UK Phone Number - VoIP?

[VisaDJ 16]

Hi all,

 

Sorry for the random (and non-visa related) question, but hopefully someone can help.... I am moving to the US within the next month (yay!) and will need a UK telephone number once my AoS has been processed, so that I can continue working for a UK employer. Does anyone have any recommendations on the best way to go about this? I am figuring a VoIP setup is the most ideal solution? 

Really appreciate any help people can give!

Thanks  

[f f 725]

I use skype. you can get a uk phone number and unlimited calling to the uk for less than 15 bucks a month.

[VisaDJ 16]

1 minute ago, f f said:

I use skype. you can get a uk phone number and unlimited calling to the uk for less than 15 bucks a month.

Awesome! I did see that they offered this but was unsure how effective / cheap it would be. Thanks very much for the reply  

[f f 725]

just a note on the unlimited calling. you can call as much as you want to land line but cell phones do have a cost. and a single call to a land line will be cut off after 4 hours so you just have to call them up again. it is in place so you don't call and walk away for too long.

[VisaDJ 16]

37 minutes ago, f f said:

just a note on the unlimited calling. you can call as much as you want to land line but cell phones do have a cost. and a single call to a land line will be cut off after 4 hours so you just have to call them up again. it is in place so you don't call and walk away for too long.

Off the top of your head do you know how much cell phone calls cost? They will probably account for quite a lot of the calls I make and receive work-wise.

 

Thanks again for the info!

[f f 725]

just looked and they added unlimited calling to mobiles and land lines for 13 bucks a month

[Wuozopo 4,293]

2 hours ago, VisaDJ said:

Hi all,

 

Sorry for the random (and non-visa related) question, but hopefully someone can help.... I am moving to the US within the next month (yay!) and will need a UK telephone number once my AoS has been processed, so that I can continue working for a UK employer. Does anyone have any recommendations on the best way to go about this? I am figuring a VoIP setup is the most ideal solution? 

Really appreciate any help people can give!

Thanks  

I use UK Vonage. I brought my Vonage box with me when I moved and plugged it into the router and use a regular house phone. It gets paid  monthly automatically out of my UK bank account. You can set it up so it rings your mobile at the same time.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Wuozopo

[VisaDJ 16]

1 minute ago, Wuozopo said:

I use UK Vonage. I brought my Vonage box with me when I moved and plugged it into the router. It gets paid  monthly automatically out of my UK bank account.

Great - will take a look at this one also! Appreciate the info  

[Wuozopo 4,293]

See my edit about the mobile.

[VisaDJ 16]

2 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

See my edit about the mobile.

Ah, that is very useful to know... Checking it out as we speak!

[VisaDJ 16]

8 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

I use UK Vonage. I brought my Vonage box with me when I moved and plugged it into the router and use a regular house phone. It gets paid  monthly automatically out of my UK bank account. You can set it up so it rings your mobile at the same time.

No doubt this is a very silly question, but I would just need a plan that allows unlimited calls to UK landlines & mobiles, even though I will be situated in the US (i.e. 'Premium Unlimited' £15.99/month)? I can still receive calls to a UK number on this plan, I assume?

[Wuozopo 4,293]

3 hours ago, VisaDJ said:

No doubt this is a very silly question, but I would just need a plan that allows unlimited calls to UK landlines & mobiles, even though I will be situated in the US (i.e. 'Premium Unlimited' £15.99/month)? I can still receive calls to a UK number on this plan, I assume?

 

The UK £8.50 plan means you have a UK phone line/number that happens to ring in US or wherever you have it plugged in. Your UK people dial that number just like you were next door to them, with no extra dialing codes or trickery. They dial for example 1234 222 333 and you answer in the States. You pick up your phone and dial them (landlines) just like you were sitting in the UK. Also no dialing codes because the phone thinks it's in the UK. So you dial 1234 222 444.  Forget you are even in the US because it's just like having a UK phone. Because of the way UK mobiles are set up, the person making the call pays a fee to call any mobile. Same from your Vonage on that basic plan. You are charged a small fee to call their mobile. 

 

If you want to have your mobile ring when the Vonage landline rings or forward all calls to your mobile, then you need the premium plan £11.50 because it is essentially forwarding your calls to a new number, a US cell phone. Thus you need an international plan to call the US free. Your Vonage phone is a UK phone,  but your new mobile is a US phone number, so the plan has to have the additional "free calls to the US" capability to do the forwarding. That plan also allows you to use your US mobile to initiate calls to the UK via the "Vonage extensions" app on your mobile without having to call from the landline handset in your house.  If you are working from the house mostly, it would be easier to just pick up the Vonage phone and make the call. But there is a way to make a call from your mobile if you are out.

 

That mobile  add on for £3.50 is new to me but includes no individual call charge if you should call a UK mobile instead of a landline.

Edited July 11, 2017 by Wuozopo

[VisaDJ 16]

20 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

 

The UK £8.50 plan means you have a UK phone line/number that happens to ring in US or wherever you have it plugged in. Your UK people dial that number just like you were next door to them, with no extra dialing codes or trickery. They dial for example 1234 222 333 and you answer in the States. You pick up your phone and dial them (landlines) just like you were sitting in the UK. Also no dialing codes because the phone thinks it's in the UK. So you dial 1234 222 444.  Forget you are even in the US because it's just like having a UK phone. Because of the way UK mobiles are set up, the person making the call pays a fee to call any mobile. Same from your Vonage on that basic plan. You are charged a small fee to call their mobile. 

 

If you want to have your mobile ring when the Vonage landline rings or forward all calls to your mobile, then you need the premium plan £11.50 because it is essentially forwarding your calls to a new number, a US cell phone. Thus you need an international plan to call the US free. Your Vonage phone is a UK phone,  but your new mobile is a US phone number, so the plan has to have the additional "free calls to the US" capability to do the forwarding. That plan also allows you to use your US mobile to initiate calls to the UK via the "Vonage extensions" app on your mobile without having to call from the landline handset in your house.  If you are working from the house mostly, it would be easier to just pick up the Vonage phone and make the call. But there is a way to make a call from your mobile if you are out.

 

That mobile  add on for £3.50 is new to me but includes no individual call charge if you should call a UK mobile instead of a landline.

Thanks for the detailed response!

I will need:
To receive calls to a UK number (the Vonage phone)

- from UK landlines

- from UK mobiles
To make calls from a UK number (the Vonage phone)
- to UK landlines
- to UK mobiles

It appears that the mobile app is included in the 'Premium' package (which I think I need for the mobile calls), which would be handy to have, but isn't essential. They are also giving away two cordless handsets free, which is a nice bonus.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

14 minutes ago, VisaDJ said:

They are also giving away two cordless handsets free, which is a nice bonus.

 

They will be UK phone sets and you would have to change the power adapter to use on US mains. Might not be useable or maybe could find a replacement adapter cheap on eBay. I've done that for laptops to get the small US plug for coming out of the power brick in the cord.  Depends on how they are wired up. 

Edited July 12, 2017 by Wuozopo

[VisaDJ 16]

2 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

 

They will be UK phone sets and you would have to change the power adapter to use on US mains. Might not be useable or maybe could find a replacement adapter cheap on eBay. I've done that for laptops to get the small US plug for coming out of the power brick in the cord.  Depends on how they are wired up. 

I think I found the handsets online and they come with a '220v mains adapter' so, I am assuming a regular UK to US plug converter would work. If not, then I can pick up a US equivalent for not too much - I really only need one handset anyway.