# Smart phone users: Any luck going through a wi-fi network to the Web? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 16, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471 "2011-09-16T02:53:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/21 "2011-09-17T17:27:21Z")
Google voice will let you phone over wifi. You can even get a google number and recieve calls. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/22 "2011-09-17T20:19:52Z")
> [@Kevbo](#): > > Google voice will let you phone over wifi. You can even get a google number and recieve calls. But, I imagine, only on an Android device. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/23 "2011-09-17T20:31:52Z")
Somehow I finally got the wi-fi to work on the HTC. I still don’t know exactly how I made that happen, but these steps seemed to do the trick: [ul] [li] Put in Airplane mode[/li][li] Enable Wi-Fi[/li][li] **Wait** a couple of minutes [/li][li] Google away! Or whatever.[/li] [/ul] And, while that’s the story I’m sticking with, it doesn’t make much difference anymore. Once I got the phone on line I was able to download a Windows app for toggling the Wi-Fi settings. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/24 "2011-09-17T22:00:39Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I have an iPhone 4, and I’m **pretty** sure that you can only use FaceTime (video phone) with other iPhone users over WiFi, not actual phone calls. I have a terrible time sending text messages in my office because the phone signal is crap there, even with a great WiFi connection. FaceTime yes, but you can download the Skype app free which lets you make voice or video calls. Free to other Skype users but you have to pay to call regular phones. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/25 "2011-09-17T22:02:29Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Somehow I finally got the wi-fi to work on the HTC. I still don’t know exactly how I made that happen, but these steps seemed to do the trick: > > [ul] > [li] Put in Airplane mode[/li][li] Enable Wi-Fi[/li][li] **Wait** a couple of minutes [/li][li] Google away! Or whatever.[/li] > [/ul] > > And, while that’s the story I’m sticking with, it doesn’t make much difference anymore. Once I got the phone on line I was able to download a Windows app for toggling the Wi-Fi settings. Excellent! For the record putting it in airplane mode turned off the cellular radio..and any others that might have been on. I knew that modern phones let you do that and then turn on WiFi manually, but I wasn’t sure about WM6.5, so I hadn’t suggested that route yet. I’m glad it worked out. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/26 "2011-09-17T22:08:56Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > But, I imagine, only on an Android device. iPhone as well, I have it installed and working. Since it is a CDMA phone, that is how I made calls from Europe. I think google had to take legal action to make this happen. The phone carriers hate it. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/27 "2011-09-17T22:56:03Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > Excellent! For the record putting it in airplane mode turned off the cellular radio..and any others that might have been on. I knew that modern phones let you do that and then turn on WiFi manually, but I wasn’t sure about WM6.5, so I hadn’t suggested that route yet. I’m glad it worked out. > > -D/a It is the coolness, indeed. There still are a couple of things I like to use the old device for. For instance, I’ve come across [these mp3 files](http://www.radiomickdanger.com/ListShows2.php?seriesname=Marlowe%20On%20The%20BBC) of a Philip Marlowe detective story produced by the BBC, and they won’t play on my Droid. Or to be more precise, only the first file plays, but the three segments of the actual program don’t. The other thing that works better on the old phone is my email. When I read my messages on this device, they _stay_ read. When I do it on the LG, the messages still appear as “unread” on my other devices. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/28 "2011-09-17T23:24:55Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > But, I imagine, only on an Android device. You imagine incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/29 "2011-09-18T00:19:53Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > You imagine incorrectly. Yes, I’ve been known to imagine certain things incorrectly, from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/30 "2011-09-18T01:50:06Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Yes, I’ve been known to imagine certain things incorrectly, from time to time. And yes, I am watching _The Shawshank Redemption_, why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/31 "2011-09-18T19:49:54Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Yes, I’ve been known to imagine certain things incorrectly, from time to time. To be more specific, you are correct in assuming that there isn’t an app for that - but Google was smart enough to put all the workings of Google Voice on HTML5, so that you can create your own web app for that. ---
**Author:** ![Aestivalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Aestivalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aestivalis)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/32 "2011-09-19T20:07:51Z")
I think we got confused as to whether the HTC device was running Android or Windows Mobile. Would I be wrong to guess that you’ve got an HTC Tilt 2? If you do have one, running Android on it is a fairly easy experiment if you have an extra MicroSD card. XDA-Developers has a [thread](http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1171052) where you can download the latest image and give it a shot. As far as using Google Voice for free calling, it is available on the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad as Talkatone, a free app. There isn’t an equivalent single app on the Android side, but you can cobble together a solution with some combinations of apps. There is a lag on older devices (such as my HomeBrew Android phone), but my newer Android phone, using the integrated SIP client in Gingerbread (Android 2.3) works relatively OK. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/33 "2011-09-20T21:13:02Z")
The HTC device is Windows Mobile, and the LG device, my current main phone, is Android. The phone I’d most want to use Google Voice, or its equivalent, on is the old HTC, but I can see where it might come in handy on the new phone as well. As for cobbling things together, like anyone who’s owned a WinMo device for several months, I can probably cobble fairly well by this point. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Aestivalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Aestivalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aestivalis)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/34 "2011-09-21T01:20:35Z")
Can you confirm which model you have? HTC really didn’t make any good WM6.5 phones for AT&T. Generally you would have been limited to the [Fuze](http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/HTC_Raphael), [Tilt 2](http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/HTC_Rhodium) or [Pure](http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/HTC_Topaz), none of which really have the horsepower to do what we are both looking for yet. Maybe when they refine it a bit! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471/35 "2011-09-21T03:54:22Z")
> [@Aestivalis](#): > > Can you confirm which model you have? HTC really didn’t make any good WM6.5 phones for AT&T. Generally you would have been limited to the [Fuze](http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/HTC_Raphael), [Tilt 2](http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/HTC_Rhodium) or [Pure](http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/HTC_Topaz), none of which really have the horsepower to do what we are both looking for yet. Maybe when they refine it a bit! The HTC is a Pure. Not a terribly great phone, but like anyone’s first smart phone, as this was for me, miles better than my old stupid phone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smart-phone-users-any-luck-going-through-a-wi-fi-network-to-the-web/596471.md?page=1)