Why is Wi-Fi Calling still inconsistent after 10 years?

[ThomasJL]

I've had different models of iPhones in the past 10 years, have used every version of iOS that has come out during that time, and have used different carriers (who all supported Wi-Fi calling) in the U.S. and abroad. At home, I've always used rock-solid high-speed Internet connections with rock-solid Wi-Fi routers (including Apple's own AirPort Extreme for a couple of years), and the cafes I've spent time in had those also.

Why, after over 10 years, is Wi-Fi Calling still only active around half the time or less when my iPhones are connected to Wi-Fi?

What gives? Is this yet another longstanding multigenerational iOS bug that Tim Cook hasn't cared to make anyone fix?

Is there even one person out there who turns on Wi-Fi Calling on his iPhone and always sees that Wi-Fi Calling is active the entire time he is on Wi-Fi?

 

[Slartibart]

Absolutely no problem whether at home or work - actually the company building I work in, due to architectural “features”, makes it the default for everyone, because it is so reliable. This is finland btw. Ever checked the latencies on your WLans?

 

[chabig]

I have the same problem. Sometimes it goes to wifi calling. Sometimes it doesn’t. It’s a mystery and I can’t figure it out. I make a point to check and if it doesn’t switch automatically, I turn on airplane mode.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Why, after over 10 years, is Wi-Fi Calling still only active around half the time or less when my iPhones are connected to Wi-Fi?

I couldn’t find the thresholds on any official document but...

[...] your phone will typically default to the cellular network if it’s available.

How to Enable Wi-Fi Calling on an iPhone 6: A Step-by-Step Guide - Support Your Tech

Stay connected even with a weak signal! Learn how to enable Wi-Fi calling on your iPhone 6 with our easy step-by-step guide.

www.supportyourtech.com

Your phone will connect to the strongest connection available, be it WiFi or cellular.

WiFi Calling: Everything You Need to Know

WiFi calling keeps you connected in poor cell signal areas. We cover all you need to know – what WiFi calling is, how it works, how to use it, and more.

www.signalboosters.com

Question on WiFi calling

yeah well that is because it's only relying on the cell signal, it will typically not connect over wifi unless you go below 1-2 bars

forums.macrumors.com

EDIT: I guess, I don’t use/switch/discuss wireless carriers enough to have realized the obvious: the connection priority is carrier determined.

 

[ManuCH]

I've had different models of iPhones in the past 10 years, have used every version of iOS that has come out during that time, and have used different carriers (who all supported Wi-Fi calling) in the U.S. and abroad. At home, I've always used rock-solid high-speed Internet connections with rock-solid Wi-Fi routers (including Apple's own AirPort Extreme for a couple of years), and the cafes I've spent time in had those also.

Why, after over 10 years, is Wi-Fi Calling still only active around half the time or less when my iPhones are connected to Wi-Fi?

What gives? Is this yet another longstanding multigenerational iOS bug that Tim Cook hasn't cared to make anyone fix?

Is there even one person out there who turns on Wi-Fi Calling on his iPhone and always sees that Wi-Fi Calling is active the entire time he is on Wi-Fi?

The logic of Wi-Fi calling makes sure it's not always enabled. Actually, the iPhone will only connect to Wi-Fi calling if it deems the cellular signal to be too poor (the exact criteria can be defined by the mobile operator via carrier bundle file AFAIK).

The only way to force Wi-Fi calling to be always enabled is to use airplane mode. It's not a bug, that's how it was designed. We could discuss on whether that's the right way of doing it, of course.

 

[scorpio vega]

I’m almost always connected to Wi-Fi calling regardless of where I am since I always look for Wifi so I’ve never had issues.

 

[contacos]

I've had different models of iPhones in the past 10 years, have used every version of iOS that has come out during that time, and have used different carriers (who all supported Wi-Fi calling) in the U.S. and abroad. At home, I've always used rock-solid high-speed Internet connections with rock-solid Wi-Fi routers (including Apple's own AirPort Extreme for a couple of years), and the cafes I've spent time in had those also.

Why, after over 10 years, is Wi-Fi Calling still only active around half the time or less when my iPhones are connected to Wi-Fi?

What gives? Is this yet another longstanding multigenerational iOS bug that Tim Cook hasn't cared to make anyone fix?

Is there even one person out there who turns on Wi-Fi Calling on his iPhone and always sees that Wi-Fi Calling is active the entire time he is on Wi-Fi?

My understanding is that this is up to the provider.

Vodafone Germany for example prioritises Wifi Calling over cellular availability, so even with 5 full bars of 5G, it will prioritise wifi calling

Telekom Germany meanwhile prioritises cellular and thus, my Wifi Calling only "appears" if I have really bad cellular service while on wifi.

 

[Feek]

Is there even one person out there who turns on Wi-Fi Calling on his iPhone and always sees that Wi-Fi Calling is active the entire time he is on Wi-Fi?

*raises hand*

It works perfectly for me. I take multiple calls/day on a couple of phones, both are using Wi-Fi calling and it's flawless.

However....
When Wi-Fi calling first appeared, there was nothing I could do to make it connect on my personal phone. It worked perfectly on my work phone and we were both on the same networks. I spent literally hours either in the EE shop or on the phone to their support team trying to sort it and we went through every setting on the phone that could be related and all the available add-ons on the network to make sure it was enabled.
After weeks of trying, the local shop suggested that as a long shot, they'd get me a new SIM because the one I had was years old.
The new SIM turned up, I called them to activate it, waited until service vanished from my phone, swapped the SIM and that fixed it. I've never had a problem since.

 

[Maloney~888]

I’ve never had issue with it. BT/EE carriers.

