T-Mobile confirms support for Wi-Fi calling on iPhones running iOS 8

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 43
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by tyler82 View Post

     

    This will make paying $50 every month for T-Slobile's sh!tty service less painful. 


    You paid Verizon and AT&T shills used to only bash Sprint. Nice to see you have expanded to bash T-Mobile as well.

     

    If you are an actual customer, then feel free to change to a carrier that works for you. T-Mobile is contract free and most people I know on it are very happy. Most people I personally know on Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon are also happy with their carriers. There is no no such ting as a perfect carrier for everyone so try someone new until you find one that world for you. 

  • Reply 22 of 43
    phone-ui-guyphone-ui-guy Posts: 1,019member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by zeromeus View Post

     
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Chris_CA View Post



    Does T-Mobile have a wifi network their users connect to?




    ANY wifi network. I used a windows phone to make wifi calls using a Tmo phone on a cox internet connection. Right now, this feature is not yet available on the iPhone. Also, iPhone 5s is capable of VoLTE but it hasn't been enabled since the carriers don't support this yet. You'll get it via software update when the carriers support it.

     

    I heard this called "Wifi Offload" at Mobile World Congress. As indicated it allows you to move calls to wifi and use the Internet to backhaul to the telco's network.

  • Reply 23 of 43
    The AT&T microcell is a total POS. I had one, it never worked right and had tons of limitations. The damn thing has a frackin GPS chip inside to make sure you're using it at the address where you're supposed to be using it. In a lot of buildings, it just won't work or will take forever to boot up. Handoffs only work leaving the microcell; if you're home on a call and leave the house, you will be disconnected. The box is also a ridiculous inverted-Y shape that is impossible to stash away anywhere. Only pre-registered phones can access it, and the number is limited (5 or 10 if I remember right). While you paid for the device and are providing the bandwidth, they will still count the minutes against your limit.

    I am so happy I told AT&T to take a hike and am now using T-Mobile. Since I signed up with them just a few months ago they have added tons of really cool perks at no extra cost (free international texting!), and I no longer have dropped calls all the time. Oh, and LTE speeds are hella fast.
  • Reply 24 of 43
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,100member
    gwmac wrote: »
    You paid Verizon and AT&T shills used to only bash Sprint. Nice to see you have expanded to bash T-Mobile as well.

    If you are an actual customer, then feel free to change to a carrier that works for you. T-Mobile is contract free and most people I know on it are very happy. Most people I personally know on Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon are also happy with their carriers. There is no no such ting as a perfect carrier for everyone so try someone new until you find one that world for you. 
    gwmac wrote: »
    You paid Verizon and AT&T shills used to only bash Sprint. Nice to see you have expanded to bash T-Mobile as well.

    If you are an actual customer, then feel free to change to a carrier that works for you. T-Mobile is contract free and most people I know on it are very happy. Most people I personally know on Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon are also happy with their carriers. There is no no such ting as a perfect carrier for everyone so try someone new until you find one that world for you. 

    Yes, I'm an AT&T shill, with an account since 2006. LOL

    I've used them all and all carriers are garbage. That's why I choose the one that costs the least, if I must choose one.

    I remember TEN years ago in Budapest, yes, Eastern friggin Europe, I never had a dropped call or bad service for the four months I was living there. I was even able to talk without interruption in the SUBWAY. No joke.

    USA! USA!
  • Reply 25 of 43
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member
    zeromeus wrote: »
    ANY wifi network.
    Yes, I understand.
    The article stated it will work on T-Mobile network (as I previously quoted so responses would be relevant). :no:
    Where is this T-Mobile wifi network it will work on?
  • Reply 26 of 43
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member

    No.

     

    T-Mobile says that it will work on their network, meaning, cellphones on their cellular voice network can hand off voice calls to an available Wi-Fi network (whether it be home, public, work, school, whatever). The point of this is that the Wi-Fi network handoff provides better availability when the cellular signal is weak (whether it be in an apartment, in the boondocks, in a skyscraper, whatever).

