Smartphone Hack: No Service? Use WiFi

This smartphone hack will use WiFi to make a regular provider look like a waste of time and money. Okay, it’s not really a hack, but it works as an alternative.

Are you one of those smartphone users who is fed up with the high costs of maintaining a signal through a collection of suggested carriers? Do you have a mobile WiFi hotspot? Here is how you can use your internet signal to communicate, and probably for less.

It is very important to have a dependable WiFi hotspot available, or you will probably be limited to using this particular trick at home, the library, the coffee shop, or wherever you can find a free signal. The hotspot will likely cost less per month just for the service alone than it would to have a phone signal on top of it.

One of the most dependable and versatile WiFi providers is Verizon, whose network reaches more places than most with a competent signal, and there is a variety of plans depending on how much data you plan to use.

The first step to this smartphone hack is to have an active account on a social network that supports instant messaging. Facebook Messenger works well for this, as previously reported by The Inquisitr, or you could go with Google Hangouts. There are even some reliable apps from lesser known developers that work just as well. Download the appropriate app for the service you chose to your Android or iPhone, if available, and use the WiFi signal to text your friends, send pictures and possibly even videos, all for free. Suddenly unlimited texting plans don’t look like such a great deal.

The second step, and this is slightly more involved, is to get yourself a Skype account and buy some Skype credit. Skype credit is only $10 minimum, and if you don’t talk much, you’ll save a fortune as opposed to even the cheapest mobile phone plans. You can even set up a phone number for your Skype ID so others can call you, but it will cost extra. Skype also has an app for smartphones, and like the instant messenger apps, it’s free to install. Just log in and call away.

So there you go, you can turn a smartphone with no signal into a fully functioning phone using just a WiFi hotspot signal with this relatively simple smartphone hack.