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ACE - Expert

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

Wednesday, October 14th, 2015 4:19 PM

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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AT&T Cell Booster Technical Guide by OttoPylot

Cellular Booster Guide by OttoPylot

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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.

Professor

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2.2K Messages

8 years ago

Statement 1 is in direct conflict with the AT&T web page that states WiFi-C is NOT available outside the U.S., Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

 

Another statement that WiFi-C capable iPhones can call any phone certainly isn't true in all cases as I can not connect calls with non-WiFi-C capable phones with my iPhone 6 or my wife's iPhone 6, yet we can use WiFi-C between our two phones.

 

I don't think all the information concerning WiFi-C capabilities and restrictions has been vetted properly given the responses.

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

8 years ago

Those responses are from the AT&T Wireless folks and yes, they are a bit vague. To clarify response 1,  as of now, WiFi calling is only available in the Continental U.S.

 

To the second question, as of now, WiFi-C  cellular to cellular is only currently available to phones that have been provisioned for VoLTE, which is the iPhone 6 and above.

 

We can discuss this in more detail next week at the forum.

Guru

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396 Messages

8 years ago

I have to disagree with #6.  My experience (thus far) has found I am able to make or receive calls to/from  any U.S. phone number, being a landline, an Android cellphone with another carrier, or a older model phone on AT&T, specifically an iPhone 4s.

 

As far as I can tell so far, WiFi-C works the same as calling via a regular cell tower or a MicroCell.

 

Edit:  I am also not in an HD calling area, at least not according to AT&T's current map, but WiFi calling works here.

 

 

 

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

8 years ago

@jefe - that was our initial impression as well but this is straight from the AT&T Wireless folks so that's a point that will need to be clarified next week.

 

It could be that to use WiFi-C,  you need to be provisioned for VoLTE, but HD Voice availability is not a limiting factor. AT&T seems to me to be a bit vague on the VoLTE/HD Voice relationship. It appears to me that VoLTE is the generic term that carriers use to carry voice on the LTE bands, which should sound better than GSM (in the case of AT&T) but to hear the true potential of HD Voice (which is AT&T's term), the areas have to be configured specifically for that.

 

These are initial questions and answers to start with so we can dig a bit deeper into what AT&T is really offering. It's been my experience with them that you can't just ask a simple question and get a straight answer. It usually takes a few more questions to get to the heart of the matter.

 

If you have specific questions and/or observations message me and I'll add them to my next set of questions. They did surprise me by answering so quickly.

Scholar

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229 Messages

8 years ago

Please find out if they will add a feature/setting that will disable handout to the cellular network or force WiFi-C on.

 

For the most part my WiFi-C experience has been positive. A major problem I have from time-to-time is when my phone prefers a higher signal "4G" signal over a weaker signal "LTE" signal. If that is the case, my phone will not switch to "AT&T Wi-Fi". It seems that it has connect to LTE before it will switch to WiFi-C. Has anyone else noticed this?

ACE - Expert

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23.9K Messages

8 years ago

AT&T/Apple is working on an Airplane Mode + WiFi feature to force the phone to use WiFi instead of cellular but there is no ETA on when that will be implemented. Whether it's an option that is enabled on the myAT&T MicroCell page or on the phone is yet to be determined.

Professor

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2.2K Messages

8 years ago

For you iPhone 5s and 5c users wondering about when AT&T will include these phones under the WiFi-C, the answer is they will not be.

 

Verbatim from an AT&T statement made at our Community Exchange forum: 

 

AT&T's implementation of Wi-Fi Calling leverages the same core network as our VoLTE technology (HD Voice). Unfortunately the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c do not support VoLTE.  When designing a network to support the services of tomorrow we find ourselves making tough choices, often along technology lines.

 

As to when Android users with WiFi-C capable phones will be able to use this service:

 

Yes, we did say we would launch Wi-Fi Calling in 2015 and the first devices to support Wi-Fi Calling have been launched as promised (iPhone 6 and above). I am glad to see there is interest in the service and having it available on other devices. I can assure you that work is being done to that end as quickly as possible we are just not in a position to comment on timing as of yet. Wi-Fi Calling is a complex solution that allows access to AT&T services over open internet connections. We need to ensure the solution is secure and that customers can be properly authenticated onto the network to protect customers and AT&T assets alike.

 

As I gather more information during the Exchange, I will post here.

Professor

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2.2K Messages

8 years ago

There have been many reports concerning WiFi-C and connection issues when trying to call from a WiFi-C enabled iPhone 6 or 6s to other older iPhones.  The callee can't hear the caller, the caller is hearing severely garbled voice and then the call drops.

 

According to AT&T updating the iOS on iPhones down to the 4s model to iOS 9.1 will correct the problem.  I have not verified this to be true yet.

 

All iPhones that can run iOS 9.1 need to be updated for this solution to work.

 

Please post your results after installing the new iOS.

Professor

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2.2K Messages

8 years ago

As a followup to my previous post, I have done some more testing with WiFi-C.  My initial impressions are positive but I haven't used it enough to proclaim WiFi-C as the solution for poor cell tower reception in the home (or elsewhere).

 

After updating my iPhone 6 to iOS 9.1, my previous connection problems with my two son's iPhones (iPhone 5 and 4s) are gone.  I have calls to and from both of their phones.  The iPhone 5 was updated to 9.1 while the iPhone 4s was not.  Both worked equally well.  I've called and received calls from multiple landlines while using WiFi-C and they were all good.

 

The only thing I need to still verify is how well WiFi-C and the Mcell work together.  I want to make a call using WiFi-C (my iPhone in Airplane Mode) while my wife has a call going on at the same time using the Mcell.  We want to rule out any interference issues between WiFi-C and the Mcell in a mixed household where there are phones that can't use WiFi-C and still depend on the Mcell.  I'll be trying that next and will post my findings.

 

Regarding call quality, I'd have to say that WiFi-C calls that are not made in a HD Voice area don't sound as lifelike between an iPhone 6 and other non-WiFi-C capable phones as they do between our two iPhone 6's when both are on WiFi-C.  That being said, the calls using WiFi-C to connect to the non-WiFi-C capable phones have less noise and distortion than a typical cell tower call from my brief observations.

 

Despite all the hype about WiFi-C, I believe it is important to reiterate an important fact that WiFi-C is still susceptable to the same ISP/internet issues that can cause voice distortion, dropouts and disconnects that calls made using the Mcell can experience.  If your ISP/internet connection isn't pristine, then don't be surprised if you have WiFi-C connection quality issues. 

 

During the small number of calls I've made so far using WiFi-C, I've only noticed one brief 1/2 second spurt of voice distortion that I associate with the usual gremlins of latency and packet delay or loss.

 

So unless I experience any deal-breakers while using WiFi-C and so far I haven't, I'd say my Mcell will be retired in the near future.  It currently is unplugged......

Guru

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396 Messages

8 years ago

The deal breaker that caused me to turn my MicroCell back on (at least for now) is I've found that if my iPhone isn't already in AT&T WiFi mode when a call comes in, the phone may attempt to switch to WiFi during the call.  If and when that happens, the call drops and has to be re-started.

 

I assume this will get better with time but for now, in my location, our MicroCell is still more reliable if I expect to be able to start a call and not have it drop.

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