Network - Wi-Fi calling

[dnzee]

This is going to be more of a rant than anything else so please be forewarned.

I have had Verizon service for over 20+ years. I travel for work and the Verizon network was so much better than the others that I would never have though about switching even for less money despite the historical draconian control that Verizon would push on its customers. It was that vital that while on the road I could get texts and phone calls. Recently, however this seems to be less the case. I have way more instances of no or minimal coverage than I ever recall previously. 

My biggest issue today is that I have recently noticed that I was missing phone calls and text messages at home. I have Wi-Fi calling enabled but I would need to go into airplane mode in order to get texts or phone calls. The network signal at home has always been terrible but I figured Wi-Fi calling would solve that issue. Incorrect!! The phone tries to force everything over mobile even if the signal barely registers. Therefore phone calls and MMS messages freeze the entire system and nothing comes in until I go into airplane mode. Here is the kicker! There is an option that would allow the phone to prefer Wi-Fi over mobile network which would mostly solve my issues while at home. However, someone at Verizon made the genius decision to block these options when using a Verizon sim. I know other carriers do not block this option on the same phone I have as I have tested it for T-Mobile and AT&T. I have no idea what the benefit of Wi-Fi calling would be if it never uses Wi-Fi unless there is absolutely no mobile signal.  So what is the brilliant Verizon solution to my issues? They send me a 4G network extender that requires my internet to provide mobile data. 

Who made this silly business decision? Do not allow Wi-Fi as preferred, but instead pay for and mail out another piece of equipment. Seems totally ridiculous. It feels like Verizon just needs to remove options and take control of everything that they can even if it spites themselves. I get that this could cause some issues with less savvy tech folks if they have bad Wi-Fi or internet speeds. But, let's be real here. What unsavvy tech person is going to go into more advanced settings and mess around? Not likely to happen often.

Please, please Verizon open up these options so that I can have a simple solution to a problem that now requires significant investment in time and set-up. Not to mention cost to Verizon.