No Verizon WiFi Calling on Unlocked S7 :(

[sangs]

To the OP, your battery is draining quickly at night probably because of the poor signal at home. Always trying to search for better signal.

Posted via the Android Central App with my Badass Galaxy S7

I know. A residual issue of WiFi Calling being unavailable. As I mentioned, it doesn't happen with the other phones I own on which WiFi Calling IS available. It's a moot point now anyway, as I've returned it. Unlocked = Handicapped on Verizon.

 

[Zendroid1]

Unlocked = Handicapped on Verizon.

This is not a coincidence. They wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[sangs]

This is not a coincidence. They wouldn't have it any other way.

Well that's not exactly true, as my unlocked iPhone works EXACTLY as it should with Verizon. So they obviously know how to do it with at least one manufacturer.

 

[Zendroid1]

Well that's not exactly true, as my unlocked iPhone works EXACTLY as it should with Verizon. So they obviously know how to do it with at least one manufacturer.

Apple has the stones to tell Verizon what to do whereas Samsung doesn't.

 

[Almeuit]

Apple has the stones to tell Verizon what to do whereas Samsung doesn't.

I wonder if that is it. I mean .. Apple doesn't allow bloat so Verizon has to work with them to have the feature work otherwise it will never exist on an iPhone, however, on android Verizon can simply have it as a "bloat" feature versus OS level feature and therefore force people to buy "their" model.

 

[Ry]

Apple has the stones to tell Verizon what to do whereas Samsung doesn't.

Android OEMs can't do that since there can and will be another OEM that will do what the carrier wants.

Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition

 

[lafountain]

Android OEMs can't do that since there can and will be another OEM that will do what the carrier wants.

Posted via the Android Central App on the Moto X Pure Edition

While that is true, I feel Samsung has gotten big enough in numbers of sales to where they can start pushing a bit more back on the carriers. Verizon may sell a lot of iPhones, but I imagine they sell quite a few Samsung devices too. The smaller OEM's may not have the leverage, but I would think Samsung does.

 

[Almeuit]

While that is true, I feel Samsung has gotten big enough in numbers of sales to where they can start pushing a bit more back on the carriers. Verizon may sell a lot of iPhones, but I imagine they sell quite a few Samsung devices too. The smaller OEM's may not have the leverage, but I would think Samsung does.

As I said a few posts back .. the difference though is Samsung will give Verizon a variant they can modify so Verizon will keep it as part of their "Carrier modified software". With Apple they will never be allowed to code into the OS like that so .. They either play ball or go home. With Android they simply can say this only gets installed when we put our carrier bloat / software on it and make it a done deal.

 

[Ry]

While that is true, I feel Samsung has gotten big enough in numbers of sales to where they can start pushing a bit more back on the carriers. Verizon may sell a lot of iPhones, but I imagine they sell quite a few Samsung devices too. The smaller OEM's may not have the leverage, but I would think Samsung does.

Verizon is also a special case because if Samsung doesn't play ball, Verizon can add it their own DROID line and push that over a Galaxy phone.

 

[Roger Diaz]

Does HD Voice work with Unlocked S7?

 

[dyphx]

I was planning to get a unbranded GS7, but then found a good deal on an unlocked AT&T branded phone. I was happy to learn that Wifi calling worked (after updating firmware)

 

[IVSTO]

WiFi calling works on T-Mobile. I bought my Samsung Galaxy S7 from BB(unlocked). I was on Verizon monthly prepaid but switched to T-Mobile because VZ did not support WiFi calling on their prepaid plans.
I've heard that Vz now supports WiFi calling on prepaid plans. So would it work on my device? I asked in 2 different VZ stores and they gave me 2 different answers. Tried to contact VZ- mission impossible if I am not their customer.

 

[French]

If bought from Verizon I'd think it would be able to do wifi calling but your use of the term unlocked makes me suspicious as to whether it's really the unlocked model. Does the model have U or V in it? If V then yes wifi calling should work on Verizon. If U then all I can say is that my U model would not do Verizon wifi calling back in August (U is the unlocked model and I got mine from Best Buy).

 

[IVSTO]

Hmm. My model nr SM-G930U. I just remembered I bought it from BB, not from VZ as I wrote on my previous post. (edited now)
I succeeded to reach a live person from Vz sales dept. I asked him if the monthly prepaid supports wifi calling. He sounded hesitant, but after some research he confirmed. Then I asked him if my phone would be supported. He asked me for my IMEI and then confirmed it would work. But I am still not sure if I should trust him.

Looks like I will stick with T mobile even though they don't have great coverage. My home has some dead zones so I am not willing to spend $250 for VZ signal booster.

 

[French]

Hmm. My model nr SM-G930U. I just remembered I bought it from BB, not from VZ as I wrote on my previous post. (edited now)
I succeeded to reach a live person from Vz sales dept. I asked him if the monthly prepaid supports wifi calling. He sounded hesitant, but after some research he confirmed. Then I asked him if my phone would be supported. He asked me for my IMEI and then confirmed it would work. But I am still not sure if I should trust him.

