Our friends from Bloggersideas.com shared their knowledge about Wi-Fi calling to help you better understand what it is, why it’s important and how to use it. Even though Tello does not have this feature available yet, we recommend that you take a look below at this great guest post!
Almost all of us have spent some time in more than a few places where our phone just won’t work. It may be a room at home, a basement cafeteria or any other location with blocked signals. This is where you can save your day using WI-FI calling. Wi-Fi calling and texting use a connected Wi-Fi network instead of the usual phone network. Wi-Fi calling places your call over the internet, even if your cellular signal is spotty or absent. This is just one reason to use Wi-Fi calling, more, coming-up!
🤙 So, what is Wi-Fi calling?
Wi-Fi calling for smartphones is an excellent service which allows the user to make calls with the help of any available Wi-Fi. This service is provided by using SIP/IMS. It’s a technology that replaces a cellular tower with the internet while tunnelling your call. Hence you no longer require a cellular network for making a call. You don’t require to login or use an app, thus it is as simple as you make regular calls from your phone. Your phone and your carrier are the keys to determine whether you can use the Wi-Fi to call or not.
📲 How To turn on Wi-Fi calling on Smartphones
Even in the happy case in which you’re using a phone and carrier combo that supports Wi-Fi Calling, it’s probably not enabled by default. You need to visit your carriers’ website and find the step-by-step instructions to set it up. This probably would require you to switch on some option in Settings. Simply use your phone as you regularly do, once you are all set up. Now you will see a new symbol on the top implying Wi-Fi calling. The person you are calling doesn’t need to to have Wi-Fi calling or even a device that supports it.
How to enable Wi-Fi calling on Android
There are varying Android devices available requiring a change or two in these instructions.
- Go to Settings
- Select Network and Internet
- Then tap Wi-Fi calling under Wi-Fi – you might need to visit Advanced
If you don’t have any clue, you can simply search by tapping on the search icon at the top. Slide the toggle, it will turn the Wi-Fi calling on.
Source: MakeUsOf
How to enable Wi-Fi calling on iOS
- Go to Settings > General > Software Update
- If a software update shows up, download and install, else proceed further.
- Go to Settings > Phone
- Click on Wi-Fi calling.
- Toggle to turn Wi-Fi calling on. Confirm the activation.
On activation of Wi-Fi calling, if you are connected to an available Wi-Fi the status bar should show something similar to you’ll see Wi-Fi after your carrier name in the status bar. Whenever you see this message in the status bar, your calls will tunnel via the internet and you will get better quality.
Source: Apple
💰 How much does WiFi calling cost?
Wi-Fi calling won’t cost you anything extra. Your Wi-Fi calls are treated by the carrier as regular calls from the U.S. Any rate applying to your regular call would apply to a call over a Wi-Fi network. In the absence of an unlimited plan, the usual call minute deduction is carried out. There is no international call charge or roaming charge for overseas calls. This makes Wi-Fi calling a perfect way of keeping in touch with your loved ones overseas. Some carriers include free calling to Mexico and Canada in their plans. Though, the rate applying to an international call as per your international calling plan is charged on making an international call with your U.S. based network. Wi-Fi calling is not supported in a number of countries, including India, Cuba, China and Australia.
📶 How Wi-Fi calling compares to cellular?
Free public Wi-Fi hotspots are in growing popularity. People rely on it, making it a solid alternative to regular phone networks and allowing people to save extra on their phone plans. Cisco VNI predicted the growth of global hotspots to twice the present number of hotspots, resulting in 254 million hotspots worldwide. A cheap price doesn’t necessarily imply high quality. Finding an available network to make a Wi-Fi call may often be a challenging task. Also, there is never a reassurance of a high-quality call as it requires a proper bandwidth. Public networks are used by many people at once which may lead to decreased signal strength. Another complaint people may have is delayed conversation, similar to what we often experience with different TVs turned on to the same channel simultaneously at our home. Delayed responses or disruptions can be frustrating. Still, Wi-Fi calling might be a game-changer for anyone with limited calling minutes, poor reception, or travel plans.
