Following in the footsteps of Airtel, Reliance Jio has announced its VoWiFi feature that allows users to make and receive calls over a Wi-Fi network. This feature is expected to help users stay connected even at times when signal strength is low or signal is not available but a Wi-Fi network is available.
While customers are already familiar with services such as Voice over LTE or VoLTE, thanks to the advent of Jio, VoWiFi is a rather fresh concept that signifies Voice over WiFi. This service is expected to prove highly beneficial for users who work in offices and buildings where WiFi network is readily available, but the signal strength is poor owing to electronic interruptions.
Jio is set to roll out this much-awaited Wi-Fi calling service across the country starting January 16. It will support both voice (VoWiFi) and video calls over any Wi-Fi network at no additional cost. However, the user needs to have an active Jio tariff plan on his number.
Jio claims that its service supports more than 150 popular smartphones. Users with a supported Wi-Fi network can seamlessly switch between VoLTE and Wi-Fi networks to avail voice or video calling. That said, the Wi-Fi calling feature on supported smartphones needs to be activated manually. This feature is also operational for voice and video calls made during roaming.
Follow these steps to enable Jio Wi-Fi calling in Android:
The user needs to connect to an available Wi-Fi network to use this feature. Go to the Settings menu -> search for Wi-Fi Calling or Wi-Fi calls option or SIM and network settings -> enable Wi-Fi calling. It should enable your Android smartphone to switch over between VoLTE and Wi-Fi networks seamlessly during audio and video calls.
Follow these steps to enable Jio Wi-Fi calling in iOS:
On iPhone, the user needs to connect to an active Wi-Fi network by going through Settings -> Wi-Fi or by switching to the Control Centre -> connect to a Wi-Fi network -> tap Phone -> select the Wi-Fi Calling -> enable Wi-Fi Calling on This iPhone option. The user should be able to switch over between VoLTE and Wi-Fi networks seamlessly during audio and video calls after performing these steps.
Jio’s Wi-Fi calling webpage suggests that the service is available on 150 smartphones from 12 makers such as Coolpad, Google, Infinix, Itel, Lava, Mobiistar, Motorola, Samsung, Tecno, Vivo, and Xiaomi. If you don’t see ‘Wi-Fi Calling’ option on your phone, you can check out if your phone supports this feature in Jio website.