tmobile nexus 4 vs google play nexus 4 (wifi calling support)

[Nvidiaguy07]

Switching family over to tmo this week. I was planning on bringing over my galaxy nexus, or selling it and buying a nexus 4 from google. I see on t-mobiles website that they sell it w/o a contract for 500 dollars, which is 150 more than google - so there is no way im gonna buy from them.

Is there any difference between the two phones? Im mainly concerned with being able to use wifi calling. If the phones are the same, is there some special rom i have to flash to use on t-mo, or does the wifi calling feature show up when you put a t-mo sim card in?

 

[lopri]

AFAIK, Wi-Fi calling isn't supported even on T-Mobile branded Nexus 4. So from what I can tell, there is zero reason to get the T-Mobile version unless you go with a subsidized plan.

 

[bearxor]

There is zero reason to pick the T-Mobile Nexus 4 over the one from the Play Store.

Unless you don't have $400. Then you could do the whole pay $49 and then pay $15/mo for two years. But the TMo version has always been more expensive than the one directly from Google for no good reason.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

AFAIK, Wi-Fi calling isn't supported even on T-Mobile branded Nexus 4. So from what I can tell, there is zero reason to get the T-Mobile version unless you go with a subsidized plan.

nooooo goddamitt. I was finally set on switching over to something other than ATT - which is ridiculously expensive. I was going to port my number over to ST or net10, but I never had a good feeling about the possibility of unexpectedly losing my number forever. At least with t-mobile, they are a bigger company with actual customer service.

T-mobile works at my house, but my mother will be using it at her house, and its a really bad area. I currently have her set up with ATT and a microcell - which is the only way she can get any service. Wifi calling seemed like my savior and I thought I would be able to finally switch her over to something else, but unfortunately I might have to go back to the drawing board.

Any way to enable this feature (not grooveip or anything like that). This really sucks that the nexus 4 doesnt do it. Would it work on my galaxy nexus? (im guessing no since im running stock software)

 

[Red Storm]

nooooo goddamitt. I was finally set on switching over to something other than ATT - which is ridiculously expensive. I was going to port my number over to ST or net10, but I never had a good feeling about the possibility of unexpectedly losing my number forever. At least with t-mobile, they are a bigger company with actual customer service.

T-mobile works at my house, but my mother will be using it at her house, and its a really bad area. I currently have her set up with ATT and a microcell - which is the only way she can get any service. Wifi calling seemed like my savior and I thought I would be able to finally switch her over to something else, but unfortunately I might have to go back to the drawing board.

Any way to enable this feature (not grooveip or anything like that). This really sucks that the nexus 4 doesnt do it. Would it work on my galaxy nexus? (im guessing no since im running stock software)

I bought my Nexus 4 from T-Mobile, and I can tell you that wifi calling definitely did work with it. I used the phone for an entire week via GrooveIP (my other phone was on perma hotspot basically) while waiting for my ST sim card.

What you should do is port your number to Google Voice. Then no matter what plan you go with and whatever number they give you, just add it to your GV account as a forwarder. When ST gave me my number, the only time I looked at it was to add it to my Google Voice settings, I gave everyone my GV number and all calls came through.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

I bought my Nexus 4 from T-Mobile, and I can tell you that wifi calling definitely did work with it. I used the phone for an entire week via GrooveIP (my other phone was on perma hotspot basically) while waiting for my ST sim card.

What you should do is port your number to Google Voice. Then no matter what plan you go with and whatever number they give you, just add it to your GV account as a forwarder. When ST gave me my number, the only time I looked at it was to add it to my Google Voice settings, I gave everyone my GV number and all calls came through.

That's not T-Mobile Wifi calling is it? That's using GrooveIP with GoogleVoice which any phone can do already.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

I bought my Nexus 4 from T-Mobile, and I can tell you that wifi calling definitely does work. I used the phone for an entire week via GrooveIP (my other phone was on perma hotspot basically) while waiting for my ST sim card.

What you should do is port your number to Google Voice. Then no matter what plan you go with and whatever number they give you, just add it to your GV account as a forwarder.

What your talking about is completely different from t-mobiles wifi calling. Any android made in the last 3 years is capable of that...

I was looking for something seamless, so you dont even realize that it is there. My mom and sister will be using it, and i already get enough calls a week about why the wifi's arent working right, I can only imagine how much headache this would bring.

And I tried to go that route myself a while back. I thought the idea was awesome the have a phone that is only reliant on having an internet connection (so at the time I actually had 2 phones - one that was only wifi), and it was cool enough, but nothing I would really want to give to my mom. I personally stopped using my google voice number, and just use it for vm and stuff like that since they STILL dont support MMS, and the interface is terrible. If they could fix either one of those two things I would gladly port my main number over to GV, but i dont see that happening any time soon.

