Develop Bugs

Can anybody extract an installable wifi calling apk file on G2 (if any)?

I'd like to see whether it exists and can anybody extract it out and I'll try to install on nexus one to see how it works.

mingkee said:
I'd like to see whether it exists and can anybody extract it out and I'll try to install on nexus one to see how it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not on the shipping rom...

You should be able to pull it from the dumped euro rom if I'm not mistaken.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk

rUsTyRuSs said:
You should be able to pull it from the dumped euro rom if I'm not mistaken.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol what.no
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

http://www.androidcentral.com/t-mobile-g2-wont-have-free-tethering-may-have-wifi-calling
doesn't come installed yet- from what I've read, it will be included in an OTA

It is not installed got mine this weekend in austin at the android bbq from the tmobile pr rep

Wonder if G2 will be support for the wifi application and service ?

Sounds awesome, but no body is discussing price. Do WiFi minutes use your normal minutes, or is there a separate cost (has to be for international), or is (National) WiFi calling completely FREE?
If I can save minutes using WiFi at home and have no additional costs, that would be awesome.
...also, I assume the phone cannot receive calls (from your normal number) over WiFi, can it? It would be even nicer to be able to make and receive calls with the cellular network completely turned off. Imagine the battery life!

rpmccormick said:
Sounds awesome, but no body is discussing price. Do WiFi minutes use your normal minutes, or is there a separate cost (has to be for international), or is (National) WiFi calling completely FREE?
If I can save minutes using WiFi at home and have no additional costs, that would be awesome.
...also, I assume the phone cannot receive calls (from your normal number) over WiFi, can it? It would be even nicer to be able to make and receive calls with the cellular network completely turned off. Imagine the battery life!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Price will most likely be free like uma. On my wife's bold, wifi calls are free. The cellular radio will not need to be active as that would defeat the purpose. However, the new system doesn't do wifi to cellular hand-off. So if you leave the range of your wifi network, the call is dropped. also, I'm not sure how this is going to pan out, but the system apparently connects to the towers via the internet and the towers connect the call. I'm not sure if this means you need to be in a serviceable area or not, but it seemed rather odd to me.

In regards to the wifi calling app. The service (ability to make calls over wifi) will be free, making phone calls will deduct from normal minute buckets. T-Mobile states that they have it use your minutes because while it doesn't use a local tower it still goes through their system (ie call gets routed through web to tmobile switch and then is sent through a landline, which of course tmobile still pays the owner for, using @home only cuts the use of the one tower and base station, you still register on the network so you can use your normal # and receive calls. Which brings me to my last point...) you should be able to receive calls just fine.
One thing to keep in mind, wifi signal is degraded more heavily by the way you hold the phone than cell signal, if you download an app that monitors cell and wifi signal, you can see this for yourself. Something to keep in mind if you notice your calls are dropping a lot on wifi or you are missing calls.
In regards to needing to be in a servicable area, the service will work as long as there is wifi. Even in other countries.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2

But no free min via wifi, even for incoming? Lame and usless unless you have poor voice signal where you are.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

rpmccormick said:
But no free min via wifi, even for incoming? Lame and usless unless you have poor voice signal where you are.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True enough. In the past you could add unlimited calling over wifi for $10 per line or $20 for up to five. This feature was discountinued in 2008, with tmobile claiming only a tiny percentage of consumers used the service and that it would remain fir business customers (albeit at a higher price.)
If enough people request it, maybe tmobile will come out with the feature sooner. If you really want something like that, request it at @tmobile on twitter, ask on facebook, post on the support forums or call customer care. If enough people want it, it will happen.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2

Skype????????

I wonder how this will work on corporate plans.
we have about 150 blackberrys with wifi calling and we have a deal where it does not deduct from our minute pool

I really hope it comes out as an OTA.
Not because I'm concerned with wifi calling, I'm concerned with an OTA coming out... one that can help those many times smarter than I get root.
..That said bring it up to tmo at any chance!

so let me get this straight, so if i have the unlimited wifi (which i do) then when the wi-fi calling gets here (hopefully soon) then it will NOT be deducted from my minutes bucket right ?

