Going on vacation away from home doesn't only have advantages. Who has never been in a white area without any mobile network? To work around this problem, the iPhone has a function to make and receive calls directly from a Wi-Fi connection..
Make calls from an instant messaging app
Most instant messaging applications like WhatsApp allow free calls to friends or family. It is practical and very economical especially abroad. Indeed, these calls use the Wi-Fi connection of the smartphone and are therefore not deducted from your telephone plan.
Problem, you can only reach people using the same application as you. But that's not all, your contact must be connected to the internet when you try to reach them. You will easily understand that, given all these limitations, making a call from these apps is not easy..
Call without network coverage
To allow its customers to always be reachable in areas without a cellular network , Apple has integrated the Wi-Fi Calling feature on its iPhone. As its name suggests, it will allow you to call via a Wi-Fi connection. You will be able to make a phone call but also receive it wherever you are and even if your smartphone does not receive any network.
Unlike instant messaging applications, Wi-Fi calls made from the iPhone are completely transparent to your correspondents. They will see your phone number displayed on their device. They cannot tell the difference between a call made from your operator's mobile network and a phone call using the Wi-Fi Calls function..
Please note, all communications made by the Wi-Fi calling service will automatically be deducted from your package. The same pricing applies for Wi-Fi calls as those made directly from the mobile network.
How to benefit from Wi-Fi calls
To take advantage of Wi-Fi calls on your iPhone, you must have an iPhone 5C or higher (iPhone 6, 6S) but also hold a mobile plan eligible for the Wi-Fi Calls service. For more information, please not to contact your telephone operator to find out if the latter supports this functionality and to know the pricing in detail.
Note that at Orange and Sosh, only owners of iPhone SE, 6S and 6S will be able to benefit from Wi-Fi calls.
Activate the Wi-Fi option on your iPhone
To benefit from this functionality, you must activate it. This can only be done near a Wi-Fi network connection.
- Turn on your iPhone
- Make sure you have the latest version of iOS
- Connect to a wireless internet network
- Open the Settings app
- Select the Telephone section then Wi-Fi calls
- Press the switch to activate the Wi-Fi calling function
Once the option is activated, you should see Wi-Fi calls appear in the status bar of your iPhone. Now all your incoming and outgoing calls will go through the wireless internet connection.
Note that this service is reserved only for audio calls. Sending and receiving SMS and MMS messages will only be done from your operator's mobile network.