Malcolm Owen
British carrier Three is making it easier for its subscribers to make calls over Wi-Fi when there is no cellular signal, by allowing those with iPhones to place calls and messages using the embedded Wi-Fi calling feature of iOS, instead of the mobile network's custom app.
The carrier update is now available to customers with the iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, or later generations of iPhone running iOS 10.2, and can be enabled within the Phone menu in Settings. Three now joins rival networks EE and Vodafone in offering Wi-Fi calling to its customers in the United Kingdom, using the facility built into iOS.
Three has already offered Wi-Fi calling on its network to its users, but only through a companion app. Users were able to place calls over Wi-Fi or any data connection at all using the Three inTouch app, though call histories and messaging threads were held separately from the iPhone's own logs, and it also needed to run in the background in order to receive calls.
Users of the inTouch app are now receiving a pop-up message advising of the change, and are being told they can delete the app following the update.
The update to Wi-Fi calling may mean the app isn't required anymore for iOS 10.2 users, but it will still be supported on the network. Support for similar Wi-Fi calling on Android has also been announced, though only for three smartphones, meaning most Android users will have to continue using their version of the app.
Christine McKee
Appleinsider Staff
William Gallagher
Wesley Hilliard
4 Comments
Thanks, got this carrier settings update notification today and wondered what it was for, since it never tells you.
I left Three for EE because they did not support Wifi calling and Visual Voicemail.
Three has a bad reputation for signal strength but I found it quite good and EE is definetly worse.
Now if Three now finally support Visual Voicemail, they will win me back as a customer.
I left Three for EE because they cancelled everyone's unlimited data plans and their customer service was horrific. It took 3 calls to some place in India to get the contract properly cancelled and he spent over an hour 1 time trying to keep me by offering me a free (but very out of date) iPad amongst other ageing technology.