If that was the case, then we would all just be using ST or net10 or something like that, but im too scared to port my main number to them, and dont want to lose mms and deal with GV's interface, so im stuck.

Not sure why T-mo doesnt just make the app or whatever it is that they use for wifi calling available for everyone. Clearly they would be the ones to benefit the most out of it, and would make a TON of people less timid about switching from ATT or Verizon.

Im considering having her buy a t-mobile branded phone - but I've had her set up on stock jellybean for the past few months and its all she knows. I also planned on just passing my phones down to her since she is comfortable having a smartphone, but this would definitely not let me do that.

EDIT: also - how much did you pay for your nexus 4 from t-mo? I thought they usually have the same price as the play store - which is why i was surprised to see it listed as $509 off contract.

 

[Red Storm]

I see it's something different then. Could someone explain this T-Mobile wifi calling to me? Is it basically like Groove IP just through T-Mobile?

Groove IP is nice, I set it as the default dialer and I never worried about it after that. Worked perfectly fine for me, and I didn't even need a sim in the phone to use it.

I got mine for ~$415. Back when the Nexus launched and was sold out, I noticed T-Mobile selling it for $200 with a new contract. So I ordered it over the phone with a very nice customer service person, I told what my plan was (buy and then cancel, eat the ETF) and she did exactly that for me, even waving some of the fees. So I got it for around $215 plus the $200 ETF. So I paid a little more to get the phone faster, but it was worth it as I then traded it for much more during the still sold out phase.

 

[vshah]

UMA requires firmware support which isn't there unless it's a tmo baked rom.

 

[holden j caufield]

what android phone does wifi calling? Does the galaxy nexus?

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

what android phone does wifi calling? Does the galaxy nexus?

wifi calling can be done on almost any android phone. the easiest way is through google voice and grooveip. Im sure there are a bunch of other ways as well.

T-mobile wifi calling is very different in that your phone will automatically make calls over wifi if it is set up this way. No forwarding or installing apps to use it. From what i just found out, this feature is built into t-mobile phones/roms, and unless your on t-mobile and use one of thier branded phones, you are SOL. (just found out the iphone on t-mobile also cannot do wifi calling as well)

Pretty sure t-mobile sells the gs3 and the note 2 that will do wifi calling as long as your are using the stock rom that came with it. Im guessing if you want to use an AOSP rom you wont be able to use the feature.

This is a huge bummer, and it really blows that i probably will never be able to use this feature. There are a few threads i read on xda about people possibly getting it to work with the nexus 4, but none seem all that optimistic.

IMO every carrier should have this feature, but im sure the fact that they are greedy assholes somehow has a part in why we cant have it.

I think if there is no solution in a few months, I might end up having to bite the bullet and give up my nice straight from google experience and have to deal with whatever bullshit samsung is putting on their phones now (I've heard it isnt as bad as it was at least)

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

So i just had a thought, and might have to have someone i know with t-mobile come over and try to see if this works, since i doubt anyone will know the answer.

Right now I have my mom set up with ATT, and she has a microcell in her house. Now to use this microcell, you dont have to be on the account, you can be manually added, and your phone will connect to the microcell. This also surprisingly works with straightalk. I tried it a few months back and it worked flawlessly.

If t-mobile is able to roam on ATT's network, if i were to add those numbers to the microcell - would i be able to technically "roam" on the microcell with a t-mobile phone? Im guessing the speeds might suck - but who cares since wifi would be available anyway. As long as calls and texts worked then thats good enough for me.

EDIT: Also, does anyone have any experience with signal boosters? From what Ive read a lot of people who switched to ST and could not use a microcell for whatever reason, they seemed like they got pretty good results with the booster. I wouldnt even know where to start when looking for one, and it looks like all the ones they recommend are for ATT's network. Im pretty sure i should be looking for a quad band one if possible.

 

[Red Storm]

wifi calling can be done on almost any android phone. the easiest way is through google voice and grooveip. Im sure there are a bunch of other ways as well.

T-mobile wifi calling is very different in that your phone will automatically make calls over wifi if it is set up this way. No forwarding or installing apps to use it. From what i just found out, this feature is built into t-mobile phones/roms, and unless your on t-mobile and use one of thier branded phones, you are SOL. (just found out the iphone on t-mobile also cannot do wifi calling as well)

Okay I get that T-Mobile's wifi calling is different, but what you're describing can be done with Groove IP and Google Voice. It only needs setting up the first time you install the app. You can make it your default dialer, have it automatically use it during wifi or whenever, there's a lot of flexibility offered. It's not like the iPhone where you'd have to specifically go into that app each time, on Android you can change which app is your default dialer so normal phone functions (tapping phone number links and whatnot) would go through the app you set as your default.

