T-Mobile's Android Wi-Fi Calling explained

By on Oct 6, 2010 at 10:00 AM
General October 6, 2010

This morning, T-Mobile announced that Wi-Fi calling would be coming to select Android handsets in the near future. We reached out to our friends at T-Mobile to ask what the difference — if any — would be between Wi-Fi calling on an Android device versus a non-Android device. Here is T-Mobile’s response:

Wi-Fi Calling for Android is built upon the same technology as UMA, but is a different implementation from our past offerings. While T-Mobile’s current Wi-Fi Calling solution which operates on BlackBerry smartphones, for instance, seamlessly hands off calls from T-Mobile’s network to Wi-Fi networks, Wi-Fi Calling for Android does not.

A pre-installed application from T-Mobile will allow customers to make and receive voice calls and SMS over an accessible Wi-Fi connection.  This provides customers with better in-door coverage and in some cases may provide the ability to make voice calls in locations where they weren’t able to do so previously.

For consumers, Wi-Fi Calling for Android increases coverage and uses voice minutes. [NOTE: calls originate on Wi-Fi, but are carried across T-Mobile’s network once beyond the initial Wi-Fi connection.]  T-Mobile also has plans for business which can help defer wireless minutes and provide cost savings.

Wi-Fi Calling will be available on the new T-Mobile myTouch, Motorola DEFY and others Android phones in the coming weeks. We are planning to expand Wi-Fi Calling for Android to as broad a selection of Android smartphones in our line-up as possible.  Éclair (2.0/2.1)  and Froyo (2.2) are the Android OS versions that currently support the application.

There you have it. Let us know your thoughts.

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  • Mackdaddymay May

    Definitely needed on t-mobile…worst voice network in the US!!! How else are you going to make calls? I continue to be amazed that anyone uses t-mobile.

    • vinny

      I have NEVER had a dropped call from the T-Mobile network. If you sad that AT&T was the worst I would agree with you. I dumped them due to dropping about 1/2 of all my calls during the busiest time of the work day. Thank You T-Mobile, Heading to the top of the networks.

      • Mackdaddymay May

        You must live in one of their few good areas and never move while you talk. Their network is so sparse. If you travel you want to stay connected…can’t do it with t-mobile.

      • MIKE

        Well i drove from va.beach to killeen tx. then drove to scottsbluff ne and didnt have a problem i am in the sticks and have edge

    • IsEnglishYourNativeLanguage

      Smallest footprint != worst network.

      I had T-Mobile 2 years ago – never had a dropped call once. I switched to AT&T and continually got butt-raped with charges and Crappy service (read as: Dropped calls) to boot.

      I am now back with T-Mobile. I realize their foot-print of service is limited; however, in every place that I travel (minus my Father’s house that’s out in BFE) I never have an issue with service. Oh, and let’s not forget about *some* of the best pricing in the business.

      So, in summary, You spout off accusations without data to support your ideas – this makes you look extremely intelligent (/s)

    • m1

      Funny. This article is about one of the key differentiating features in the mobile phone business and ONLY T-Mobile offers this AND it’s free. I agree T-Mobile’s service is not up to par with CDMA in the States – but UMA paired with insanely lower prices (read 100%+ less) more than makes up for it.

      m1

      • Ben

        This feature used to be free because T-Mobile didn’t count/track minutes that originated from a WiFi connection. All T-Mobile is saying in the article is that you will be able to place calls over WiFi but that the minutes will indeed count against your plan minutes. The WiFi calling feature is great but I think they missed the mark by charging minutes for it because they do have a less extensive network which customers often need the benefit of having a WiFi network to place calls over. This is my case at both work and home. I love T-Mobile but disagree with charging me to place calls over my WiFi connection.

      • akoito

        Dude, UMA (wifi call) does NOT eat up your minutes! It works just like VOIP

      • Ben

        You either must not use T-Mobile WiFi calling or you totally missed the announcement they sent out months ago (via sms text message) about how they were changing their WiFi calling policy. T-Mobile didn’t charge initially for WiFi calling but they changed thier policy. Those minutes aren’t reported differently on your bill; they are simply wrapped into whatever the applicable category is (Tmo to Tmo, nights & weekends, peak). Before the change my total minutes were never more than 400 a month and since the change they have been over 1,100 every month. This makes sense because at home and at work I have very poor T-Mobile sevice and rely on WiFi to make and recieve calls. This isn’t obvious to most customers because T-Mobile doesn’t want it to be. I still love T-Mobile though because they have great customer service and they are by far the best bang for the buck.