🙋 FAQ about Wi-Fi calling
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Does Wi-Fi calling drain or save your battery?
In areas with low or no network, you might want to turn it off to increase your battery life. When not connected to a Wi-Fi network, leaving it on can eat up your battery.
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Will I be using my data while calling over a Wi-Fi network?
Yes, you will be using your normal data plan in order to make calls. Your carriers may also charge some access fee.
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How much data should I expect to be used over a Wi-Fi call?
Although it varies, it’s safe to assume usage of 1 MB data/minute for a voice call and about 7-8 MB of data per minute while making video calls.
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What are the requirements for my phone to support Wi-Fi calling, also do all phones support it?
No, not all phones do support Wi-Fi Calling. You need to have a device that has the HD Voice feature activated.
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What is the process to activate HD Voice?
The default setting in most phones is “data only”. You need to change your settings to enable data and voice sharing using the 4G LTE Network. This requires you manually enabling VoLTE.If you are an iPhone user, go to Settings, click on Cellular, then give access to LTE and click on ‘Voice and Data’.
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What happens if the phone I am using isn’t supportive of Wi-Fi calling?
In case your current phone or the network carrier doesn’t support Wi-Fi calling, you can always use any app to call and text using a Wi-Fi network. The most commonly used are Viber, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Google Hangout, and Skype.
🔎 A note – read curiosity – from Tello
At the moment, Tello Mobile does not offer Wi-Fi calling, but since our friends brought the topic up, we though it was best to share the info with all of our readers. Plus, this goes on a list of surprises we think about adding to Tello, in the future. Our curious nature and desire to constantly improve the service made us wonder what do you think about having this type of feature added to our service? Don’t be shy, leave your comment below and let’s start chatting!
Wait, Tello has WiFi calling?!?
Hi, Zach,
No, not yet at least:).
But we are considering it, in the future, but first, we want to know how you guys feel about it? What do you think?
I love everything about Tello, but no WiFi calling was literally the one thing I found out after I switched that made me sigh. Would love to see WiFi calling come to Tello. I believe it would be a huge draw to the service as well, since all the data savers love WiFi calling. I also live in a rural region of the Appalachian Mountains. Service in towns and highways is excellent, but WiFi calling would be a huge plus when you’re at a friend’s house without service that is off the beaten path.
Thanks for sharing, Shawn. I totally get it :). As I said, gathering info about what customers want is really important for us when making future decisions on what to add to the service. Have a great day!
That would be helpful. I joined your service yesterday and I only have one bar of service… with a cellular tower across the street. I’m not sure that 911 would work if I needed it.
Wifi calling would be VERY helpful. I joined your service yesterday and I only have one bar of service at my home on both my and my wife’s cell phones… with a cellular tower across the street. I’m not sure that 911 would work if we needed it. I thought this feature was part of today’s networks. It would be like buying a car that didn’t come with air conditioning- that hasn’t been an option in years. I will give it a few months, but our cellular phone are our home phones.
I welcome wi-fi calling if it does not use my minutes. if not, it’s irrelevant to me. fortunately, coverage in my area is good. if there’s ever a problem, i can use Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, or Facetime for voice/video conference call over wi-fi without using my talking time/minutes.
It’s important to me. Yes please.
It would be fabulous to have WiFi calling as a bonus feature because in the area where I live, there is very poor network inside my house so I would love to have that feature. One more thing, I would also love to have unlimited India calls coming to Tello as my previous provider used to offer me all the same features as Tello but with unlimited international calls to India and that too for the same price, that is $10. Hope I get unlimited calls to India soon, so that I can refer Tello to all my family members and friends who usually use their service to call back to India. Thank You!
Interestingly, despite publishing this blog post, Tello Mobile does NOT support Wi-Fi calling.