 

[smitbret]

Can someone point me in the direction of how to do this with GrooveIP and Google Voice? I literally know nothing about either.

My Wife has had a Nexus 4 for almost 2 years and has been complaining that the call quality sucks or that she doesn't hear it ringing, etc. It wasn't until this weekend that I realized she couldn't do WiFi calling. Now we are looking at replacing the phone but if we can find something that is relatively seamless then we won't since it is otherwise fine.

It seems like I would need to port my number from T-Mobile to Google?

 

[holden j caufield]

you can go to settings in google voice and tell it to ring your real number. Hangouts looks like it has default wifi calling options as I have a spare phone with no sim card in it. I can call and text via the gv number. You can also get it to ring your gv number when your real number is called or vice versa. It's all in the settings and pretty straight forward. good luck

 

[smitbret]

you can go to settings in google voice and tell it to ring your real number. Hangouts looks like it has default wifi calling options as I have a spare phone with no sim card in it. I can call and text via the gv number. You can also get it to ring your gv number when your real number is called or vice versa. It's all in the settings and pretty straight forward. good luck

OK, I set up a Google Voice account. Do I need to set up the Hangouts app on the Nexus 4, then?

So, I can set it up to ring the GV number when the regular # is called..... but can I then set it up to forward from GV to the original number via WiFi instead of using the cell network?

*****UPDATE*****
I cannot locate any Google Voice settings that have been described to me. If you can tell me where to find them it would be great. In the meantime, I have been trying a couple of different mobile apps and discovered that I have shut off my ability to receive any incoming calls at all. They just get redirected to a voicemail greeting that I can't identify. ACK!!! I can still make calls out, though.

 

[cpacini]

All of the settings you need for Wi-Fi calling have been migrated to the hangouts app from the Google voice app. You well only need to use the hangouts app to make Google voice Wi-Fi calls

 

[soccerballtux]

Switching family over to tmo this week. I was planning on bringing over my galaxy nexus, or selling it and buying a nexus 4 from google. I see on t-mobiles website that they sell it w/o a contract for 500 dollars, which is 150 more than google - so there is no way im gonna buy from them.

Is there any difference between the two phones? Im mainly concerned with being able to use wifi calling. If the phones are the same, is there some special rom i have to flash to use on t-mo, or does the wifi calling feature show up when you put a t-mo sim card in?

get the LG G2, not the N4

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

get the LG G2, not the N4

that was from 2013. I had a n4, now I have an opo.

 

[smitbret]

All of the settings you need for Wi-Fi calling have been migrated to the hangouts app from the Google voice app. You well only need to use the hangouts app to make Google voice Wi-Fi calls

Will that forward incoming calls as well as let her place outgoing calls on WiFi?

 

[holden j caufield]

Will that forward incoming calls as well as let her place outgoing calls on WiFi?

yes

 

[soccerballtux]

that was from 2013. I had a n4, now I have an opo.

is that supposed to mean something? we measure by the tech not by the date.

it's got 2GB RAM, 5.2" 1080p screen which is better than the 2k screens, a quad core processor at 2.26ghz, a 3000maH battery that gets 7.5hr screen on time, and is running for $190 brand new. 500 comments here about what a great deal this is

it's universally considered the best deal for your money right now, better than the Oppo, and certainly better than the N4. the software on it is even better than the G3.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

is that supposed to mean something? we measure by the tech not by the date.

it's got 2GB RAM, 5.2" 1080p screen which is better than the 2k screens, a quad core processor at 2.26ghz, a 3000maH battery that gets 7.5hr screen on time, and is running for $190 brand new. 500 comments here about what a great deal this is

it's universally considered the best deal for your money right now, better than the Oppo, and certainly better than the N4. the software on it is even better than the G3.

No.... Im saying the post was from 2013. you replied to a post from two years ago. Get it?

Not to mention the LG g2 wasnt even released when I posted that.

 

[sweenish]

is that supposed to mean something? we measure by the tech not by the date.

it's got 2GB RAM, 5.2" 1080p screen which is better than the 2k screens, a quad core processor at 2.26ghz, a 3000maH battery that gets 7.5hr screen on time, and is running for $190 brand new. 500 comments here about what a great deal this is

it's universally considered the best deal for your money right now, better than the Oppo, and certainly better than the N4. the software on it is even better than the G3.

I'm going to start following you around on these boards.

You are hilarious.