      • Jack Hsu

        Read the article, This new option for the Android phones, USE your minutes! UMA on a Blackberry does not.

    • Djlabeanz

      Unfortunately, we’re been sucked in to a two year agreement!

  • http://www.daverea.com medicdave

    Very interested if this solution will allow seamless transfer once a user roams *out* of wifi coverage. Will the call transition straight to the Tmo network with no perceptible gap?

    • spyork

      RTFA… It says there will be no seamless hand off like there is with the Blackberry.

      • http://www.theozer.com Zachary Ozer

        I get that it doesn’t do a seamless handoff if I’m in the middle of a call, but will new calls automatically switch to using WiFi if a pre-selected WiFinetwork is available / no cell network is available?

    • m1

      It will if you have a blackberry with UMA on T-Mobile. Based on the article it seems Android will not be fully UMA capable (and unable to transition calls from Wi-Fi to cell tower)

      • reddragon72

        Blackberry only hands off from cell to WIFI not the other way around. I have a few BB users at work and they sy when they leave work the call is dropped, but when arriving to work it connects flawlessly.

        Besides it’ll take you two minutes to hang up, press the desktop icon and then initiate your call again so it is no big deal. I for one need this item bad at work as there is no signal inside my building!

      • m1

        agreed – i don’t even travel oversees and I absolutely love UMA. People don’t understand how nice it is to have your WHOLE PHONE switch over to wi-fi without even having to think about it. So now not only your calls and text are at full speed, but also MMS, browser, any apps that use the internet, youtube, etc… It’s _the_ killer app for mobile hands down.

      • bahurd

        Not true…. I have a 9700 using UMA in my office and when I walk out it “hands off” to the cell network fine.

    • bahurd

      “While T-Mobile’s current Wi-Fi Calling solution which operates on BlackBerry smartphones, for instance, seamlessly hands off calls from T-Mobile’s network to Wi-Fi networks, Wi-Fi Calling for Android does not.”

      won’t transition at all….

  • Nokia N900

    Woo Hoo T-Mobile is the best.

    • Nokia N900

      Honestly though, this is crap. My nokia N900 has been making WiFi calls and calls over T-Mobiles 3G network for about a year now. The coverage in my area is superb, so the fact that this still uses your wireless minutes makes this an even bigger waste of my time, and no long distance calls like skype, no thanks.

  • Jarrett’s 13-toed son w/1st cousin

    So much for that “international calls for free” bit.

    • UMA Fan

      If you have your phone in another country, disable your cell radio by putting it in flight mode, then you can use your phone in another country without international roaming charges because your phone will just think you are in an area in the US with poor signal.

      all wifi call/texts originate from the US for sending or receiving.

  • Bobudo

    So, let me get this straight:

    I utilize part of MY network bandwidth to originate a call or SMS, but I still pay for every minute and text message I use?

    Explain to me how this is a benefit. Sure, I get “increased coverage”, but maybe I would get that coverage from a different provider, and not have to use my bandwidth to expand T-Mobile’s lagging network?

    Count me out.

    • Del FTL

      What do you mean “your” bandwidth?
      Is every single wifi connection yours that you pay for? Maybe it is at your house, but it’s not at a hotel in France, or at the hospital with ultra thick walls, or at your grandmas cabin, or at your office complexes sub basement. And really you’re overplaying your bandwidths value. wifi calling uses very small amounts. Small enough that it would generally be considered a negligible amount.

      Tmobile tried to offer unlimited calls over wifi for a few dollars a month but hardly anyone took it.

      Your argument is better suited against femtocells since you pay for them (sometimes a monthly fee) they only use YOUR bandwidth and cant really travel with you. Wifi calling is infinitely better.

    • Steel

      Agreed. The carriers would be smart use the UMA-style handoff protocols to allow such calling over Wi-fi networks, thereby offloading traffic on their struggling networks.

      • Chris

        But how would they upsell you if they did that? Way to go T-mo for offering this service and not charging $10 a month for it.

