Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

zachlegomaniac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 20, 2008
806
370
Hello,

I receive very poor reception in my home that ranges from one bar to (sometimes) two. It cuts out and drops calls frequently. It seems as though my phone (iPhone 7 running iOS 11.2.5) is defaulting to the poor cellular connection on T-Mobile instead of my WiFi. It's driving me nuts, especially as I use the line for work calls and they keep getting dropped (AT&T and Verizon lines have the same problem here, unfortunately, so that won't solve any problems for me either I don't think).

Does anyone know how to make the WiFi the default connection for calling on the iPhone? I put the phone in airplane mode and toggled the wifi on and off and got it to work that way, but that doesn't solve the problem for incoming calls, and I don't want to have to remember to put my phone in airplane mode whenever I arrive to my house, and then turn it off again when I leave.

I posted something similar on the T-Mobile site, but figured I would try here as well in case there may be anything iPhone specific I can do.

Thank you for your help!
 

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,432
9,289
I think putting your phone in airplane mode when you get home is the best you can do. If it helps, set reminders for arriving and leaving home.
 

jetsam

macrumors 6502a
Jul 28, 2015
980
759
As I recall, T-Mobile (unlike Verizon and AT&T) is Wi-Fi preferred for Wi-Fi calling. It would only select cellular over Wi-Fi if there were a problem with the Wi-Fi connection, or the Wi-Fi connection was very weak.

Does your iPhone work well with Wi-Fi outside of the home? If so, the problem is your home router. If your iPhone never works well with Wi-Fi, there is a problem with your iPhone's Wi-Fi radio.
 
  • Like
Reactions: zachlegomaniac

zachlegomaniac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 20, 2008
806
370
It never works with Wi-Fi. I have been googling more on the issue and it seems to be something others have experienced since iOS 11, which is around when (this fall) I began having trouble with the service. It still shows 1 Bar + T-Mobile + Wi-Fi + full signal strength displayed in the upper left hand corner of the iPhone 7. It's definitely a new problem. I was making crystal clear calls with no disruption since they implemented Wi-Fi calling a few years ago.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.