     

    It does not specifically state that the devices would be handed off to a T-Mobile Wi-Fi network.

     

    When it says that this will work on the T-Mobile network, it means that handsets on competitors' networks will not have the Wi-Fi handoff. It only happens to T-Mobile phones, and presumably those on certain plans.

     

    I use a T-Mobile USA pre-paid plan and there are a bunch of T-Mobile USA services that I do not receive as a second-class prepaid customers. I would be surprised if T-Mobile USA extended this Wi-Fi calling benefit to me. I'm a long-time Google Voice user, so I can make outgoing VoIP calls with Google Hangouts over Wi-Fi. 

  • Reply 27 of 43
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    My carrier (in Canada) advertises this feature, but when I went to their tech page I could find only ONE phone that will work. A little reading (with only a little understanding) led me to believe that only phones with certain HARDware capability could access voice over wifi. Am I wrong? Is there a chance that I will now be able to use that feature on my own carrier? I sure hope so, because I'm tired of keeping a landline for no other reason than that the cellular service sucks on my block.
  • Reply 28 of 43
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member

    If only the local T-Mobile network around here were even a shadow of the AT&T network.

  • Reply 29 of 43
    neel82neel82 Posts: 4member
    This is similar to a feature called UMA. Most blackberries have this feature but it depends on the carrier to enable it. I hope Apple is a bit more aggressive with heir role of of this implementation otherwise it will be another Visual Voicemail situation...
  • Reply 30 of 43
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by neel82 View Post



    This is similar to a feature called UMA. Most blackberries have this feature but it depends on the carrier to enable it. I hope Apple is a bit more aggressive with heir role of of this implementation otherwise it will be another Visual Voicemail situation...

     

    So what Apple is introducing is not UMA? That's what my carrier offers, so I guess I'm still outta luck.

  • Reply 31 of 43
    runbuhrunbuh Posts: 315member
    chris_ca wrote: »
    Where is this T-Mobile wifi network it will work on?
    I think they are referring to the fact that this only works with T-Mobile phones, and that your Wi-Fi call (on any Wi-Fi to which your device can connect) will eventually hit the T-Mobile "network" once the Wi-Fi call travels over the intarwebs to a T-Mobile GANC.
  • Reply 32 of 43
    We're going to have to wait for details on this before we all start jumping to conclusions. It could be UMA, in which case practically every carrier already has it.
  • Reply 33 of 43
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Maury Markowitz View Post



    We're going to have to wait for details on this before we all start jumping to conclusions. It could be UMA, in which case practically every carrier already has it.

     

    Does a phone need to have UMA-specific hardware to work, or will any wifi-capabe phone work if it has the right software? The list of phones that will work with my carrier's wifi calling is so short that I have to wonder if there's some kind of significant technical obstacle? If not, why isn't everyone supporting this?

  • Reply 34 of 43

    Originally Posted by Lorin Schultz View Post

    Does a phone need to have UMA-specific hardware to work, or will any wifi-capabe phone work if it has the right software? The list of phones that will work with my carrier's wifi calling is so short that I have to wonder if there's some kind of significant technical obstacle? If not, why isn't everyone supporting this?

     

    I can't say for sure, but I strongly suspect any phone with enough processing power can do it - in theory. It really depends on what part of the system handles the conversion of voice into GSM packets. If that's happening in software, and then the packets are handed to the radios, then it should be possible for the software the re-direct those packets to the WiFi. That's really all there is to UMA. However, if the *sound* is sent to the chip, and the chip handles both packetizing and transmission, then it might not be possible.

     

    I strongly suspect that the iPhone works in the former fashion, and this feature should just magically appear when you install iOS8. On older phones, pre-smartphone, most of this took place in custom silicon, which of course couldn't be changed in this manner. So you had to buy a special handset, and for whatever reason, it was always a crappy model. This, I feel, is the main reason for the lack of UMA uptake - that and the 27-step installation process!

