AT&T announced that it’s bringing Wi-Fi calling from the iPhone to Android beginning today. This is huge news, particularly if you live in a place where your AT&T signal isn’t particularly strong. To be fair, it’s also a feature that T-Mobile has offered on most of its phones for many years.
AT&T’s first Android smartphone to support Wi-Fi calling is the LG G4, an aging device that’s now capable of placing/receiving calls over a Wi-Fi network. “Once Wi-Fi Calling is set-up and your smartphone connects to a Wi-Fi network, it detects when to use Wi-Fi Calling in places with limited or no cell coverage,” AT&T explained. “AT&T Wi-Fi Calling lets you make and receive calls, and send and receive texts, like you would on the cellular network. You have the same telephone number and access to your contacts without having to add them to a separate app.”
This is also particularly useful if you’re traveling abroad, since it lets you keep your regular phone number even while you’re in a foreign country, and without requiring you to pay any sort of roaming fees.
The carrier said it plans to deliver Wi-Fi calling to “more Android devices soon,” but didn’t expand on which devices might get the feature.