How to Enable Wi-Fi Calling on a Samsung Phone

Make phone calls on your Samsung phone even when you don't have a cell signal

By
Jordan Baranowski
Jordan Baranowski
Jordan Baranowski
Writer
  • University of Kansas
  • Avila University
Jordan Baranowski is a former Lifewire writer and educator with experience writing for SVG, The Nerd Stash, and Feast Magazine.
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Updated on November 6, 2021

What to Know

  • Connect to a Wi-Fi network, then go to Settings > Connections and tap the Wi-Fi Calling switch to turn it on.
  • Alternatively, open the Phone app and go to the Settings to toggle Wi-Fi Calling on.

This article explains how to make calls over a Wi-Fi network instead of your phone's network on a Samsung S5 or higher. You may also be able to enable Wi-Fi calling on other Android phones.

How to Turn on Wi-Fi Calling in Settings

You can use a couple methods to turn on Wi-Fi calling. The first is in your phone's settings app.

  1. Make sure you're connected to a Wi-Fi network.

  2. Open your phone's settings, and then tap Connections.

  3. Tap the switch next to Wi-Fi Calling.

    The Connections and Wi-Fi Calling options in settings

How To Turn on Wi-Fi Calling in the Phone App

Another way to activate this feature is in the Phone app. Follow these instructions to turn it on.

These steps may vary a bit depending on the type of phone you have and what operating system you are running.

  1. From your phone's home screen, tap Phone.

  2. Tap the Menu or More icon to open the settings.

    Some phones have their settings available directly on the main app screen.

  3. Toggle Wi-Fi Calling on.

    The More menu, Settings, and Wi-Fi Calling in the Phone app

What Is Wi-Fi Calling?

Wi-Fi calling will use your wireless network to make phone calls rather than your phone network. It can be extremely useful if you get spotty phone service in certain areas of your home or you're visiting somewhere with a strong Wi-Fi connection but not good phone service.

In the past, Wi-Fi connections were less reliable than they are now, so Wi-Fi calling wasn't a great option. There aren't a lot of reasons to avoid Wi-Fi calling, but a few issues can spring up. For one, it will use your data plan, so if you have a small data cap on your wireless data usage, Wi-Fi calling could eat into it.

In addition, if your wireless connection is weak, you're more likely to drop a call. Wi-Fi calling generally needs a strong signal to be effective.

The data used won't be much more than a Skype voice chat. It shouldn't be an issue unless you use it a lot or have a very small data cap.

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