Use skype........

-FuRBz- said:
so let me get this straight, so if i have the unlimited wifi (which i do) then when the wi-fi calling gets here (hopefully soon) then it will NOT be deducted from my minutes bucket right ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will still use your minutes.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

jasonvieira said:
I wonder how this will work on corporate plans.
we have about 150 blackberrys with wifi calling and we have a deal where it does not deduct from our minute pool
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tl;dr
In short, no idea yet
In the billing system your calls from uma phones (and @home phones) get tagged as being a hotspot call (you see this on your paper or net bill with a letter designation.) The free uma calling service relies on the tag to make the calls free. If calls from the wifi calling app get this tag (it should show even without the free calling feature) the the calls will be free from the wifi calling app through the unlimited uma calling feature, otherwise no.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2

-FuRBz- said:
so let me get this straight, so if i have the unlimited wifi (which i do) then when the wi-fi calling gets here (hopefully soon) then it will NOT be deducted from my minutes bucket right ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no, it won't be deducted from your minutes if you're already grandfathered & paying the monthly fee for unlimited uma/hotspot minutes (that's directly from the tmo techs' wifi calling training doc)

[Q] Galaxy Nexus moving away from Sprint. Which GSM plan should I get ?

I had enough with Sprint and their poor network. I can only use 200 MB per month because of low 3G speed and poor signal in my work place. The only thing I will miss is direct Google integration which is so sweet. I am planning to get Galaxy Nexus from Google Play.
I have few questions:
1. I want a GSM plan so I can use the phone overseas when I travel. So it is either ATT or T-Mobile. My brother is with ATT.
Any recommendations which one should I go with ? Which plan would you recommend?
2. Is there Google integration with other companies?

chocobo2k said:
I had enough with Sprint and their poor network. I can only use 200 MB per month because of low 3G speed and poor signal in my work place. The only thing I will miss is direct Google integration which is so sweet. I am planning to get Galaxy Nexus from Google Play.
I have few questions:
1. I want a GSM plan so I can use the phone overseas when I travel. So it is either ATT or T-Mobile. My brother is with ATT.
Any recommendations which one should I go with ? Which plan would you recommend?
2. Is there Google integration with other companies?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) go with a prepaid option. straight talk is $45/mo for unlimited talk/text, tmobile has a $30 option for 100min, unlim text and 5GB data
2) sprint is the only one with google voice integration. everyone else can use gvoice, but in the same manor.

chocobo2k said:
I had enough with Sprint and their poor network. I can only use 200 MB per month because of low 3G speed and poor signal in my work place. The only thing I will miss is direct Google integration which is so sweet. I am planning to get Galaxy Nexus from Google Play.
I have few questions:
1. I want a GSM plan so I can use the phone overseas when I travel. So it is either ATT or T-Mobile. My brother is with ATT.
Any recommendations which one should I go with ? Which plan would you recommend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read here for all the information you need on getting prepaid GSM services:
[INFO][GSM] Own Your Cell Service ..with Prepaid and the Galaxy Nexus [UPDATED 5/24]
2. Is there Google integration with other companies?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you mean Google Voice integration, no. You can use Google Voice just fine as your primary number (forwarding to your cell #), but you won't get MMS integration etc.. It's not as "seamless" as Sprint I suppose, but its pretty good. Just install the Google Voice app and configure on voice.google.com .

chocobo2k said:
I had enough with Sprint and their poor network. I can only use 200 MB per month because of low 3G speed and poor signal in my work place. The only thing I will miss is direct Google integration which is so sweet. I am planning to get Galaxy Nexus from Google Play.
I have few questions:
1. I want a GSM plan so I can use the phone overseas when I travel. So it is either ATT or T-Mobile. My brother is with ATT.
Any recommendations which one should I go with ? Which plan would you recommend?
2. Is there Google integration with other companies?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you need to do some research of your own.
1. AT&T vs T-Mobile: check each carrier's coverage in the places you live/travel frequently. Only you can figure out which one is the best option for you. AT&T is generally much worse (dropped calls, slow/spotty data connection) in metro areas but also has a much larger 3G network for when you're out in the sticks.
2. Not like Sprint but you can make your GV number forward to your cell phone and make calls from your phone from the GV number.
Check the Networking forum or GN General Forum for prepaid threads - as these contain the best deals for either network.

Thank you for your reply. I found good articles on XDA for prepaid plans. I will be going with T-Mobile first and see. Straight talk sounds like a good option too.

I guess I missed the notification for your reply. Thanks for your help!
Now I'm waiting for the ban to lift on the Galaxy Nexus.
martonikaj said:
Read here for all the information you need on getting prepaid GSM services:
[INFO][GSM] Own Your Cell Service ..with Prepaid and the Galaxy Nexus [UPDATED 5/24]
If you mean Google Voice integration, no. You can use Google Voice just fine as your primary number (forwarding to your cell #), but you won't get MMS integration etc.. It's not as "seamless" as Sprint I suppose, but its pretty good. Just install the Google Voice app and configure on voice.google.com .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

wifi calling

anyone tried wifi calling on this? does it work decently and is it easy to use? would like to be able to go with 1000 minute package and save some dough if the wifi calling really works well and its easy enough for the wife to use when she talks to her mother all night.

.........it's the same Wi-Fi calling just as any other phone. .......Nothing new. .........
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

It works just like you are using the normal network including using the minutes on your plan. Its main claim to fame is to connect where there's no signal from a tower. It is NOT free minutes. Still the 1000 minute plan will go further than you think because evenings, weekends, and mobile to mobile calls don't count. If you work during the day and your family is on tmobile most calls will not count against your plan. I share 1000 minutes with my wife who talks a lot (evenings as she has a day job) and we never come close to using them all. Figuring week days only equals 20 days in 4 weeks and allows an average of 50 minutes a day of prime time talking. Who has time to talk that much during the work week? Not me.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

gatorrph said:
It works just like you are using the normal network including using the minutes on your plan. Its main claim to fame is to connect where there's no signal from a tower. It is NOT free minutes. Still the 1000 minute plan will go further than you think because evenings, weekends, and mobile to mobile calls don't count. If you work during the day and your family is on tmobile most calls will not count against your plan. I share 1000 minutes with my wife who talks a lot (evenings as she has a day job) and we never come close to using them all. Figuring week days only equals 20 days in 4 weeks and allows an average of 50 minutes a day of prime time talking. Who has time to talk that much during the work week? Not me.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wifi calls only use up minutes on prepaid plans. You have unlimited wifi call minutes on plans that include a 2yr contract (Value or Classic plans).

rmgill said:
Wifi calls only use up minutes on prepaid plans. You have unlimited wifi call minutes on plans that include a 2yr contract (Value or Classic plans).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true... it uses minutes regardless of whatever plans you have (I know, I'm on a 1000 minute Value Plan and I use wifi calling whenever I'm in my apartment). Also, I don't believe you can use wifi calling on prepaid plans? (correct me if I'm wrong).

I think it used to use minutes, the website clearly states it does not use your minutes.

Wifi-calling works well on note 2? I keep hearing its buggy? Phone not ringing while on standby, not able to answer and recipient can't hear you etc. :/

JFizDaWiz said:
I think it used to use minutes, the website clearly states it does not use your minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Source?
here's a support document for it:
http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-1680
Under billing:
Billing
There is no additional monthly charge to use the Wi-Fi Calling feature on your handset. Wi-Fi Calling uses monthly plan minutes for the following:
Calls made from the US to US numbers
Calls made from the US to international numbers (subject to international rates)
Calls made from outside the US to US numbers (not charged roaming)
Calls made from outside the US to international numbers (subject to international rates, but not charged roaming)
Note: You must disable Data Roaming when traveling internationally to avoid incurring data roaming charges.
In short, it's "free" ie. it's a FEATURE that allows you to make phone calls over Wifi, but you're still limited to amount of minutes you have on your plan.
zen0s said:
Wifi-calling works well on note 2? I keep hearing its buggy? Phone not ringing while on standby, not able to answer and recipient can't hear you etc. :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works fine for me . No problems as far as I can tell.

I don't understand why they would charge you for your minutes on Internet calls. Isn't the whole point for when their data is unavailable? Are they contributing much architecture to that voip call?

girl in the store said the wifi calling doesn't use minutes. But regardless, my main concern is how tmobiles wifi calling works as far as voice quality and ease of use.

guthrien said:
I don't understand why they would charge you for your minutes on Internet calls. Isn't the whole point for when their data is unavailable? Are they contributing much architecture to that voip call?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It get's routed through their systems not like VOIP.

robl45 said:
girl in the store said the wifi calling doesn't use minutes. But regardless, my main concern is how tmobiles wifi calling works as far as voice quality and ease of use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the 4 or 5 calls I've used it on so far it worked just fine. I couldn't tell it was any different than a normal network call. Use is seamless, by default the phone uses wifi networks when available. You don't have to do anything to activate or use it except connect to a wireless network, everything else is automatic and transparent to the user. You won't even know you are using it except for the icon that shows in the notification bar. Voice quality is the same as any other call on both ends of the conversation.

guthrien said:
I don't understand why they would charge you for your minutes on Internet calls. Isn't the whole point for when their data is unavailable? Are they contributing much architecture to that voip call?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
She may be mistaken with the addon which is free, but only works when you travel outside the US and use wifi calling.

"Free wifi calling" is a feature that must be explicitly added to your account. It doesn't cost extra, and when you have it, wifi calling does not use plan minutes. I don't know whether it's available for prepaid and value plans, but I have it on my classic plan and it saves me a lot of money. I just had to call and ask to have it added to my account.

Thanks for the responses, sounds like this could work well especially if it won't use minutes. I assume it works just as well on galaxy s3? I'm getting this but wife might want something smaller

wmm said:
"Free wifi calling" is a feature that must be explicitly added to your account. It doesn't cost extra, and when you have it, wifi calling does not use plan minutes. I don't know whether it's available for prepaid and value plans, but I have it on my classic plan and it saves me a lot of money. I just had to call and ask to have it added to my account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you on a legacy classic plan? I remember it being that way a way back, but was later removed as an option. If you had a really low plan it was a $5 charge, but if you on their larger minute plans it was included.

robl45 said:
Thanks for the responses, sounds like this could work well especially if it won't use minutes. I assume it works just as well on galaxy s3? I'm getting this but wife might want something smaller
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OP, see my post earlier w/ documentation that it DOES use minutes...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=33409120&postcount=8

i don't know if it was a special then but last week i was on t-mo's website and they had a banner ad for wi-fi calling and it stated it did not use minutes, which was a good selling point for me. i can't find it now of course....what the craps

I can confirm that "Free Wi-Fi Calling" is a feature that must be added, and that it works on the Value plans. The description of the addon:
"T-Mobile Free Wi-Fi Calling gives you unlimited Wi-Fi minutes, unlimited high speed data and when travelling internationally free calls back to the USA – all at no additional cost."
I just checked my online account info and it's been added. I had to call to add it.

iamstuffed said:
I can confirm that "Free Wi-Fi Calling" is a feature that must be added, and that it works on the Value plans. The description of the addon:
"T-Mobile Free Wi-Fi Calling gives you unlimited Wi-Fi minutes, unlimited high speed data and when travelling internationally free calls back to the USA – all at no additional cost."
I just checked my online account info and it's been added. I had to call to add it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlimited Wi-Fi minutes means that you can make any call you want over Wifi, but it doesn't actually mean that you get unlimited minutes... put it like this, it's just business jargon.
And that entire sentence is just marketing... if you're on wifi, of course you get "unlimited high speed data" and for the "interntionally free calls back to the USA" that makes sense because internet is location agnostic... you're simply connecting to T-Mobile servers and making calls, but from T-Mobile's side of things it's not free because they still have to connect you to the other person you're calling, and usually if you call land lines, the person who calls, pays.

Can someone explain why wifi calling is so popular!

I don't understand why wifi calling is so important to people. Especially if it means you can have multi window without it. Anyways doesn't everyone have unlimited minutes these days?

trevor7428 said:
I don't understand why wifi calling is so important to people. Especially if it means you can have multi window without it. Anyways doesn't everyone have unlimited minutes these days?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree!
★ Sent by an Idiot with a phablet ★

For me its the fact that reception is horrible in my apartment, if you go outside its fine. I dont like going outside just to make a call every time so the wifi calling gives me reception inside.

Reception is the issue
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

I guessing it's free and reception issues. I'm not a big fan though

I live out in the boonies absolutely no signal within a few miles from the house. Wish I didn't have to have it esp since I love that All Star so much.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

I live in a townhouse within viewing distance from a cell tower and yet in my house I can get maybe 1 signal at one of the house (sometimes none at all). If I wanted to make a call I had to go to the garage. So wifi calling is important to me.
I'd be willing to sacrifice wifi calling for a multi-window rom if (and only if) I found a reliable option for wifi calling that's free, because t-mobile's wifi calling works very well for me.

It ABSOLUTELY is reception for many people. T-Mobile's fantastic when you get a good signal, but step inside any building made of concrete, or a brick house, or a house with other signal attenuating characteristics and you're screwed, dead zone. It's why I dumped TMo a couple of years ago, though I came back to try their Note II and newer HSPA+42 data service.
My office building is still a data dead zone, but voice calls come in if I'm near a window. My house, though, TMo's gone from a dead zone two years ago to a full-bars signal.

I went to south dakota a few weeks ago to visit my brother and his family.. t mobile, Verizon, Sprint and att reception there is abysmal.. if it wasn't for Wi-Fi calling i would've been screwed.. it's so bad there i asked my brother, "how do u deal with this reception?" Seriously i had zero bars from Irene sd to sioux falls sd if it wasn't for Wi-Fi i wasn't gonna be talking to anyone...
Sent from my SGH-T889

trevor7428 said:
I don't understand why wifi calling is so important to people. Especially if it means you can have multi window without it. Anyways doesn't everyone have unlimited minutes these days?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
minutes aren't free. still eats into your monthly rate plan for minutes, but providers better reception. my house has horrible to no signal so I use wi-fi calling not necessarily so people can call me, but so my phone doesn't eat up battery looking for network all the time.

Jinra321 said:
minutes aren't free. still eats into your monthly rate plan for minutes, but providers better reception. my house has horrible to no signal so I use wi-fi calling not necessarily so people can call me, but so my phone doesn't eat up battery looking for network all the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are on an eligible plan you can add the free wifi calling as a additional service. My grandfathered preferred plan won't allow the free wifi calling service... It deducts minutes from my allotment. There are parts on my house that get poor reception so I use it for that purpose.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement

As most have mentioned, reception is the main reason. I appreciate wifi for vocal quality. Typically, wifi calling is higher quality, though can be plagued with volume issues on some phones
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

samklee said:
As most have mentioned, reception is the main reason. I appreciate wifi for vocal quality. Typically, wifi calling is higher quality, though can be plagued with volume issues on some phones
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You guys do know that if you put wifi calling on you plan it doesn't use your minutes

deeznutz1977 said:
You guys do know that if you put wifi calling on you plan it doesn't use your minutes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your plan allows it...
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement

Coug76 said:
If your plan allows it...
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have it on my dads add a line line 500 minutes unlimited messages 2 gigs. can you not add to prepay??

deeznutz1977 said:
i have it on my dads add a line line 500 minutes unlimited messages 2 gigs. can you not add to prepay??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can add the feature but it will use your minutes. Prepaids "do not" qualify for this plan. The only benefit for prepay to activate this feature is if you have poor reception this will allow you to still make a phone call.
As others have said, it is free and won't use up your allotted minutes only if you are on a qualifying plan.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