Sure, you can use the Tello mobile app to place VoIP calls over Wi-Fi, but that is not the same as Wi-Fi calling as described above.
We love it when our customers have all the info needed and are one step ahead :). Spot on, Pawel, thanks for reaching out!
When will Tello enable true Wi-Fi calling?
We will let you know when this will happen! Thanks!
I consider WiFi calling to be fairly essential for making phone calls indoors where the signal strength tends to be lower. It’s odd that Tello, a Sprint MVNO, doesn’t offer WiFi calling since Sprint most certainly has that capability. In fact, I cannot transfer two of my lines from Sprint to Tello because the users rely on WiFi calling in their homes. So, there’s a good chance you are missing out on countless new users who rely on WiFi calling but cannot switch because of lack of WiFi calling. Does Sprint charge MVNO’s extra for that service?
Thanks for the message and your input, really appreciate it!
We can’t spill all the beans, but we can say that Wi-Fi calling is on the list of improvements and we’re considering it for the future, but with the T-mobile & Sprint merger, we have a lot of new things to look forward to. We’ll keep you posted, no worries :).
I would agree. I am thinking of trying this service out. Looks pretty cool.
WiFi calling is one feature I wish Tello had. Sprint coverage can be spotty in my house (even though it’s generally good in my area). When I’m in my basement, it will occasionally even drop out completely! Having WiFi calling would definitely give me piece of mind knowing that I can make/receive calls reliably, even while downstairs.
While I am an official reviewer of wireless service, I chose Tello for its prices. (I literally pay Tell half of what I paid Metro by T-Mobile for the same exact plan.)
While in my area, outdoor coverage has been pretty good on Tello, indoor coverage can be lacking, especially in my own home. (Where I’m currently lucky to get LTE, I usually only get 3G in my house.)
So two features on Metro that I really enjoyed were VoLTE and Wifi Calling (for the same reasons) and really hope that Tello adopts both really soon considering that 3G is scheduled for shutdown and so VoLTE will be required. (Devices without VoLTE can not be activated on any national carrier anymore, especially since T-Mobile made it official on the 6th of this month.)
Just noticed in my previous comment that I used a wrong spelling: ‘piece’ should be ‘peace’.
Please correct! :)
I think it would be a really good idea for Tello to support both Wifi calling and VoLTE, considering that as carriers sunset the 2G/3G voice networks and are all beginning to require all devices to support VoLTE. This includes Sprint/T-Mobile, which seems to be Tello’s parent carrier.
According to PhoneArena, T-Mobile will no longer allow any new device activation for devices that do not support VoLTE as of the 6th of August, and all devices that do not support VoLTE will be kicked off T-Mobile’s network as of January of 2021.
Since Sprint is no more, and T-Mobile has taken over what was Sprint, this means all Sprint MVNOs will need to be up to speed before the end of this year. Especially considering that T-Mobile has not clarified if their 3G shutdown includes Sprint CDMA, though the ultimate plan is to shut down Sprint CDMA, just like they did with MetroPCS.
It’s actually on several sites, including this one:
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/07/25/t-mobile-will-soon-require-volte-on-all-phones-incomopatible-devices-kicked-off-january/
I would like to make a correction:
“Will I be using my data while calling over a Wi-Fi network?”
The correct answer here is no, Wifi calling does not actually use your mobile data plan if you make a call while connected to wifi network. Many carriers also do not charge any additional access fees for this feature anymore. The only time wifi calling would use your data plan is if you make a call and continue the call after leaving the wifi network and connecting to cellular data, this is especially true if VoLTE is turned off. (if VoLTE is turned on, then wifi calls will automatically redirect to VoLTE and not use your data plan.) VoLTE does not count against data usage and is considered a voice call.
However, wifi calling, just like volte, will use your plan talk minutes.
Also, if Tello were to update the provisioning for all customers to get WiFi calling, they could make the My Tello app a more streamlined account dashboard similar to what’s on the site and remove the in app calling features.