 

[UliBaer]

Also *raises hand*

Carrier is O2-Germany. WiFi calling enabled in carrier settings on the iPhone. The moment a good WiFi-connection is available, the iPhone automatically switches to WiFi calling. If i leave the WiFi coverage, the phone seamlessly switches back to LTE/5G.

When i'm abroad in a hotel using WiFi calling, i can phone home to Germany at rates as if i'm calling from Germany. Nice feature!

[edit]
I also have friends living in an area with effectively zero mobile coverage, even no emergency calling available, but they have rock solid WiFi. So when i'm visiting them, i was normally not reachable via iPhone, now this is no Problem anymore.

 

[Morac]

For the most part it’s better for the phone to not use WiFi calling if there is a strong cellular signal since WiFi can be unpredictable and is subject to interference. Not to mention other network traffic can result in poor call quality.

WiFi calling is there as a backup for cases where the cell signal is poor or non-existent or the phone is roaming.

At home, where I’m within 500 yards of a cell tower, my phone never uses WiFi calling. Then again my 5G+ speeds are equal to or better than my WiFi Internet speeds there.

At my parent’s house where I get 2 bars, my phone is always on WiFi calling.

 

[Beligerent]

Absolutely no problem whether at home or work - actually the company building I work in, due to architectural “features”, makes it the default for everyone, because it is so reliable. This is finland btw. Ever checked the latencies on your WLans?

I Love Finland! Hello my friend

 

[WB2Colorado]

Putting your phone in airplane mode will force Wi-Fi calling to turn on. Otherwise it’s up to your carrier what the threshold is for it to turn on

 

[AstonSmith]

Is there even one person out there who turns on Wi-Fi Calling on his iPhone and always sees that Wi-Fi Calling is active the entire time he is on Wi-Fi?

Yes that's me, both my phones use WiFi calling 99+% of the time. I live and work in a rural area, with only one bar of signal strength max on either network.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Is there even one person out there who turns on Wi-Fi Calling on his iPhone and always sees that Wi-Fi Calling is active the entire time he is on Wi-Fi?

I don't care if wifi calling is active ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ as long as I can make & receive calls.

I do know that it's active at home, where my mobile signal is a bit "Spotty" at best. Everywhere else, I let iOS decide whether to use wifi or mobile.

 

[Infinion.]

Yes that's me, both my phones use WiFi calling 99+% of the time. I live and work in a rural area, with only one bar of signal strength max on either network.

Same here, wifi calling is always active on my iPhone when I am at home, seems EE/BT keep moving the transmitter close to me (on top of a block of flats) so I am in a signal black spot down stairs but if I go upstairs I have near full signal!

I use wifi calling on my MacBook M1 and wow is it unreliable, at the moment it's allowing calls but I can not hear the other person although they can hear me and then after 20 seconds the call drops!

 

[dk001]

…

Is there even one person out there who turns on Wi-Fi Calling on his iPhone and always sees that Wi-Fi Calling is active the entire time he is on Wi-Fi?

Yes.
I live in a rural area and seldom see more than three bars cell.
Mint Mobile (my carrier - runs on T-Mobile network) allows prioritizing which is set to WiFI. I do this for both my iPhone and Android devices.

 

[aj8690]

It's carrier-specific. Some carrier settings prefer WiFi calling and some will only jump to Wifi calling when signal is very poor.

 

[Nadeem_Guroo]

The logic of Wi-Fi calling makes sure it's not always enabled. Actually, the iPhone will only connect to Wi-Fi calling if it deems the cellular signal to be too poor (the exact criteria can be defined by the mobile operator via carrier bundle file AFAIK).

The only way to force Wi-Fi calling to be always enabled is to use airplane mode. It's not a bug, that's how it was designed. We could discuss on whether that's the right way of doing it, of course.

But it doesn’t work in airplane mode

 

[UliBaer]

But it doesn’t work in airplane mode

Surely it works, you simply have to one time manually enable WiFi after enabling flight mode.
Next time you switch to flight mode, WiFi keeps enabled and WiFi calling works.

 

[Nadeem_Guroo]

Surely it works, you simply have to one time manually enable WiFi after enabling flight mode.
Next time you switch to flight mode, WiFi keeps enabled and WiFi calling works.

It doesn’t work in my case,it seems to be carrier controlled because some carriers do allow wifi calling in the airplane mode and some don’t

 

[UliBaer]

Ah ok, didn't knew that carriers have an influence on that.

 

[Infinion.]

It doesn’t work in my case,it seems to be carrier controlled because some carriers do allow wifi calling in the airplane mode and some don’t

In my case it works with airplane mode on and used to operate in normal mode but only when required like if the signal was down to 1 bar but these days even with the signal at 3 or more bars the phone just defaults to wifi calling and is enabled all the time, I have also noticed it stays on even if I am upstairs where I get full signal as well. Wifi Calling works for my iPhone but my MacBook is at the moment very hit and miss, I hope it gets resolved soon.

 

[Nadeem_Guroo]

Ah ok, didn't knew that carriers have an influence on that.

Certainly it has and thats what carrier settings update/version are supposed to carry

 

[Nadeem_Guroo]

In my case it works with airplane mode on and used to operate in normal mode but only when required like if the signal was down to 1 bar but these days even with the signal at 3 or more bars the phone just defaults to wifi calling and is enabled all the time, I have also noticed it stays on even if I am upstairs where I get full signal as well. Wifi Calling works for my iPhone but my MacBook is at the moment very hit and miss, I hope it gets resolved soon.

It was same for me a couple of years back and since than i can latch to wifi calling only when the cellular coverage is weak but that shouldn’t be the case,it should be working all the time while connected to wifi and in airplane mode as well.