How to call and receive over WIFI when I have no signal inside of a building

McGyver9

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Hi all,
Sorry if this has been answered already...I've tried searching...honest..

Subject pretty much sums it up.
This isn't about saving phone minutes...it's about reliably receiving calls and texts.

In my house, my signal is crap...I even miss texts....
I'll have a "4G" icon one minute, and absolutely nothing the next..on the phone plugged into the charger, sitting in the exact same place.
Same thing even happens outside...
I've called Verizon, and all they want to do is sell me the repeater thing...

Anyway, enough complaining..

I've found a few articles about this subject on the web, but they seem to be dated...

I'd REALLY like the phone to automatically to switch to WIFI calling/receiving, when I hit my home network..
But if I have to switch it myself, well beggars can't be choosers..
I can't imaging I'm the only one with this problem though..

I have a google voice account set up already...
Can anyone suggest what apps and settings to use?

If it makes a difference...
Obviously, I'm talking about Android...and I'm on verizon... using a stock/unrooted Samsung Note 2.

Thanks in advance,

Chris
 

Vsweety

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In my house, my signal is crap...I even miss texts....

I'll have a "4G" icon one minute, and absolutely nothing the next..on the phone plugged into the charger, sitting in the exact same place.
Same thing even happens outside...
I've called Verizon, and all they want to do is sell me the repeater thing...

Sounds as if you don't have an internet connection with a WiFi router at home.
Your remark about 4G reinforces that impression: 4G is a mobile network.

But 2 sentences further you allude to your 'home network'...:

I'd REALLY like the phone to automatically to switch to WIFI calling/receiving, when I hit my home network..

So what's the situation? Do you or don't you have an internet connection at home set up with a WiFi router?
If you do, and it's working, then you can use VoIP apps like e.g. Viber, Skype, or Tango for what you call 'WiFi calling/receiving'.
Here are a couple hundred other VoIP apps.
But if you don't, you can't.
 
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McGyver9

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Hi Vsweety,

Sorry for not explaining..

I have good WIFI in my house...what I'm referring to as my 'home network'..

My verizon signal is what is bad...and frankly completely unreliable in my house for sure, and even outside in the back yard.

I'm aware of skype and all of that...

What I'm asking..... is there some app that automatically switches your phone from your 'phone' service, (in my case verizon) to voip calling/receiving when you come into range of your home WIFI?
Like google voice....

Here's the article where I got the idea, but commenters said that this info was 'copied and pasted' from somewhere else, and is outdated....
Some said it is also easily/more susceptible to tampering by hackers..(to get your google password)
How to setup WiFi calling on any Android device

Hope this clarifies things...sorry again, and thanks for the response.
 

TheMacs

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You should be able to do this given your link. It may be easier to just use one of the VoIP apps though.

If you go the link route, you can further automate this when you're at home with Tasker. Warning: It's a wonderfully powerful app, but with great power comes a really steep learning curve.

Good luck!
 

Vsweety

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What I'm asking..... is there some app that automatically switches your phone from your 'phone' service, (in my case verizon) to voip calling/receiving when you come into range of your home WIFI?

After you have connected to a particular WiFi hotspot (like at home, work, etc.) for the first time (> Settings > WiFi) your Android device should reconnect automatically to that WiFi hotspot every next time you come within range of it*. It's built-in in Android. No separate app required.

Be aware, however, that making/sending or receiving standard phone calls, SMS, and MMS (a.k.a. 'mobile data') will always use mobile networks (because that's what the telco makes money off of). Irrespective of whether you are connected to WiFi or not.
When on WiFi you need to use a VoIP app for making/receiving free (audio or video) calls via the internet, or an IM app to chat (looks a lot like SMS/texting, but is NOT the same) or to send/receive files (photo, video, audio, data) for free.
Telegram (free) is an excellent, fast, and secure IM chat app with which you can send and receive large numbers of pictures (if necessary) of any file size, and videos of up to 1 GB size. Other chat apps are usually limited to videos of max. 90 seconds or 10 MB, whichever comes first. That's barely half of a twerking video! :p Telegram messages can also be 'self-destructing' after X or Y seconds. So your partner can never find the ones you receive from your secret lover... :p
Viber and Tango (both free) are excellent apps that combine chat with audio and video calling.

The fact that you have intermittent problems sending and receiving SMS and MMS when at home indicates that Verizon's mobile network, 4G or not, has lousy coverage at your house. It is very likely at the edge of the 'bubble' of their nearest mobile network node/tower/repeater. This may also lead to dropped phone calls, of course. Or to phone calls never even getting established in the first place. Calls 'out' from you and calls 'in' from the rest of the world. You don't want that.

