I've been working from home and rely heavily on phone calls for my business, but ever since my wife and I moved into our new house, the reception has been pretty inconsistent. I reached out to Verizon and they're sending me a reception booster, but it won't arrive until the end of the month. In the meantime, I've noticed that sometimes my customers are sent directly to voicemail, which is obviously not great for my work.
I'm looking for a straightforward way to test if my calls are getting through during the day. Would calling myself from my wife's phone be an effective method, or might that not provide a reliable result since we'd be in the same location? I could ask friends or family to call me, but coordinating multiple calls throughout the day seems tough. I've also seen websites that can call my phone, but I'm hesitant to use those due to privacy concerns regarding my data.
Additionally, should I enable Wi-Fi calling? Our Wi-Fi is pretty strong, but I've heard mixed reviews about Wi-Fi calling's reliability.
6 Answers
There’s more to Wi-Fi than just how many bars you see on your device. If your Wi-Fi is strong and your Internet has enough bandwidth, it should help with calls. But if your Internet slows down or gets maxed out during calls, you could run into problems. Also, switching from Wi-Fi to cellular mid-call can create issues, so keep that in mind when you’re using Wi-Fi calling.
Just so you know, using Wi-Fi calling can be beneficial, but it's not a direct way to test call reliability. Check out an app called WiFiMan to see the strength of your signal. It can help you determine whether 4G or 5G is performing better at your location. I had to turn off 5G at my place because it was weaker than the 4G signal. And by the way, the booster might help, but it'll still connect to the same weak signal your phone has now. I've got a device from T-Mobile that connects to my Internet and broadcasts a solid 4G signal inside my house, making calls much better through that setup.
Definitely enable Wi-Fi calling on all your devices! That should help improve your situation right away. If you want to test if your phone is receiving calls, try calling it from a Google Voice number using a laptop or tablet. It's a good workaround that bypasses some limitations.
If things get really tough, you might want to consider getting a landline or a VOIP phone as a backup option. It could help you manage calls better while you sort out the reception issues.
I use Wi-Fi calling, and honestly, it saved me because I only get one bar at home! The downside is that I mostly get calls from loan scammers, but at least I’m reachable, right?
For sure, turn on Wi-Fi calling! I mean, it can't get any worse than what you've been dealing with, right?
That's interesting! I didn't know that kind of setup existed. Do you think it's worth the investment?