Plenty of low-cost carriers and fortunately more and more offer wifi calling. When I switch I’ll be switching to one that offers this.
I bought my first Tello phone last year, and I have had excellent service almost everywhere. However, in rural places like Iowa, I had no coverage at all, and had to use a wifi calling and texting app, textnow, which required me to adopt an Iowa number. Let’s just say I totally confused all of my friends, because one day they got a text from my Iowa number, and then about an hour away where I had service, they received a message from my regular California number. This was bearable, but extremely inconvenient. Usually it’s not a problem, but for my job, I am literally all over the United States every year. Soon, I will be staying in a rural area that again will not be covered by Tello, and because Tello doesn’t offer wifi calling and texting, I will be forced to switch carriers that do offer the right services. Sorry Tello, I love your service, but wifi calling and texting to me is not something the company should have to research and wonder what customers want. It’s pretty obvious that customers want what everyone else has which is wifi calling and texting. I will be switching over to Twigby because they now offer wifi calling and texting. Tello, if you get on the ball, I may come back and use your service again.
Hi, Ryan,
We hear you. Thank you for your business, and for sharing your experience in detail.
I hope Tello enables WiFi calling! I live in Los Angeles County with spotty cell coverage due to hills and trees. I’m lucky if I get 1 or 2 bars while at home. My internet service provider is Frontier using a telephone line (DSL) and provides S-L-O-W internet. I’d love to use WiFi calling. By the way, I love Tello. I’ve been a customer for over two years now and love the prices as well as the service. So happy I found you!
p.s. I tell all my friends about Tello in the hopes of getting them to switch to Tello.
Hi, Julie,
So happy that you’re happy! WiFi calling: duly noted. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Tello, along with US Mobile and Mint Mobile, is among the top 3 MVNOs today. You really can’t beat Tello in terms of its pricing and flexibility but here are 4 things Tello can improve on.
1. GSM support. My unlocked iPhone 11 Pro I bought from Canada, which is the same model as USA, cannot be used on Tello (Sprint) but can be used on US Mobile and Mint (Verizon and T-Mobile).
2. Native WiFi Calling (not through apps) and VoLTE are an absolute must in 2020. No question.
3. Website design/App UI. US Mobile and Mint both have such pleasant and easy layouts. Tello is ok but can be much better.
4. Annual plans. Mint offers you it’s savings through bulk purchasing. Although Tello already offers great pricing, I wonder if they could provide customers even more. This goes against their “No Contracts” policy but it’d still be a prepaid service.
Hope these suggestions are taken into consideration. Currently on Mint and hope to switch to Tello once these are figured out.
Until then, keep up the good work, Tello!
Hi Sagar,
Thanks for sharing your perspective!
We’re working to improve our service, and we’re aiming for number 1 in your book:)
WiFi calling before the new iPhones come out, please!
After upgrading to an iPhone SE (i think its the 2016 version from Tello) I noticed that Tello has begun advertising VoLTE support for many of the phones they now sell. (Yet even with the iPhone set for it, I don’t get VoLTE that I know of.)
I have also noticed that my “trouble spots” are more defined with the iPhone than they were with the e4 and really wish Tello would provision to allow VoLTE and Wi-fi calling soon – and perhaps begin moving us onto T-Mobile’s network soon. With the issues more than likely being from T-Mobile changing Sprint cell sites over to T-Mobile.
Also, when the change takes place, will we need new sim cards?
Drako,
We jotted down your requests and promise to let everybody know what will be needed after the change takes place, no worries. Thanks for writing!
Another vote for WiFi calling, please. Much needed due to rural location. Thank you.
It’s simply very easy tips to enable wifi calling. You described this content very clearly with all images so everyone can understand it perfectly. Thanks for sharing!
I was thinking of switching to Tello until i saw that Tello does not support WiFi Calling. That is a deal breaker for me.
If you get it before the end of Nov i can switch if not, i am looking for another service that does support it. I am currently on Sprint /T-Mobile and may end up moving to another of their services.
