WiFi calling is when your phone uses a WiFi signal to make or take a call instead of conventional mobile phone signal.
The only networks currently offering WiFi calling are BT Mobile, EE, iD Mobile, O2, Sky Mobile, Three and Vodafone.
On most phones and networks, you'll see a symbol at the top of your screen showing a phone with WiFi coming from it, or the words "WiFi calling" or similar.
You'll find some networks' WiFi calling kicks in more easily than others. You might need to try get somewhere without phone signal. Try the middle of your house, in a cupboard, or putting your phone on the floor to get it to kick in.
When you make the call, most phones will indicate it's a WiFi call on the phone call screen.
If you don't think WiFi calling is working, we'd recommend the following:
1) Make sure your phone actually has the feature, by checking the manufacturer website
2) Make sure your network has the feature and you're on a plan that includes it
3) Check in your mobile network account that the feature is turned on (it can be set to off on by default on some networks)
4) Dig into your phone settings to make sure WiFi calling is turned on as a feature (switching between networks can turn it off)
5) Download the latest software update for your phone
6) Seek help from your mobile network and return your SIM within their 14 days period if all else fails and you've bought online
On every network that offers it, calls made via WiFi calling will cost the same as if you'd made them over a mobile phone signal.
If you're on pay monthly, WiFi calls will come out of your monthly allowance of UK minutes. If you have unlimited minutes, then there's no limit on WiFi calls either.
If you're on a pay as you go, WiFi calls are charged at the same rate as regular ones.
Generally speaking, no you can't. One exception to this was O2's TuGo WiFi calling app, which did let you call from abroad but has now been discontinued.
As far as we know this is more of a technological limitation than a choice by the mobile providers themselves.
An alternative to using WiFi calling would be using an app like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or Skype over WiFi instead while you're roaming.
It's worth remembering that every mobile network now has to offer free roaming within the EU (read our guide to best roaming networks here).
Out of the mobile networks that offer WiFi calling, most work via software on your phone, which connects automatically in the background when you've got better WiFi signal than mobile signal. That means you don't need to run a separate app manually to be able to make a call.
On the other hand, the networks that receive our best ratings offer an optional separate app if your phone is not compatible with their main software.
WiFi calling doesn't use up any of your mobile data because you connect to it via WiFi rather than by 3G or 4G mobile signal. Data usage with WiFi calling isn't something to worry about.
Generally speaking WiFi calling came in as a phone feature in the years since 2015 but only on particular models (particularly iPhone and high-end Samsung Galaxy).
To make things more complicated, different networks' WiFi calling schemes support different devices. The best choice is to check the published lists of support phones for each of the networks to see if yours is covered:
EE | iD Mobile | O2 | Three | Vodafone | BT Mobile| Sky Mobile
According to all providers, the answer to this is dependent on the quality of your WiFi signal. None of the networks make any hard and fast promises of HD quality for WiFi calling.
Yes. When your phone's connected to WiFi calling, it's just like it being on normal mobile signal, so you will be able to receive calls on your regular mobile number.
Comes as standard on any plan
App for unsupported phones withdrawn
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