U Mobile offers WiFi Calling for iPhone users

Cheaper calls: (L to R) U Mobile chief technology officer Too Tian Jen, chief sales officer Alex Tan Kok Leong, chief executive officer Wong Heang Tuck, chief financial officer Tan Hoon San and Lee at the launch event for WiFi Calling in Kuala Lumpur recently

U Mobile Sdn Bhd has activated WiFi Calling for iPhone owners, allowing users who are connected to a WiFi network to make and receive calls even when network coverage is poor.

Unlike FaceTime or FaceTime Audio, which can also work over a WiFi or cellular network but is limited to calls between iPhone users, WiFi Calling allows for calls from an iPhone to any phone even if the phone on the other end is not on a WiFi network.

Another advantage of WiFi Calling is that the call quality is much clearer if both phones support the HD Voice protocol.

Travellers are likely to benefit from enabling WiFi Calling the most – if a U Mobile customer makes a WiFi call to any Malaysian number, he or she will only be charged Malaysian local call rates, regardless of whether the caller or recipient is in another country.

However, if the U Mobile customer calls a foreign number (again, regardless of location of either party), the caller will be charged IDD rates. 

Users already on the U Mobile network have to make sure their carrier settings are updated by going into Settings>General>About – if a carrier settings update is necessary, a pop-up will appear for you to update it.

Next, go to Settings>Phone and turn on the option for WiFi Calling and the next time you make a call the phone  will initiate a WiFi call if you're connected to a WiFi network.

The service is available at no additional charge for both prepaid and postpaid customers who own an iPhone 5c or later running iOS 9.3.

According to Jasmine Lee, chief marketing officer of U Mobile, WiFi Calling for Android users will likely be rolled out by the third quarter of this year.