Sprint (NYSE: S) said its Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone customers will be able to get access to enhanced Wi-Fi calling features that will let them make and receive calls from multiple Apple devices with a single number.
Thanks to the iOS 9.1 software update, Sprint's iPhone customers can take calls to their iPhone on an iPad, iPod Touch, Apple Watch or even their Mac.
"Customers already enjoy seamlessly responding to texts and email from a variety of great Apple devices," David Owens, senior vice president of product development at Sprint, said in a statement. "Now they can bring that flexibility to the primary phone number their friends, family and colleagues know best. This great feature puts the power of device choice in our customers' hands."
Customers must download iOS 9.1 on all of their iOS devices and make sure that they have the latest software on their Apple Watch and Mac. The service applies to the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. All of the Apple devices must use the same Apple ID and be signed into iCloud, and users need to make sure that Wi-Fi calling is enabled on their primary device. Then, customers must set up the secondary devices to take calls from the iPhone in their settings.
Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T Mobility (NYSE: T) launched Wi-Fi calling for the iPhone earlier this month but not other devices.
Verizon rolled out a new version of its Verizon Messages app, enabling users to make Wi-Fi calls from their newer iPhones -- with a few caveats. Users need to have advanced calling enabled on their iPhone, they need to download the latest Verizon Messages app from the Apple App Store, and they need to enable calling within that app. If a call is being made from the native dialer, it's still going to go through the cellular network.
AT&T's Wi-Fi calling service works on the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6s and 6s Plus, as long as iOS 9 is installed.
T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) has offered Wi-Fi calling since 2007 and about 12 million Wi-Fi calls are made daily through its network. Both T-Mobile and AT&T say they offer seamless handoffs between VoLTE and Wi-Fi.
For more:
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