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Bad reception, anyone use the free unlimited wifi calling feature?

Hi everyone, I'm pretty new to posting, had a G2 before but mostly read the forums.
So I've got a G2x that works pretty well so far, no major issues, just some screen bleed in one corner. The only complaint I have is the reception on the phone. It seems that it drops several bars whenever I hold my phone, and in my house, it drops to zero bars where my G2 would hold 1-2 bars.
So I'm starting to use wifi calling so that I can disable the radio through the hidden menu to save some battery power when I'm at home. The problem is, wifi calling only works for a few minutes before it realizes that I'm not on the T-mo network. Basically, I think it needs the cell radio to remain on for wifi calling to work.
I went on T-mo's chat support to enable the free unlimited wifi calling feature on my phone, which, according to the support, will enable me to keep the cell radio off and make calls with the app, just like the UMA wifi calling feature that blackberry phones have. The rep told me to wait a few hours before trying the free wifi calling, which I did, but it still works the same as it did before I got free wifi calling added.
Has anyone else activated the free wifi calling feature? Does it work like the UMA wifi calling feature that blackberry phones have? It's possible it will take longer for the feature to kick in, so I'll keep checking.

It is not UMA. If you are in the middle of a wifi call and you move out of wifi range, the call will drop. That said, you do not need cell tower access, that beats the entire purpose of wifi calling. I use it when I work in the server room at my office. The room is in the center of the building surrounded by concrete so nobody gets any signal in there and I turn wifi calling on all the time.
You'll need a certain amount of bandwidth though. I have at home comcast cable with 22mbps and if I'm streaming Netflix in HD, the wifi calling call quality goes to ****. I haven't captured packets yet but I'm sure it's just that the router can't cope with all those QoS packets. So try not to stream anything while you use wifi calling and you'll be fine.

So do you keep your cell radio on in that deadzone? Wouldn't that drain the battery quickly since it is constantly looking for a signal?

When you turn on wifi calling it turns off cell tower polling automatically. You'll see that your cellphone reception goes from whatever many bars you had, to zero bars because it turns off the cell radio automatically. So once you see the wifi calling icon in the notification bar, you're set. You stop polling celltowers and you save battery

The wifi calling apps automatically turns the radio off after it connects to the network and switches it to GSM only. You'll notice that the bars will go to none once it is connected. You're actually interferring with thd app by trying to do things yourself.
And yes, I use the app whenever I am at home since I get poor signal. Get great battery life just letting it do what it does.
Edit: above poster basically said everything I said while I was typing lol.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

I use the WIFI calling feature when I'm at work since I don't get a cell signal in the building. I never changed my account to activate the WIFI calling feature because I already have unlimited minutes on my account, so it doesn't make a difference that WIFI calling uses my plan minutes. Plus, when I tried to do it online, the online system wanted to change my account to one of the plans with a 2GB cap (I'm on the original EM+ family plan, with the 5GB cap). Didn't think it was that important.
Once I get to work, I connect to WIFI, then turn on WIFI calling. I never disable my cell radio. I also set my WIFI calling to connect through WIFI only, not WIFI preferred. At times, my calls are pretty clear. But, there are times when my calls are so choppy that I have to have the person hang up, so that I can call them back from an office line (or go outside and use the T-Mobile tower on my cell).

Oh wow that makes sense, thanks for the responses, I didn't think that it would stop searching for a signal when wifi calling is enabled. I'm curious though, do you guys put connection preferences to "Wifi only?" Seems that if you do wifi or cell preferred it would need a connection to a cell tower so that it could switch to GSM if it provides better call quality.

I haven't tested this in a while but I think if you do wifi only, once you move out of wifi range you have to remember to disable wifi calling or you get no calls.

@Memnoch30 and kangxi
Did you both activate the unlimited free wifi calling feature introduced in May?
Also I just noticed that there is a setting in the app. Under advanced settings, there's an option with the description "UMA network controller address." Perhaps UMA can be enabled somehow?

No I didn't. I have unlimited minutes so I don't really worry about any of that.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

I did activate it since I don't have unlimited minutes. I don't know about enabling UMA though.

