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Caller ID when out of area
February 14, 2011
12:08 pm
dennismiller
BC
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January 18, 2009
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Please ignore! Must be the VOIP provider that is messing up!

I was very disappointed the other day. I called home through a VOIP number and the caller id(since I was in a different area code I guess) showed a completely different number. Next call showed another different number at home(not cell phone number). The reason I'm ticked is I am trying to use the VOIP to avoid long distance. I had programmed a toll-free VOIP so that if our cells called we were given the opportunity to make a call through the service or call home. Using caller id to recognize our phones and offer those options. Obviously caller id won't work if Speakout is going to pass on other numbers and not the actual cell phone number. Anyone else notice caller id is incorrect when calling with Speakout from outside area code?

February 14, 2011
1:50 pm
bridonca
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April 22, 2009
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If you ever decide to ditch your VOIP provider, here is a better one. Skype. More specifically the Skype2go feature. It works like this. You register your phone number with Skype2go, you can register up to 5 of them. You can then set up the long distance numbers. Each long distance number is given it's own local Canadian phone number. So when you dial that local phone number, it will directly call your long distance number you mapped.

Only down side is you can only map 9 skype2go numbers at a time. But you can edit them at a whim, so it is only a minor issue. Probably not that good if you call a lot of long distance numbers though.

Not bad for $30 a year.

February 14, 2011
2:13 pm
iamdrumming
Niagara Falls
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If you call to your home, it will be deducted as a a local call, regardless of where you are in Canada.

February 14, 2011
4:42 pm
RonM
Victoria BC
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July 12, 2009
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There are a couple of other options to a Skype To Go Number that are hidden in their system.
Within the section of the Skype Account Page that comes up from the client or the Skype Web Page, if you go to to the Skype To Go Tab, there is a really obscure link that says "View Old Number".

There will be an "Old Number" there for the Area Code you in which created the other numbers. Diaing that Old Number gets you a lot of options that are not currently described on their system. If you dial your Old Number from a registered phone (or go through the verification process from a different phone), you will be presented with the option of either using a speed dial to call one of your Skype To Go Numbers by pressing 1, or of dialing any other number by pressing 2. If you press 2, you can call anywhere your Skype subscription covers. Even more for your $30.00 per year

If your Skype To Go Number is in the same Area Code as your SpeakOut Phone, you can call your Skype To Go number as a local call from wherever you are in Canada, then use your Skype credits for the actual phone call. You will use about 1 or 2 minutes of airtime to dispense with the dialing process, but for most calls you save the long distance charges for what is effectively 25 cents extra per call.

The Skype system will have assigned you an "Old Number" in each area code you have created Skype To Go numbers. My first Skype To Go number was in Washington State before they offered the service in Canada. Then I had a Vancouver 778 Skype To Go Number before they offered 250 Victoria Numbers. When I changed my address to Victoria, the system didn't delete either the Washington number nor the Vancouver number when it created the Victoria number. So I currently have 3 "Old Numbers", all of which work, as well as the 9 numbers I created for my contacts.

I have the Caller ID for my Skype Out credits set to look like I'm calling from my cell phone. However when I use the Skype To Go service, the person receiving the call sees the number I'm actually calling from.