Looks like I will stick with T mobile even though they don't have great coverage. My home has some dead zones so I am not willing to spend $250 for VZ signal booster.

I'm with Verizon because Tmobile doesn't work at all reliably at my boyfriend's house and I spend a lot of time there. He doesn't have wifi at all and I even tried T-Mobile'booster (no wifi required). The slow speed (must have been 2G) was a deal breaker and they confirmed multiple times that it was a "congested tower". So I ended up back with Verizon which for some reason wifi calling does not work well in my condo and I'm partially underground so LTE signal isn't as strong as it could be. I finally broke down and got the vzw 4G booster and its made 100% of a difference. Calls are now always crystal clear and no drop outs, etc. I'm annoyed I still had to go the route of the booster even with wifi calling but I have determined my place is the only place I've needed it and there's far too much interference for it to work well with VZW's implementation of it.

Interestingly T-Mobile's wifi calling worked perfectly with the unlocked Galaxy S7. Hope some of that info might be helpful.

 

[IVSTO]

Thank you French,
Have you tried to reach VZ tech support regarding WiFi calling?

I have a weak cell signal in my apartment. Choppy Verizon, choppy TMob. I also need WiFi calling at work where I go twice a week.
TMobile does the job right. (On top of that, with their postpaid plans we get free data abroad). Yes, out of the city TMob has a crappy signal, but WiFi is everywhere nowadays. I would consider a signal booster if the price was reasonable. Actually it should be free in dead zone spots which are surrounded by very strong signal just a wall away.
I still don't understand Verizon's strategy of keeping new and ex customers away. And their lack of clear and accessible information regarding technical requirements. Cmon, its 2016, there is Skype, Viber etc. And VZ will prevent us from using WiFi calling or other "extras" if we don't buy their branded crap.

 

[French]

Thank you French,
Have you tried to reach VZ tech support regarding WiFi calling?

I have a weak cell signal in my apartment. Choppy Verizon, choppy TMob. I also need WiFi calling at work where I go twice a week.
TMobile does the job right. (On top of that, with their postpaid plans we get free data abroad). Yes, out of the city TMob has a crappy signal, but WiFi is everywhere nowadays. I would consider a signal booster if the price was reasonable. Actually it should be free in dead zone spots which are surrounded by very strong signal just a wall away.
I still don't understand Verizon's strategy of keeping new and ex customers away. And their lack of clear and accessible information regarding technical requirements. Cmon, its 2016, there is Skype, Viber etc. And VZ will prevent us from using WiFi calling or other "extras" if we don't buy their branded crap.

Oh yes...talked to them multiple times. My office desk is against an outside wall and that's where my modem, router, et al are located. And on the other side of said wall are Smart Meters for the electric/gas for my entire side of the building. I suspect the implementation of VZWs advanced and wifi work against each other. But I refuse to turn off advanced calling because I talk to other Verizon users and it does make a huge difference in call quality. Before I got the LTE booster my calls were choppy and broke up a lot. It sounded like the other person was on a wireless headset with a REALLY bad connection. At times I couldn't understand what they were saying at all. Now with the LTE booster my calls are great. I have not tried wifi calling anywhere else (haven't needed it) so I don't know if it would be a problem anywhere I try to use wifi calling but I don't really see anyone complaining about VZW wifi calling except me.

Good luck.

 

[IVSTO]

So yiu get wifi calling but only if you turn off advanced calling?

 

[French]

So yiu get wifi calling but only if you turn off advanced calling?

To make sure I am not confusing you (because I've had so many darn phones)...for the VERIZON phone I had wifi calling as an option but it was AWFUL. Terrible reception, etc. Even when the calls would claim to be on wifi (there's an icon indicating wifi calls versus regular ones) the quality was just terrible and unreliable. I believe it's because of my living situation...condo...lower unit...and my internet comes in against a wall that has smart meters on the other side. So I've got all kinds of interference potential here. I did notice, however, that if I turned off advanced calling, the wifi call quality improved. I have no idea why. In the end I opted to go the booster route, which is annoying because I do get a signal in my home, but the idea is to get the signal to be strong enough to override the wifi fall back. I don't like that I had to pay for it but now I can use my phone anywhere in my condo and don't have to worry about the call quality at all. Even when using it on wifi (before I got the LTE booster) there were areas of my condo that the calls would cut in and out and sometimes dump completely. Now it's rock solid anywhere I go and even better, the handoff is seamless (I guess because I'm already ON the LTE tower when on a call so moving from my condo to the car to driving down the street the call stays connected no problem). I had heard that people using the 3G booster would have issues with the hand off.

If you have the U model of the phone and are on Verizon you won't be able to do wifi calling at all. Hopefully that clarifies rather than confuses.

 

[IVSTO]

Thanks,
I i will stick with T-Mobile. It doesn't make sense to spend $450+ for 2 Verizon signal boosters for home/office and pay $45/mo vs TMobile $40/mo and wifi calling (even for phones with U in the model number....)