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Because of reception problems in our area a Verizon Rep suggested that I set up WI-FI calling on my phone. After going though the setup steps we ran a test and it worked. The other day I got a call at home and noticed that the call came through over wireless vs. WI-FI so I chatted with a Verizon rep who confirmed that everything was setup OK but in the end she had me do a Network Reset and power cycle my phone before we got it working again. Today I got another call and again the call came through over wireless vs. WI-FI and I again chatted with a Verizon support person. This rep however gave me a different story about how WI-FI calling works. This rep said that WI-FI calling only works if you have NO wireless signal however this is not the impression I got from other Verizon support reps. This rep said that the only way to use wireless calling was to first switch into Airplane mode and then turn my WI-FI back on. So my question is which way is it really supposed to work is it with Wireless on or only when Wireless is off?
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Just thought I would update this thread a bit......
Last week I was speaking with a upper level Verizon support representative on another matter. As she was closing out that problem she asked me if I was having any other problems with me Verizon service and I mentioned the reception issues in our area. She did some checking and confirmed that we were in a limited reception area and she could see why we were having issues. She checked further and found that a recent service area study had been performed but there were no plans to add a new tower any time soon. After discussing WI-FI calling she then suggested that I invest in a 4G Wireless Network Extender. After hearing how this device worked I bought one and installed it today. In one word WOW!
In one of my previous posts I mentioned that an app I had installed on my phone called Network Cell Info Lite was showing a signal strength of -103 dBm to -115 dBm. From what I leaned on the internet calls get dropped if the signal is greater than -110 dBm but at -87 dBm an android phone will show 4 bars. After installing my 4G Wireless Network Extender that acts as a mini-cell tower in my home I now have a signal strength of -66 dBm which is almost a perfect signal. Granted that the extender was not cheap ($250.00) it doesn't have a monthly charge so to me this purchase was well worth the money paid.
We are here to help Moondoggy51. We want to make sure that you have the support that you need. What type of phone do you have? We will cover all of the step once we can verify that.
BobbyN_VZW
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If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!
BobbyN:
Thanks for the reply. My phone is a Motorola Droid Turbo. My concern stems from either misinformation or a misunderstanding on my part and it's probably the latter. In talking/chatting with 2 VZ reps I was under the impression that if I have WI-FI calling setup, which I do, and have a active WI-FI connection that my phone would default to WI-FI calling for all inbound and outbound calls. However, another VZ rep told me that WI-FI calling only works if I have no VZ Network signal and that if I wish to use WI-FI calling it when a VZ network signal is available then I would have to switch the phone to Airplane mode, then reconnect my phone to WI-FI. Well, the first two VZ reps never mentioned having to switch to Airplane mode and I'm further concerned about what the latter rep meant about WI-FI calling only being available if there is no VZ network signal. Does this mean no 4G signal or does it mean that you can still have a 1X signal and the phone will still prefer to use the VZ network over WI-FI? The problem we have is that we live on the fringe of the network and when we're indoors our signal can be anything from 4G to 1X and our phones jump from one of 5 towers constantly just trying to maintain a connection. So, if the way WI-FI calling works is that it's only available if there is no VZ signal then I'm wondering why WI-FI calling was suggested as an alternative to those living in a poor reception area?
In addition to the above when I explained this to a fellow resident in the subdivision regarding the need to switch to Airplane mode and then having to switch WI-FI back on I said that this methodology was inconvenient as you had to remember to switch off airplane mode if you suddenly had to go somewhere. This person led me to believe there is another alternative method (she called it a "trick") that a VZ rep can share with me that would make this process easier but so far I'm unaware of any easy trick to switch back and forth between WI-FI calling and VZ Network calling. If there is such a "Trick" please let me know.
Thanks for getting back to us. It is my pleasure to cover these options for you. Let's begin.The first thing is setting up WiFi calling:https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/knowledge-base-207801/. When a call is either made or received, the phone manages its connection between the cellular and WiFi networks based on signal strength. You mentioned placing the device on airplane mode? This is used to ensure that your device only uses WiFi. Your device will not be able to switch to a cellular network if WiFi is disabled. I hope this clears the air for you.
BobbyN_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!
