Calling home from China without using Sprint's Network

[weggy]

New user here - I have a rather odd situation I'm hoping you experts can help me out with.

At home, I have a Sprint, US number. I moved to China a week ago, and would like to maintain my connection back to the states. Sprint has a CDMA network here, but it is exceptionally expensive to use. My thought was, to just have my phone connected via wifi and VOIP ONLY.

I can put the phone into airplane mode to cut out Sprint's roaming network, then toggle wifi to connect. This works fine for surfing the web, but when I actually go to dial a number, it says im in airplane mode so I can't call. I don't really want to take it out of airplane mode either, because then when I'm out and about during the day and I get a text, I'll get a hefty charge.

So basically my question is how can I turn off getting cell service from the towers here, yet still be able to call back home via something like Google Voice.

Many thanks for the assist, folks.

 

[james515]

the only option you have is to use some type of VOIP app, which will limit you to using WIFI only.

to make a traditional phone call you MUST be connected to the cell towers, no way around that.

James

 

[adaaaam]

the only option you have is to use some type of VOIP app, which will limit you to using WIFI only.

to make a traditional phone call you MUST be connected to the cell towers, no way around that.

James

The op expressed that he was trying not to make traditional calls so as to avoid towers, and that he was thinking of voip via wifi as exactly what he wanted.

I use GrooVe IP: it works flawlessly. Make sure to have GV forward to Google Chat (goto gmail on pc, place a call once, and this forwarding enables itself as a checkbox in Voice Settings). Once enabled, with GrooVe IP running on the Android, calls made to your Google # RING YOUR PHONE (in airplane mode, wifi on). How awesome its that? Your American buddies can call your ten-digit # 24/7 and you can pick up as if you were in the u.s. and chat with them for hours on end, free of charge. Plus you can call anu u.s. # for free since your Voice account is American

 

[weggy]

GrooveIP worked perfectly adaaaam. Many thanks!

 

[james515]

The op expressed that he was trying not to make traditional calls so as to avoid towers, and that he was thinking of voip via wifi as exactly what he wanted.

true, but reading the way he wrote it, he was in airplane mode and had WiFi turned on, then tried to dial a #, which it wont let you do because you are in airplane mode. so he was trying to make a traditional call using the standard way placing a call via WiFi, but you cant do that unless you have some app to use WiFi for VoIP.