Medallion.net Can I use my phone to text and call using wifi calling?

[Suncitycruiser1925]

Am I able to to use my phone using wifi calling for texting and phone calls while on the ship without any cellular charge (if on airplane mode)?  I have used my phone this way when out the country and it worked great with no extra charges, but I do not know if it is the same on the ship?  Thanks in advance.

[minabruuke]

Yes!

[SiliconCruiser]

2 hours ago, Suncitycruiser1925 said:

Am I able to to use my phone using wifi calling for texting and phone calls while on the ship without any cellular charge (if on airplane mode)?  I have used my phone this way when out the country and it worked great with no extra charges, but I do not know if it is the same on the ship?  Thanks in advance.

Your carrier may assess foreign long distance charges if the wi-fi connection is outside of the U.S.  But if you're in the U.S. it shouldn't be an issue.  In Alaska, I even received a very important call about the extended warranty on my car 😂🤣.  For foreign connections, I generally use a Google Voice number to call back to the U.S. (free), as well as for calling numbers in the country that I might be in (their foreign rates are ridiculously low, like about 2¢/minute to call a landline.)

[dreaminofcruisin]

We used to be able to use WiFi calling, but lately, like everything with the internet, have had mixed results. Most recently at sea off the coast of California, it wouldn't work. 🤷‍♀️

 

If you have the option of using WhatsApp, it might work better, though I have no idea why...

 

Edited October 14, 2022 by dreaminofcruisin

[MsSoCalCruiser]

I use Facebook messenger to message and also video chat while connected to Medallion Net.

[riffatsea]

I use Whatsapp for calls and texts using wifi on board and everywhere else I travel

Edited October 15, 2022 by riffatsea

[coo359a2]

Facebook works good on the ship except when the ship is totally without internet services.  Use it all the time when calling family.  Call friends and doctor offices using their numbers in my phone's contact list.  Could be on wi-fi calling but definitely not Whatsapp.  

[bhawks9]

We were able to use calling and FaceTime on our iPhones as long as we were calling someone (family 😊) with iPhones.  One daughter has an android and it didn’t work with a straight call.   As previously mentioned apps are out there you can download and use!

[konatyme]

On our recent 21-day Med. cruise, we used WhatsApp onboard (after being encouraged to by our daughter). It worked really well on our Android phones (and we are not at all "tech-y").

[antsp]

On 10/14/2022 at 8:11 PM, minabruuke said:

Yes!

No, you can not make a regular cell phone call using only WiFi. You can use WhatsApp or any other data based message app,vonage etc. You will need a reasonably good data speed though 

[minabruuke]

3 hours ago, antsp said:

No, you can not make a regular cell phone call using only WiFi. You can use WhatsApp or any other data based message app,vonage etc. You will need a reasonably good data speed though 

 

 

Please do some research before telling people they are wrong. You may not be able to do so with your phone but there are phones that can do this.  We have used WiFi calling to make a regular phone call on many occasions and from many countries and including on a Princess cruise ship. We haven't taken our phones off of airplane mode for travel in years, my husband takes all of his work calls as normal over WiFi while we are traveling.  On my phone, WiFi calling must be enabled prior to placing the phone on airplane mode but as long as that is done it works and there are no charges. We have no trouble with outgoing or incoming calls. 

 

The original poster has stated that they have used their phone for WiFi calling in other countries before which means that they most certainly do have a phone that is capable of doing just that as long as they have a sufficient WiFi connection. 

 

I also use WhatsApp. It is awesome and I use it regularly to connect with my family and friends abroad. I encourage everyone that travels to install and use it for travel.

 

 

[minabruuke]

On 10/14/2022 at 10:51 PM, bhawks9 said:

We were able to use calling and FaceTime on our iPhones as long as we were calling someone (family 😊) with iPhones.  One daughter has an android and it didn’t work with a straight call.   As previously mentioned apps are out there you can download and use!

We are on Androids and can make calls. If your daughter has this problem again in the future have her check to see that she has country codes before the number she is trying to call. This may not have been her problem but just in case it could be helpful I wanted to mention it. If I add new contacts to my phone, it now automatically adds a 1 before the number (or I can select a different country code) but I noticed on my last trip that some of my old U.S. contacts did not have that 1 and I had to edit the contact number to add that before I could call them over WiFi. For example, 1(234) 567 8900 would call out just fine but (234) 567 8900 would not work.