     

    When UMA first came out, you had to select among a bunch of hard-to-get handsets that were all lousy, wait weeks for it to arrive, and then find out that it may or may not work on your 1mbps connection after fiddling with it for an hour doing setup. And for this you get to pay another $15 a month. Needless to say there wasn't much take-up. So, ten years later, handset people are going "well no one used it, so no one wants it" and they don't bother adding it.

     

    If my suspicions are correct, UMA is about to become extremely popular. This isn't UMA on some candy bar you're forced to use because your company put in an Astericks server. This is UMA that you get for free on the most popular phone in the world. I suspect the problem, if there is one, is that the carriers aren't ready for this, in the same fashion that they weren't ready for the data the 3G dropped on their networks in 2008. They need to install a piece of equipment known as a GANC, and I really don't know if there's enough of them.

  • Reply 35 of 43
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Maury Markowitz View Post



    We're going to have to wait for details on this before we all start jumping to conclusions. It could be UMA, in which case practically every carrier already has it.



    the only 2 carriers that currently offer wifi calling are Sprint and T-Mobile. As long as you turn it on and can connect to wifi, simply make or receive a call from any platform or carrier normally. If you get a good wifi signal you will have amazing voice quality on the call. A weak or slow wifi signal then not so great. This is great for many indoor situations where you may not get a strong cell signal. 

     

    When you turn wifi calling on for the first time you get a new PRL installed on your phone. That's it. 

     

    http://www.phonearena.com/news/Wi-Fi-calling-included-in-iOS-8_id56799

     

    Here is an FAQ

    http://support.sprint.com/support/article/FAQs_about_WiFi_Calling_on_your_Samsung_Galaxy_S_4_mini/WFAQ_542_GKB68117-Trend?INTNAV=SU:DP:OV:TSIS:SamsungGalaxyS4Mini:FaqsAboutWifiCallingOnYourSamsungGalaxyS4Mini

     

    These slides show the activation of wifi calling for the first time

    http://support.sprint.com/support/tutorial/Activate_WiFi_calling/50394-1828

  • Reply 36 of 43

    Originally Posted by gwmac View Post

    the only 2 carriers that currently offer wifi calling are Sprint and T-Mobile.


    Ummm, you are aware there is an entire planet outside the USA, right?

     

    :-)

  • Reply 37 of 43
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Maury Markowitz View Post

     

    Ummm, you are aware there is an entire planet outside the USA, right?

     

    :-)


     

    Don't be ridiculous. It was clear I was strictly speaking about the U.S. 

     

    This is after all a U.S. based English speaking website. I doubt I would need to add a stipulation on a Japanese, german, or Chinese Apple site I meant foreign carriers either. 

  • Reply 38 of 43

    Originally Posted by gwmac View Post

    Don't be ridiculous. It was clear I was strictly speaking about the U.S. 

     

    This is after all a U.S. based English speaking website. I doubt I would need to add a stipulation on a Japanese, german, or Chinese Apple site I meant foreign carriers either. 


    Ahhh, I'm the one being ridiculous.

     

    Geez, grow some skin.

  • Reply 39 of 43
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,100member
    Will it work with the 4s?
  • Reply 40 of 43
    r00fusr00fus Posts: 245member
    Simply Awesome. I have pretty impressive coverage almost everywhere I'm at (except in museums or other locations that might also have wifi), and now those locations can effectively keep good "signal".

    Combined with the HD Voice support (which AT&T and Verizon have still not offered for the past year, only now coming to areas where I don't live or work: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9248366/AT_T_to_activate_HD_Voice_over_4G_LTE_in_four_states_on_May_23 ).

    TMO is still firing on all cylinders... now if only FaceTime Audio could handoff to voice network when the data stream went silent...
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