See, this is something I don't get. Using a cell phone with spotty reception. That is one issue I can say I've never had before this phone. One that is choronically losng it's cell connection.This is ultimately the ONLY reason I have one. Period. If the phone reception is not rock 100% freaking solid, why do I have the damn thing? I do not want a phone that doesn't put my call through every single time. Why should I stand for anything less?

ickster said:
See, this is something I don't get. Using a cell phone with spotty reception. That is one issue I can say I've never had before this phone. One that is choronically losng it's cell connection.This is ultimately the ONLY reason I have one. Period. If the phone reception is not rock 100% freaking solid, why do I have the damn thing? I do not want a phone that doesn't put my call through every single time. Why should I stand for anything less?
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I agree, I think the android phone market is so packed that manufacturers have to put in a lot of time to bump up tech specs for their phone to stand out. They really should be at least implementing a cell radio and battery good enough for real world use though

Wifi calling is amazing. I use it at work. It also saves huge amounts of battery cause wifi < cellular.
LG G2x CM7 2.3.4

how do you get it enables unlimited?? i dont see anything on the tmobile site about it being free unlimited wifi calling just that it will use your plan minutes

Xargon321 said:
how do you get it enables unlimited?? i dont see anything on the tmobile site about it being free unlimited wifi calling just that it will use your plan minutes
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You have to call customer service or do it through their online chat support service to have it enabled. I'm not sure why they make you do this, but you can't enable it yourself through the My T-mobile website.

have to say anything special? or just tell them to enable unlimited wifi calling? might have to do this later then.

Well, you have to be the primary account holder, but you don't really say anything special, just ask to add "free unlimited wifi calling" to your phone line.

Funny thing happened to me I called tonight and, after doing some other changes, asked about the unlimited wifi calling. The agent said oh I see u have a g2x. I said yea? Then after a hold. He said as long as ur using the wifi calling App it doesn't use plan minute.. I said oh really plz note that on my account so when it uses my minutes I can get credit. He said sure no problem I noted it and tagged the support document I read it from on your account. This was the third time I tried adding it. So I have no idea what is going on..
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

That's strange... maybe try adding it through the online chat support, that's how I got it added. They take a while to respond but they seemed to have added it to my account, can't say for sure though.

Does turning Wi-Fi Calling on Save Battery?

So does turning on WIFI calling when I'm at home connected to my router save battery life?

It all depends I guess on what you are doing while on Wi-Fi
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App

simply_rell said:
It all depends I guess on what you are doing while on Wi-Fi
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App
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Well that's obvious. But I'm talking about WIFI CALLING. Does turning it on actually not use the cell radio/modem so in turn should it save battery life, since cell radio/modem uses a lot of batt.
Wondering if anyone's had experience in this. This is the first device I've had that supports tmobile's wifi calling.

This is also my first device with WiFi Calling. I always have it on while I'm home because the signal is poor inside my house. Not sure if this is because of WiFi Calling, but when my phone has 30-40% battery left at night and I leave it in standby with WiFi on...I wake up to find the battery dead. So it's possible it's because of WiFi being on during the night. I sometimes put it in airplane mode so battery doesn't drop.

No. Wifi itself sucks mre power than data. Even if your not on a wifi call, your wifi is still on.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App

I don't think so, but wifi calling is awesome. Free calling FTW

dubie76 said:
No. Wifi itself sucks mre power than data. Even if your not on a wifi call, your wifi is still on.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
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I am not saying you're wrong, but I've always heard it's the other way around, so I did a google search. I found many posts debating this topic, but this is the best answer I've found so far, and it makes a lot of sense:
WiFi drastically saves battery compared with 3G because the radio is so much weaker. Think about it this way: The 3G radio broadcasts powerfully enough to reach a cell tower 15 miles away. The WiFi radio has a range of about 200 feet.
However, the WiFi radio wastes power if you are not actually connected to a WiFi node. Therefore, it's best to turn it off when you leave a hot spot. You can use a utility like "Y5" to automatically toggle WiFi based upon your location.
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Source: http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-support-troubleshooting/93929-will-using-wifi-actually-save-battery.html
The device in question was the EVO 4G, but the same principles apply to every phone. Hope this helps.

Wifi calling saves a ton of battery because it turn off the phones radio completely

aim1126 said:
Wifi calling saves a ton of battery because it turn off the phones radio completely
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I don't think so. When I leave WiFi Calling on overnight, my battery is dead by morning. When I turn it off, my battery barely drops overnight.