BobbyN:
I guess I'm still a bit confused. You said that the phone manages its connections between the cellular and WI-FI networks based on signal strength so what exactly does this mean? I used an app I found on Google Play that says that any 4G signal of less than or equal to -100 is considered to be a poor signal. This app showed that the "best" 4G signal I had was between -103 and -115 but apparently this "poor" signal was not enough to switch the phone over to receive inbound via WI-FI. In my previous email I also asked whether a 1X signal was enough to keep the phone in cellular mode. So can you be more clear when you say that the phone manages it's connection? What exactly is this threshold where it will switch over to WI-FI?
Also I also mentioned in my previous post that someone mentioned some sort of trick to easily transition you in and out of WI-FI mode but there was no mention in your last email if such a trick exists or whether this was just a false lead? Because of the poor reception in our area, WI-FI calling would be beneficial for us but not if it's a hassle to switch in and out of it via airplane mode as another member of my family has the same phone and she's technically challenged. I wish it was a case where you could make WI-FI calling the default if available and use cellular if not.
Please let me know about the threshold for switching between WI-FI mode and cellular and any so called "Trick" to cause the phone to use WI-FI over cellular. Thanks.
We hope to end the confusion Moondoggy51. I will clarify a bit more. Regular voice calls do not use our data network. So having access to our 4G LTE or 3G networks really doesn't matter. Data only matters if you use HD or video calling. When I mentioned management, I was just meaning the ability for the device to switch between source types. We are unable to comment on how the Google application functions as it is not a VZW program.
BobbyN_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!
OK, just to be clear for other readers, what I think your saying is that as long as you have any signal from a tower, regardless of whether it's a 4G, 3G or 1X signal the phone will always use the cellular service for inbound and outbound phone calls, correct? The only way for a user in a poor reception area to use WI-FI calling through Verizon is if (1) you have no signal from any tower in which case the phone will switch tp WI-FI calling automatically or (2) you turn off the phones connection to cellular service though the use of Airplane mode on your phone and then reestablish a WI-FI connection, is this not also correct? Furthermore there is no trick or other methodology for you to disconnect from cellular service while leaving your WI-FI connection intact, correct?
If any of the above is incorrect, please let me know. Thanks.
Moondoggy51, let's clear this up. Your Motorola Droid Turbo has Advanced Calling option in the settings and you can activate HD Voice. With HD Voice, you can make phone calls and video calling over the LTE signal. As you've mentioned, the indoor signal can be anywhere from 4G to 1X. This is why you are dropping calls when you switch from 4G to 3G or 1X. You can turn this feature off to see if it helps with the call quality while you are inside. When you turn off the HD Voice, you will be using the 1X signal to make phone calls. Here's more details http://vz.to/2x7GQ2Q.
Regarding WiFi Calling http://vz.to/2wo4FAR, anyone can use it as long as their phone can support it. You necessarliy do not have to put the phone in Airplane Mode however, this can help with the connectivity when using WiFi Calling. Another method is to turn off the mobile data on the device and this will ensure that you are not using data while you are connected to WiFi. Settings>Data Usage>Mobile Data. You can still make and recieve calls/texts when mobile data is off.
Also, check the WiFi settings to ensure that Avoid bad WiFi connections is turned off and Keep WiFi on during sleep is on "Always". Settings>WiFi>Tap on the three dots in the top right corner>Advanced. I know I've provided a lot of information, please let me know if you have any questions about this.
ZangY_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport
If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!
Just thought I would update this thread a bit......
Last week I was speaking with a upper level Verizon support representative on another matter. As she was closing out that problem she asked me if I was having any other problems with me Verizon service and I mentioned the reception issues in our area. She did some checking and confirmed that we were in a limited reception area and she could see why we were having issues. She checked further and found that a recent service area study had been performed but there were no plans to add a new tower any time soon. After discussing WI-FI calling she then suggested that I invest in a 4G Wireless Network Extender. After hearing how this device worked I bought one and installed it today. In one word WOW!
In one of my previous posts I mentioned that an app I had installed on my phone called Network Cell Info Lite was showing a signal strength of -103 dBm to -115 dBm. From what I leaned on the internet calls get dropped if the signal is greater than -110 dBm but at -87 dBm an android phone will show 4 bars. After installing my 4G Wireless Network Extender that acts as a mini-cell tower in my home I now have a signal strength of -66 dBm which is almost a perfect signal. Granted that the extender was not cheap ($250.00) it doesn't have a monthly charge so to me this purchase was well worth the money paid.
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