Plain text SMS text messages come through your cellphone connection and don't need WiFi. MMS text messages with photos emoji or other graphics require a collection, either WiFi or mobile data.

Calls missed while out of service range will show up in the Missed Calls list of visual voicemail or the caller can leave a standard or visual voicemail, whichever you use.

 

I think Google Voice can do that, if you're in the US. It will work over WiFi.

 

^^^ Google Voice will, absolutely. Has worked for me for years.

 

Depending where you are in the world, quite a lot of phone companies offer apps like this.

I'm on the Three network in the UK and use the Three wifi calling app which lets me get calls and messages over wifi when I'm in a signal blackspot at the back of my house.

 

I wish Verizon could offer that....

I noticed they filed a complaint with the FCC that it is unfair that they are being restricted from offering that feature, while AT&T and other carriers do offer it willy nilly. The playing field needs to be leveled out.

here in my home, I had to buy a special Mini-cell repeater from Verizon that connects to VZW via the internet. Why should I have to buy a special, dedicated WiFi repeater that pretends to be a Cell phone tower? It is all Legal Beagles making money hand over fist, and it needs to be stopped.

 

It's also called a femtocell. Sometimes a problem is that the above 1GHz frequencies that they use, can't penetrate buildings too well, and things like reinforced steel concrete can be quite opaque to microwaves.

I certainly don't need a femtocell repeater. That's a shared China Mobile and Unicom tower, and the orange building is where I live.

If that cell tower had been in the UK, they'd likely disguise it as a tree. Something like this...