*if 'WiFi' in the Notifications panel (swipe down the Notification bar) is enabled/'on' then your Android device, when not locked to a particular WiFi hotspot, will be constantly 'pinging', to find WiFi hotspots around it. If it finds one that it used before it will automatically lock-on. If it finds one it didn't use before it will (try to) notify you and give you the option to connect or not. So this pinging is very convenient. It also consumes a lot of battery power! So it is only convenient when you need it. That's at home, at work, at places where you go to sit down for a bite or a drink, or a meeting, etc. But when you're in the car it's useless! No WiFi there anyway, right? Or when you're just strolling around, for instance window shopping, or biking, or in the park, etc. then it's just pinging into thin air. Wasting energy. Because there are either no WiFi hotspots around to lock into, or there are so many, like in ever single shop, that it keeps doing the connection protocol over and over again. Pinging back and forth. To WiFi hotspots you probably will never want to connect to anyway. Yet another cause of battery drain.
So I disable WiFi when 'out and about', and enable it only when I sit down somewhere for a drink, a bite, or a chat (the old fashioned type... as in: actually talk to people :cool:), etc. And at home, work, regular haunts. etc., obviously.
Saves a bunch of juice! Especially if you extend that m.o. to the other 'radios' too: switch off GPS when you don't need it. Switch off Mobile Data when you don't need it – like at home, at work, and other places where you spend some time in a WiFi hotspots.
There are also apps to automate and preconfigure this. Of course they need to use some juice to function too... So it's a trade-off. As per usual.
 
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McGyver9

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Wow Macs..googled Tasker..
You aren't kidding about the 'curve'..
If I had more time to fiddle with it, it might be fun...maybe some day..
I don't even scrape the surface of what this phone can do..
I still listen to FM radio, if that tells you anything.....

I'm just trying to fix the telephone reception.....

Thanks for the reply!
 

McGyver9

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Vsweety...wow..what a response! Thanks!

You nailed my problem:
The fact that you have intermittent problems sending and receiving SMS and MMS when at home indicates that Verizon's mobile network, 4G or not, has lousy coverage at your house. It is very likely at the edge of the 'bubble' of their nearest mobile network node/tower/repeater. This may also lead to dropped phone calls, of course. Or to phone calls never even getting established in the first place. Calls 'out' from you and calls 'in' from the rest of the world. You don't want that.


I understand how the wifi captures, etc..and my phone sits by a window on the side of the house with the closest verizon tower, on the charger all day....

That link I provided explains my quest....I just thought maybe there was something more up to date that does the same thing...maybe better/easier, or more securely..
I might just do the 2 year old thing in the link, to see how it works.....guess if it's THAT old, maybe no one is looking at those exploits anymore..

I just want my phone to ring/ding when someone calls/texts my verizon phone number, when I am in the black hole of $hit reception that surrounds the block in which I reside....
Because no one is going to know if I'm actually in this black hole, or if I'm just not answering, in order to call some other voip phone number to get hold of me....

I MIGHT get 2 calls a week...I'm not that 'in demand'...I'd just like to get them when they DO come in...WHEN they come in...not later...

Thanks again for the replies!
 

Vsweety

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Yeah that's a biatch.
Not much you can do. Apart from moving.
OTOH, you're not the only one with this problem. At least your whole block is in the same boat. Get a buck from each of 'm and have a decent repeater installed for the whole block. You'll be the goto ICT hero. Girls will adore you.
 

Rukbat

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The first thing you do in choosing a carrier is looking to see which carrier has a solid signal in all the places you need a signal. Evidently you skipped that step, or you moved after signing your Verizon contract.

The fact that they don't supply signal to where you live (if that address is on the original contract) may be grounds for waiving the ETF when you switch carriers. That or a repeater, are your only options

Cellphones don't maintain calls from 2G to wifi. If you get a phone system that uses Bluetooth, you can use your cellphone to access your land line, but you'd still have to tell the person, "Hang up. I'm going inside and I'll call you right back." (Even a VoIP app won't do it - when you switch from 2G to wifi, you lose the connection.)

There are carriers that use wifi where they can - it "lets" you use your wifi connection for calls they're charging you for, freeing up their network.
 

McGyver9

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Yeah..had verizon for 10+ years..unlimited....never had any problems before....just moved here..from out of state..
Can't afford to buy 3 iphones and another one of these, to switch carriers..

Considered one of those bluetooth systems...it's really cool!
But as I said before, I've found where the nearest tower is, and put/leave the phone in the charger right in a window on that side of the house..
You can watch the display go from 4G, to the 'bars', to nothing...then 3G.....all inside 20 seconds....and I miss calls/texts..
It's just not reliable...
Tried *228 doesn't do anything..(used to help sometimes)

Understand that I'd have to hang up coming into my 'home network'..

This has never been about saving 'minutes'...

The verizon 'map' says I'm in the '4G LTE extended** area...
Previous home owner even said he had problems....he had some other kind of phone...

Oh well...

Thanks again for the replies...
I'll report back, once I get the time to fart with that link..
 

Rukbat

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1) Are you sure the "nearest tower" is a Verizon tower?

2) Can you actually see the face of one of Verizon's antennas on the tower from your window? (Many towers have multiple carriers on them at different levels, so even if Verizon is on the tower, can you see their antennas? There may be something intermittently blocking their signal from your house if you can't. Even trucks being moved round a shipping yard, if the signal has to go through the yard to reach you, can cause what you're seeing.)

