A reader Kim asks…

I do not have cell service at my home but am having to get a Verizon Straight talk phone to work from there, so it will have to be WiFi compatible. Can you advise me on what phones I should look for at this point?

First, I assume by Wi-Fi compatible, you mean “Wi-Fi calling”…
My best advice would be that if you need Wi-Fi calling and and what a service that uses the Verizon towers to switch to either Verizon Wireless Prepaid or Visible. In my opinion both these companies offer better support for Wi-Fi calling that Straight Talk.

If you HAVE to stay on Straight Talk and use the Verizon towers, contact Straight Talk and ask them which phones they sell that support Wi-Fi calling on their Verizon towers. Any iPhone for Samsung Galaxy phone from the last couple years will work with Wi-Fi calling. The issue is Straight Talk. If you are currently a Straight Talk customer you can check if your account will work with Wi-Fi calling. See Straight Talk Blog: YOUR STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO WI-FI CALLING. Rather than calling Straight Talk, I’d start out by contacting them by online chat, use the contact support button here… Straight Talk Technical Support

For years Straight Talk has been telling customers that they offer Wi-Fi calling on select phones that use the T-Mobile towers. When I was a Straight Talk customer, they said I eligible for Wi-Fi calling. However, I turned it on and it worked. I was using an iPhone on their AT&T towers.

You might find that a service which uses the AT&T or T-Mobile towers has cell coverage at your home and you could avoid the need for Wi-Fi calling altogether. That would also depend on whether or not use have acceptable coverage on those networks in the other places you use your phone. And there are plenty of other plans that use these networks that include Wi-Fi calling.