Using My Laptop (Mac) To Make Calls To Us

[intrepid]

Try Magic Talk. I had downloaded a year or so back. FREE. :dance: You can make free calls anywhere in the US. No hardware needed. It was put out by the makers of Magic Jack. However, if you want to receive calls, you must purchase a service and then you will receive your own phone number with all the usual services.

Good luck!

[earthdome]

I am interested in how this turns out. I have a MacBook Pro and when I make the final move will want to port my cell phone number to some service that will work for me making calls from the Philippines as if I were calling from the US phone number. I do have a VPS (virtual private server) in the US which I am setting up so I can use it as a VPN (virtual private network) to get past any IP restrictions or costs associated with being outside the US.

Porting my existing cell phone number to another service is important to me. I have had this number for 8 years and too many have this number listed for contacting me. Organization such as my employer for retirement related issues, financial institutions, family and friends. I need to at a minimum be able to continue to receive voice mails, better would be able to originate phone calls as if they came from this phone number.

I did a bit more research and this is what I have found out so far:

1. My AT&T cell phone number is not one which can be ported to Google Voice. So that option is off the table.

2. I have used Skype for many years but you can not port phone numbers into Skype.

3. There is a service for "parking" your phone number: http://www.parkmycellphone.com/plans-rates.php I don't know if my number can be ported to this service. Plus it doesn't allow outgoing calls to originate with my number. This would be a partial solution if my number could be ported.

4. MagicJack - You can port phone numbers to MagicJack: http://www.magicjack.com/ . I don't know yet whether my AT&T cell number can be ported. One nice feature is they have an Android App (iPhone too) so you can make calls using MagicJack over a 4G or WIFI using your own phone number.. if you can port it. Here is a link to information on the Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.magicjack&hl=en

I think I will see if I can get MagicJack to work.

CAUTION: When porting phone numbers you MUST initiate porting the number with the service you are moving it to. DO NOT terminate your current phone service associated with the phone number you are porting. Your old phone service will be automatically terminated once your phone number is ported to the new phone service.

[i am bob]

Just to jump in for a second.... For any Canadians who are looking for the same idea, we can use MagicJack (which has a cost of course) or there is another one called FreePhoneLine which is a free online SIP phone (in other words it works on your computer). It will give you free Long Distance calls throughout Canada - though not all areas are covered. My personal experience was that there are a few very rural exchanges I could not call in Nova Scotia. The nice thing is that it will follow you anywhere in the world - as long as you are online! And, at present, it works for Windows and Mac. And you can also get this on your SmartPhone - it is associated with Dell through Fungo.

:tiphat: As it won't affect me, I am not going to bother but for any Americans out there who are interested in something like this, google the Dell app and see what is available in your country!

[sjp52]

Just to jump in for a second.... For any Canadians who are looking for the same idea, we can use MagicJack (which has a cost of course) or there is another one called FreePhoneLine which is a free online SIP phone (in other words it works on your computer). It will give you free Long Distance calls throughout Canada - though not all areas are covered. My personal experience was that there are a few very rural exchanges I could not call in Nova Scotia. The nice thing is that it will follow you anywhere in the world - as long as you are online! And, at present, it works for Windows and Mac. And you can also get this on your SmartPhone - it is associated with Dell through Fungo.

:tiphat: As it won't affect me, I am not going to bother but for any Americans out there who are interested in something like this, google the Dell app and see what is available in your country!

I have both on my cell phone and my wife's cell phone, Magicjack works the best and the quality of calls is excellent to and from the Philippines.

[i am bob]

Just to jump in for a second.... For any Canadians who are looking for the same idea, we can use MagicJack (which has a cost of course) or there is another one called FreePhoneLine which is a free online SIP phone (in other words it works on your computer). It will give you free Long Distance calls throughout Canada - though not all areas are covered. My personal experience was that there are a few very rural exchanges I could not call in Nova Scotia. The nice thing is that it will follow you anywhere in the world - as long as you are online! And, at present, it works for Windows and Mac. And you can also get this on your SmartPhone - it is associated with Dell through Fungo.

:tiphat: As it won't affect me, I am not going to bother but for any Americans out there who are interested in something like this, google the Dell app and see what is available in your country!

I have both on my cell phone and my wife's cell phone, Magicjack works the best and the quality of calls is excellent to and from the Philippines.

How do you find the FreePhoneLine when calling to / from the Philippines? Is it decent enough or...?

