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ProfKPB

Q: Concerns about 911 (and equivalent) with WiFi Calling

I'm going to take my iPhone to the UK for a few months, and then Israel.  Roaming "works" but the charges are insane, so I'm leaning towards disabling roaming and using the Wifi calling feature, because I'll have Wifi most of the time most days.

 

My worry, and I wonder if others share it: if a person has a heart attack on the sidewalk next to me, I'll need to go to options, re-enable roaming (three or four clicks...), wait for it to connect, and then try to remember the UK or Israel versions of 911 (for anyone who is curious, the UK uses 999 for ambulances, but 112 for fires and other emergencies; Israel uses 100/101/102 (police/ambulance/fire), but in theory they also allow 112 or even 911, like we do in the US).

 

Why doesn't Apple just automate all of this?

 

Right now their Wifi calling feature already wants me to keep my location updated.  Instead, they could have an option "use Wifi except for emergencies, roam for emergencies only".  Then, if I am in the UK and dial 911, they could have a version of roaming that ONLY uses the roaming network for local 911 calls, and automatically uses the proper local number too.  So I would be using Wifi roaming, excerpt that emergency calls would in fact work without messing with the options tabs and waiting to rebind to a local Telco supplier.  The phone would actually put itself in roaming mode, but wouldn't accept incoming calls or send outgoing calls on the roaming provider -- it would use Wifi calling for that, and for texting, and only would use the roaming carrier for 911).

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Aug 3, 2016 12:22 PM

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Q: Concerns about 911 (and equivalent) with WiFi Calling

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  • by Chris CA,

    Chris CA Chris CA Aug 3, 2016 5:56 PM in response to ProfKPB
    Level 9 (79,523 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 3, 2016 5:56 PM in response to ProfKPB

    ProfKPB wrote:

    What is with you people?

    What do you mean by “you people”?

    Your suggestion leaves a guy with a heart attack on the sidewalk for an extra minute while I argue with the iPhone options to enable roaming.  Why is this a good thing?

    Who says it’s a good thing?

    -> Make a call with Wi-Fi Calling - Apple Support

    "Place Wi-Fi calls from your iPhone

    Turn on Wi-Fi calling in Settings > Phone > Wi-Fi Calling. You might need to enter or confirm your address for emergency services.*

    If Wi-Fi Calling is available, you’ll see Wi-Fi after your carrier name in the status bar. Then your calls will use Wi-Fi Calling.

    *When cellular service is available, your iPhone uses it for emergency calls. If you turned on Wi-Fi Calling and cellular service isn't available, emergency calls might use Wi-Fi calling. Emergency calls might send your device’s location information to help emergency workers find you, regardless of whether you turn on Location Services. Depending on your carrier, emergency workers might use the address registered with your carrier."

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Aug 3, 2016 6:26 PM in response to ProfKPB
    Level 9 (50,382 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 3, 2016 6:26 PM in response to ProfKPB

    With or without typo's. I have no idea. Why not ask Apple.

  • by Michael Black,

    Michael Black Michael Black Aug 4, 2016 3:33 AM in response to ProfKPB
    Level 7 (24,450 points)
    Aug 4, 2016 3:33 AM in response to ProfKPB

    ProfKPB wrote:

     

    Stop.  Think.

     

    All core iPhone software was written by Apple.

     

    so what you typed is utter nonsense.

    Nothing at all about Apple's hardware or software has anything at all to do with how a carrier decides to route and connect your call on their network. Switching to and from cellular or wifi calling is handled entirely by the carriers system. Again, nothing about the iPhone nor Apple's iOS software can determine how a call is routed or connected on any carriers network. An iPhone handset can not select or force the use of a particular connection with a carrier - their hardware and systems will determine how any dialed call will be routed and handled. 

     

    Neither you, Apple nor any user hardware can dictate that a call be handled as a wifi call.  The carrier's system makes that determination, or not as the case may be.

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