Need Clarification on Wi-Fi Settings

[startac4]

On my phone (LG K20 Plus) I have Settings -> Wi-Fi set to ON - the phone shows that it is indeed connected to my Wi-Fi. I expected that it would make/answer calls via W-Fi.
But when I go to Settings -> More -> Wi-Fi Calling it says Disabled. Then if I leave that unchanged but press it and go to Connection Preferences -> Wi-FI Preferred it says it's ON. Yet If I go to Settings -> Call it also says Wi-Fi Calling Disabled.

This is contradictory - can someone please clarify whether it is using or not using Wi-Fi for calls? And if it's not using Wi-Fi how do I make it use it?

Also - I just noticed that volte is set to ON. Does that affect the Wi-Fi usage?

 

[mikedt]

On my phone (LG K20 Plus) I have Settings -> Wi-Fi set to ON - the phone shows that it is indeed connected to my Wi-Fi. I expected that it would make/answer calls via W-Fi.
But when I go to Settings -> More -> Wi-Fi Calling it says Disabled. Then if I leave that unchanged but press it and go to Connection Preferences -> Wi-FI Preferred it says it's ON. Yet If I go to Settings -> Call it also says Wi-Fi Calling Disabled.

This is contradictory - can someone please clarify whether it is using or not using Wi-Fi for calls? And if it's not using Wi-Fi how do I make it use it?

Also - I just noticed that volte is set to ON. Does that affect the Wi-Fi usage?

VoLTE(Voice over LTE) has nothing to do with WiFi usage. It just means that your carrier and phone are able to support voice calls over the 4G or 5G network, instead of having to fall back to 3G or 2G, GSM, CDMA, etc.

WiFi calling is provided by a carrier, where they're routing your calls over your WiFi network, instead of the 3G, 4G ,or 5G cellular network.

Suggest you check with your carrier that they actually support WiFi calling, and that you have a supported device for them. Not all carriers and regions have WiFi calling.

 

[startac4]

I can check with T-mobile but my question remains: what do those setting mean and why do they appear to be contradictory?

 

[Fox Mulder]

T-Mobile does support Wifi calling but is that a T-Mo branded phone or an unbranded unlocked one? It may work only with their branded phones.
Also if you haven't used Wifi calling before you first have to register your E-911 address with your carrier before it will work, even with their phones.

 

[puppykickr]

Also, @mikedt , from what I looked up about VoLTE, it means that your voice calls are not actually cellular calls as we know them.
They are really being carried over the internet instead of traditional cellular communication.

Supposedly this allows for clearer calls and allows for better speeds online while multitasking during calls.

 

[Trom]

On my phone (LG K20 Plus) I have Settings -> Wi-Fi set to ON - the phone shows that it is indeed connected to my Wi-Fi. I expected that it would make/answer calls via W-Fi.
But when I go to Settings -> More -> Wi-Fi Calling it says Disabled. Then if I leave that unchanged but press it and go to Connection Preferences -> Wi-FI Preferred it says it's ON. Yet If I go to Settings -> Call it also says Wi-Fi Calling Disabled.

This is contradictory - can someone please clarify whether it is using or not using Wi-Fi for calls? And if it's not using Wi-Fi how do I make it use it?

Also - I just noticed that volte is set to ON. Does that affect the Wi-Fi usage?

WI Fi and WI Fi calling are two completely separate issues, so there really isn't any contradiction to what you're seeing. Also, for WI Fi calling to be enabled there's usually a couple of steps that your phone will have you provide having to do with emergency services, i.e., where are you physically located.

 

[mikedt]

Also, @mikedt , from what I looked up about VoLTE, it means that your voice calls are not actually cellular calls as we know them.
They are really being carried over the internet instead of traditional cellular communication.

Supposedly this allows for clearer calls and allows for better speeds online while multitasking during calls.

Yeh, VoLTE allows for HD calling, which can give you much better voice quality in phone calls. Which I do have.

Also with CDMA networks, if the carrier and phone didn't support VoLTE, the phone would lose internet connection during regular phone calls. And AF has had posts about that issue in the past from Verizon and Sprint customers. I think US carriers are finally closing down their CDMA networks?

On other other hand 3G/HSDPA networks could maintain an internet connection and phone calls simultaneously.

