Reliance Jio rolls out Voice over Wi-Fi calling in India

After Airtel, Reliance Jio has launched its voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) service in India. As the name suggests, VoWiFi enables voice calling using Wi-Fi connection when cellular network is poor or not available.

Jio's Wi-Fi calling service has been rolled out in Delhi-NCR and Chennai, and other circles across India, according to an ET report. It is currently available on compatible Samsung and Apple smartphones with more brands like Xiaomi coming in soon. Jio had been testing VoWiFi for some time now with the service running on Apple's iPhone 11 Pro.

The report also states that Jio's Wi-Fi calling service is compatible with all Wi-Fi connections. This is different from Airtel which restricts its Wi-Fi calling service only to Xstream Fiber broadband service. There has been no official confirmation from Reliance Jio as yet.

How to use VoWiFi

This service is available only on phones which support Wi-Fi calling. Users can check if their phone is compatible and accordingly enable Wi-Fi calling from the settings menu. VoLTE should also be turned on for this service to work.

Our experience with Airtel's Wi-Fi calling showed high-speed Wi-Fi connection is required for clear voice calls. The experience isn't very different from regular cellular calls but the switch from Wi-Fi to cellular is pretty seamless.

Airtel's Wi-Fi calling has limitations but Jio's offering is much more liberal. Wi-Fi calling also comes beneficial for smartphone users in India who still face poor cellular connectivity even in metros.