  • Jace Katz

    Why should anyone use a network that “needs” wifi to function. It is a network deficiency of TMobile that it is even needed. If it subtracts from one’s bucket of minutes, then it is worthless. Why not just go with a good network in the first place, and you wouldn’t have to deal with any of this bullcrap.

    • techjunkieforlife

      Tell me about these good networks you speak of as Verizon and AT&T offer femtocells for a reason you know…..

    • UMA Fan

      For International use of course,

      If you are in another country, you can use your phone as if you are still in the US without roaming charges.

      • Matt

        bwahahahaha international use.

        If that were the case, they’d come with power adapters for use in said countries.

        In reality, it’s more a situation that it’s not always feasible for a carrier to make a tower next to your house just because your reception is low/nonexistent, and oftentimes when they build more towers it can also result in dropped calls.

        So what’s the solution? host your own connection via UMA/the new version (UMT or UMG or something, I forgot, check the company making it)

    • MBN

      There’s not such thing as a perfect cellular network. Radio waves don’t penetrate every nook and cranny of the world no matter whose network they are from.

      BTW, T-Mobile’s signal didn’t reach Jamaica when I was there recently, but I found a Wifi AP and was making calls, sending emails, etc with ZERO roaming fees! Sure, there was GSM coverage there, but why get raped when you don’t have to?

  • Will

    I can’t lie, the fact that this uses voice minutes is pretty damn disappointing. The lack of a seamless handoff is as well, but I could get past that… I understand the reasoning; I mean, imagine the profits they’d lose if people suddenly were able to make voice calls anywhere there was a wifi network for no charge on their cell phones. More frugal customers would just drop their voice minutes to a minimum plan and make all their calls from home on wifi. Still, just because I understand the reasoning doesn’t mean I agree with it.

    • Chris

      So, you would rather be charged for the service if it meant unlimited use? When you make calls over WiFi using T-mobile, they have to pay for that use. It isn’t free for them so why should it be free for you?

    • m1

      Wi-Fi Calling (aka UMA) uses your minutes. There is no “abuse” opportunity towards T-Mobile in this case. T-Mobile would LOVE for you to use Comcast’s bandwidth instead of a cell tower to make a call – it relieves that type of congestion. My guess is that the slow rollout and undermarketing of UMA is due to the fact that the net neutrality laws have not been solidified. Comcast could potentially block UMA over their network, then goto court, then possibly win. Until the right decision is made on net neutrality UMA cannot be properly marketed. (BTW, Google/Verizon fans – Google/Verizon is AGAINST allowing UMA freely)

    • Steve

      I’m already doing just that with Skype. The other party does have to be using Skype as well, but that’s not such a deal breaker nowadays.

    • jaymax

      At $40/month for unlimited calling on TMO, why are people even concerned about using minutes?

      • B Scott

        I was in San Fran bay area last month and had full bars constantly….. for 8 days….

    • Jackie M

      Wifi/UMA calling might be great for those who have a routine need to use it say in a building at work or those who travel internationally on a regular basis. However, for the average joe on the street, why would one even consider a network that lacks coverage in large areas of the LA basin, San Francisco bay area, or even NYC, and 20 miles off most any interstate in OK, KS, ME, NM, AL, GA, FL, WA, OR and many other areas, when you simply have better choices for networks. You gonna go running around looking for a starbucks or a library to make a wifi call?

  • achilles

    Im confused. Wi fi android calling does not hand off to 3g when u leave the wi fi area, yet calls will use your minutes when u leave the initial wi fi connection? What am i missing?

    • me

      I think it is saying the connection begins over your WiFi, but is then handed off to Tmobile’s system to place the actual call (but not handed out to the towers when leaving the WiFi signal) and still deducts your airtime minutes when using WiFi at home/Starbucks etc.

      Sorry, but this is a fail. I am ok with it not having the hand off to the towers, but not ok with them now deducting minutes when other UMA devices are unlimited over WiFi.

      • UMA Fan

        This is IGNORANT.

        No ‘device’ is unlimited calling over wifi. T-Mobile used to have a monthly add-on feature that gave you unlimited calling over wifi. They discontinued this feature so its just no longer unlimited over wifi.

        What you said is like saying just because they did away with unlimited texting, my phone can’t text anymore.