 

[puppykickr]

Yeh, VoLTE allows for HD calling, which can give you much better voice quality in phone calls. Which I do have.
View attachment 158059
Also with CDMA networks, if the carrier and phone didn't support VoLTE, the phone would lose internet connection during regular phone calls. And AF has had posts about that issue in the past from Verizon and Sprint customers. I think US carriers are finally closing down their CDMA networks?

On other other hand 3G/HSDPA networks could maintain an internet connection and phone calls simultaneously.

As I understood it, the internet connection would slow down to a crawl when also on a call.

As a side note, I recently discovered that my phone will not make any calls at all if VoLTE is not enabled.
Texting- yes, calls- no.

T-Mobile is trash as far as I can tell, compared to the service I had with Sprint.
Signal is always weak, and data is basically non-existant anywhere but at work- where I don't have time to use it anyway.

 

[puppykickr]

As I understood it, the internet connection would slow down to a crawl when also on a call.

As a side note, I recently discovered that my phone will not make any calls at all if VoLTE is not enabled.
Texting- yes, calls- no.

T-Mobile is trash as far as I can tell, compared to the service I had with Sprint.
Signal is always weak, and data is basically non-existant anywhere but at work- where I don't have time to use it anyway.

There are many, many reviews about T-Mobile that mirror my experience.

At least I am not alone.

Then again, the people on the Titanic with no lifeboat also were not alone.

 

[startac4]

Thank you everyone for your information, advice and comments. They're much appreciated.

As I now understand it, wii-fi enabled just means that it will connect to wi-fi - but not use it!! To use it , wi-fi calling AND wi-fi preferred both have to also be selected. That's a level of complexity, leading to confusion, that wasn't needed. It should have been a KISS design.

 

[puppykickr]

Thank you everyone for your information, advice and comments. They're much appreciated.

As I now understand it, wii-fi enabled just means that it will connect to wi-fi - but not use it!! To use it , wi-fi calling AND wi-fi preferred both have to also be selected. That's a level of complexity, leading to confusion, that wasn't needed. It should have been a KISS design.

Yeah, KISS is a system that computers were designed to destroy.

Android, although much better than PC, can still get messy (think Samsung).

On a side note, the launcher that I use is called KISS.
Ironically, there was a short learning curve involved- about a day.
In reality, that is only because the 'normal' design of launchers, which I had gotten used to, is barbaric and obtuse in comparison.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/fr.neamar.kiss/

 

[Trom]

Yeah, KISS is a system that computers were designed to destroy.

Android, although much better than PC, can still get messy (think Samsung).

On a side note, the launcher that I use is called KISS.
Ironically, there was a short learning curve involved- about a day.
In reality, that is only because the 'normal' design of launchers, which I had gotten used to, is barbaric and obtuse in comparison.

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/fr.neamar.kiss/

I tried the kiss launcher, couldn't get it to do anything, swipe left right up down long press, luckily the only icon that was on the screen was settings, and it worked.

 

[puppykickr]

I tried the kiss launcher, couldn't get it to do anything, swipe left right up down long press, luckily the only icon that was on the screen was settings, and it worked.

Yup.
No swiping.
That's exactly why I like it.

Three dots on lower right enters the launcher settings.

Circle on lower left opens the 'app drawer', which is in list form, and scrolls backwards.

Yes, it is very, very strange and different.

But check this out...
Use your old launcher to open settings and get to the app page of any specific app.

Now, do the same thing with KISS instead.

Find your app in the app drawer, and long press it.

External settings is an option right there.

Another cool feature is enter 'apps' in the search bar.
The entire apps settings list immediately opens, without the usual bunk of...
setting
apps
show all apps

KISS also learns your habits, and it becomes such an integral link between the user and device that I can't see how I ever did without it.

The speed and efficency is mind blowing.

Like I said, it took me about 24 hours of use to see that my decision had already been made.

I had tried soooooo many different launchers, weeks of testing and infuriating searching for something that I could relate to.

This one looked so weird, and was so different.
I actually did not like it at all, and fell asleep before I could find and try another launcher.

The more I used the device and in between times searching for yet another launcher, it slowly became clear that I already was using exactly what I was searching for.