You probably noticed that your cellular service was spotty last week. TMobile, Verizon, and ATT experienced an outage that covered most of the country. When you're trying to stay in contact with family, friends, and customers, you're probably doing it by your smartphone because many of you have dropped your landline. Apple and Google understand outages can occur, which is why your smartphone has the ability to make calls and send texts over wifi. If you're not familiar with this technology, check out these tips that will help you connect your phone to a wifi connection to make calls when you have limited or no cellular connection.
What is WiFi calling? WiFi calling allows you to call or text from any location that has a WiFi connection. This feature comes in handy especially if you are in an area that your cellular network doesn’t reach. There are many benefits to making calls over a wifi network as opposed to your cellular network such as improving the quality of your calls when you have weak coverage. You can hop on a wifi network to make calls when there is an outage cellular outage. Since the technology is already built into your smartphone, there is no need to install separate applications and there are no additional charges. How do I turn on WiFi calling?
Your smartphone has the ability to flip flop between using WiFi and your cellar network when using apps or surfing the web, but unfortunately, you have to enable on your smartphone. Turning it on is a very easy process. The first thing you have to do is to connect your smartphone to a wireless network, then do the following depending on which brand of phone you have.
Turn on Wifi calling for iPhones
From the home screen, tap Settings.
Tap Cellular, select Wi-Fi Calling.
Slide the Wi-Fi Calling on This iPhone button to green.
Select Enable when the popup appears.
Turn on Wifi calling for Androids
From the home screen, tap Settings.
Tap Networks & Internet.
Select Mobile Network.
Toggle Wi-Fi Calling on.
If you're one of those people who has an older smartphone that doesn't have a WiFi calling feature, you can download Skype (www.skype.com), Google Hangout (www.google.com), WhatsApp (www.whatsapp.com), Facebook Messanger (www.messenger.com) and Viber. (www.viber.com) to make phone calls and send text messages over wifi
How can Find Wifi in my Area?
I'm sure you know where all of the free wireless hotspots are in your area, but if you are traveling, there are some handy tools you can download and use to find free wifi. If you have an iPhone, download the apps WiFi Finder, and WiFi Finder + Map to find internet and hotspots on the go. If you have an Android smartphone, download the Wiman Free WiFi app or WiFi map app that gives you access to a database with over 60 million hotspots worldwide.
What other things should you know about Wifi calling? WiFi calling can help you out in most instances where you need to make a call in poor coverage area but there are a couple of things you should know. Before you waiting for an emergency to use wifi calling, you need to check with your cellular provider to verify your phone can make wireless calls. If you're struggling with making cellular calls at home, your home office, or even at the office, you can invest in a cell signal booster. This technology routes your cell signal through your home or office internet, allowing you to make crystal clear calls. Check with your cellular provider to see if you qualify for one of these devices if you have poor coverage in your area. If you don't, there are several third-party vendors that sell devices to help with weak cell phone coverage.
With technology, it's always smart to have a backup plan and this includes your smartphone. Most carriers boast about having national and global coverage, but we all know this isn't always the case. Our cellular and internet network is designed to help us all stay connected. Make sure you've configured your smartphone to always give you access to calls and text. There's no excuse not to.
Want to ask me a tech question? Send it to burton@callintegralnow.com. If you prefer to connect with me on social media, you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter and watch great tech tip videos on my YouTube channel. I love technology. I've read all of the manuals and I want to make technology fun and easy to use for everyone!
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