Seeing SOS on your AT&T iPhone? Here's how to turn on WiFi calling

Brandon Girod, Pensacola News Journal
·4 min read

Tens of thousands of people awoke Thursday to SOS notifications and a cell phone outage mainly affecting AT&T and Cricket Wireless customers, according to Downdetector.com.

Reports of the outage began around 3 a.m. Thursday morning. By 7 a.m., more than 73,000 AT&T customers and 13,000 Cricket Wireless customers reported outages.

AT&T responded to the outage, saying it was working on remedying the issue and encouraging its users to use Wi-Fi calling.

AT&T outage: Nationwide cell service outage also affecting Florida customers, 911 calls. Here's what we know

Impacted users will likely notice an SOS or SOS only notification in their status bar where they would typically see their signal strength. These messages mean the phone has lost connection to a cellular network.

What can you do while phone carriers sort out the issue? Here are a few things to try.

What is Wi-Fi calling?

Wi-Fi calling is a feature that allows users to make or receive phone calls as long as they have a Wi-Fi connection. The feature is available on both Apple and Android devices.

How to turn on Wi-Fi calling

Here's how to turn on Wi-Fi calling for iPhones:

  • Tap Settings

  • Tap Phone

  • Toggle Wi-Fi calling

Once Wi-Fi calling is available, you'll see "Wi-Fi" in the status bar while looking at the Control Center.

Here's how to turn on Wi-Fi calling for Android devices:

  • Open your phone app

  • Tap More

  • Tap Settings

  • Tap Calls

  • Tap Wi-Fi calling

If you don't see Wi-Fi calling as an option, it's because your carrier doesn't support the feature.

How to make a call with Wi-Fi calling

Once you have Wi-Fi calling enabled, any call made while connected to Wi-Fi will be made using the feature. You can confirm this by looking at the Control Center on your iPhone, where you'll see "Wi-Fi" in the status bar. On Android devices, you will see "Internet Call" or" Wi-Fi calling" on the notification screen.

What does SOS mean? AT&T outage is causing SOS and SOS only messages on phones across U.S. What it means

How to enable Wi-Fi calling from other devices

Here's how to enable Wi-Fi calling from other Apple devices like your MacBook or iPad:

  • Make sure the device is updated to the latest software

  • On your phone, navigate to Settings > Phone > Wi-Fi calling

  • Turn on "Add Wi-Fi Calling on Other Devices"

  • Go back to the previous screen, tap "Calls on Other Devices"

  • Turn on "Allow Calls on Other Devices" if it's not on. This will display a list of eligible devices under "Allow Calls On."

  • Turn on each device you want to use

Now, you have to make sure those other devices can accept calls from your phone.

  • On your iPad: Tap Settings > FaceTime. Then enable "Calls from iPhone."

  • On your Mac: Open FaceTime and tap FaceTime > Settings (or preferences) and turn on "Calls from iPhone."

How to remove a device

If you no longer want to use Wi-Fi calling on an enabled device, you can remove it by doing the following:

  • On your phone, go to Settings > Phone > Calls on Other Devices

  • In the list of devices, turn off Wi-Fi calling for the device you want to remove

What to do if Wi-Fi calling isn't working

Is Wi-Fi calling not working? Here's how you can troubleshoot it:

If you can't turn on or use Wi-Fi calling, make sure the feature is supported by your carrier and that your device has the latest software.

If your device is up to date and your carrier does support Wi-Fi calling, but you still can't turn it on, contact your carrier for technical support.

If you contacted your carrier and can't turn on Wi-Fi Calling or make a Wi-Fi call, follow these steps. Wait two minutes before you go from one step to the next.

  • Go to Settings > Phone > Wi-Fi calling and double-check that the feature is enabled

  • Restart your phone

    • On newer devices, you can do this by pressing and holding either volume buttons and the side button until the power-off slider appears

    • On older devices, press and hold the side button until the power-off slider appears

  • Connect to a different Wi-Fi Network. Not every Wi-Fi Network supports the feature.

  • Turn Wi-Fi calling off and on again (Yes, we know how this sounds, but it works a good deal of the time)

  • Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset

  • Tap Reset Network Settings

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: AT&T tells users to turn on WiFi calling during outage. Here's how