[earthdome]

4. MagicJack - You can port phone numbers to MagicJack: http://www.magicjack.com/ . I don't know yet whether my AT&T cell number can be ported. One nice feature is they have an Android App (iPhone too) so you can make calls using MagicJack over a 4G or WIFI using your own phone number.. if you can port it. Here is a link to information on the Android App: https://play.google....magicjack&hl=en I think I will see if I can get MagicJack to work.

I received the MagicJack today.

I now have a US Florida phone number with MagicJack. I have not been able to transfer my AT&T cell phone number to the MagicJack. I think AT&T may be blocking the phone number transfer since my cell phone is still under a 2 year contract. I will try contacting AT&T to see what I can so they will allow the transfer to my new MagicJack.

I have tried calling several ways with it. I have made outgoing calls from my Mac laptop, from an old handset plugged into the MagicJack and from the MagicJack app on my android smartphone. I also tested calling from my smartphone to the MagicJack phone number and the old phone handset rang and worked just like a landline phone.

Everything will be perfect if I can get my AT&T cell phone number transferred to the MagicJack.

Ohh, after plugging in the MagicJack to the USB port on my Mac you are supposed to be able to just click on the MagicJack icon to start it up. But that did not work for me. I ended up using Google to search on the error message and found I had to run it by hand from a terminal shell.

So just that one little glitch with the MagicJack on my MacBook Pro laptop.

One other point. Reviews of the MagicJack app for android state that it sucks down the battery. You can't easily quit the MagicJack app. You have to go to Settings->Applications->Running, select MagicJack and kill the MagicJack keepalive program and the MagicJack program itself.

[ibemarshall]

This is great info...I was deliberating about not bringing my magicjack with me on the next trip but I am now rethinking...I usually bring my magicjack*, a headset/mic and a cheap desk phone to use with my laptop when I am in PI. It works pretty good most of the time. I found that those folks I was calling in US would not always be able to make out what I was saying - very choppy...but I could hear what they were saying without a problem...I figured out it was an issue with the "up" speed of whatever connection I was using....the better the up speed, the better the call quality...looks like I will bring magicjack & company again.

* older type magicjack

[earthdome]

Everything will be perfect if I can get my AT&T cell phone number transferred to the MagicJack.

The MagicJack website phone number porting did not work. I even chatted with their online support and they were no help... they just kept repeating the exact same message their online phone number porting tool said.

I had called AT&T and they said there was nothing on their end to prevent the number from being ported.

So now I have setup an account with http://ParkMyPhone.com and started the process of porting my AT&T phone number to them...

then they will forward calls to my MagicJack phone number.

Cross your fingers with me that the phone port will work. Then maybe at a later time I can port from http://ParkMyPhone.com to MagicJack.

[Jollygoodfellow]

Everything will be perfect if I can get my AT&T cell phone number transferred to the MagicJack.

The MagicJack website phone number porting did not work. I even chatted with their online support and they were no help... they just kept repeating the exact same message their online phone number porting tool said.

I had called AT&T and they said there was nothing on their end to prevent the number from being ported.

So now I have setup an account with http://ParkMyPhone.com and started the process of porting my AT&T phone number to them...

then they will forward calls to my MagicJack phone number.

Cross your fingers with me that the phone port will work. Then maybe at a later time I can port from http://ParkMyPhone.com to MagicJack.

And the verdict is ???????? work or not to work, that is the question? :photo-109:

[sjp52]

Just to jump in for a second.... For any Canadians who are looking for the same idea, we can use MagicJack (which has a cost of course) or there is another one called FreePhoneLine which is a free online SIP phone (in other words it works on your computer). It will give you free Long Distance calls throughout Canada - though not all areas are covered. My personal experience was that there are a few very rural exchanges I could not call in Nova Scotia. The nice thing is that it will follow you anywhere in the world - as long as you are online! And, at present, it works for Windows and Mac. And you can also get this on your SmartPhone - it is associated with Dell through Fungo.

:tiphat: As it won't affect me, I am not going to bother but for any Americans out there who are interested in something like this, google the Dell app and see what is available in your country!

I have both on my cell phone and my wife's cell phone, Magicjack works the best and the quality of calls is excellent to and from the Philippines.

How do you find the FreePhoneLine when calling to / from the Philippines? Is it decent enough or...?

im sorry Bob, I meant Dell an MJ