AT&T has flipped the switch on Wi-Fi calling, making it available to customers with eligible plans that are running iOS 9. MacRumors has received tips from customers who were able to activate Wi-Fi calling and we were able to activate the feature on our own iPhones. A number of readers in our forums are also having success activating Wi-Fi calling.
Wi-Fi calling is a feature that lets calls be placed over a wireless connection when cellular connectivity is poor, functioning much like an AT&T M-Cell does now. It's similar to Apple's own FaceTime Audio feature, which also routes calls over a Wi-Fi connection.
AT&T customers can turn on Wi-Fi calling by going to the Phone section of the Settings app and toggling on the Wi-Fi calling feature. From there, there are a set of steps to walk through, including entering an emergency 911 address. Wi-Fi calling is available on the iPhone 6, 6s, 6 Plus, and 6s Plus running iOS 9.
Customers who want to use Wi-Fi calling need to have AT&T HD voice features enabled, along with an Internet connection. Wi-Fi calling can be used for voice calls within the United States, Puerto Rico, and United States Virgin Islands at no charge. Long distance global voice calls will be charged standard long distance rates.
Once the setup process is complete, customers are receiving notifications letting them know the Wi-Fi calling feature will be available after a short activation period.
AT&T promised to launch Wi-Fi calling alongside iOS 9, but last week announced the feature was delayed due to its inability to get an FCC waiver that would temporarily allow the carrier to forgo offering support options for deaf and hard-of-hearing customers. On Tuesday of this week, AT&T finally received the waiver that it needed to move forward with Wi-Fi calling.
Monday September 15, 2025 12:00 am PDT by Eric Slivka
Update 10:06 a.m.: iOS 26 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking!
Today's the day! Apple is about to release iOS 26, which will deliver the biggest redesign since iOS 7 and bring a range of new features and improvements to iPhones worldwide. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at last week's iPhone event that...
Sunday September 14, 2025 8:45 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple's annual September event is now in the rearview mirror, with the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3, Apple Watch SE 3, and AirPods Pro 3 set to launch this Friday, September 19.
As always, there is more to come. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple plans to release many products in the...
Monday September 15, 2025 10:56 am PDT by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26 release notes, Apple is warning iPhone users that installing the new software might have a temporary impact on battery life, which is normal.
A new support document explains that major iOS updates require background setup like indexing data and files for search, downloading new assets, and updating apps.
Further, Apple says that new features could require more resources,...
Friday September 12, 2025 7:58 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 lineup and ultra-thin iPhone Air in stores on Friday, September 19, and the company has already shown off the new devices at its fall event, which ran with the the tagline "Awe dropping."
The iPhone 17 series brings a host of new features and enhancements. Here's a rundown of the biggest upgrades and changes:
iPhone 17
Display Changes
The iPhone...
Monday September 15, 2025 10:50 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today released updated firmware for the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4, introducing support for the new AirPods features that are included in iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe.
The firmware has a build number of 8A356, and it replaces the current 7E93 firmware.
With Apple's new software updates, the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 support better audio quality for phone calls and...
Saturday September 13, 2025 10:01 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The latest iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air models are equipped with Apple's all-new N1 chip for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread connectivity. However, the chip has a Wi-Fi 7 bandwidth limitation.
According to FCC documents reviewed by MacRumors, the N1 chip in all of the new iPhone models supports up to 160 MHz channel bandwidth for Wi-Fi 7, short of the...
Sunday September 14, 2025 1:36 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
T-Mobile President Jon Freier today shared real-world photos of Apple's boxes for the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 models, which launch on Friday.
Image Credit: Jon Freier
Apple has typically included iPhone box renders in its product environmental reports, but it did not do so for the latest models. However, Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program page does offer some images of the boxes, ...
I can finally answer phone scammers right away at work now instead of hearing their 2-second silent voicemails later. :) Just for reference, we get no cell signal at work.
Seriously though, this will be amazing for me at home since cell signal is very weak there.
charging long distance fees when using a service that puts 0 load on their networks is criminal.
well, if its domestic long distance its just charged your regular calling rate, which is probably unlimited. calling internationally using wifi calling is the same as calling internationally with cellular. most people aren't like me, they do not have minute plans. i have 100 minutes a month. a wifi call minute is the same as a cellular call minute.
the other end of the call is a real telephone number, so i guess that is where they think its fair to treat it as a real cellular call
what is really criminal is what they do with the AT&T microcell. they have you pay $199 for one
there is an optional unlimited microcell calling plan they want you to sign up for, in case you have a plan that has limited amount of minutes. back in 2009, the unlimited calling feature for your microcell was $19.99 a month extra, this allows any of the registered phone numbers are assigned to our microcell ( up to 10 ) to be able to have unlimited calling. just in case they have legacy plans.
oh , but that is not all. any cellular data that you use on the microcell , even though you are providing them with your own internet connection, goes against your plan.
so even though you paid $199 for a microcell you still have to use wifi to prevent AT&T from charging you for going over.
and through this whole mess, little t-mobile is minding their own business and giving away wifi routers and cell phone boosters for those people who need them. they have been giving away cell phone boosters for probably 10 years, and tmo is even giving out marshmallow to all the old phones, and people just go on forums and say that t-mobile sucks.
So now I get to pay AT&T & Comcast to use my own network and the public internet to route my calls. All to make up for AT&T's crummy service coverage?
Where do I sign up?
I'm not sure why so many people are whining about this.
You've lost NOTHING by having Wi-Fi calling available to you. Before if you were in an area with good Wi-Fi but lousy cellular reception, you couldn't make calls or do SMS at all. Now you can.
So what if it's your own network that you're paying for? You don't pay extra for this.
Before: You can't make calls. Now: You CAN make calls.
Things have improved at no additional cost to you. Stop complaining. :)
How do we know when it's activated? Is there a logo at the top of the screen that says WiFi like the old M-Cell logo? I activated twenty minutes ago and nothing...
Turn on Airplane mode and turn on WiFi. Shows "AT&T Wi-Fi"
