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I have an iPhone 5s, and I see that you can actually use your Internet connection with an Apple phone. Apple say I need a 5c or later to do that. I guess the 5s is before ..

In Settings> Phone, there is no mention of Wi-Fi calling on this phone, so I guess I'm out of luck! Would've been nice, the O2 mobile signal is not brilliant at home.

I do have an iPhone 7 as well but I'm not using that currently. Would need a robust grippy case, handholding a slippery iPhone 7 is not an option ..

Wifi calling is good but if you do stray into a low coverage spot or if you walk out of the house and lose connection, the phone call can end. It doesn't always automatically switch to cellular.

Benefits outweigh the occasional issues.

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I'm never wrong, I'm just less right on occasions.

I’m sure I used Wi-Fi calling with my old 5S (on EE).
Found this on the O2 website

How to set up Wifi and 4G Calling - iPhone
First you'll need to add Wifi and 4G Calling to your account.
For personal tariff customers: Sign in to My O2, go to Device Details and tap Wifi and 4G Calling where you can then add the service to your account.

You can turn on Wifi and 4G Calling in your device settings:
1. To enable Wifi Calling, go to Settings > Phone > Wi-Fi Calling. Make sure Wi-Fi Calling is set to On. To switch off Wifi Calling, set the toggle to Off.

Edit; just put a EE sim back in my 5S and wifi calling is available.

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MacPro (2010) quad core macOS 10.15.7
13" (2011) Macbookpro OSX 10.10.3
15" (2017) Macbookpro OS 13.3
iPhone 11 iOS16
Original iPad wifi

Okay thanks guys. But I'm with giffgaff, who only use the O2 network. I don't think it would be available through them. Looking at the Apple information it does say 5c is the first iPhone that can use it.

It would just be nice to have it at home because sometimes calls get garbled - although it's mostly okay.

Use WhatsApp?

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Home: PPC Mac Mini, 10.4.11, Intel Mac Mini 10.6.8, MacBook Pro(mid 2012): 12Gb, 10.14.6, White MacBook 10.8.4
iPhone 5S, iOS 11.3 Vodafone PAYG

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MacPro (2010) quad core macOS 10.15.7
13" (2011) Macbookpro OSX 10.10.3
15" (2017) Macbookpro OS 13.3
iPhone 11 iOS16
Original iPad wifi

As others have said, GiffGaff do not offer Wi-Fi calling (I was a customer for 11 years until this month), I now have twin SIM O2 and EE (EE via 1pMobile) both offer Wi-Fi calling.

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James
Mac4Mac Founder
(use mac4mac as PW)

12.9" iPad Pro, Magic Keyboard, Pencil 2
21.5" iMac Quad Core i5 8GB RAM (Plex Server) ~ iPhone 15 Pro
AirPods Pro ~ Apple TV 4 (64GB) ~ Linksys Velop Mesh Wi-Fi

Tesco (also virtual on O2) do not offer wifi calling. Not really contributing to the thread but I guess O2 likes to keep perks for their customers was my thought.

iD Mobile (Three network) offers WiFi Calling and it seems to work fine on my iPhone 11.

Okay, thank you all. I was only recently aware that this was even possible, so it looks like use a different call provider if I really want it. I can get by with the way it is now - it's just occasionally on some calls people say sorry I can't hear you .. and then they can. Maybe they'll improve the local coverage in the course of time. I'm okay without it but it would be nice if I could have it. Change of provider necessary I see! Or just wait.

I guess I'm just a cheapskate, I pay £6 a month for giffgaff unlimited calls and texts - and 1GB mobile data is quite sufficient for me, I only use 10% of that.

Wi-fi Calling seems to be available on Sky mobile(O2 network) I am currently on Giffgaff and they recently started rejecting my password which locked me out of my account.
So I just happened to see Sky offering a better deal than giffgaff with Wi fi calling, roll over data, free data on the Sky go app, 2gb data unlimited calls & texts for £6pm and 5 months free.

Seems like a no brainier to me for light users

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i phone 13 pro, 2008 Mac pro,i Pad pro 9.8 in , ATV 4
Canon 6D, Canon 1Dm2, 17-40L, 24-70L, 70-200Lis, 300f4L,100F2 and loads of other stuff.

I've just had a look and it does seem like a good deal. I have to signup for a year, no problem, what about do I need to buy phone off them? They say it's a Sim only deal. In that case good. Coverage is good around here. I've saved out the main points including the terms and conditions - I'm looking at them now.

What are the pitfalls? Issues to be aware of? How do you use Wi-Fi calling?

I guess I can transfer my mobile number. I'm not familiar with this kind of technology so it's all a bit of a mystery to me. But it does appear at first glance like it might be a good idea to switch to , with wifi calling, fixed contract for 1y.

Comments?

Thank you Gail. I do have a job which involves surveys. In person, not by Phone. Surveys which often need planning with those I'm visiting, otherwise knocking on doors without planning is more tedious. For those people you've never spoken to before - you have to knock on the door first, but then I would ask their phone number for future contact if I needed it to plan something with them (often needed).

Others you'll already have their phone number and can plan because they're expecting you to call. Even if they're not expecting you to call, calling from home means I can do a lot of the ground work without moving and having a good signal by WA at home would be a definite asset. I make a lot of calls from home and I don't use the landline at all. I can use that, but it would cost money, I have a line only with calls paid at the extortionate rate. I use the mobile with free unlimited calls.

I am puzzled when you say the people you're calling have to have WA setup as well - is that the case? I didn't understand that before.

I make a lot of calls from home on the mobile. The signal is not the best at home, and sometimes drops out which is extraordinarily frustrating when you've waited in a queue for minutes, which then drops and you have to start again from scratch (FFS), to contact some official people with long queues. Individual calls can sometimes drop out or get flakey as well, less than good.

I am assuming that using WA with a good wi-Fi connection would be infinitely superior than trying to struggle with a mobile connection in a poor signal area.

That's why I'm interested in it.

I'm not sure if I understood what you said about the other person having to have WA as well (?)

WA is an app. A contact - old or new - needs to have WA installed. Not everyone wishes to do that. And you cannot know, in advance, if a contact uses WA.

There have been recent changes in the use of WA: the use has expanded. One can now call a land-line. That is new. I haven't really checked that out, since my friends all have mobile phones.

Does that help?