      • reddragon72

        Let me put it this way. T-mobile to T-mobile is free. Why is it free because it is within there infrastructure so it costs less and it’s great marketing to get your family moved over, but more so because the call stays in there infrastructure. So when you make a WIFI call they found that it cost them more to have all the network components in place to receive those calls and then process them. So in essence they are loosing money so they stopped the unlimited WIFI. Towers are not the most expensive part of the service, it is actually the back end that kills them and tower or WIFI the back end is still being used.

  • http://www.themobileinfo.com Arghya
  • Chris Maddeaux-Young

    Does anyone know how easily other carriers could offer this same service for their phones? I ask because I work at a remote mine site with no cell service. Sure I have a land line I can use, but if everyone at site had access cell use over Wi-Fi we’d all be much happier.

  • MacMan

    Most tmobile people don’t have wifi at home so this will only work when they are out and about trying to leach off a free wifi.

    • me

      what country do you live in that “Most tmobile people don’t have wifi at home”?

      • Chris

        T-mobile obviously is a third world country. It is near Uzbekistan. They don’t have WiFi there. I am doing a fundraiser next week to buy them pencils.

    • ogopogo

      Are you on crack?? Do you even know what WiFi is?

    • B Scott

      What? really?

      Well I guess I’m like upper class tmobitizen. I totally have the “wifi” at home..

  • http://9to5mac.com Seth

    This Fortune article, coincidentally, is exactly how I feel:
    http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/06/t-mobile-gets-voip-right/

  • Swagger

    What a letdown. So basically the only part that is wi-fi is the phone ringing.

  • BS

    Sucks that it still uses your minutes…the whole point of this is to *improve* coverage in dead zones…

  • Bigs12

    Uma always used you min unless you paid extra 10 to have free calling over wifi so if it’s such a problem go unlim it’s usually about a 10 difference from your current plan, now if your on a family plan I can feel your pain but you single plan ppl send the 10 and lets not be cheap

  • Jeremiah

    I don’t understand why people don’t see the benefit of this. This works exactly like a femtocell, except that it uses a more ubiquitous and available resource.

    YES you’re still going to use your own minutes and text messages, but besides the fact that most of us here already have unlimited of both or either, WHY DOES IT MATTER?

    It’s extra coverage where you may not have it, like in a basement or in another country. It’s a direct extension of T-Mobile’s network, so OBVIOUSLY you’ll still have to pay to USE the network.

    P.S. People also seriously need to get over the whole “T-Mobile sucks because they have the smallest footprint.” For most people, T-Mobile has great coverage. Just because T-Mobile doesn’t in yours, doesn’t mean that that’s the case elsewhere. People take it so personally that others use another network, which really is just immature. I feel like it’s just a defense mechanism to justify how much AT&T and Verizon are ripping them off.

    • Susan S

      Your computer must be running to use your phone. Your kids eat up bandwidth using games, thus dropping calls and connections. An unneeded step needed to use it and set up. Sleezy solution for lack of coverage.

      • ogopogo

        Oh my god! Another mis-informed lemming. You have no clue as to how this works. This isn’t MagicJack. You do not need to have your computer running. Unless you only have a 56kbps Internet connection at your trailer, you don’t even have to set up any QoS policies on your router.

      • reddragon72

        it is not a lack of coverage that they are doing this for. I am in a building that cannot received any outside signal due to testing in my location. The company put in AT&T repeaters because they use ATT as there provider, but if I switch to ATT then I wont have coverage at home, and ATT says they don’t care “Go outside to use your phone as we do not provide coverage inside structures….” Their words exactly. So I have T-mobile which has all bars all the time even in my stove or fridge! but at work I have no signal do to the way the building is designed, but we have WIFI and T-mobile is giving me WIFI calling so now my phone will work at work and home, but with ATT it would work at work but not home. So I think T-mobile is doing WAY more to cover uncover-able area’s then ATT and Verizon, nothing at all for work or home, and they care even less, wont even roll a vehicle out to check signal strength! so they loose the most.

        To anyone calling this a sleazy approach to fix a lack of coverage I say at least T-mobile is trying!!!

  • JJ

    UMA/Wifi Calling is AWESOME. I am not sure what people dont get about the concept. It is strictly to improve coverage in poor coverage areas like some peoples homes and/or work. It worked flawlessly on the Blackberry and I for one welcome it to the Android platform!!

