my provider, it will show "t-mobile wifi". then all cell calls and SMS go out over wifi, as opposed to going to a cell tower. You can even disable cell, but enable wifi, and it will still work.
not talking about FaceTime calls.

👍🏻 I have EE WiFi callng. (Never had an issue with it) Never seen that icon before on my iPhone.

 

[Keag]

Anyone else having issues with wifi calling? Since I updated to iOS 18.2 yesterday wifi calling is not working. The icon doesnt show up at the top. I tried all the troubleshooting- disabling and enabling wifi calling, restarting phone, re-entering 911 address and resetting network settings.

Just back from the Apple Store. The tech disable my VPN and the 18.2 OS started working properly. Explanation: The recent upgrade does not play nicely with VPN's. My symptoms: No WiFi access. No internet via Cell signal. I reset my phone (to learn that the reset was disabled also). I suggested they add this item to their online knowledge base. Their respose: "yea, we know!"

 

[nospamboz]

Updated my SE3 from 17.7.2 to 18.2 yesterday. I keep it airplane mode with wi-fi calling active for my pSIM. Before 18.2, if I rebooted, it would connect to wi-fi calling automatically. With 18.2, I need to disable airplane mode and connect to cellular, then re-enable airplane mode for wi-fi calling. This is why we can't have nice things.

 

[papbot]

One bit of confusion, at least on my iPhone 13 Mini running 18.2, is that the abbreviated carrier name + Wi-Fi text do not appear at the top left of the screen when the phone is unlocked, but do appear when the phone is locked. They also appear in Control Center, as outlined in the article.

On my 16PM the carrier name (AT&T) with the WiFi symbol next to it only appears in the Control Center. With the phone unlocked only the time appears. On the Lock Screen, only AT&T appears. The WiFi symbol is next to the cell signal strength icon on the right side of the screen.

 

[Grumpus]

On my 16PM the carrier name (AT&T) with the WiFi symbol next to it only appears in the Control Center. With the phone unlocked only the time appears. On the Lock Screen, only AT&T appears. The WiFi symbol is next to the cell signal strength icon on the right side of the screen.

When you say "WiFi symbol" do you mean the WiFi icon? My phone displays the literal text "VZW WiFi" in both the Control Center and on the lock screen. For as long as it lasts, that is, which doesn't seem to be much more than a day. I presume that when this text goes away, WiFi calling has stopped working, but I don't know of an independent way to check. This is a fairly big deal for me, since I rarely have more than 1 bar of cellular strength when I'm in my apartment.

 

[NoBoMac]

What @Grumpus described earlier is the behavior. Guessing what @papbot is seeing is not doing Wi-Fi calling at that moment due to strong cell signal (or function is off?).

Also Mini 13 here and what one sees:

• On lock screen, Scrolling "AT&T Wi-Fi". Ditto Notifications screen.

• Unlocked, no "AT&T" anything, time of day sits where AT&T is on lock screen, but do see Wi-Fi cone/signal strength icon along with cell strength.

• Control panel, cell strength, "AT&T Wi-Fi", and Wi-Fi icon sit together.

 

[papbot]

When you say "WiFi symbol" do you mean the WiFi icon? My phone displays the literal text "VZW WiFi" in both the Control Center and on the lock screen. For as long as it lasts, that is, which doesn't seem to be much more than a day. I presume that when this text goes away, WiFi calling has stopped working, but I don't know of an independent way to check. This is a fairly big deal for me, since I rarely have more than 1 bar of cellular strength when I'm in my apartment.

I never see “WiFi” next to the carrier, only the icon next to the cell signal. But we have very strong cell reception here. When we first moved to this home cell reception was very poor but we never had any issues because of WiFi calling. But I don’t remember whether “WiFi” appeared next to the carrier name. It may have been there when the phone was restarted but it’s been a couple years now and I just don’t remember.

 

[ManuCH]

To check if Wifi Calling actually works, put the phone into airplane mode and re-enable Wifi. If after a few seconds you get a network name and are able to make calls, Wifi Calling works.

If your cell signal is too strong, Wifi Calling doesn't get enabled. It only starts doing its thing if you have a weak cell signal.

