In recent years, the way we communicate has been changing and evolving as new technologies have been developed. While years ago the only way to phone someone was from the home phone, today it is possible to call someone from our mobiles wherever we are, even if we do not have coverage from our operator. Something that we can do thanks to VoWiFi technology, which allows us to make voice calls over the Internet from our mobile phones. Below, we show what this technology consists of, how it works and how it is possible to make calls thanks to it.
The arrival of mobile phones in our lives meant a great change in the way we communicate. It was no longer necessary to be home to be able to talk to someone on the phone. In addition, SMS also took on a leading role, being another of the ways of communicating from our mobile phones without having to make a phone call.
However, with the arrival of new technologies to our mobiles, making them smart and their ability to connect to the Internet, new forms of communication emerged. In this case, WhatsApp has been the great revolutionary, since today it is the most used method to communicate.
The messaging application ended with the use of SMS and in large part with the number of calls we make from our mobile phones. However, there are other technologies such as the one mentioned above, VoWiFi, which allows us to make voice calls from the mobile even if we do not have coverage.
What is VoWiFi
VoWiFi is a term whose origin is from Voice over WiFi or what is the same, voice through WiFi . Therefore, as indicated by its own name, it is the technology that allows us to make voice calls through a WiFi connection from our mobile phone.
This allows us to make calls to anyone and in any situation, even if we do not have coverage from our operator or to avoid the additional cost of calls from abroad. In addition, it is something that we can do completely free of charge, although it is important to know that we need to meet certain requirements on our phone in order to use VoWiFi.
Therefore, it is an open standard technology that allows you to make a call from our phone number and through our mobile terminal through a WiFi connection and without the need for mobile coverage or third-party applications.
Requirements to make calls with VoWiFi
To make voice calls through WiFi from our mobile, we will need several things:
- Having within our reach a WiFi network to which we can connect. A trustworthy and stable network.
- A mobile that is compatible with VoWiFi.
- That our operator allows us to use this technology.
Currently, meeting the first of the requirements will not be too difficult, since today we can find WiFi networks around us without any problem. Now, the next thing will be to check if our mobile is compatible, for which we need it to have LTE technology and if our operator supports the use of this technology.
If we meet these requirements, then we can use VoWiFi to make voice calls over the Internet from our mobile, using the same phone number, wherever we are and the person we want. And it is that the use of VoWiFi does not imply that the person we call has to also meet these requirements, hence it is possible to call whoever we want without any problem.
In addition, it is also possible to send text messages, SMS, with total normality and for this it does not require that we install any additional software. Both calls and SMS can continue to be handled from the application or interface of calls and messages from our mobile.
Differences between VoWiFi, VoIP and VoLTE
There are three terms that can be quite confusing, such as VoWiFi, VoIP and VoLTE . The first of them is the one we are talking about in this article, and it is the one that allows us to make voice calls through a WiFi connection without having to have coverage from our operator.
However, surely on more than one occasion we have heard of VoIP calls, which are voice calls that we can make from our mobile phone through the Internet, but that this time, can be done well through a connection. WiFi or using the mobile data of our rate. A clear example is WhatsApp VoIP calls, voice calls that we can make through the messaging application itself from our mobile, using our data rate or connecting to WiFi.
For its part, VoLTE also allows voice calls over the Internet, but this time it is based on the data connections of our operator instead of the connection via WiFi. We could say that it is very similar to VoWiFi, since they can be made through the phone’s own calling application, the only thing that instead of relying on a WiFi connection, it does it through the data of our mobile rate.
How to activate calls
Once we are clear about what VoWiFi consists of, if we want to use it, we will have to check if we have a compatible device and if our operator supports them. In this case, if we do not know if our phone is LTE, we will have to review the manufacturer’s specifications or check if it is compatible from the settings of the device itself.
In iOS we will have to enter Settings> Mobile data> Options> Voice and data to check if LTE appears, while in Android the most common route is usually Settings> Wireless and networks> More> Mobile networks> Network type . Although these options may vary depending on the version of the system.
If we are not sure if our operator offers us this possibility, then it is best that we contact customer service to answer this question. If everything is correct, the next thing we must do is connect to a wireless network and activate Wifi calls on our mobile phone. For this, if we have an Android device, we must access Settings> Applications> Phone> Calls with WiFi . From there we can activate this option and start enjoying VoWiFi calls, voice calls through the WiFi network to which we are connected. Depending on the version we have of Android, we may find the option under Settings> WiFi> Advanced operations.
If available from an iPhone, then we will have to enter the phone settings and within the configuration, access Phone and finally WiFi Calls. There we activate the option and if we are connected to a WiFi network, we can already start making VoWiFi calls.
