There is a common misconception about Wi-Fi calling on mobile phones – that it allows you to make free calls. This isn’t the case, and it’s important to understand before you make a potentially expensive international call!

Wi-Fi calling is available on all but the oldest handsets. It allows you to make and receive calls and texts even when the mobile signal is very poor and you can’t connect to the network. This can be very useful if you are inside a large building with lots of steel and concrete blocking the signal, or in an area of the country where your particular network’s coverage is poor.

But it’s important to remember that these calls and texts are charged in exactly the same way as if you were not connected to Wi-Fi. A free call is still free if you have Wi-Fi calling enabled; a chargeable call is still chargeable. Wi-Fi calling doesn’t make a chargeable call free.

This confusion probably arises out of the multiplicity of free options which are now available to contact people anywhere in the world. A WhatsApp audio or video call to another WhatsApp user anywhere in the world is completely free, as long as both users are connected to Wi-Fi (or within their monthly data allowance). In the same way, two iPhone users can use Facetime to communicate wherever they are in the world free of charge, and conferencing tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have free options which achieve the same result. And then there is Skype, Signal, Telegram…

But a call from the UK to Malaysia, Russia, India or wherever your friend is currently living is going to be a chargeable call if you use the mobile network, regardless of whether you have Wi-Fi calling enabled. So unless it’s an emergency, use one of the free alternatives above and avoid unnecessary charges!