{"id":585,"date":"2015-07-27T12:13:51","date_gmt":"2015-07-27T19:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trailheadproductions.com\/palette\/?p=585"},"modified":"2015-07-28T15:37:43","modified_gmt":"2015-07-28T22:37:43","slug":"phoning-it-in-part-iii-using-wifi-to-make-calls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trailheadproductions.com\/palette\/phoning-it-in-part-iii-using-wifi-to-make-calls\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoning it In, Part III: Using Wifi to Make Calls"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Using<\/a>
We explored the outback for the route, not the routers. Good thing, too, because the wifi was in short supply.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When it comes to using your cell phone while traveling abroad, it\u2019s hard to escape the feeling that you can\u2019t win, that the cellular deck is stacked against you. Somewhere along the way, no matter what your strategy is, you\u2019re going to face some sort of fee that makes you scratch your\u00a0 head in wonder, amazement or just plain irritation. Is it the $18.95 per megabyte fee for international data? Is it the $4.99 per minute for international calls? Is it the one country not on your international calling plan that just happens to be the country to where you\u2019re traveling? I\u2019m looking at you Fiji. When I consider the machinations of international calling, I can\u2019t help thinking of Joshua, the computer in the 1983 movie \u201cWargames.\u201d \u201cThe only winning move is not to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not really an option. If you\u2019re going to travel internationally, you are almost certainly going to need to make and receive phone calls. Most of us do not go completely off the grid, nor do we want to. The phone is the lifeline.<\/p>\n

Welcome to the wonderful world of using wifi to make calls.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve already noted that when it comes to using wifi to make calls, we\u2019re still very much in the digital Wild West as a stand-in for cellular service. However, if you are going to dig into your phone\u2019s settings and turn off its ability to send and receive cellular data, there are solutions that can make using wifi to make calls when traveling abroad a very workable solution.<\/p>\n

On our film\u2019s production swing through Australia and New Zealand, most of our phones had the cellular functions turned off for most of the journey. Wifi worked for us most of the time, and not just for conventional internet usage. Our workflow can be explained with these tips you can use when you travel and are using wifi to make calls.<\/p>\n

1. Plan your app map<\/b><\/p>\n

Since the quality and speed of your wifi will vary greatly depending on your destination and your route, you should make plans to download and install any apps you plan to use before you leave. Once again, this tip falls squarely into the land of \u201cdo as I say, not as I did,\u201d territory, saying this as someone who spent more than an hour on the Ghan railway as we pulled out of Adelaide on the way to Alice Springs attempting to download a communications app. I thought the 25 hour trip was slow, but downloading a working version of the app I needed gave that a run for its money. Take the time to do this in the comfort of your own home, where you rarely have to wonder just how many people are jumping on your bandwidth. Speaking of apps\u2026<\/p>\n

2. Five of a kind<\/b><\/p>\n

My favorite basic go-to communications apps right now all have one thing in common: they can all be used for wifi texting (SMS) , phone calls and data transfer over wifi, without ever needing to turn on access to the cellular network. Those apps are:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Facebook Messenger<\/li>\n
  • What\u2019s App<\/li>\n
  • Google Hangouts<\/li>\n
  • Apple\u2019s iMessage\/Facetime<\/li>\n
  • Viber<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    These are all apps that allow you to make what are essentially internet based phone calls, texts and\/or video calls. Be aware that video carries much more data than an audio signal, so your video calls may hang quite a bit. Video is a relatively new duck in the pond, but it\u2019s in the rotation right now as a family member is in Spain and Portugal, and I\u2019ll let you know the results (you are also more than welcome to post your reviews below in the comments section).<\/p>\n

    For iPhone users, I also want to pass along what seems to be a hidden secret of FaceTime\u2026 the ability to make audio-only calls. I actually use this all the time, even when firmly planted in my own home country. The clarity of the calls is actually much, much better than that of the cellular signal. It reminds me of what landline based phone calls used to be like back in the days when Sprint had those pin drop ads.<\/p>\n

    Did I say something about large amounts of data? Aha, here comes the big warning.<\/p>\n

