Free virtual phone number

[Tigris]

Hi there,

In the US it seems you can use Google voice to generate a phone number with a local area code and have it forwarded to your mobile phone.

Is there anyway you can do this for free in the UK or even have your landline number forwarded to your mobile?

Thank you

 

[cjd]

Yes, you can get a landline number and divert calls from it to your mobile.

From us it's £3 per month and a divert to a mobile is 7p per minute. No contract.

I believe it's possible to get a free number but you'll then pay more for the divert.

Anyway, this is how we do it:
https://www.voipfone.co.uk/Call_Forwarding_And_Divert.php

 

[WaveJumper]

Well I have just been looking at this as I thought this was still not available in the UK but apparently:

"Google Voice has quietly arrived in Gmail in the UK, sidling into your inbox and letting you make phone calls to mobiles and landlines. Google Voice has quietly arrived in Gmail, sidling into your inbox to deliver a blow to Skype. You can now make phone calls to mobiles and landlines from Gmail on your computer"

I don't think you get the free number but you get lots of other functions so it might be worth you checking out

 

[cjd]

You'll find that most VoIP providers will pack a pile of features into their numbers - voice mail, voicemail to email, conferencing, mobile apps etc. Obviously you can also answer the calls directly for free using a free softphone or a hardware desk phone and only divert when you need to. We have a app that knows where you are and automatically diverts to and from your desk phone and mobile as you move around.

 

[SEODEV#338055]

Very useful thread

Bookmarked

"Voice is for Google Workspace customers only"

"Google's powerful AI filters ..... transcribes voicemail automatically"

https://cloud.google.com/voice

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Totally free, I don't think so, but if you are a member of certain business groups, you can get a free number and divert calls fro free!

 

[shopomatix]

I have used this and its been available for many years there are many freephone number providers that allow you to divert to a mobile

 

[japancool]

Why divert when you can just get a voip number, a softphone client on your phone and have it ring on your mobile without paying the cost of a divert?

 

[cjd]

Why divert when you can just get a voip number, a softphone client on your phone and have it ring on your mobile without paying the cost of a divert?

The only reason really is availability of 4G mobile signal, but these days it's pretty good.

 

[Ozzy]

I discontinued my home phone line about 2 years ago when I got 1GB fibre to the house (Gigaclear) and not missed having a phone at all. Most of my "phone calls" are now through FaceTime or Teams these days, with about 2-3 calls a month to my mobile number. Even the business doesn't have a phone line any more, it has a phone number but that comes into Teams as does my direct dial number.
True about the mobile coverage that @cjd mentions, there has been a few occasional times where the bandwidth on 3G didn't quite cut it (I switch to 3G when in London as it's better than 4G!)

 

[Karimbo]

The problem with Gmail is that they'll introduce services out of nowhere and then withdraw services out of nowhere too.

Might be OK to use as a test business. Not for permanent business.

 

[Tigris]

I have since looked at a VOIP system but have decided to stay with my mobile for now. I was going to get a local phone number but I maybe moving 10 miles away which has a different area code so probably best to keep with my mobile otherwise my business cards etc will have 3 different phone numbers over the time, lol.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Get a non geographic number - 0333?

 

[Jul21323]

I know that Skype has the function to activate the service for calling different countries, but don't remember if there a function as you need.

Best wishes, Jane,
marketing manager

 

[paul_pockethr]

Depending on what you want - a great low-cost service I have been using for years is https://www.flextel.com/. They are great if you just want a number that redirects to another number, with voice mail and other rules like press 1 for this person and 2 for that person and just redirects around mobile. It also has a conference service which is super helpful and included in the price. I have also used for having a mobile number I give out for marketing use and then I never get spam to personal phone, the other use is for support. so give your customer the support number which then can redirect to whoever is on call.