iPhone 14/Plus WiFi Calling - on or off display?

[Peter Franks]

I've been on an iPhone 8 for a good few years, and just changed to 14.

Question being, How do I know if it's on WiFi calling. When I switched it on with the '8', it clearly said in top bar Wi Fi calling was on, or off, even when not on a call.

When I switch it on with the '14', it doesn't say anything, and nothing changes up top at all, same carrier bars etc... Is this a thing? Thanks for any help

 

[chabig]

It's still there, but you must open the Control Center to see it.

 

[Peter Franks]

It's still there, but you must open the Control Center to see it.

Thanks. Is this different now as in it will still use data if the signal is OK instead of WiFi?

Lastly... Is it normal to still see the signal bars even when mobile data is turned off, and you just want to use WiFi?
This is completely different to the '8', even though it's on the same iOS

 

[reppans]

The phone will default to wifi for data when both are available. You can check this under settings > cellular - it displays the MB data usage since last reset. I reset my counter on my cellular plan’s monthly rollover date.

If you keep your cellular antenna on, yes, it will still display signal bars for voice comms. TBH, it’s often worth turning-off the cellular antenna when using wifi-calling since powering both antennas is redundant. I had weak cellular signal strength in my previous home, so wifi calling greatly improved both voice quality and battery runtime (if cell antenna is turned off).

I personally use a shortcut to one-touch toggle my antennas. Cellular turned off at home and wifi turned off when away from home.

 

[Peter Franks]

The phone will default to wifi for data when both are available. You can check this under settings > cellular - it displays the MB data usage since last reset. I reset my counter on my cellular plan’s monthly rollover date.

If you keep your cellular antenna on, yes, it will still display signal bars for voice comms. TBH, it’s often worth turning-off the cellular antenna when using wifi-calling since powering both antennas is redundant. I had weak cellular signal strength in my previous home, so wifi calling greatly improved both voice quality and battery runtime (if cell antenna is turned off).

I personally use a shortcut to one-touch toggle my antennas. Cellular turned off at home and wifi turned off when away from home.

Thanks, Is there a shortcut for WiFi calling, as opposed to going into turn it on and off when out?
I do turn off Mobile/Cellular data, but why do the reception bars still show. Was always totally off on my old 8?

 

[reppans]

You can turn-off ‘cellular data’ independently while ‘cellular voice’ is still active - that’s the cellular reception bars you still see. Turning on ‘airplane mode’, however, always disables both ‘voice’ and ‘data’, and therefore the cellular reception bars will disappear.

To be clear, once you activate the ‘wifi calling’ feature, it’ll automatically log-in as such with your carrier anytime your phone logs-in to a known wifi signal. All my shortcut does is one-button toggle the cellular and wifi antennas so only one antenna is running at a time. My shortcut also turns bluetooth off, since by default Apple turns BT-on to use as a crowdsource AirTag beacon. If you use an Apple Watch or BT linking in your car, for example, you may want to change the shortcut, or need to manually activate BT. Check you personal messages for the shortcut.

Good luck

 

[Peter Franks]

Thank you!

You can turn-off ‘cellular data’ independently while ‘cellular voice’ is still active - that’s the cellular reception bars you still see. Turning on ‘airplane mode’, however, always disables both ‘voice’ and ‘data’, and therefore the cellular reception bars will disappear.

To be clear, once you activate the ‘wifi calling’ feature, it’ll automatically log-in as such with your carrier anytime your phone logs-in to a known wifi signal. All my shortcut does is one-button toggle the cellular and wifi antennas so only one antenna is running at a time. My shortcut also turns bluetooth off, since by default Apple turns BT-on to use as a crowdsource AirTag beacon. If you use an Apple Watch or BT linking in your car, for example, you may want to change the shortcut, or need to manually activate BT. Check you personal messages for the shortcut.

Good luck