I notice less battery being consumed when I'm connected to WiFi
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA Premium App

WIFI calling burns through my battery at least a third faster than when it's disabled. I only enable it when I intend to make a call; to receive, I use the data/tower.

It's one of those non-exact sciences to say which is better on battery
The GSM/3G radio uses more power when it's active (i.e. IN USE, on a call/data) than when it's not. The difference is actually pretty huge.
Wifi radio when 'in use' uses more power than when it's 'idle' - but the difference is a lot less, due to how it keeps 'in touch' with the wifi router.
The actual amount of power they take depends on distance, radio quality, the weather (yeah, I'm serious!) etc.
There are only few providers who support Wifi calling here in the UK - Orange, I believe is one of them, so I can't comment on actual use. Of course, we have VoIP services, which I use regularly on my Sensation, over Wifi (it won't work over 3g sadly).
Out of interest, if your TMo 'Wifi calling' fully UMA compliant - i.e. can you send/recieve SMS/MMS as well? I'm interested to know if it's a UMA app, or something built into the phone, or a TMo system, or something different.

niddnet said:
Out of interest, if your TMo 'Wifi calling' fully UMA compliant - i.e. can you send/recieve SMS/MMS as well? I'm interested to know if it's a UMA app, or something built into the phone, or a TMo system, or something different.
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Yeah, I can send and receive SMS/MMS when I have WiFi calling turned on. I tested it this by turning off the mobile network as well and worked.

Make sure you go into the WiFi calling connection preferences in settings and select wifi only. Sometimes it will leave your 3g on.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using XDA App

niddnet said:
Out of interest, if your TMo 'Wifi calling' fully UMA compliant - i.e. can you send/recieve SMS/MMS as well? I'm interested to know if it's a UMA app, or something built into the phone, or a TMo system, or something different.
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It's not quite as robust as the older UMA phones were, however. It does NOT handle hand-off from WIFI to CELL. You'll lose your call if you leave wifi range.

2G is better than WiFi but WiFi definitely drains less battery than 3g/4g

For me, my phone definitely lasts longer when I'm using wifi calling. My g2x generally goes through about 10% of battery every hour.when at home and using wifi calling it usually only uses about 2-5% an hour
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

I'm willing to wager that in areas of strong WiFi, the WiFi calling may save battery power. However, in an area where WiFi is weak or may drop in and out, using the cell tower may be more efficient. However, this may not be true if you're in an area with poor 4G signal (of if it's searching for 4G constantly in a 2G or 3G-only area), as it'll constantly be boosting the cellular radio to search for service.
Turning on the WiFi calling works well for me - I use it at home and at the office, both of which have very solid WiFi. Maybe I'll do a trial tomorrow with it off entirely (4G only) and see if it ends up lasting longer during normal use.

Ok.everyone on this forum are talking about wifi calling I got a tmobile branded device in uk were is the feature to call via wifi.

adamo86 said:
Ok.everyone on this forum are talking about wifi calling I got a tmobile branded device in uk were is the feature to call via wifi.
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On a stock T-Mobile USA HTC Sensation 4G, the app is right there preinstalled called "Wi-Fi Calling"
Not sure if it's available for T-MOBILE in Europe.

[Q] Free WiFi HotSpot - Tmobile?

I tried to turn on my portable wifi hotspot feature on my USA Tmobile Sensation 4G, connect my laptop and surprisingly it works. (I have the Android Pref Data Plan).
My questions are:
1. Is this truly free? Because I know Tmobile offer their tmobile wifi hotspot service for a fee. I didn't sign up for that but how come mine works?
2. After the phone's display goes off, the phone seems to be asleep and the wifi connection lost. I turned on the "Always on mobile data" but still doesn't help. Is there a way to let the screen goes to sleep but still leaving this wifi hotspot on?
Thanks,

manyee said:
I tried to turn on my portable wifi hotspot feature on my USA Tmobile Sensation 4G, connect my laptop and surprisingly it works. (I have the Android Pref Data Plan).
My questions are:
1. Is this truly free? Because I know Tmobile offer their tmobile wifi hotspot service for a fee. I didn't sign up for that but how come mine works?
2. After the phone's display goes off, the phone seems to be asleep and the wifi connection lost. I turned on the "Always on mobile data" but still doesn't help. Is there a way to let the screen goes to sleep but still leaving this wifi hotspot on?
Thanks,
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Hey I work for t-mobile so I think I can help haha. The feature will still work fine without addng the mobile hotspot for $15/month but if you use it often or a large amount t-mobile will kindly send you a text or letter in the mail telling you to stop or you will be charged. Hope this helps you

