I have an Android mobile phone with unlimited data and i was able to setup a VOIP on my phone using a free provider using a program such as CSipSimple or Sipdroid and it worked.
I noticed some places it said that some providers don't allow VOIP though the 3g network so I called bell and asked them if I was allowed to do it, they passed me around for a bit and did not really give me a proper answer.
Does anyone know if they allow, disallow or just dislike VOIP.
I'll be heading to Hungary for 3 weeks in July and will have a portable mifi (through a dutch company called DROAM) providing my internet access. I have a Sprint Evo 4G so the option of renting a sim card is out. I still want to be able to call landlines and mobile phones while I'm there.
Any options on Android that would allow me to make calls over my data connection and not rely on minutes? I'm willing ot purchase apps as necessary.
Any help is appreciated!
Guy
hi all
so I am going out of the country later this week and had a simple silly question. I want to be able to use wifi on my phone for late night email checks. I do not want to accept calls or send text or use any data over the network.
are these the settings I need:
wifi - on (duh!)
mobile network - off
data roaming - connect to data services when roaming - off
Is there a setting for roaming for regular calls? I do not see it. note this is with a rooted inspire using rcmixkingdom.
thanks
aeneas3 said:
hi all
so I am going out of the country later this week and had a simple silly question. I want to be able to use wifi on my phone for late night email checks. I do not want to accept calls or send text or use any data over the network.
are these the settings I need:
wifi - on (duh!)
mobile network - off
data roaming - connect to data services when roaming - off
Is there a setting for roaming for regular calls? I do not see it. note this is with a rooted inspire using rcmixkingdom.
thanks
Click to expand...
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I'll try and answer your questions, but I would still recommend you contact your mobile provider and confirm first. This is from my personal experience.
BE PREPARED ... THIS IS A LONG REPLY
Whenever you leave your service area, the area covered by your mobile provider's network, you enter what we call "roaming." Two things can now happen. Either your phone will not work at all in terms of calls or data, or everything will work. It depends on what agreement you have with your provider. With me, for example, I had long ago called my provider and asked them to NOT allow my phone to operate if I went "roaming." Then, suddenly, when I visited the U.S. last week, I realized that my phone wasn't working and remembered what I had told my provider. A quick phone call to them corrected the issue.
All that being said, if you are set up to roam with your provider, you need to consider a few of things.
One, you need consider where you're going. If you're in Canada, and you're traveling to the U.S., roaming charges may be somewhat expensive. If you're doing the reverse, visiting Canada from the U.S., the same would probably apply. However, if you're going overseas, your roaming charges could be quite expensive, as much as several dollars per minute, depending on the country. Data can also be expensive. For example, with my provider (Rogers - Canada), I have 500MB of data with my monthly plan; however, when I visited the U.S., my plan no longer applied, and I would be charged 3-cents per KB, or a whopping $3.00 per MB. I ended up buying a 10MB extra service fee for $10.00.
Okay, let's consider what you want to do.
If you only want to use WiFi, it will work perfectly if you have the WiFi name and password (if applicable). If you do NOT want to be able to take calls, send texts, or use data, you MUST TURN THEM OFF. Keep in mind, too, that certain programs may automatically access Data for up-dating, such as weather, stocks, sports scores, currency exchange rates, etc. You can turn off this automatic function, which I would suggest. I don't know exactly where this function is on your phone, but you'll have to check it out. This applies to the SYNC function as well. Turn OFF sync to make sure it doesn't accidentally access Data.
Now, for your other question re local phone calls. Once you leave your service area, your phone either works, or it doesn't. There is no other choice. If you don't want to accept calls from home, or make long distance calls, then you have to turn off roaming. If roaming is off, you cannot make local calls either.
Also, keep in mind that if you did make local calls, they would all be considered long distance because, as far as your provider is concerned, your phone's area code is static. If you leave your area code, ALL calls become long distance even though, if you're in another country, and you only want to make a phone call across the street, it will still be a long distance call. Think of it this way, billing begins the moment you press call on your phone, yet in this case, that call effectively begins from you home area code. Therefore, to make a call across the street, it would be identical to making the same call from you home, plus roaming charges.
There is one work-around for the local call issue. You could buy time from a local provider in the country where you will be travelling. This may end up being quite inexpensive. Think of it as a pay-as-you-go plan, if they offer it. So, you would simply remove your existing SIM card and replace it with a new one from the provider in the new country. Use it for local stuff. It may even include data, who knows?
When I visit China, which is rather often, I have a "pay-as-you-go" SIM card which I have with me when I visit. I always keep a balance on the account so they don't cancel it. Then, when I arrive, I make the SIM switch, and voila! Cheap local calls.
