T-Mobile Galaxy S8 Wifi calling too aggressive - always defaults to wifi calling even when cellular preferred is chosen

[gorint9]

I searched the web and forums for this but did not find anything. So maybe my phone is defective, but before trying to get a replacement, I thought I would ask the users and experts:

If I set my GS8 (Tmobile) to cellular preferred (under the wifi calling option), it still defaults to wifi calling, even when I have a very strong signal. The only way to make a call on the cellular network is to turn off wifi calling or wifi altogether. Is it just me?

Why I care:

• Wifi calling is not very good at switching to cellular if you lose wifi connection (at least on this phone, which is why I started to pay attention)

Here are the troubleshooting steps I have taken so far:

• Reset network settings - didn't do anything (other than lose all my network settings
• Factory reset the phone - issue still there
• Test with my GS7 edge - issue not present (in the same location, with cellular preferred I place calls on the cell network - pop the SIM in my GS8 and I am immediately on wifi calling)

Questions:

• Is anyone else seeing this behavior or do I have a defective device somehow (cell calling works fine if I force it)
• Could this be software related? If that's the case, I don't want to get a refurb from Tmobile and have the same issue
• Any suggestions on how to further diagnose / fix this?

Thanks!

 

[Gary02468]

Have you contacted T-Mobile tech support? The WiFi-calling preference seems to be a carrier-specific setting. I don't see that setting here on AT&T--with WiFi Calling enabled, it always prefers cellular if available (though I can force WiFi for calls by turning on Airplane Mode, then re-enabling WiFi).

 

[TylerLV76]

I searched the web and forums for this but did not find anything. So maybe my phone is defective, but before trying to get a replacement, I thought I would ask the users and experts:

If I set my GS8 (Tmobile) to cellular preferred (under the wifi calling option), it still defaults to wifi calling, even when I have a very strong signal. The only way to make a call on the cellular network is to turn off wifi calling or wifi altogether. Is it just me?

Why I care:

• Wifi calling is not very good at switching to cellular if you lose wifi connection (at least on this phone, which is why I started to pay attention)

Here are the troubleshooting steps I have taken so far:

• Reset network settings - didn't do anything (other than lose all my network settings
• Factory reset the phone - issue still there
• Test with my GS7 edge - issue not present (in the same location, with cellular preferred I place calls on the cell network - pop the SIM in my GS8 and I am immediately on wifi calling)

Questions:

• Is anyone else seeing this behavior or do I have a defective device somehow (cell calling works fine if I force it)
• Could this be software related? If that's the case, I don't want to get a refurb from Tmobile and have the same issue
• Any suggestions on how to further diagnose / fix this?

Thanks!

It's not just you and its one of the reasons I turned it off. I kept getting that notification that "calls will be made over wifi even though I set cellular to be preferred. It's something to do with T-mobile software and its only on this device. My G6 doesn't do this and stays on cellular preferred.

 

[jlangner]

Same here. I turned mine off since always said calls will be made over wifi even though cellular preferred. Unlimited talk and issues with MMS with enabled over 3rd party text like Textra.

 

[gorint9]

tylverlv76, jlanger, thanks for the input. Glad (I suppose) to hear that it's not an issue with my phone

 

[mmakoto]

Add me to the list, I noticed this strange behavior on the first week of ownership, I then disabled wifi calling. Never had this problem on my s6e+.

 

[theelite1x87]

T-Mobile S8 plus here. Same issue. I've disabled Wi-Fi calling until it's fixed. And just enable it manually if I need it. If I set it to cellular preferred, it'll use Wi-Fi regardless of signal strength. It's clearly a bug in the software

 

[kilovoltaire]

Same behavior for me on T-Mobile with a Moto E4, Android 7.1.1, oh well

 

[claykin]

Try installing the July patch update released last night. It's only been a short test so far, but looks like this issue may be fixed.

If they'd only add the ability to set wifi calling to specific WiFi networks I choose.

 

[ABOSWORTH007]

Try installing the July patch update released last night. It's only been a short test so far, but looks like this issue may be fixed.

If they'd only add the ability to set wifi calling to specific WiFi networks I choose.

That would be a nice feature. I don't have T-Mobile but I have WiFi calling on my AT&T variant and it is a bit wonky. I generally just turn it off. If I leave it on, it sometimes hangs up text messages while I'm at work.

 

[SeanSkiNE]

Interestingly, my brand new S9 does the exact same thing. Infuriating. Maybe they will patch this one too.

 

[MrDoh]

Works right n my S9 on T-Mobile.