Mobile Phones > iPhone & iOS 140 140 people found this article helpful How to Make Wi-Fi Calls on Your iPhone How to use iPhone Wi-Fi calling and fix problems with it By Sam Costello Sam Costello Facebook Twitter Writer Ithaca College Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on February 21, 2020 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email iPhone & iOS Switching from Android The Wi-Fi Calling feature of the iPhone solves the problem of being in a place where the cellular phone signal is so weak that phone calls either drop all the time or don't work at all. When you use Wi-Fi Calling, it doesn't matter how many bars you have. As long as there's a Wi-Fi network nearby, you can use it to make your calls. Wi-Fi Calling requires iOS 8 or higher. This article was written using iOS 12, but the steps are similar for iOS 11. What Is Wi-Fi Calling? Wi-Fi Calling is a feature of iOS 8 and up that allows phone calls to be made using Wi-Fi networks instead of through a service provider's cellular towers. Wi-Fi Calling allows the calls to work like Voice over IP technology, which treats a voice call like any other data sent over a computer network. Wi-Fi Calling is most useful for people in rural locations or buildings made of certain materials who don't get good cell reception at their homes or businesses. In these places, getting better reception is impossible until phone companies install new cell towers nearby. Without those towers, customers' only choices are to either switch phone companies or go without cell phone service in those important locations. Tim Robberts/Getty Images Wi-Fi Calling Requirements To use Wi-Fi Calling on the iPhone, you must have: AT&T, Sprint, or T-Mobile phone service in the U.S. Verizon customers with HD Voice calling can also use the feature. If you're in another country, check this list from Apple of what carriers support which features. iPhone 5C or newer models. iOS 9 or higher installed on the iPhone. iOS 8.0 offers support for T-Mobile, iOS 8.3 adds Sprint, and iOS 9 adds AT&T. Access to a Wi-Fi network. How to Enable Wi-Fi Calling Wi-Fi Calling is disabled by default on iPhones, so you'll need to turn it on to use it. Here's how: Tap the Settings app. Tap Cellular (on older versions of iOS, tap Phone). Tap Wi-Fi Calling. Turn on the Wi-Fi Calling on This iPhone toggle switch. Follow the onscreen prompts to add your physical location. This information is used so that emergency services can locate you if you call 911. Lifewire The E911 information screen identifies your home location. It does not automatically send your current location if you dial 911 away from your home. Wi-Fi Calling is enabled and ready to use. How to Use iPhone Wi-Fi Calling When the feature is turned on, using it is easy: Connect to a Wi-Fi network. Look in the upper-right corner of the iPhone screen. If it's connected to Wi-Fi and the feature is enabled, it reads AT&T Wi-Fi, Sprint Wi-Fi, T-Mobile Wi-Fi, or other depending on your carrier. On newer iPhones with a notch, a Wi-Fi symbol appears next to the cellular bars. Place a call as you normally would. How to Fix Problems with Wi-Fi Calling Wi-Fi Calling technology isn't perfect. Here's how to solve some of the most common problems people experience: Can't connect to Wi-Fi: Review problem-solving steps to fix a grayed-out Wi-Fi connection or troubleshoot when an iPhone won't connect to Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi Calling is disabled: In the Settings app, the Wi-Fi Calling toggle switch may be grayed out. If it is, reset the network settings (Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings), turn on Airplane Mode, then turn on Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi calls drop: If you're in an area that has a Wi-Fi network and a weak cellular signal, sometimes Wi-Fi calls will fail. If the phone connects to the cellular network instead of to Wi-Fi, turn on Airplane Mode to prevent the phone from connecting to cellular. Then, connect to Wi-Fi. Error message: If an error message tells you to contact your phone carrier, wait two minutes and turn on the feature again. If that doesn't work, restart the iPhone. If that doesn't work, contact your phone company. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit