Develop Bugs

Wifi calling - preferences - disable cellular radio

Searched for other threads but didn't find anything that specifically addressed this. It's probably old news to many but I hope this helps out other noobs.
In Galaxy S2, enable wifi-calling and you can change the connection preferences to
1. Wifi preferred
2. Cellular preferred
3. Wifi-only.
Options 1 and 2 are self-explanatory, but I didn't quite understand why anyone would want to select 3 over 1, until I tried it out.
When I selected wifi-only, the cellular voice signal bars are dark. I think this setting essentially disable cellular voice radio.
This is important if you travel abroad and want to use the wifi calling feature because wifi-calling cannot be enabled with airplane mode on. Also I don't think wifi-calling works with a non t-mobile sim card.

I'm on Wifi-Preferred and my radio is always disabled automatically

From the company that makes the wifi-calling tech for T-mobile
http://www.wificalling.net/help/
It is possible to configure the Wi-Fi Calling Application to enable calls over Wi-Fi only, essentially keeping the phone off the cellular network. If you set the Connection Preference to Wi-Fi ONLY, the application will work over Wi-Fi and, when you go out of range of a Wi-Fi signal, will NOT accept or make calls on the cellular network. This is similar to putting the phone into AIRPLANE mode with Wi-Fi Calling.
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Click to collapse

no 3g/4g while calling... normal or weird?(cdma)

So everytime I call someone or receive a call,
the 3g on the status bar disappears instantly.
right after I end the call,
I have signal again immediately.
is this suppose to happen to Verizon phones?
I'm confused because I came from at&t. never had such thing on it.
So is Verizon suppose to be like this?
if so is there any mod/tweak that enables me to use data while calling?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA

bluemoon1221 said:
So everytime I call someone or receive a call,
the 3g on the status bar disappears instantly.
right after I end the call,
I have signal again immediately.
is this suppose to happen to Verizon phones?
I'm confused because I came from at&t. never had such thing on it.
So is Verizon suppose to be like this?
if so is there any mod/tweak that enables me to use data while calling?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this is supposed to happen. You can't do voice + data over 3g, but you can do voice + data over 4g. There is no "mod" available for that will enable the use of data while in a call on 3g.

Verizon is CDMA, which doesn't offer simultaneous voice/data like GSM does. Unless your phone has SVDO (like the Thunderbolt) it won't do data and talk at the same time over 3G... The VZW GNex doesn't have SVDO.
For the longest time this has been a pain for CDMA carriers (the few that are left) and they're gonna get past it with VoLTE eventually. You'll still see AT&T run ads comparing their iPhone to the VZW iPhone because it can do voice+data at the same time.
If you're on LTE, you can browse LTE data and talk on 3G at the same time, however.

maguro user here. i was talking about this with a work colleague yesterday, and i said data didn't work at the same time as voice, only with gprs/edge. he had me call his cellphone, while on UMTS/3g/H, and data call was still on as i made the call, and let the phone ring a few times.

Airplane mode + WiFi calling

Where I live there is -50 bars of cell service, so when WiFi calling drops it starts searching and absolutely murders my battery life. Is there anyway to hack the system to allow WiFi calling while in airplane mode? I've heard certain phones can do it. Are there any devs on here that have the know how? I know we have some very talented people in the community so I'm hopeful. It seems like it should be pretty easy because while on WiFi calling the cell radios get shut off and WiFi works in airplane mode, so?
I'm just not convinced WiFi calling will ever be more reliable and only getting 9-12 hours on a charge really sucks! Anyways, here's to hoping for a fix!

If you go to WiFi Calling Settings -> Conection Preferences -> WiFi Only.
I think that would do the trick.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

^ Tried it out of curiosity because it would be useful to me, but that does not work.
I wonder if it would work if you used a program like Tasker to cut only the cell radios without explicitly entering "airplane mode". Although I'm not 100% sure that is possible or if some other work-around is needed.

Maybe there's something that can be added to the csc feature.xml? Not sure what it'd be but theres already these listed:
<CscFeature_Settings_Airplane_Wifi_Dependency>false</CscFeature_Settings_Airplane_Wifi_Dependency>
CscFeature_Web_Bool_StartWIFISettingInAirplaneMode>false</CscFeature_Web_Bool_StartWIFISettingInAirplaneMode>
You could check other devicrs that have wifi calling and see if theirs is listed. This may not even work, but could be worth a look.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 05:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:19 AM ----------
Also, there's an app in the store called Bobsled Calling (also a Bobsled Messaging app) listed under T-Mobile top picks. Don't know how good it really is, but I was thinking bout giving it a shot on my old phone that has no cellular service at all.
One of the only ones I've seen where the people you call don't also have to have the app.
Maybe it'll allow you wifi calls under airplane mode?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

You can try going to your Phone app and typing in *#*#4636#*#* -> Device information and then hit the 'Turn off radio' button. I used it before when Hurricane Sandy knocked out the cell towers and I was left with just random WiFi hotspots, but this was back on ICS. Though I don't see why it shouldn't work with JB.
If the code doesn't work, go to the Play Store and download an app called 'Phone info' (Author: [email protected]). The app should take you to the Testing menu.

Instead of constantly typing all those numbers (*#*#4636#*#*), download the app, Phone Info in the Play Store and there you go....

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That app doesn't work because when WiFi calling is working the radio is idle. Service menu is a no go.
Sorry I didn't post it as a Q but I didn't have a clear question. I wanted to discuss the topic. I thought about yet where to post it before I did, thanks.

WiFi calling with Cellular Radio turned off
I am trying to accomplish the same thing but was approaching it from a different angle. The service menu idea doesn't work.
We are both trying to accomplish the same thing. Use WiFi calling while having the Cellular radio turned off. Airplane mode turns off all radios and you can re-enable the WiFi radio. However the Galaxy S III will not allow a call to be made while the phone is in airplane mode. This is a low level system issue and not related to the dialer (I tired three different dialers).
Does any body know of a way to do this??? PLEASE??? I'm leaving for Brazil in 4 days for a month and I would like to be able to do this in Brazil.
This is a copy from another posting:
ChitownWingMan said:
I am trying to enable WiFi calling with the cellular radio turned off.
According to Samsung & T-Mobile the only official way to turn of the cellular radio is to enable Airplane mode.
Here is the procedure that I tried:
Enable Airplane Mode
Turn on WiFi
Connect to a functioning WiFi hotspot
Enable WiFi Calling
Wait for the WiFi Calling Icon to appear in the status bar
Make a WiFi call
At this point the dialer sits at the dialing screen for more than 10 minutes (I bailed at 10 minutes). As soon as I abort the dialing attempt a dialog box pops up saying you cannot make a call while in Airplane mode.
Is there any way to completely disable the cellular radio without putting the phone in Airplane Mode?
Is there an app that will do this?
Is there a hidden that will do this?
Please don't use bandwidth by asking why I want to do this or suggesting that I use Skype or some other app. My goal is to be able to make and receive VOIP calls while the cellular radio is completely disabled.
Thank you for your help...
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Click to collapse

I think maybe the phone HAS to ping a cell tower in order to make WiFi calling work. For your purposes just set the WiFi calling connection preference to WiFi only.

psykhotic said:
I think maybe the phone HAS to ping a cell tower in order to make WiFi calling work. For your purposes just set the WiFi calling connection preference to WiFi only.
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I have zero reception at my house and wifi calling works.
Setting it to "WIFI only" doesn't allow it to work the way that's wanted - it just tells the phone to only make calls over WIFI - but that doesn't open up the ability to do so when the radios are off. From what is described I agree that this sounds like a conflict with the low-level integration.

Did anyone try that Bobsled app I mentioned earlier?
It claims that I could put it on a tablet or my old phone that has no sim/data, and it would work.
If it were to work is that something that could get you by for a while? I understand not wanting to go 3rd party, but it could be the only option for now. It is a tmobile app btw.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

I meant for the guy going abroad. Although he needs to also make sure data roaming is off, I think.
Doc I did look but my problem is I want to use my tmo number. I have a house phone but it's really frustrating to tell people they have to try me at two different numbers. And not being able to text.

psykhotic said:
I meant for the guy going abroad. Although he needs to also make sure data roaming is off, I think.
Doc I did look but my problem is I want to use my tmo number. I have a house phone but it's really frustrating to tell people they have to try me at two different numbers. And not being able to text.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's also a Bobsled messaging app. Pretty sure its the same deal and works via wifi.
Also, I could've sworn it said that you have the option of using your current cell number. Maybe I'm mixed up on it...
Anyway, its just a suggestion for looking at. I have no idea how good it really is... just don't have many other ideas for you guys at this point.
I wonder if there could be a build.prop value that would disable cellular only. Or set its scan frequency like you can do for wifi.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

What were they thinking
psykhotic said:
I think maybe the phone HAS to ping a cell tower in order to make WiFi calling work. For your purposes just set the WiFi calling connection preference to WiFi only.
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Click to collapse
I have done some more research.
I was able to turn off just my cellular radio by using the phone info application to enter the service menu (Phone Info App->Device Information, scroll down and select Turn off radio).
With the cellular radio turned off I tried to enable Wifi Calling (Settings->More Settings->W-Fi Calling).
The phone says "enabling", turns on the cellular radio (without any messaging saying that it is doing this) and then says "Ready for Calls".
I also tried enabling WiFi Calling first and then turning off the cellular radio (using the method outlined above). But the cellular radio would not turn off as long as WiFi calling is enabled.
I don't know if this is a bug or a "feature" but for WiFi Calling to work on the T-Mobile SGH-T999 (4.0.4 Firmware) the cellular radio must be enabled. Though I'm sure T-Mobile has a reason for this the logic of it escapes me. WiFi calling should not need the cellular radio for any reason. I use Skype all the time and it doesn't need cellular service to operate on WiFi.
If anybody out there knows how I can make and receive phone calls using my regular cell phone number exclusively via WiFi (with the cellular radio disabled) please let me know. Many thanks to the person who figures this out

As long as you are connected to Wi-Fi, with Wi-Fi calling activated (blue icon showing), it should automatically disable the cellular radio. If you are connected to Wi-Fi, but no blue Wi-Fi calling icon, then it will turn on cell radio and start searching for towers.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Lagar said:
As long as you are connected to Wi-Fi, with Wi-Fi calling activated (blue icon showing), it should automatically disable the cellular radio. If you are connected to Wi-Fi, but no blue Wi-Fi calling icon, then it will turn on cell radio and start searching for towers.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
Duh.. the reason to use it in airplane mode for me is that WiFi calling disconnects every few minutes and when the cell radio is searching since I have 0 coverage it absolutely kills my battery.

psykhotic said:
Duh.. the reason to use it in airplane mode for me is that WiFi calling disconnects every few minutes and when the cell radio is searching since I have 0 coverage it absolutely kills my battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but you're not making any sense. You're complaining about your phone's search for cell towers killing your battery because your Wi-Fi calling keeps disconnecting? Let's say you find a way to disable your cell connection. Your Wi-Fi calling still keeps disconnecting and you still can't receive or place calls. What's the point? Longer lasting "iPod"? Maybe start looking for a way to fix your Wi-Fi calling problem would be a better solution, ie. Flashing a different ROM until you find something more stable. Duh!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Lagar said:
As long as you are connected to Wi-Fi, with Wi-Fi calling activated (blue icon showing), it should automatically disable the cellular radio. If you are connected to Wi-Fi, but no blue Wi-Fi calling icon, then it will turn on cell radio and start searching for towers.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These are the following options available (all of these options have the cellular radio enabled and working at all times):
1. Make calls using the cellular network only - WiFi Calling disabled.
2. Wi-Fi Preferred - Make calls using WiFi Calling if a valid WiFi network is available and connected. Cellular network calls are made when a WiFi network is not available.
2. WiFi Only - Makes only WiFi calls. Cellular calls are not made when a WiFi network is not available. Note: This does NOT disable the cellular radio.
3. Cellular Preferred - Makes cellular network calls are made if a cellular network is available. WiFi calls are made if a cellular network is not available and a WiFi network is available and connected.
When enabling WiFi Calling the cellular radio is briefly disabled and then re-enabled..

Lagar said:
Sorry but you're not making any sense. You're complaining about your phone's search for cell towers killing your battery because your Wi-Fi calling keeps disconnecting? Let's say you find a way to disable your cell connection. Your Wi-Fi calling still keeps disconnecting and you still can't receive or place calls. What's the point? Longer lasting "iPod"? Maybe start looking for a way to fix your Wi-Fi calling problem would be a better solution, ie. Flashing a different ROM until you find something more stable. Duh!
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried multiple ROMs and multiple routers so.....
My only "solution" would be to not use my phone at all at home and just turn it off. I'd rather have a longer lasting iPod than a paperweight.

Better cell network mode management

The tmobile service in my area sucks and it will stay on 4g lte even when I have a very bad connection which drops calls and gives me really bad speeds. Is there an app that will automatically switch lte/gsm/wcdma when the signal is very low so I wont drop calls, waste battery and give me poor dl speeds? Or is there anything else that I can do? Maybe with tasker or a tweak. I would appreciate any type of solution. Thank you.

Is there any thing I can do about this?

On stock Rom go to settings>more networks>mobile networks>network mode.
Pick the one you want. Probably gsm/wcdma auto connect.

dragon-son said:
On stock Rom go to settings>more networks>mobile networks>network mode.
Pick the one you want. Probably gsm/wcdma auto connect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply. I already know about that option. I still want to have access to lte when I have a decent connection. Is there an app or a tasker configuration that if the signal is below a certain level it will switch networks? Also, which network it used to make phone calls? I thought all of them but my friend said phone calls are made on 2g. Thank you!

coolpepp said:
Thank you for your reply. I already know about that option. I still want to have access to lte when I have a decent connection. Is there an app or a tasker configuration that if the signal is below a certain level it will switch networks? Also, which network it used to make phone calls? I thought all of them but my friend said phone calls are made on 2g. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Sent From My GSIII

Is there any solution for this? Also when you are connected to lte are you still making phone calls through 2g? Thanks.

Is this a problem near your home? Can you use wifi calling to help fix the dropped calls? Not sure about how to get the phone to switch from LTE to 4G when the connection is poor. I do it manually right now because my LTE has been acting a little wonky lately where it won't even connect to LTE and leaves my phone in network limbo unless I force it to use 4G. I'd like to see a solution to the LTE - 4G switching too.

Last i recall, there is no tasker or app capable of doing such a thing like switching network preferences. It goes against "policy" per say. But your friend is right about calls being made through 2g. That is how you are able to use data whilst on a phone call. The data is being used through 3G and up, while the call is being used on 2G. now i am not sure about T-Mobile's "HD Voice" calling, that is prolly LTE.
I myself have looked through every single API google has trying to write my own app to change the network preferences and could not find it. There may be an option through root though. Havent found it yet.

Correct.
Calls - 2G
Data - 3G+
TM HD - New LTE Network.
elesbb said:
Last i recall, there is no tasker or app capable of doing such a thing like switching network preferences. It goes against "policy" per say. But your friend is right about calls being made through 2g. That is how you are able to use data whilst on a phone call. The data is being used through 3G and up, while the call is being used on 2G. now i am not sure about T-Mobile's "HD Voice" calling, that is prolly LTE.
I myself have looked through every single API google has trying to write my own app to change the network preferences and could not find it. There may be an option through root though. Havent found it yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Will it support T-Mobile WiFi Calling?

Will it support T-Mobile Wi-Fi Calling? I know Android M supports WiFi calling natively but will the carriers (T-Mobile in particular) need to do anything to allow it?
WiFi calling is very useful to me at home where cell signal is very poor.

sirxdroid said:
Will it support T-Mobile Wi-Fi Calling? I know Android M supports WiFi calling natively but will the carriers (T-Mobile in particular) need to do anything to allow it?
WiFi calling is very useful to me at home where cell signal is very poor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Out of the box, at this moment, I don't think it does. However T-Mobile got it working on the Nexus 6 so I don't see why they couldn't add it with an update either before or after they ship. Think positive :thumbup:
Edit: found this from another thread in general section
"It’s also worth mentioning that*T-Mobile has already said*that the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P should have Wi-Fi Calling support at launch. While it’s expected to be turned off by default, T-Mo has said that after you pop in your SIM and hook onto the network, you should be able to turn the feature on."

