ACE - Expert
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24.2K Messages
WiFi-C and MicroCell Q&A
I complied the recent observations and comments about WiFi Calling, which I call WiFi-C, and put together some basic questions for the AT&T WiFi folks.
1. Can WiFi-C be used from an AT&T WiFi-C capable phone to call any phone, anywhere in the world, be it a landline or cellular phone?
Yes, it is a regular call using your AT&T phone number following the same restrictions that are given for calls.
2. When will WiFi-C be offered to iPhone 5c, 5s, and Android phones?
WiFi-C will not be launched on the iPhone 5c or 5s because those phones are not HD Voice capable. Android phones are a future project.
3. Does WiFi-C work on the 2.5Ghz band only or does it work on 5Ghz as well?
It will work on most WiFi Access points but being as this is basically bring your own broadband there is no guarantee that it will work on both bands for all devices.
4. Is HD Voice the same thing as VoLTE (Voice over LTE)?
Yes, for the most part. AT&T branded VoLTE as HD Voice for the AT&T implementation.
5. Is HD Voice a requirement for WiFi-C?
Yes. VoLTE provisioning is a minimum requirement for AT&T but is only available on select VoLTE/HD Voice capable phones. There is no extra cost to the customer for this. HD Voice has been available on select phones since May 2014.
6. Do both phones, regardless of carrier, have to be HD Voice provisioned to take advantage of HD Voice?
Both sides of the call must be VoLTE provisioned and in the AT&T HD Voice Service Area. HD Voice is currently carrier specific.
7. What exactly is HD Voice provisioning?
The VoLTE SOC must be on the account and is automatically added as long as there are no conflicting services. HD Voice is provisioned if you can enable WiFI-C on your phone.
8. Will a WiFi-C capable phone preferentially connect to the MicroCell?
Yes. If the phone is registered on the MicroCell the connection will take preference over WiFi. The phone needs to be removed from the MicroCell Approved Users list. Using Airplane Mode turns off the cellular radio. There is an Airplane Mode + WiFi update coming to the phones in the future to force WiFi-C when the phone is registered to the MicroCell.
Hope this helps to clear up a few things. We will stay in touch with the AT&T WiFi folks if more questions and/or issues arise. Let me know.
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*I am not an AT&T employee, and the views and opinions expressed on this forum are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote, or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party.
*I am not an AT&T employee, and the views and opinions expressed on this forum are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote, or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party.
OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
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24.2K Messages
9 years ago
Interesting observation and one that certainly needs to be looked into. There are at least 2 ports on the MicroCell that are in common for WiFi-C so Avedis53 any myself, as he stated, need to see what happens when one person is making a call via the MicroCell and someone else is making a call via WiFi-C and they are both using the same router. The iOS 9.1 update certainly made a difference so we'll see how the coming weeks work out as more areas become provisioned for WiFi-C and AT&T works out the bugs.
It appears that the MicroCell may still be here for quite some time so I guess my job is secure for now
However, the poor Android folks are still going to be without WiFi-C on AT&T for awhile longer. Too bad AT&T/Google-Android didn't forsee the issues and worked harder to rollout both platforms at the same time. Looks like Verizon isn't going to support WiFI-C at all on their network either.
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Avedis53
Professor
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2.2K Messages
9 years ago
@ jefe
That is an area of concern that I haven't had an opportunity to test throughly yet. The main problem in my house has always been the lower two floors where I can't get a usable cell tower signal. My iPhone is always indicating WiFi-C on those floors so the switching issue hasn't been a problem. The high powered WiFi repeater I'm using covers a lot larger area than the Mcell and overrides the cell tower signal just about everywhere in my house.
I'll be testing WiFi-C on the upper floors and see if I experience the same problem as you stated. Whenever AT&T finally gets HD Voice service in my area, that should help the potential problem of dropped calls but who knows when that will be.
