Wi-Fi Calling

iOS 10.3 brings support for Verizon Wi-Fi Calling on other iCloud-connected devices

U.S. wireless carriers like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile have supported Wi-Fi Calling for some time now, with AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile also supporting Wi-Fi Calling on other iCloud-connected devices like iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch and Mac. According to user reports on MacRumors’ forums, iOS 10.3 beta 1 supports Integrated Calling on Verizon.

With this handy feature, compatible iCloud-signed devices can make and receive calls using your carrier’s account even when your iPhone isn’t nearby.

This tweak keeps music from resuming after hanging up a call on your iPhone

Anyone who uses their iPhone to pick up calls, whether they’re phone calls or FaceTime calls, knows that when music is playing, iOS will automatically pause the music until the phone call ends. When it does, iOS will resume the song where it left off.

Those who don’t like how the music resumes after a phone call really have no way to disable the feature on a stock iPhone; instead, you would have to go back to the app that is playing the music and pause it manually.

A new free jailbreak tweak called PauseAfterCall solves this problem.

AT&T carrier update for iOS 9.3 allows for Wi-Fi Calling outside the US

In a text message sent today to its eligible customers, AT&T announced that those who have activated the Wi-Fi Calling feature on their iPhone can now make and receive phone calls from and to the US at no charge when traveling internationally, assuming they have first updated to iOS 9.3 and installed the newly available carrier update.

This marks a small yet important change to how users can benefit from Wi-Fi Calling. Up until now, Wi-Fi calling for AT&T customers restricted them to using the service only from the U.S., Puerto Rico, or U.S. Virgin Islands. But now, it is opened to any country (except for a few exceptions), meaning an AT&T Wi-Fi Calling user can make calls to the US, or receive calls from the US anywhere in the world as long as there is a Wi-Fi connection.

OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 is out with full Live Photos sharing, password-protected Notes and more

After spending more than two months in beta, OS X 10.11.4, a fourth major update to OS X El Capitan, today released for public consumption. The software update is now available and recommended for all OS X El Capitan users.

Even though it comes with a few noticeable outward-facing changes, OS X 10.11.4 does pack in some newsworthy improvements—namely in stock Messages, Notes and Photos apps. Full sharing of Live Photos via iMessages has been implemented throughout the system, too. Like other major OS X releases, 10.11.4 includes a handful of under-the-hood changes and tons of bug fixes and performance optimizations.

Apple seeds iOS 9.2 beta 4 to developers and public beta testers

Following yesterday’s release of OS X El Capitan 10.11.2 beta 4, Apple today posted a fourth beta of the forthcoming iOS 9.2 software update for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

iOS 9.2 beta 4 (build 13C5075) is now available to members of the Apple Developer Program as an over-the-air update or through Apple’s portal for developers. The update is also available to public beta testers who are signed on the Apple Beta Software Program.

Verizon gets FCC waiver to begin offering Wi-Fi Calling

The Federal Communications Commission on Friday gave Verizon permission to begin offering Wi-Fi Calling. As noted by MacRumors, the Commission granted the carrier a waiver today that will allow it to rollout the feature, which was introduced last year with iOS 8.

The news comes a month after AT&T was granted the same waiver, and it activated Wi-Fi Calling for compatible devices days later. In a statement, it also criticized the FCC for excusing the fact that Sprint and T-Mobile have long been offering the feature without a waiver.

iOS 9.2 beta 2 brings AT&T Wi-Fi Calling to the Mac

The latest beta version of what would become the second major update to iOS 9, which was seeded to developers yesterday, enables Wi-Fi Calling through AT&T on your Mac, 9to5Mac discovered.

While Wi-Fi Calling allows you to place a phone call in an area with little or no cellular coverage, bringing AT&T Wi-Fi Calling to the Mac and other devices you own lets you make and receive phone calls on your Mac (or iPad or iPod touch, for that matter) without needing to be on the same network, or even in the same area, as your iPhone.

AT&T gets FCC waiver to begin offering Wi-Fi Calling

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday gave AT&T permission to begin offering Wi-Fi Calling, reports The Verge. The Commission has granted the carrier a waiver, allowing it to offer the feature without the typically-required support for TTY, a service for those with disabilities.

AT&T announced last week that it had intended to deploy Wi-Fi Calling on September 25, the day Apple launched its new iPhone 6s, but decided to delay its release until it received word from the FCC. Now that the Commission has given the green light, the feature should be available shortly.