Cell Phone that works off a Cell Tower and WIFI

[Modoc ED]

I can not get a cell phone signal at our house or anywhere on my property. We live in a sparcely populated area of CA and we're out in the boonies. Our WIFI comes from a hard-wired modem from the phone company - Frontier Communications.

Is there such a thing as a cell phone that can work as a regular cell phone off a cell tower BUT can also act as a cell phone off our WIFI modem. In other words, I can call someone or receive a call while in town using the cell tower in town but also place the same call or receive a call via WIFI when I get home?

 

[sideways]

Skype?

It will install on most smartphones and you can pay microsoft to make calls to cellular/land lines.

I think.

 

[JAB]

AT&T offers WiFi calling on the newer iPhone models https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/features/wifi-calling.html and I'm pretty sure that Verizon and the other big carriers will be offering it as well.

 

[Lieblad]

......

 

[mattal21]

T-mobile offers this on almost all of there smartphones it's called Wifi calling. I also get really good reception with T-mobile when I'm in California.

 

[Piso Mojado]

T-Mobile has WiFi calling on many phones — for example, my $49 T-Mobile Nokia Lumia 635. So the answer is a qualified yes, depending on which phone, which operating system, and whether you have the T-Mobile edition of that phone. The AT&T version of Lumia 635 is even cheaper (yes, cheaper!) and everything works on T-Mobile except WiFi calling. Check with T-Mobile's support before you buy a phone.

For a $25 deposit, T-Mobile gives subscribers a T-Mobile Personal CellSpot, their re-branded version of the ASUS RT-AC68U Dual-band Wireless-AC1900 Gigabit Router sold by Amazon for $172. According to reviewers, it is a very good wireless router.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2469484,00.asp

http://www.cnet.com/products/t-mobile-personal-cellspot/

Review of T-Mobile's WiFi calling:

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/09/why-t-mobile-needs-wi-fi-calling-its-network-cant-match-att-and-verizon/

 

[tiguy7]

I purchase cellular data for both my iphone and ipad from AT&T. I use wifi around the house. When I'm traveling, it's often more convenient to use the cellular hook-up than to try to figure out how to use the myriad guest wifi's.

 

[Modoc ED]

Thanks for the replies. I'll check it out the next time I'm in Reno, NV or Redding,CA.

 

[gadgetgeek]

You may want to also look around at some of the other smaller internet providers. Since a lot of the tech rich and famous live out in the boonies, some of the providers have some pretty good services. You might even be able to get it with your current provider. The other thing is that unless you spend a lot to get really boosted signal, you won't be getting WiFi anywhere you can't already, so that might factor in to your math.

Tiguy7, safer too. Depending on who is running the wifi, they can get a lot of your info.

 

[bladefixation2]

You could also contact your cellphone company and ask if they offer cellular boosters. These are small devices that provide a micro cell in your home that your phone can connect to using the regular cellular connection. the cellular booster then back hauls the data across your existing Internet connection to the cellular provider. They are provider specific and have to come from your own cellular provider if they can offer the service. They don't usually cost a great deal if the provider can offer the service.