@ Otto
Perhaps we can test the Mcell/WiFi-C interference issue tomorrow if you have time. I'm headed out shortly to the OSU football game today.
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OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
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24.2K Messages
9 years ago
@Avedis53
Shoot me an email and let's see what time works best. I'm thinking morning for us. We can even try my wife's 3GS as well.
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Wireless_Guru
Scholar
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229 Messages
9 years ago
Another interesting Wi-Fi Calling observation... I've been staying on the 11th floor of a downtown Oklahoma City hotel for the past few nights. LTE signal has been right around -100 db. After connecting to the hotel's 2-3 bars (of 3) 2 Mbps wi-fi, calls have switched to "AT&T Wi-Fi" and stay on it for the most part. After cupping my phone with both hands to degrade the wi-fi signal, it switched back to "AT&T".
Typically hotel wi-fi speeds are inconsistent. I'm curious if the wi-fi speed degraded to 1 Mbps or lower, will it switch back to preferring the LTE network? is that something that Wi-Fi calling measures and switches accordingly? I suppose Apple's Wi-Fi Assist (if enabled) would also take care of switching to LTE in cases of low wi-fi speeds.
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Avedis53
Professor
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2.2K Messages
9 years ago
As I move around my house and today while I was outside, I watched when my phone switches from WiFi-C to LTE. It seems fairly repeatable to me. When my cell tower signal gets up to 2 bars, the phone switches away from WiFi-C. When I come back inside and the cell tower signal drops to 1 bar, it switches back to WiFi-C.
It's working great around the house so far. I have no reason to fire up the Mcell anymore from what I've seen. It would be nice to be in a HD Voice service area, so that the calls between WiFi-C and the tower would hand off without dropping and have a better voice codec. I would imagine it will be a long time before I see HD Voice out here in the sticks.
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OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
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24.2K Messages
9 years ago
@Anonymous
You might want to think twice about using WiFi Assist. From what I understand, using WiFi Assist will count against your data plan if you are on a metered plan. Lots of folks are getting surprise bills because WiFi Assist is enabled by default. Wow, -100dBm is virtually no signal at all.
@Avedis53
If you dump the MicroCell will I be left alone?
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jefe
Guru
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396 Messages
9 years ago
Avidis53.....the reason I fired my MicroCell back up is that I found if I wasn't already switched to WiFi-C in the house and a call was started, often times my iPhone would switch to WiFi-C at the beginning of the call and the call would drop. Restarting the call (in or out) once in WiFi-C then worked.
Have you not seen that behavior?
How about if you're on a call outside and you go inside your house? Do you switch to WiFi-C during the call, and does the change happen seemlessly?
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Wireless_Guru
Scholar
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229 Messages
9 years ago
I regularly check my data usage via *DATA# and we rarely reach our 15 GB Shared allotment.
I do appreciate the ability to toggle Wi-Fi Assist as I deem necessary - similarly I'd like the ability to toggle/force on Wi-Fi Calling at home, and off at a hotel.
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OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
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24.2K Messages
9 years ago
@Wireless_Guru
Typically the "higher" the dBm reading (ignoring the minus sign) the lower your signal. At -100 dBm I usually see only 1-2 dots on my iPhone 5 using the Field Test Mode. I believe that -130 dBm is about a "low" as the iPhone can detect, depending on the LTE band. Newer iPhones may have a more robust way of calculating signal strength and the calculations are different for 3G than they are for 4G/LTE.
It would be nice if Apple/AT&T came up with an option to enable/disable Airplane Mode/WiFi-C with a single touch. One person from the WiFi group says it's in the works, another person says they can't comment because it's proprietary, so who knows?
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Avedis53
Professor
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2.2K Messages
9 years ago
@ jefe
I wouldn't expect there to be seamless switching between WiFi-C and the local cell tower since I am not in a HD Voice service area. According to AT&T, the call is suppose to drop when the phone switches to/from WiFi-C unless the phone is in a HD Voice service area.
Are you in a HD Voice service area?
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