How to use wifi calling on Starlink to make or receive calls

It’s another wildfire season and we’re already into the fibre line outages. If you just got a Starlink dish to try to avoid losing internet, we get it. You’re not alone.

Did you know many people can also use their Starlink dish to make and receive calls on their cell phone?

That’s a big deal in the NWT, where there’s virtually no cell service on the territory’s highways even without damaged fibre lines and other problems.

It doesn’t always work, but if you want to try it, here’s a quick guide.

What is wifi calling?

In one sentence, it’s a system that sends calls through your wireless internet (like Starlink) rather than through your cell provider’s network.

Great news if you are nowhere near that network, or the network is down, but you have a Starlink or another similar satellite dish.

How do I switch it on?

Hook up your phone to your Starlink’s internet the way you normally would.

Then, you’ll need to go into your phone settings. Exactly what you need to do in those settings changes according to your phone’s manufacturer.

Here’s a guide for iPhones. Here’s one for Android. Here’s one for Samsung.

Basically, you’re looking for wifi calling and you obviously want to make sure that’s on. (On our phones, the setting was often turned to “off,” so it’s worth going and checking.)

Will it definitely work?

With a new or new-ish phone and on a major carrier, it should work. (Please call your carrier’s tech support, not us, if it doesn’t! We are not experts. There are, like, three of us, and we’re probably all writing wildfire news while you read this.)

Here’s a guide for Telus customers, one for Bell customers and one for Rogers customers.

So I turn it on, then what?

Use your phone like a phone. There’s nothing else to it – you can make calls and receive them as though you had full bars.

Your number remains the same and it shouldn’t cost you any extra.

Why do I want this?

Hey, don’t be bullied into turning on wifi calling because of us. You want the serenity of the wild? Turn it off! But also, why did you bring your Starlink to your wilderness serenity hideaway?

The point for some people is to be reachable in emergencies, particularly now we look to be heading into another severe fire season.

When the fibre line goes down or if there’s any other kind of outage, when you switch to Starlink, you’ll get internet but you’ll also get phone service, too. That could be important.