Peter
If ALL you want is data for email and internet, turn airplane mode ON (I use a power widget to have this close at my fingers, but you can long push the power button and the option is there as well as in menu>settings>wireless & networks) then turn wifi back on.
Airplane kills all radios, then you have the option to turn wifi only on (specifically for those airlines that provide wifi).
thanks guys! I figured I was going to call AT&T today to make sure but stealthpsycho - airplane + wifi will work wonders. I just tested it out at home and it is beautiful I am going to turn off roaming by calling just to make sure as well. In case I need to reboot and forget that airplane mode is not on.
thanks again!
Went to Vietnam a few weeks ago. Turning on airplane mode and then turning wifi back on does the trick you want.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
W00t! I gots a thx!!!
You're very welcome. I use this trick a lot at the school where I work, b/c I have no cell signal and I want to prevent cell searching. It's also a useful trick if you want to install market apps that AT&T blocks (I.E. PDAnet)
Easy way I go to Japan all I do is take out the sim. Wifi on.
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
Hello XDA-developers,
I have developed my own GAN/UMA Gateway that runs in the cloud, similar to T-Mobile's WiFi Calling and Orange's Signal Boost.
With this service you can point your GAN/UMA Client to my Gateway and I will pass the calls to and from an external SIP Provider. You no longer have to be with Orange-UK or T-Mo -US to get UMA Service!
At the moment my network is not connected to the SS7 network so unfortunately you can't just simply roam onto it. However I do have a way to register existing SIMs with my HLR. Currently this means taking the SIM out of the phone and connecting it to a PC via a SIM Card Reader. I'm very interested in talking to anyone who could make this run as an App on the phone.
Once the SIM is registered in my HLR and the UMA App is told to go to my Gateway (there's a secret menu to do this) then the phone will register and Location Update on my network.
When it is on my network, it is no longer reachable from the Operator's network, again because I can't get access to the SS7 network. I'm very very interested in talking to anyone who thinks they know how I can access SS7. I have the SS7 stack, and the skills but not the access.
Anyway for now, I can assign a UK national number to the SIM so it's reachable via the PSTN. The MSISDN number can be call-forwarded to the PSTN number (not a great solution, but OK for now).
The cost of making calls will be whatever the SIP Provider charges. (Currently I use sipgate.co.uk) I plan on just charging a low fixed monthly fee to cover the costs of providing the access.
What do you guys think? Is this something that people are interested in? I realize without a roaming service it's no better than a Skype/VoIP type service but potentially it could be a very good service if I can get the SS7 side sorted out, it's an alternative to roaming when abroad and provide better coverage at home for many people.
All comments are welcome, thanks for reading.
AlanE
umm yes please!
too bad so many people passed over this thread. what if there were actually some decent data-only plans...
Would I be interested? Hell yes.
I'm currently using a Galaxy S2 on Orange with their Signal Boost app and I was crushed to hear that Orange are not offering UMA on the S3. There's no point in me having an expensive phone that I can't use at home (or most places near home). Third Party UMA would be a small miracle for me.
Interested
Hi Alan,
We are interested in talking to you about this. Can we PM?
The free calling and texting app Textnow which formerly only worked on Wifi or with a paid subscription is now offering Free cellular service through the Sprint network. You just pay once for a $9.99 SIM activation kit and never need to pay a monthly fee or anything again. The Free part is only Voice and text. Their voice and texting does use mobile data but mobile data can't be used for anything else like surfing the Internet unless you pay extra. It does of course have ads to pay for this service but I haven't found them any problem. You have your own phone number and it automatically will switch between available Wifi and cellular for calls and texting. Great idea in my opinion for an extra phone number or backup phone or even a primary phone if you are in a good Sprint network area. Your phone must be compatible with Sprint's network (CDMA) or you can buy refurbished phones from Textnow that are all set to go.
Textnow now has a GSM SIM that works through T-Mobile. It took a bit of digging to find info needed to make the SIM work but so far I can only make outgoing calls and texts when on cellular (VoLTE) with
Wifi turned OFF. I can't receive calls or texts unless Wifi is ON. Is anyone else trying their new GSM SIM and had this problem? This is free cellular! You just have to put up with some ads. Textnow states you can make and receive calls on cellular but so far can't get the incoming working.
If you have trouble with this new GSM SIM even connecting here is the solution I found to at least make outgoing calls work: Go into settings > Wifi and Internet > SIM and network settings > SIM (T-Mobile) > Access Point Names > Add APN. Getting there may vary some by phone and OS version but you need to add the APN - Name : TextNow APN: textnow.static - then just save it and after saving choose it as the APN in the little circle. Turn on Airplane mode for about 10 seconds and then turn back off and you should see VoLTE and be able to make calls. If you can receive calls and text also please post here with anything you did to accomplish that.