    Anywhere or anyway I can get IMPROVED coverage seems like a GREAT thing to me!! I dont care HOW my signal gets improved as long as I am not paying additional $$ for it, ALL I care is that I am GETTING that coverage.

    Do people really care what network it is going thru whether it is theirs, T-Mob’s, or another carriers towers even. Isnt all we REALLY care about is that our calls ARE going thru and we have good coverage where we need it??

    I for one do not care one bit HOW my calls go thru!!!

  • Tony

    I understand still charging minutes. You are still using their network, after all. My problem is that it’s the same amount as it is when you’re using a tower. They should double the minutes for WIFI calling.

  • JJ

    Based on everyone wondering why TMob would have the nerve to go thru your network and not give you something in return…does that mean you would be willing to pay DOUBLE to make that call you COULDNT make without using the Wifi-Calling???

    It is simply about IMPROVING coverage…not sure why so many are having a hard time understanding it.

    If anyone has even been in an area that gets little to poor coverage and has used UMA calling, you QUICKLY understand what a wonderful tool this is!!

    • reddragon72

      And I’ll add to that, NO and I mean NO other carrier is even willing to offer this. No service at your home, oh well.

      Plus do you have WIFI at your house? Are you already paying for it? then use it to the max! I mean come on seriously you want perks for a company do WAY WAY WAY more then any other company out there. That’s like people buying a sports car then bithcing that they don’t get free gas because it doesn’t get the same MPG as a hybrid!

      • Ben

        I am too lazy to look up Verizon, but AT&T and Sprint both offer solutions for bad reception at home.

        3G microcells. Of course you have to purchase the equipment (unless you are good at complaining to cust. support) that’d be $99 for Sprint and $150 for AT&T. Then you have to pay a monthly fee, depending on how many phones and what other service you have, Sprint is between $15 and $25 and AT&T between $10 and $20. Now, both of those services are unlimited while on your microcell. But that’s the only location you can get the enhanced service. You can’t even take your microcell with you places, as it’s locked to a gps location.

      • reddragon72

        Sorry but the Sprint Microcell is only for a location that has “fringe” coverage. My area is covered on there lowest scale and therefor did not qualify me for that product. I went that route 2 years ago to try and fix my service issues and they straight up told me no. So I dumped them and have been happy ever since!

      • B Scott

        That was right near their initial testing, they had to pull the product for a few months due to some 911 call issues.

  • jake

    Ok I don’t know why people are complaining this service is great. Let’s say for a moment that you have family in China and you go visit them and they have wifi. You go into airplane mode and log on to their wifi. You can call the United States without incurring any international fees. Or would you rather have china mobile charge you 10 bucks a minute, or Verizon charge you 20 bucks a minute. If you are too ReTurded to understand this then go throw away your money when you travel abroad. Go ahead throw it away. Obviously money means nothing to you.

  • Karl

    I have a 9700 with Tmobile and I do a lot of traveling and I always just hook up my laptop to the internet and use my laptop as a wireless router and make UMA calls back to the states all day with no charges. Not to mention BBM and internet browsing works as well. I wonder if this could be done with the new G2 with tmobile? It saves me so much money and makes everything so convenient, especially when you’re expecting calls or need to be reached.

  • Jon

    I’m really amazed that people are complaining — this is fantastic. It means T-Mobile phones can go all over the place now, with fantastic connectivity, even when there’s no tower signal available. This is why I can use my blackberry for business calls at home where I have no signal — and the phone is 100% reliable.

    Unlike femtocells, I can use UMA anywhere I have access to a Wi-Fi connection: virtually any office, starbucks, the library, best buy, most homes, hotels, restaurants, etc. You’d have to buy a femtocell for each location to get the equivalent. This is a superb feature, and the fact that it uses your minutes simply means that T-Mobile is providing us with better access, and they still have a business incentive to do so. This is great – it works for both of us. Without the incentive, they’d have no reason to do this. Using our minutes isn’t a punishment — we lose nothing — just have more places where we get spectacular reception.

    Bravo T-Mo — it’s about time!

  • TheMonster

    I like the whole Wi-Fi calling stuff but it’s way beyond my money standards when it comes to T-Mobile and their tariffs. For anyone who is looking for a cheaper plan i’d recommend visiting http://simtariff.com/. It’s a great site with multiple tariff plans from different providers. It’s easy to compare one to another. Worth a click definitely

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