Android
Some Android devices include a VoIP Client. VoIP works well with this VoIP client, but you need to make a small adjustment in the settings of your VoIP account.
Note: some manufacturers like Samsung have disabled the SIP capabilities in their custom ROM.
Setting up the Android SIP client
On your phone, go to:
- Menu
- Settings
- Call settings
- Accounts
- and click on "Add Account"
In the Android SIP client, configure the following details:
- Username (Account ID)
- Password
- Server
Then you can specify whether the VoIP account is your primary account. This is the "main" account among the SIP accounts and the account you will use for outgoing calls by default.
Finally, you can specify whether you want to receive incoming VoIP calls. This will use approximately 5% of your battery power over 16 hours of use.
Finally, you can determine your "outgoing call settings". These can be found under:
- Menu
- Settings
- Call settings
- Use internet calls
Then you can choose from:
- All calls
- Only internet calls
- Ask for each call.
If you have a "standard" Android phone (not a custom ROM), then "ask for each call" is a good option. When you have a WIFI connection and want to make a call, the device will ask whether you want to do that with your mobile or with your VoIP account.
Custom ROMs and VoIP calling
If you're running a custom ROM, it's possible that calling over the internet is enabled in the ROM. This means you can also make VoIP calls over a 3G/4G connection. Google has this disabled by default. It's not convenient that ROM builders enable this for several reasons:
- The quality of 3G/4G is too low to hold a good VoIP conversation
- It will ask you for every call whether you want to call via VoIP, which is not user-friendly
- Your battery life will be shorter.
We cannot guarantee the quality when calling over WIFI, so that is entirely at your own risk. This applies even more to calling over 3G/4G, as even less bandwidth is available there.
You can optionally use a G729 codec. This is a paid codec and the quality is inherently lower, but it uses up to 4 times less bandwidth.
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