I tether mine sparringly. My wife tethers hers constantly. The above post is correct. Do it repeatedly and you'll receive a notice. Once in a while, you're fine.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using XDA App

Yet another confirmation here. The above posts are 100% correct

Thank you for the replies.
That's great, coz sometimes I need to use my laptop and there is no wifi around.
Does anybody know the answer to my question #2 also?

manyee said:
Thank you for the replies.
That's great, coz sometimes I need to use my laptop and there is no wifi around.
Does anybody know the answer to my question #2 also?
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i could be mistaken but it might be under settings/wireless/wifi settings/advanced/wifi sleep policy

Or if you have your usb cable just plug into the laptop and turn sleep off while charging? Just an ption to get around it.

Wifi and mobile data on at same time.

Ok can someone tell me does having both wifi AND mobile data/3G enabled at the same time cause more drain on the battery?
Or am I better off leaving only 1 enabled at a time.
Thanks.

chicoelnino said:
Ok can someone tell me does having both wifi AND mobile data/3G enabled at the same time cause more drain on the battery?
Or am I better off leaving only 1 enabled at a time.
Thanks.
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If I am right your phone disables data when your're connected to a wifi network.

core_x said:
If I am right your phone disables data when your're connected to a wifi network.
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yes u are correct..... you phone automatically gives priority to WiFi over mobile data....
if im not mistaken, with some phone u can change this.....
but the reason behind it is that wifi "should" give u higher connection speeds than that of mobile data so it give preference to it

skytechja said:
yes u are correct..... you phone automatically gives priority to WiFi over mobile data....
if im not mistaken, with some phone u can change this.....
but the reason behind it is that wifi "should" give u higher connection speeds than that of mobile data so it give preference to it
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Higher connection speeds and saves battery

Does the iPhone do such thing? (the turning off data while on Wifi)

You put a helluva post together here with some very helpful informations. To all readers : Please share on facebook but by all means let’s get more people read this articles.

The thread that has been shared with all of us.

What's these last 2 messages in relation to??
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Jay Ros said:
Higher connection speeds and saves battery
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thats a yes a no from observation.....
sometimes i have on both but it connects n give preference to the wifi.... but data is still on... its not using mobile data but there is some amount of battery drain....
if u manually turn off ur data however, u might seee a weeee bit improvement in the battery drain...
it jus depends on ur device and what u have running
with my atrix 4g..... with the current rom
i jus leave both on when using wifi but once im not using wifi... i turn it off..... battery drain it jus a tad bit more with both on but not significant....
so id say u cfan leave both enabled.... once out of wifi, switch it off cause its gonna take more battery power searching for wifi signals

The data stays on while WiFi is on but all data traffic if passed through Wifi (if connected) and the data stays on just to keep it "alive" so that when u turn off wifi, or lose wifi signal it can quickly switch to data practically without you noticing any lags. Battery drain is minimum by data if u are connected to wifi and data is on.

[Q] Questions about This phone

Is there any way that I can connect to a wifi network without disabling the data network ? And is it normal for this phones to be really hot when 4G is on ?

JoshRose007 said:
Is there any way that I can connect to a wifi network without disabling the data network ? And is it normal for this phones to be really hot when 4G is on ?
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No and no. The OS will use wifi over cellular data. If you just want to use cell data turn off wifi. Your phone shouldn't be "hot" when using LTE. Try getting a CPU temp app from market and report back how "hot" it is.

theesotericone said:
No and no. The OS will use wifi over cellular data. If you just want to use cell data turn off wifi. Your phone shouldn't be "hot" when using LTE. Try getting a CPU temp app from market and report back how "hot" it is.
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46.8 C

JoshRose007 said:
Is there any way that I can connect to a wifi network without disabling the data network ? And is it normal for this phones to be really hot when 4G is on ?
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I am curious about the reason behind such request. Why do you want to keep the two connections at same time?

What do you mean by "4G"? On LTE, my phone is fine, but on H/H+ it heats up slightly.

I am curious about the reason behind such
request. Why do you want to keep the two
connections at same time
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You've got my attention also..