    3. Watch those wifi rates with eagle eyes.<\/b><\/p>\n

    When we were shooting near King\u2019s Canyon in Australia\u2019s Northern Territory, the local (and only) hotel for more than one hundred kilometers in any direction had no cellular service, and a wifi rate of $20 AUD for 200 megabytes. Even a less than savvy computer user probably has an inkling that this is not a lot of data. As an example, one picture shot on your phone\u2019s camera usually has a file size of about 2MB. Now imagine what a streaming movie, a ten minute phone call or a video call would cost before you top out. I would suggest that in many cases at hotels, wifi is a negotiable charge. It\u2019s usually the first perk you get when you join their rewards program. And as much as you want to use wifi in the privacy of your room, it\u2019s often free in at least the lobby area. If you\u2019re traveling in urban areas, the overwhelming likelihood is that you will be within walking distance of a cafe with free wifi, or at least wifi for the price of a cup of coffee. Glom on, I say. Glom on.\u2019\u00a0 That said, you may have noticed that I didn\u2019t recommend any apps that help you find wifi signals. There\u2019s a big reason for that, and it\u2019s the next tip\u2026<\/p>\n

    4. Beware of unfamiliar wifi signals<\/b><\/p>\n

    Just because you find a wifi signal on the street that says it belongs to the cafe on the corner, you should treat this information with several grains of salt. Just because in the list of thirty locked wifi signals, one doesn\u2019t have a password, you should hesitate before diving in.<\/p>\n

    When using wifi to make calls or access the internet, open wifi signals are one of the biggest threats to your data\u00a0 security on the road. Latching onto these signals from unknown sources is the quickest way for identity thieves and hackers to gain access to the files on your computer, tablet or phone, your personal information and your personal information. I will never, under any circumstances, log into an unfamiliar wifi signal without verifying it\u2019s validity with the source. You should adopt the same strategy.<\/p>\n

    5. The broken record continues<\/b><\/p>\n

    Wifi is a patchwork. It fades quickly and you can\u2019t use it with the same freedom that you would otherwise have with a cellular signal. It makes mobile mapping difficult, for example, not to mention turn by turn directions, Periscope streaming and waypointing. The workaround is, perhaps distressingly, low tech. I need to stress this point again – hard copies of everything are your bedt friends. Printed copies of important locations, directions and reservations will be some of your most valuable travel documents. Coming in a close second are screen caps of this same information. You can use both iPhone and Android devices to make instant screen caps of maps, flight reservations and flight numbers, exterior shots of your hotel for points of reference and almost anything else you need to access information-wise without having to be online. if you\u2019re willing to plan ahead. And I\u2019m going to adopt the fuddy duddy approach here, with my fuddy duddiness in full bloom. If you\u2019re traveling internationally and you\u2019re glued to the phone so much that access to its wonders becomes an issue, you\u2019re kind of missing out on the travel experience at least a bit, aren\u2019t you? The phone is a travel necessity, and the apps you can put on it can greatly enhance your experience, but metree out the wired part of your travels, and you may find that the wonders of wifi will be there for you when you need it, and will also save you a lot of money on the road.<\/p>\n

    Onwards<\/p>\n

    What are your experiences using wifi to make calls while traveling. Post your comments below and share this post.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When it comes to using your cell phone while traveling abroad, it\u2019s hard to escape the feeling that you can\u2019t win, that the cellular deck is stacked against you. Somewhere along the way, no matter what your strategy is, you\u2019re going to face some sort of fee that makes you scratch your\u00a0 head in wonder, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Phoning it In, Part III: Using Wifi to Make Calls #travel #traveltips #wifi","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15,17],"tags":[9,16,54],"class_list":["post-585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel","category-travel-tips","tag-travel","tag-travel-tips","tag-wifi"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5Rim5-9r","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/trailheadproductions.com\/palette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/trailheadproductions.com\/palette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/trailheadproductions.com\/palette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trailheadproductions.com\/palette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trailheadproductions.com\/palette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/trailheadproductions.com\/palette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":596,"href":"http:\/\/trailheadproductions.com\/palette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585\/revisions\/596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/trailheadproductions.com\/palette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trailheadproductions.com\/palette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/trailheadproductions.com\/palette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}