I will give you a more detailed run down.
Actually under a corp plan all wifi calls are free if you add it to that account. Also it doesnt always take mins away. Its more like 70 no 30 yes. From my testing over the last two years.
I work in network security which means I'm in a lot of "heavy secure "wink wink" data centers etc that have zero cell signal for a reason. They use to even bar camera phones. These days they just put a really thin tape over your cameras front & back. So if you even tried removing partly before seeing the "SO" at the exit it will tear and then you got big issues. That being said voip coms are allowed as long as their tied to your imei number like T's.
So wifi calling is needed when I and my guys are at those locations. Other uses as many have said is reception from a poor signal. Tmobile has a great network in the city, its when u get out in the boonies where there's nothing alot of the time. Those times I just click on my VZW MiFi and make call that way or pull over at a McDonalds. Kinda of a end around but being with T allows us alot of flexibility where the other carriers relies on there massively fake reception maps.
Tmobile is great in that it also allows me personally to swap phones easy.
There kinda like a rich man's garage with a dozen super cars, I wake up and pick at will what phone to fly with that day. Doing that on VZW is a pain. Plus the cost for corp plans with Tmobile is about one third of that of VZW or the Death-Star. The only option the other providers have is a wifi extender which requires and hard line and a GPS signal. Try getting that through x amount or so feet of concrete.
As a side note with reception where in the middle of nowhere Ky the only cell and data service was Tmobile.
Typically for me what phone I use depends on what Rom its on. I love cm9/10 but as everyone knows it doesnt support T's wifi calling features. So if im going to be in a secure environment I will have to grab one thats on a samsung kernel with wifi calling. Sometimes I can get away with wifi/google voice or my corp voip pbx but nothing compares to T's 93kb voice codec period.
We never get the excuse that "I couldn't call in cause there wasn't signal" from my guys. So productive has gone up a fare amount due to this tech it also allows better live tracking cause T's employee finder works over any data connection even when outside gps isnt available. So there's more security that my guys feel as we always know where they are if something like a "misunderstanding" comes up.
Does that help? Lol.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

casperi said:
I will give you a more detailed run down.
Actually under a corp plan all wifi calls are free if you add it to that account. Also it doesnt always take mins away. Its more like 70 no 30 yes. From my testing over the last two years.
I work in network security which means I'm in a lot of "heavy secure "wink wink" data centers etc that have zero cell signal for a reason. They use to even bar camera phones. These days they just put a really thin tape over your cameras front & back. So if you even tried removing partly before seeing the "SO" at the exit it will tear and then you got big issues. That being said voip coms are allowed as long as their tied to your imei number like T's.
So wifi calling is needed when I and my guys are at those locations. Other uses as many have said is reception from a poor signal. Tmobile has a great network in the city, its when u get out in the boonies where there's nothing alot of the time. Those times I just click on my VZW MiFi and make call that way or pull over at a McDonalds. Kinda of a end around but being with T allows us alot of flexibility where the other carriers relies on there massively fake reception maps.
Tmobile is great in that it also allows me personally to swap phones easy.
There kinda like a rich man's garage with a dozen super cars, I wake up and pick at will what phone to fly with that day. Doing that on VZW is a pain. Plus the cost for corp plans with Tmobile is about one third of that of VZW or the Death-Star. The only option the other providers have is a wifi extender which requires and hard line and a GPS signal. Try getting that through x amount or so feet of concrete.
As a side note with reception where in the middle of nowhere Ky the only cell and data service was Tmobile.
Typically for me what phone I use depends on what Rom its on. I love cm9/10 but as everyone knows it doesnt support T's wifi calling features. So if im going to be in a secure environment I will have to grab one thats on a samsung kernel with wifi calling. Sometimes I can get away with wifi/google voice or my corp voip pbx but nothing compares to T's 93kb voice codec period.
We never get the excuse that "I couldn't call in cause there wasn't signal" from my guys. So productive has gone up a fare amount due to this tech it also allows better live tracking cause T's employee finder works over any data connection even when outside gps isnt available. So there's more security that my guys feel as we always know where they are if something like a "misunderstanding" comes up.
Does that help? Lol.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol ya that explains it a lil. I live in Las Vegas and I never lose signal anywhere. I guess that why I never understood. But when people are saying no reception is that mean no data either? Cause even if you have no reception but have data. Can't you use a 3rd party app that makes calls over data (not wifi)

