Skip to main content

iPhone users on Sprint, EE are getting Wi-Fi calling as part of iOS 8.3 update

iPhone users on Sprint, EE are getting Wi-Fi calling as part of iOS 8.3 update

Share this story

Multicultural emoji were not the only new featured tucked inside Apple's iOS 8.3 update today. The update also included Wi-Fi calling support for iPhone owners on Sprint and UK network EE. Both carriers say the feature is available immediately for people who updated their phones, then downloaded a new carrier settings profile that pops up.

Wi-Fi calling routes calls through your Wi-Fi signal instead of relying on connections to mobile cell towers. That's not a new idea, but until fairly recently carriers were pushing femtocells to piggyback on people's home internet connections to create viable phone signals. Wi-Fi calling takes less setup though, does no count against any minutes on your plan, and works in more places, including when traveling abroad. Apple released it as a feature in iOS 8, which came out back in September, though the only US carrier to support it so far has been T-Mobile. Both AT&T and Verizon have said it's coming to their networks this year.