Bad mobile reception, call drops? Use Wi-Fi calling; here is how to

Wi-Fi calling can help improve calls when you have bad mobile reception, and can be enabled on many phones running both Android and iOS. Here’s what you need to know about Wi-Fi calling and how to enable it on your smartphone to get rid of the call drops problem

Wi-Fi calling can get you a great mobile reception in areas with bad connectivity that cause call drops. (Pixabay)

Bad mobile reception and call drops are common occurrences in many homes and offices, mostly due to location and distance from nearby cell towers. Sometimes, working from an underground location or in an area that has broadband connectivity but few cell towers can be quite challenging. If you are experiencing connection problems on regular phone calls, or call drops, you can quickly enable the Wi-Fi calling feature to make calls properly again.

Wi-Fi calling uses the Wi-Fi network you are connected to, in order to make calls by routing it over the internet and does not cost more than a regular call. However, while this call is taking place using your Wi-Fi connection, the other person can receive it as a regular call, even on a basic 2G feature phone. Most telecom operators in India support Wi-Fi calling on recent smartphones, which means that as long as you have a Vi, Airtel or Jio SIM, you should have no issue connecting to your Wi-Fi network to make calls.

 

Wi-Fi calling availability

As long as you have a recently released smartphone, you should be able to use Wi-Fi calling but some operators websites have additional information which you can access on the operator's website. For example, Vi offers Wi-Fi calling to customers in Maharashtra & Goa, Kolkata, Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP East, Rest of Bengal, Delhi and Mumbai circles and works on select devices from companies like Apple, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Samsung, Xiaomi smartphones. Meanwhile, Airtel and Jio both support a larger list of devices, including (but not limited to) manufacturers like Itel, Nokia, Infinix, Spice, Tecno, Micromax, iQoo, LG and more. Another quick way to check for Wi-Fi calling support is by checking the network setting of your phone for a VoWiFi or Wi-Fi calling setting.

Turn on Wi-Fi calling on iPhone

Unlike Android phones which have varying settings, enabling Wi-Fi calling on an iPhone is easy.

Step 1) Go to the Settings all and click on the iPhone setting.

Step 2) Select Mobile Data > Wi-Fi calling > Turn on the Wi-Fi calling option.

Step 3) Dial any number while connected to a stable Wi-Fi network to verify if the setting is working.

Turn on Wi-Fi calling on Android

These are generic settings for an Android phone and users may need to dig into the settings to find the feature. They can also try to use the search option in settings.

Step 1) Go to the Settings app and click on the Networks setting.

Step 2) Look for the Wi-Fi preferences option and locate the Wi-Fi calling feature. Some smartphones allow you to specify which SIM to enable Wi-Fi calling support.

Step 3) Turn on the setting and dial any number while connected to a stable Wi-Fi network to verify if the setting is working.