Also, the Apple tech is wrong: a VPN has no effect on Wifi Calling. Wifi Calling always bypasses VPN (unless you have an MDM supervised device with an always on IKEv2 VPN, which 99% of people don't).

 

[Grumpus]

To check if Wifi Calling actually works, put the phone into airplane mode and re-enable Wifi. If after a few seconds you get a network name and are able to make calls, Wifi Calling works.

Thanks, that works - I'm able to place and receive calls and texts while in airplane mode. I'll have to wait until it appears to drop out of Wi-Fi calling again to try it then (I'm unsure if if it's actually not working, or if the "VZW Wi-Fi" is just going away for some reason).

If your cell signal is too strong, Wifi Calling doesn't get enabled. It only starts doing its thing if you have a weak cell signal.

A single bar is the norm for me at home, very rarely (and briefly) two bars, and often none.

Thanks again for the tip!

 

[papbot]

To check if Wifi Calling actually works, put the phone into airplane mode and re-enable Wifi. If after a few seconds you get a network name and are able to make calls, Wifi Calling works.

If your cell signal is too strong, Wifi Calling doesn't get enabled. It only starts doing its thing if you have a weak cell signal.

Also, the Apple tech is wrong: a VPN has no effect on Wifi Calling. Wifi Calling always bypasses VPN (unless you have an MDM supervised device with an always on IKEv2 VPN, which 99% of people don't).

I had forgotten how to check. But that did it, “WiFi” appeared next to AT&T after that👍

 

[SeniorPorkchop]

I am here hunting for a solution to my problem. WiFi calling definitely works, but it drops out intermittently. This is happening across my wife’s iPhone 13PM and my iPhone 16PM. Our eero wifi setup hasn’t changed. We have always relied heavily on WiFi calling due to poor cell service in our area. Since iOS 18, our calls regular drop out. If you watch the wifi bars in control center (next to "AT&T WiFi"), you will see it alternating between 2 and 3 bars/waves. It looks a lot like iOS 18 got more aggressive about dropping calls back to cellular when the wifi signal wasn't what it wanted.

 

[ManuCH]

I am here hunting for a solution to my problem. WiFi calling definitely works, but it drops out intermittently. This is happening across my wife’s iPhone 13PM and my iPhone 16PM. Our eero wifi setup hasn’t changed. We have always relied heavily on WiFi calling due to poor cell service in our area. Since iOS 18, our calls regular drop out. If you watch the wifi bars in control center (next to "AT&T WiFi"), you will see it alternating between 2 and 3 bars/waves. It looks a lot like iOS 18 got more aggressive about dropping calls back to cellular when the wifi signal wasn't what it wanted.

Did you notice if the drops happen while walking around and the iPhone "roaming" between 2 of your Eero access points? Or does it also happen when being still? As Wifi roaming can have issues sometimes, depending on the access point vendor.

 

[SeniorPorkchop]

With the way they are laid out, it’s possible, but my movements were small in all the cases where I was paying attention. Like bedroom to living room next door, not up and down floors.

Thanks for the quick reply. I am a fairly technical person and have used iOS since the beginning. We have been relying on WiFi calling in our home for 3 years since moving in. It’s been rock solid until now. iOS 18 is the only big change.

 

[ManuCH]

With the way they are laid out, it’s possible, but my movements were small in all the cases where I was paying attention. Like bedroom to living room next door, not up and down floors.

Thanks for the quick reply. I am a fairly technical person and have used iOS since the beginning. We have been relying on WiFi calling in our home for 3 years since moving in. It’s been rock solid until now. iOS 18 is the only big change.

iOS 18 did indeed change a lot regarding Wifi logic, it's being discussed quite a bit for example in Ubiquiti forums (I guess it's because new phones added 6 GHz Wifi 7).

I guess it's worth experimenting with the Eeros a bit, make sure the software is up to date, try to tweak the network settings a bit or ask for help in the Eero forums. Good luck!

 

[HouseLannister]

iOS 18 did indeed change a lot regarding Wifi logic

Amen. It killed my ability to use wireless CarPlay. I have a Pioneer aftermarket system and Android Auto still works fine, but something with the iPhone Wi-Fi stack definitely changed. Repeatedly reboots my stereo and then refuses to reconnect after 2 or 3 reboots.