Free phone calls to UK landlines via VoIP

[CooperUK]

http://www.voipcheap.co.uk/en/index.html

I downloaded this little program today and have been testing it heavily. It allows you to dial out from your PC to home phones (not other's PCs such as with Skype etc).

You get 2 mins worth of a call before it cuts you off, unless you put some credit in your account (min of £1 - which doesn't get used calling UK landlines) and this removes the limit on the call length.

I've chatted for up to 20 mins so far in a single call, more than an hour in total, for absolutely nothing!

A mate of mine, whose wife has friends in Scotland, is delighted at the prospect of slashing his phone bill.

Remember, when putting credit on your account, use your credit card for extra security!

BTW - doesn't work for free calls to 0845 or 08700 numbers, only geographically located landlines.

Hope this helps someone out a bit with their bills.

[the_sanguine]

http://www.saynoto0870.com/ gives many of the landline numbers.

Do you know if their s/w works on pocket PC?

[CooperUK]

Might be worth just trying the free download time trial version for testing on a pocket PC.

Have been calling people and chatting all day

[explicitlyrics]

it doesnt seem to work on a pocket pc, there is no ppc installer.

Thanks very much for the link, although the quality isnt great I have signed up with £1 for free calls to the Uk later this year when im in OZ.

[the_sanguine]

Is it worth getting a decent headset? Can I just plug it in the USB port ot mic and earphones socket on a laptop?

[phillfyspoon]

why doesnt it work for me it a lady says it has not been possible to ring this number at the moment? i put in a full UK number eg 44 023 92 644805 but that says invalid number if i miss out the 023 it comes up with the above. help me please

sorted

[shodan]

Drop the first zero and that should do it for you. 442392644....

[zAndy1]

why not just use call18866.co.uk from a normal phone, 2p connection and 0p per minute to uk landlines? I've never found PC VOIP to be reliable enough or good enough quality for day to day use to be honest

[bjd]

Originally Posted by zAndy1

why not just use call18866.co.uk from a normal phone, 2p connection and 0p per minute to uk landlines? I've never found PC VOIP to be reliable enough or good enough quality for day to day use to be honest

Agreed totally. I got my Call18866 bill yesterday.....a staggering £1.50......for 75 calls and many, many hours on the 'phone. It really is nice to hear that female voice say "Zero p per minute"
I really can't recommend them highly enough, and I hope that their service, which seems almost too good to be true, keeps going.
So come on forum members, sign up and spread the word

BTW, Call18866 may be running VoiceCheap, as it's advertised on their web site.

[explicitlyrics]

18866 and 1899 are great offers, but for me the voicecheap is perfect. I can go away, take my laptop and connect to a free access point, using a bluetooth headset I now have free calls home... Suits me fine!

[Dr Diversity]

These VoIP services are great but I really need a cordless connection to my computer so that I can use the phone about the house - then I will really get to use it

[dejongj]

Originally Posted by Dr Diversity

These VoIP services are great but I really need a cordless connection to my computer so that I can use the phone about the house - then I will really get to use it

You've got a couple of possibilities there, readily available....

If you want to connect it to your PC, check out the siemens solution with the USB dongle for some of their dect phones....

If you don't want to have your PC on, connect it directly to the network...Either a Wifi phone like the Hitachi WIP-5000 or a WIFI enabled PDA...Alternatively you can get an ATA from various suppliers, hook it up to the network (broadband line) and also connect a standard dect phone in the analog phone socket and off you go....The dect base station works like normal so you can have six phones hanging of it.....

[Moosh]

Ordered a USB Bluetooth adaptor (from ebuyer.com which arrived today and paired it with my bluetooth headset and it works a treat. I've tried it with VoIPBuster and VoIPCheap (both pieces of software use the same network and the programs are very similar) and it works a treat.

The only thing now is, does anyone know how to extent the range of a Bluetooth device? If I walk out of the room then the signal degrades so much that the connection is lost! Any help would be appreciated.

Moosh

PS: CooperUK - Great spot!

[dejongj]

Nope that is a limitation of the bluetooth standards, exactly the same as with your phone...That is why it is also referred to as an Personal Area Network device....

You've got to go the WiFi rout if you want more distance....

[Moosh]

Cheers for the dejongj. Maybe a Bluetooth 1.1 device that covers 100m may be better?