Sprint has added itself to the list of carriers who provide WiFi calling, allowing customers to connect to WiFi to make calls and receive and send text messages.
This is a great move for Sprint, as the company’s cell coverage is spotty from time to time, especially in rural areas. Sprint customers can now connect to their home or public WiFi to make calls, and for free to boot. To help sweeten the pot, Sprint is also making all domestic calling and messaging through WiFi free of charge.
While the update hasn’t rolled out to Sprint devices yet, it is on its way, landing on the Samsung Galaxy Mega and Samsung Galaxy S4 soon. Sprint will continue to roll out the update to other Sprint devices at varying times during 2014.
Press release follows below.
Sprint Launches Wi-Fi Calling – Expanding Voice and Messaging Coverage
Wi-Fi Calling is a FREE service that lets subscribers use their voice and messaging services over existing home, office and public Wi-Fi networks. With Wi-Fi Calling, Sprint customers will experience improved voice, data and messaging services in locations that previously had limited or no mobile network coverage.
It’s not uncommon for customers to experience mobile network coverage issues within their home, apartment or office due to building materials interfering with the Sprint network. For customers that travel outside of Sprint’s coverage or experience poor coverage in their homes or office, Wi-Fi Calling is a solution that addresses these issues.
Customer benefits include:
• Enhanced coverage for in-building coverage or areas with challenging network conditions
• Easy setup: Once activated, everything is seamless and happens in the background
• Unlimited voice calling and messaging on Wi-Fi: All domestic calling and messaging is FREE (standard CDMA international rates apply for international calls)Samsung Galaxy Mega™ and Samsung Galaxy S® 4 Mini customers will be the first Sprint customers to have access to the service after installing an over-the-air update (wirelessly). The update notification will be pushed automatically to Galaxy S 4 Mini and Mega users during the next few weeks.
Once the download is complete, you will be prompted to install the update. Installation will take a few minutes during which the device will be disabled. Once installation is completed, the device will be ready for use and WiFi Calling can be activated by going to your Apps folder and selecting the Wifi Calling icon.
Sprint plans to expand Wi-Fi calling to additional devices in 2014.