Smart Number / Wifi Calling not working on iPad

[stoli412]

I'm having difficulty enabling Smart Number / Wifi Calling on my iPad. I am an EE pay monthly customer.

My devices:

iPhone 11 Pro (using an EE eSIM)

iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd gen, wifi only)

MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021)

Apple Watch (6th gen)

On my iPhone in Settings/Phone/Wi-Fi Calling, I have enabled both "Wi-Fi Calling on This iPhone" and "Add Wi-Fi Calling For Other Devices". In Settings/Phone/Calls on Other Devices, I have enabled "Allow Calls on Other Devices" and "Allow Calls on" is enabled for both my MacBook and iPad.

I got the prompts on both my MacBook and iPad to enable Wi-Fi Calling and enabled them. On my MacBook, I'm able to make calls directly, even if my iPhone is switched off.

No such luck on my iPad; I can make calls only if my iPhone is switched on and on the same wifi network. In Settings/FaceTime/Calls from iPhone, it is enabled and says "Use your iPhone mobile account to make and receive calls directly on this iPad using Wi-Fi." So, it appears that the iPad has enabled full Wi-Fi Calling but it never works without the iPhone being switched on and on the same network.

I've tried disabling and enabling Wi-Fi Calling on all devices several times, restarting all the devices, signing out of iCloud on all devices, but I always get the same result. I tried chatting with EE tech support but they were utterly useless...I don't think they really understand what Smart Number / Wi-Fi Calling is. They kept trying to tell me to put a SIM in my iPad, or that iPads not sold directly through EE weren't compatible. When I pointed out that my MacBook has no SIM slot nor do EE sell MacBooks themselves yet Smart Number / Wi-Fi Calling was working perfectly fine, that's when they got to the end of their scripted answers and fobbed me off.

Can anyone please help me get Smart Number / Wi-Fi Calling working properly on my iPad?! Please don't tell me to ring/chat to 150 again...they really have no idea what they're doing and I don't think I have the strength or patience to handle another fruitless 2-hour session!

[Christopher_G]

Hi @stoli412

Welcome to the community.

It looks from what you have posted that you have followed the correct steps. Is your iPad on the latest software?

It may be worth backing everything up on your iPad and restoring to factory settings, then trying again.

Chris

[stoli412]

Yes the iPad is on version 15.5, and it's brand new so nothing to erase and start over.

[Chris_B]

@stoli412  you have enabled everything correctly this is the problem with iCloud calling or as EE call it smart numbers.   Sometimes it works perfectly and other times it has issues.   Just try restarting the iPad there is nothing more you can do except wait for it to realise you have enabled.   It’s an Apple feature that works via your apple account and EE supports that feature to allow it to work.  

[Chris_B]

@stoli412  Sorry I should’ve said sometimes just signing out of your Apple account on the device in question and then sign back in will enable this service.  Restart the device every time that you sign out. 

[stoli412]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the reply. I've signed out and back into iCloud and restarted several times with no effect. Is there nothing EE can do? Is it worth taking up with Apple? Or is it really just a wait-and-see approach?

[Leanne_T]

Hi @stoli412

I would suggest getting back in touch with our technical support team on 150, so they can run through some further troubleshooting with you. 

Let us know how you get on 🙂

Leanne.

[ventmore]

Hi @stoli412......I posted in another thread about this exact issue. Did you ever find a solution?

Tech support were, as you said, utterly useless. I actually had one person tell me it only works on devices with an IMEI, which is obviously not the case, and would kind of negate the feature entirely. 

https://community.ee.co.uk/t5/Mobile-Services/WiFi-calling-on-other-devices-doesn-t-work-on-iPad-doe...

[Chris_B]

Have you tried signing out of your Apple iCloud account and restarting the device and then sign back in.   It’s an Apple feature as it’s called iCloud calling ( EE call it magic numbers).  EE only support the service not operate it.   All devices have to be on the same iCloud account for this to work and EE have nothing to do with your iCloud account or services that it allows you to have.  

[ventmore]

Hi @Chris_B

Yes...I've tried all of that. The only thing I haven't tried is a full reset of the iPad, but that's hasn't worked for anyone in any of the posts I've read, so I'm not going to try that as it'll be a pain to set back up again.