Google or T-Mobile said via Twitter or the AMA or somewhere that it does support WiFi calling out of the box, but you need to set it to be on when you get your device - it isn't on by default.
The TBD support is for T-Mobile VoLTE/Band 12, which Google said they hope will be ready to go by ship day.

Ajfink said:
Google or T-Mobile said via Twitter or the AMA or somewhere that it does support WiFi calling out of the box, but you need to set it to be on when you get your device - it isn't on by default.
The TBD support is for T-Mobile VoLTE/Band 12, which Google said they hope will be ready to go by ship day.
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Click to collapse
Excellent. Both will help.

Do texts go over wifi as well with wifi calling enabled? At work I only have access to wifi or Sprint (because I am in a basement of a building) and it has a Sprint DAS antenna system installed. I was thinking of switching to Project Fi due to it being on Sprint's network but if texts can go over wifi with T-mobile I would probably go with them since it would open me up to a huge choice of phones in the future (I kind of want to try a windows phone sometime)

Evo_Shift said:
Do texts go over wifi as well with wifi calling enabled? At work I only have access to wifi or Sprint (because I am in a basement of a building) and it has a Sprint DAS antenna system installed. I was thinking of switching to Project Fi due to it being on Sprint's network but if texts can go over wifi with T-mobile I would probably go with them since it would open me up to a huge choice of phones in the future (I kind of want to try a windows phone sometime)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, texts will go over wifi. Hurry with that Windows phone, before the platform dies completely

Here's the Twitter post where I saw confirmation from T-Mobile on Wi-Fi calling: https://twitter.com/TMobile/status/648919023158206464
The initial question was on band 12 support (hoping we get this soon), but below there's a question on Wi-Fi calling to which they said yes. This was one of the main reasons I'm switching to one of the new Nexus phones - most phones support it on their stock ROMs, but once you get sick of stock and switch to a custom ROM you have to give up Wi-Fi calling.

Question for those of you on T-Mobile...
We all know WiFi calling is enabled, BUT, has anyone seen or regularly sees any kind of indicator that they're actually connected through WiFi calling when on a call?
I have seen twice on the signal tile, it say "T-Mobile WiFi calling". But that's it. I have the setting set to WiFi preferred and I even have the T-Mobile WiFi calling Asus router, but I don't know if it's actually using WiFi calling it not.
If I have zero signal indicated on the signal tile, but WiFi on, I'll get a message telling me to connect to a wireless network when I try to place calls.
I'm also assuming that means the signal indicator tile serves a dual purpose in regards to also showing WiFi signal strength. Because when I'm on WiFi, if I switch on " cellular preferred" (in WiFi calling settings), I'll see the LTE symbol next to the signal icon in the tile, but If I switch to "WiFi preferred", any cellular symbol (LTE, H, 3G) goes away.
On a side note, if you're in airplane mode, you can't make a phone call, even with WiFi on. On my S6 edge, I could, as long as I was connected to T-Mobile WiFi calling. But the phone would let you know with a status bar icon.
I really need WiFi calling in some places at work and I dumped the S6E partly because of the 5X utilizing WiFi calling, so that's why I've wasted all you folk's time in reading this long post. ☺

Well, son of a *****, look what finally popped up...

It was enabled by default as soon as I booted with the TMO sim and ran the update.

Great to read...looking forward to trying it out when it arrives.

minnemike said:
It was enabled by default as soon as I booted with the TMO sim and ran the update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As was mine, but it didn't seem to want to work. I had "cellular preferred" set, but it seemed to hold onto the cell signal too much and not want to switch over. I set it to "WiFi preferred" but it still wasn't connecting yesterday. Today however, it's been all good with WiFi preferred. So it might have just been my work's network yesterday.
I still got to see if the phone will hand off the call to cellular before I leave it on WiFi preferred. I'm guessing it only will if I'm on band 12, but I'll test it anyways.