Jio Wi-Fi calling feature working on Apple iPhone SE
Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have recently launched the Wi-Fi calling feature in India. With this, the companies aim to solve the problems of call drops and low network in homes or offices. Using VoWi-Fi or Voice over Wi-Fi, the phone can make use of a Wi-Fi connection to make and receive phone calls. While Airtel has already rolled out the feature, Jio will be completing its rollout process by January 16.
Jio Wi-Fi calling currently supports around 150 devices. While I have a couple of phones mentioned in the list, I wanted to use the oldest one that supports it. And for that, I chose the Apple iPhone SE. It was quite disappointing to notice that in the list of those 150 devices, my primary smartphone, the OnePlus 7T was not listed. So, I quickly swapped my SIM and started using the iPhone SE. For Wi-Fi, I have an Airtel broadband connection at home with download speeds of up to 40 Mbps.
Setup process
After putting my SIM in the iPhone SE, the first thing I had to do was to enable the Wi-Fi calling option in the phone's settings. So, I headed over to Settings > Mobile Data > W-Fi calling and flicked the toggle on the "Wi-Fi calling on this iPhone" option. Now, all I had to make sure was I was connected to Wi-Fi connection that had internet connectivity.
Once everything was set, my phone automatically switched from "Jio" to "Jio Wi-Fi" every time I entered my home or got connected to any Wi-Fi connection. Similarly, when I went out of the house and connected back to 4G LTE, the carrier label switched from "Jio Wi-Fi" to "Jio" seamlessly.
The experience
At my residence, I do not have call drop issues. However, the calls made from my bedroom aren't very clear as the voices exchanged are usually a bit patchy. I usually sit in the drawing-room or head over to the balcony for all important or long duration phone calls.
Now, with the Wi-Fi calling coming into play, I can enjoy my phone calls sitting at the comfort of my bedroom. The reason behind this is that my phone no longer relies on cellular reception but uses a Wi-Fi connection instead. As long as I'm in the range of a Wi-Fi network with a good internet connection, my phone will no longer say "not reachable" to the people trying to get in touch with me.
Also Read: Vodafone to Jio: My porting experience after new MNP rules by TRAI
For the sake of a test, I even made a phone call using the Jio Wi-Fi calling feature and during the call, I deliberately switched off my router to see if the call would drop. To my surprise, the phone seamlessly switched back to the regular network and the phone call continued.
The Bottomline
Wi-Fi calling is a nifty feature that is going to help in the long run. In India, there are a lot of places that have weak cellular reception but are covered with Wi-Fi networks. At such places, the phone will never go unreachable as long as it is connected to a working Wi-Fi network. It is worth noting that this feature does not require any extra charges. Also, the calls made using Jio Wi-Fi are just normal phone calls. So, if you are running on low balance, these calls won't connect for free. This also means that International calls will be charged according to the international rates.