Darn, I was thinking of switching to Tello until i saw that Tello does not support WiFi Calling. That is a deal breaker for me too!
It never crossed my mind that Tello would not support WiFi calling. I joined Tello and loved it but the first time I went to my holiday home in East Texas and discovered that my phone was useless, I was very disappointed. C’mon guys….this is the 21st century. Other than this, I love Tello.
Do you guys have VoLTE (HD calls)?
YES, that’s one of the big pluses of migrating to a VoLTE network :)
Wait what? isnt this 2020 and tello been around for months still no wifi calling… if Tello wants to have a lot of customer enable Wifi calling until then people like me would not switch.
Yes! Another vote to add Wi-Fi calling. I would even pay an extra fee to have it included in my plan.
I was in the process of switching my entire family to Tello until I found out it doesn’t support Wi-Fi calling. Service in my neighborhood is spotty at best. When I’m in my downstairs business office I’m lucky to get 1 bar of service with any provider. If I can’t call through Wi-Fi, it’s a no-go for me. I will sign-up in a heartbeat if you add Wi-Fi calling.
I am very disappointed that Tello does not offer this. I work in a shielded area that has zero access to cellular so it is the ONLY way I can stay connected during the day. ATT blocks this on my non-branded S8 and is one of the primary reasons I switched away from them. Should have done more research I guess! PLEASE bring this feature on ASAP, Sprint/T-Mobile allows it, why doesn’t Tello?
Do you have any updates on if/when wifi calling will be available on Tello?
Logan, since GSM is now live on our site, you’re going to see a lot of great changes for the better: improved speed, better coverage and a super stable network. We’re super excited. WIFI calling is on our list too, but for now, it’s a work in progress. We’ll let you guys know when it’s available. Thanks!
I was going to come to Tello then decided I can’t when there’s no Wi-Fi calling. My house doesn’t get great service. The only tower that works here is T-Mobile.
Why doesn’t Tello offer Wi-Fi calling? This is 2021, and nearly every other MVNOs does.
Please provide wi-fi calling! Thx
I just found this article thinking Tello has VoWiFi.
I was going to change from Ultra Mobile as my second line to Tello. But no VoWiFi is a no go for me.
I am on tello/gsm/t-mobile and wifi calling is working now! February 27, 2021
Not working for me :/
Please enable wifi calling in tello! My workplace is in the basement and I don’t have reception for 8 hours every day.
Hi Vk,
Thanks for contacting us.
WiFi Calling is available only for Android devices, for now, while using a stable WiFi connection. We are currently working on providing the functionality for Apple devices as well. We promise we’ll do our best to make this available as soon as possible!
I was hoping for free wifi calling that would not be charged to my minutes. From your website, I was able to determine that Tello doesn’t currently handle wifi calling on an iPhone. I’m hoping it will soon.
I believe that at least some carriers do not charge for calls made over wifi. I will test my Google Voice number as Google does not charge.
On a positive note, my family wanted me that have a smartphone and the Tello rates are the best I could find for someone with limited needs.
Hi, Joe, thanks so much for the message, we’re glad you found Tello to fit your needs!
Welcome to the Tello fam :)!
My understanding is that it’s still necessary to use the My Tello app on Android to make a call via Wi-fi Calling. Is there still no native support for Wi-Fi Texting and Calling in Android or iOS?
Hi, Chris,
Thanks for writing. Here’s the thing, My Tello is an app, aka an alternative to calling when you’re low on signal or you’re out of the US. Wifi calling is a different thing – instead of using your carrier’s network connection, you can make a voice call via a Wi-Fi network. This is the same Wi-Fi connection you have set up at home, or whatever Wi-Fi hotspot you happen to be on when you’re out and about, such as at a cafe.
In regard to the iOS problem, we still have to appeal to customers’ patience. We are aware of the issue (and just how annoying it is), and currently investigating the best way to solve it. Thanks for understanding!