My area is pretty good for Sprint - except in my daughter's house. On her front steps, in her back yard, no problem. In the house, no reception. There's a ridge causing what's known as "knife effect" that almost exactly covers her house, and no other one on the block.

You can't change how physics works without moving to a different universe.
 

DCSholtis

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Another thing you can do is look into T Mobile. See what their coverage is like. Look at their maps. They'll pay off your ETFs you'd have to turn in turn in your old phones as they won't work. But you can get new ones with $0 down. Or try getting a cheap phone off eBay. Get yourself a t mobile pre pay account try it for one month to see how the coverage is. If it's to your liking take your phones to a t mobile store for the ETF promo.

Posted via Android Central App
 

Rukbat

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BTW, 3G and 4G have nothing to do with calls or text - those are the CDMA equivalent of 2G. You could have great data (3G/4G) coverage and no boice/text or the other way around, because the frequencies used are different, so they propagate differently.
 

Jadh4v

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I am having similar troubles with T-mobile in my new basement apartment. The following link seems to solve the problem but you will have to use google voice (possible a new number, but they provide number portability).
http : / / community . spiceworks . com /how_to/show/2896-route-voice-and-text-over-wifi-on-your-smartphone

Hope this helps.
 

Rukbat

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I didn't even port a number to GV. My cellphone and my house phone are still my old area code. My GV number is the area code of where I live now. It's forwarded to both my home phone and my cellphone. So people call my GV number and they get me - home, out, it doesn't matter, since both phones ring and the first one to answer gets the call. People who still call my old home number or my old cell number still get the house phone or the cellphone.
 

Felisa Shirey

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Galaxy note 2 owner,

I would bet that your problem lies within the antennae of your wireless device. I'm guessing that is either weak or broken as this was also once a problem for me on a previous Samsung galaxy note 3 that I had only mine also would turn itself on to mobile data while I was home with my wifi available because it couldn't pick up the network's signal. This would happen without my awareness and it chewed through my mobile data which was not unlimited and cost me more than i cared to have to pay. A switch of my device solved the problem as it was not due to my network or its signal but rather my devices inability to detect other signals. Hope this information is helpful.
 

Felisa Shirey

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Hi all,
Sorry if this has been answered already...I've tried searching...honest..

Subject pretty much sums it up.
This isn't about saving phone minutes...it's about reliably receiving calls and texts.

In my house, my signal is crap...I even miss texts....
I'll have a "4G" icon one minute, and absolutely nothing the next..on the phone plugged into the charger, sitting in the exact same place.
Same thing even happens outside...
I've called Verizon, and all they want to do is sell me the repeater thing...

Anyway, enough complaining..

I've found a few articles about this subject on the web, but they seem to be dated...

I'd REALLY like the phone to automatically to switch to WIFI calling/receiving, when I hit my home network..
But if I have to switch it myself, well beggars can't be choosers..
I can't imaging I'm the only one with this problem though..

I have a google voice account set up already...
Can anyone suggest what apps and settings to use?

If it makes a difference...
Obviously, I'm talking about Android...and I'm on verizon... using a stock/unrooted Samsung Note 2.

Thanks in advance,

Chris
 

NoIWillNotHold

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I believe we're having the exact same problem! Just like everywhere else I have looked, the people here (while meaning well) don't seem to fully grasp the problem we're having. Verizon's fix-it for me was to send me a network extender. I never got to find out if it worked. What they failed to mention was that I had to attach it to a router or modem in order to use it. I live in a building where cable and wifi are provided via a communal router and modem. (Only the landlord has access to them.) So this doesn't work for me.

I feel your pain! The only way I can make a call (or receive one) at home is by going in my bedroom, placing my phone on the table and not touching it during the call. (Has to be on Speakerphone.) Texts go thru when they feel like it. Lately, with Verizon's update to Visual Voicemail, I won't know I had a call or voicemail unless I'm out somewhere that mobile data works. I missed an important message this week. There was no record of the call under recents, nor did the voicemail symbol appear. The next day I was in town, and you can imagine my "surprise". Verizon's Message+ text app tells you when texts are going over cellular data or WiFi. But mine don't go over cell data. They only go when I have enough phone bars or one bar if my WiFi is full and I don't touch my phone.

The only luck I have at home is with Facebook Messenger. I can call/video chat via WiFi. But I shouldn't have to. And not everyone has Messenger. Idk if I understand Google voice right or if that's even a solution for me. I suppose I need something with a WiFi phone number to give people so they can reach me at home? But this doesn't help them leave voice mail.

I can't switch carriers because I'm on my sister's contract. I actually had a Verizon rep tell me AT&T has marginally better service for my town. Who knew? I do a lot of research as Verizon seems to know less about any of this than I do. But I really don't understand much about how this all works.

Sorry for your troubles. Can anyone help us? Where's the best place to get knowledgeable about these and other phone issues? Community forums haven't worked well for me. Idk if I don't explain myself well, or if they just don't know the answers. Thanks to anyone for any help you give.
 

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