Cell and data are basically the same as voice runs over the data lines pulled to the towers. It will be even more so as carriers upgrade to LTE-rev14 I think which is from my understanding is pure carrier level voice IP network vs switched network now.
Basically now voice is segmented out to a Nortel, Lucent, Alcatel gear to handle the phone side and then data is routed to their respective network gear. In a pure IP network both voice and data are run data only. Voice will be filtered out with QoS rules with along with virtual pbx box vs the circuit switched like we have now. The advantages of going pure IP are
1) Carriers are no longer tied to large circuit switched gear that runs into the millions and is proprietary to each manufacturer's specs. So the carriers try to buy just one type of pbx so not to run into compatibility issues. Just replacing a line card which typically hosts 129 lines at the "CO" known as central office is always same day aired if they don't have a replacement handy and those cards run 5 or so grand a piece. So downtime is a problem and cost vs ROI is as well.
2) In a pure voice IP setup the carriers can run a virtual PBX that is software bound vs hardware that the call is then routed via data to CO or datacenter to the last leg to terminate the call with say level 3 being your terminating host that then routes the call from there. If that call is cell phone to cell phone then it can stay data the entire way. This cost the carriers fare less as the hardware is agnostics, think vmware etc. Also audio codec on the BOX and towers can be adjusted in learning mode and then into dynamic mode as to give the callers the best overall call experience and if the tower gets loaded down with calls that gear can downgrade to a lower codec to handle more call volume. Think rush hour traffic where your stuck and everyone is on their cell. I could go into more details but you would fail asleep but this killer feature alone.
Bottom line is this cost the carriers far less, the audio codec used has much better call quality and can be setup to be dynamic to the load of individual towers vs switched which is hard coded. Downtime is dramatically reduced as there's no actual phone/linecards to go bad.
Many T-Mobile users "use" the Wi-Fi calling feature because it just sounds better. The reason that is because the audio codec "your call" runs around 96kbs. With voice over LTE "depending on tower config and load" can provide the same call quality. For example vzw cell call is 4.7kbs "data" which means that call is heavily compressed. You can tell if you listen, the bass and highs are gone. It's like talking to someone that speaks monotone. The reverse, GSM to GSM call uses a audio codec in the 14.8kbs range and sounds awesome. Even better is two T-Mobile callers using Wi-Fi calling. The problem the carriers have is CDMA to GSM or the other way around, all those calls sound like crap cause the voice gear has to downgrade or upscale to meet the setting of caller and vzw doesn't scale higher than 9.2kbs so the convo sounds mutilated with call echo, drop data packets which sounds like garbage like distorted audio. Think Sat radio when you go under a long bridge. Voice over LTE "voice over data" will allow all carriers gear to talk correctly and adjust audio codecs correctly on the fly giving the callers the best call possible.
I know I went WAY beyond and in depth but I love this stuff and its fun to share it with others.
Casperi
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

Reception is one thing, but there is another reason..
For people that travel frequently outside the Tmobile coverage area (ie: International).. Wi-Fi calling is important and critical.. Even with a Corp plan, international minutes when you need to call back to the US is expensive and without having to deal with call forwarding, or grabbing a local SIM.. (though I usually get one for data)

Best alternative carrier?

I work outdoors in remote locations and not having any cell service 95% of the time has just gotten too frustrating, despite how much I love the $30 a month 5gb, unlimited text, 100 minutes prepaid plan. So I've called T-mobile and gotten my t989 unlocked. It's rooted also. Can anyone recommend a better carrier for coverage that works well with this phone? I'm thinking about Page Plus, Straight Talk, or just going to one of the big ones like Verizon. Ideally I just need a lot of good data for cheap, don't really make voice calls and when I do I use Groove IP for free voice over data. Thanks for the help!

The phone probably has a lot to do with it. I used to always always go outside my house to make calls. I live in a small town. My new Moto X has 2 bars in the house now and works no problem.
And here anyway, in Canada... I've been on telus and Rogers.. 2 completely separate networks, and both were the same.
Sent from my Moto X cell phone telephone...

I would try simple mobile. im paying 50$ per month for unlimited talk text and 3 Gbs of 4G ive been with them for a while and im happy with it.