[kcmo]

Guys/Gals,

OK, I don't get this. Everything I've read about UMA is that calling over WiFi is free, and just detracts from the minutes a person has.

Anyway, I feel really bad as I'm the 'techie' (albeit, not proving to be a great one) in the family and recently recommended some family members use UMA from home to place international calls and avoid the charges. Well.....THEY GOT CHARGED!!!!

I don't get it....can anyone tell me why they got charged? Both had turned OFF the T-Mobile network connection and ONLY had their home networks configured on WiFi when they placed the calls.

TIA

[SevereDeceit]

I heard T-Mo will be charging now for making calls over Wi-Fi, many geeks said it wasn't going to last forever anyway...

[SevereDeceit]

Both the WiFi calling and tethering features are easy to setup and use, but they are definitely NOT FREE.

Upon activating Wi-Fi calling, you get a message in the notification bar that says, "Wi-Fi calling uses plan minutes." Question 6 in the "Top Questions" or FAQs ( Will calls or SMS/MMS over Wi-Fi be charged differently than m cellular calls?" is answered as follows:
"The primary benefit of Wi-Fi calling is to increase your coverage in locations with Wi-Fi. Calls and messages made over Wi-Fi will be charged like cellular calls."

Not sure how I feel about being charged by T-Mo for letting them use a Wi-Fi network I own so that it can deliver a service it's already supposed to be delivering. In any case, it may be a good thing for folks with spotty coverage, but not a cost savings for the rest of us...

[kcmo]

Pretty disappointing!

I ended up calling T-Mobile and talking to tech support about it. Still doesn't make any sense to me, but basically I was told that T-Mobile has been 'cracking down' over the last 8-10 months and YES, we will be charged for WiFi calls that are international.

What a bummer!

[K Bear]

Calls to the US via UMA are free. Calls oversees to other countries are charged at the International rate. Should have done your research better and maybe searched the T-Mobile forum and asked a rep.

[K Bear]

I heard T-Mo will be charging now for making calls over Wi-Fi, many geeks said it wasn't going to last forever anyway...

UMA and WiFi calls are deduced from a users plan minutes just like any other call within the US.

[kcmo]

Calls to the US via UMA are free. Calls oversees to other countries are charged at the International rate. Should have done your research better and maybe searched the T-Mobile forum and asked a rep.

Guess I got it backwards

[jytvyj]

there used to be a 10 dollar plan that made UMA free...but not anymore. now you just get the benefit of having calls if you're in wifi and a bad signial recpetion area.

[JRSCCivic98]

Ya, when UMA was introduced, calls made across that tech would not count against your monthly minutes, but if you made International LD calls, you'd get charged just like anything else. Also, pretty much no mobile carrier charges for US LD calls from your mobile anymore unless you're on some old plan. All calls made to anywhere in the US just count against your minutes.

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[dragonsamus]

That sucks. Sorry hear they got charged. I used to love making calls over wifi because they were free. I didn't know they use minutes now even if they are calls in the US.

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[kcmo]

Oh well, live and learn I guess! Thanks everyone!

[JRSCCivic98]

That sucks. Sorry hear they got charged. I used to love making calls over wifi because they were free. I didn't know they use minutes now even if they are calls in the US.

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You do realize that the calls still go through T-Mobile's exchange right? The only thing UMA did was allow for the connection to flip off the towers and go via Internet cloud to carrier network. It might have solved tower saturation, but it would eventually tie up their Internet pipe with the traffic and the normal cell to POTS routing would still remain the same.

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