VoWIFI Vs VoLTE: What's The Difference?

| Published: Tuesday, December 24, 2019, 11:36 [IST]

Reliance Jio is the first brand to launch VoLTE (Voice over LTE) technology in India. Compared to normal calling (which happens over 2G or 3G technology), VoLTE offers superior voice quality as it is based on the 4G network. Now, almost all network providers in the country operate on 4G VoLTE technology.

Service providers like Airtel and Jio recently started to push out a new technology -- VoWIFI often called as WiFi calling in select cities and to select smartphones. VoWIFI is quite similar to VoLTE, instead of 4G, it uses the WIFI network to make calls.

Both Can Offer HD Calling

One of the major advantages of VoLTE and VoWIFI technology is HD video calling. If both parties support either VoLTE or VoWIFI, then the call clarity will be in high-definition, thanks to the higher data bandwidth. Similarly, these technologies can also be used to make native video calls as well.

Do note that, both VoWIFI and VoLTE are data-only networks, where both voice and video are sent as data from one point to another. In another way, network providers are using the characteristics of LTE to initiate calls over WIFI, hence VoWIFI.

When a smartphone capable of VoWIFI is connected to a WiFi network, one will be able to make a voice or video calls. This means, even if there is no mobile network, one will be able to make and take calls just like a Skype or even a Whatsapp call.

A Skype call or a WhatsApp call will use more data compared to a VoWIFI calling. Similarly, one can call to a landline or a feature phone using a VoWIFI technology, whereas the third-party app-based voice call does not work that way.

Do note that, to make or receive voice calls, the network uses the data from WiFi and not from the mobile network. This means, whenever your phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network, the phone will be in the network.

This solves a major issue for those, who live in a crowded area, where getting a network is an actual issue. Some telcos might limit this feature to its own WIFI network, and some networks should offer the feature even on a third-party WIFI network.

How To Enable VoWIFI On An iPhone?

Go to Settings > Mobile Data > Wifi Calling

How To Enable VoWIFI On An Android Phone?

On Samsung smartphones, open the drop-down menu and enable WIFI calling
On rest of the Android phones, go to Settings > SIM Cards & mobile networks > Wifi Calling