michael_v

Calls to US numbers used to be free in the Vonage mobile app, but not anymore. Any other options for making free calls to US numbers (not toll-free)?

Error 601

I use Google Voice through the Hangouts app for this.

boberonicus

It's amusing (to me) that a penny a minute is enough to make you look elsewhere. I'm old enough to remember the days when long distance calls were many dollars per minute. I think that's why I'm so enamored of services like Ooma, Vonage, etc. which have eviscerated the LECs. I like paying for premium services (that I barely use) from VoIP providers just to help keep them in business.

cboy

just use WiFi calling on your cell phone. most carriers support it now. its free from anywhere in the world to call back to the US (assuming you have a US number on the cell)

makeUturn

Be careful assuming that. AT&T charges the same rate for WiFi calling as data calling when used outside of USA

KRSW

I second Google Voice for this. Although I end up using WiFi Calling (T-Mobile) most of the time with mine.

...although both Google Voice & T-Mobile *WILL* charge $0.01/minute for certain numbers which charge high termination rates to the calling carrier. Many of those "free" conference call services work this way. I've never been charged by T-Mobile for it, but they've sent press releases indicating they might.

Friends don't let friends use AT&T.

cboy

I use my ATT phone all over the world with WiFi calling and it works just like I am at home in the US. No extra charges. Its a seamless experience for me and the people I call.


so not sure what you mean?

TGarza

That has not been my experience with WiFi calling using AT&T to call a US number. Charges for calling a non US number using WiFi are charged at international rates.

makeUturn

Thanks for clarifying my statement. My intention was to warn others that calling international numbers are charged as an international call. So if you are in France, for example, and use Wi-Fi calling to call a number in France, that call will be billed according to the international calling rate of the plan.

Carl Johnson

Could be very very high, too, or could be cheap or free depending on the features of your plan. Google Voice/Hangouts allows VOIP over any kind of Internet connection and charges per minute according to a list of rates that's easy to find, and before the call goes through, a voice tells you the rate per minute for the call.

T-Mobile has something called DIGITS, which allows you to use your t-mobile number to make and receive calls and SMS, so if your phone isn't on wi-fi or doesn't support wi-fi calling, it doesn't matter; just use DIGITS. DIGITS works on computers, or any device that will support the DIGITS app. For Android, I think this is Android 5 and later.

But as you point out for wi-fi calling, using DIGITS for an outgoing call is also going to bill to the caller's t-mobile plan.

cboy

This is completely different than what the OP is asking.

unmesh

Have you tried to do this with a local i.e. non-AT&T SIM in the phone?

While it would be great to do stateside calling over some other carrier's mobile data network and having my AT&T number show up in caller-ID, I'm hoping that this can at least be done over WiFi without the AT&T SIM in the phone.

tai4de2

If you're expecting to do AT&T-based wi-fi calling with a non-AT&T SIM in the phone... no, that won't work.

Or more precisely, it won't work using the standard phone dialer. If AT&T offers some kind of separate app-based VoIP dialer for their service (like T-Mobile DIGITS) then it might work.

cboy

No sadly, that wont work. What would be the reasoning to use a 3rd party sim? if just for local data I can see that however you can use that 3rd party sim in a MiFi puck and keep your sim in your phone. This will give you both data AND the use of your phone as normal. We travel with a MiFi puck everywhere we go now, it allows for multiple people in our party to use their phones without needing to have sim cards for everyone individually.






*what follows below is not directed towards you.

I guess I'm failing to understand why people are making this more complicated than it needs to be?


You take your phone, connect to WiFi and make calls back to the US without swapping sims, without making changes to the phone, without using 3rd party applications all of this allows for you to use your phone as normal without a 2nd number.

unmesh

@cboy,

I typically end up using my iPhone 7 as the WiFi hotspot for the family because of its great connectivity.

Any recommendations for a MiFi puck that supports worldwide bands?

Thanks.