Verizon Wireless, the largest carrier in the United States, is rolling out Wi-Fi calling for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge on December 8th. The feature will also be coming to iOS devices in early 2016. The full statement from Verizon’s site is as follows:
“Beginning December 8, Verizon customers with Advanced Calling on two different Samsung smartphones can make and receive calls and initiate video calls over a Wi-Fi Internet connection.  Verizon customers already enjoy the largest and most reliable wireless network in the United States, and Advanced Calling with Wi-Fi Calling provides an alternative for those who wish to use Wi-Fi in the home, office or while traveling.  Wi-Fi Calling will initially be available on the Samsung Galaxy S 6 and Samsung Galaxy S 6 Edge and will be rolled out as a software update in phases. Additional Android and iOS devices will receive Wi-Fi Calling capabilities via future software updates expected early next year. All Wi-Fi calls made to U.S. phone numbers are free. Calls made to foreign numbers are billed at international long distance rates.â€
Instructions on how to enable Wi-Fi calling on Verizon smartphones were also posted on the company’s website, and are as follows:
“To activate Wi-Fi Calling on Android, customers must first download and install the latest software update and turn on Advanced Calling from the settings menu. Once Advanced Calling is enabled, customers can activate Wi-Fi Calling. When a customer uses Advanced Calling on our 4G LTE network and travels outside of coverage, the call will seamlessly transfer to a known Wi-Fi hotspot when available. Advanced Calling has been available for more than a year and enables HD Voice (on 28 smartphones) and Video Calling (on 21 smartphones) on the nation’s largest and most reliable 4G LTE network. For more information on Advanced Calling from Verizon, visit http://www.verizonwireless.com/landingpages/advanced-calling.â€
The FCC granted Verizon Wireless the waiver needed to launch Wi-Fi Calling last month. However, Big Red is a bit late to the game on this feature as AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile have had Wi-Fi Calling for some time now.
You may be wondering what the benefits of using Wi-Fi Calling may be. The feature allows for calls and texts to be done over any Wi-Fi network, rather than over a traditional cell tower. This is extremely handy if you find yourself in a situation in which you have a strong Wi-Fi connection, but poor cell service. I, personally, use T-Mobile and the Uncarrier has had this feature for some time now and has proved to be useful in some circumstances, particularly when I traveled to Michigan last summer. I had relatively poor service in my family’s home, but I was still able to make calls and texts like normal over their Wi-Fi connection.
Do you utilize Wi-Fi calling on your existing carrier? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Verizon Wireless; Via: iClarified
