Galong

I decided to go with Tello.  I ordered a US SIM today. The process went smoothly ordering it from my computer using my Thai IP address. I'm sending it to my brother's house. I'll have him activate it before posting it to Thailand. I did call Tello's toll-free number using Skype while setting everything up. Their customer service was good... immediate response, no background music, etc. The guy from Tello was very helpful.  

Still, it was a bit of work and all because Skype couldn't figure out how to stay in business. 🤦

Since Skype is shutting down, I'm looking at every possible option for signing into Schwab. Right now, they're fine sending me OTPs on my Thai number, but in case that ever changes I'd like an alternative.  I've read good and bad things about Symantec VIP Access App.  Does anyone else use this authentication app on a Thai phone?  Thanks.

2 hours ago, Iamloki said:

Hello all. I have read a lot of the responses but am not seeing what I'm looking for. I have had several Skype IDs for different texting purposes for a long time. I have ONE Skype number that is funded, also for a long time, that I use to make international calls from Thailand.

 

1. My Skype number is a USA number.

2. I only use Skype on my pc. (never on the cell phone)

3. I use a VPN to log into a US server, and then open Skype on my computer.

4. I then dial the toll free number to whatever company/government department I need to talk with.

5. The charges I pay are the monthly fee to Skype of $6.50... never a charge for the toll free number.

 

Has anyone run across a service that would offer what is outlined above?

Thanks!

I've been looking ever since Skype made the announcement... NOTHING compares to Skype. I wish they would have just raised their prices or something. 🤦

My wife talked to AIS today. Calling the US is 15 baht per minute. 😲  This is for 800 numbers too. I was on Skype last night for at least an hour with one of my pension suppliers. That would have been 900 baht if I had used AIS. 

Has anyone successfully migrated to Google Voice? Did you have to have help from someone in the US with a mobile phone for verification?  I'm thinking of having my brother help me set it up.

Google Voice seems to be one of the better options as ChatGPT said it 'usually' works with OTPs and bank codes. I rarely need that.

Alternatively, has anyone used AIS and the 003 prefix to call the US (or another country)?  It says 3 baht per minute. I can live with that. 

12 minutes ago, Pib said:

Was this possible human's name "Sid?"   Sid was the name in my re-instated acct response.  And my response was short and sweet....could have easily been a bot response...a bot named Sid....or, maybe Sid was human.

My guy was named Mark.  It could easily be a bot, but this bot was programmed better. 

9 hours ago, Thailandbuckeye said:

An update to my post above. Sonetel fixed my calling issue. and I have decided on them to replace Skype. Their support was top notch although it to several days to get where I could make a call. During the process they always kept in touch and at one time offered a refund if I wasnt satisfied. I will keep Hushed as a backup since its lifetime.

 

I made a couple of calls with Sonetel, the quality was at least as good as Skype if not better.

 

Also Fanytel had its problems and their support was terrible. I never got an answer or fix to my problem.

Thanks a lot for the feedback on the various programs. 

I wonder if my Skype number can be ported to Sonetel as a landline? 🤔

HAPPY DAYS... I'm reinstated! 🥳  This time I had what appears to be a human responding to my ticket.  I got in AND setup my new PassKey in the MFA section. Now I can finally relax. 

I've got a YubiKey physical passkey now. So if ID.me ever does get back to me (it's been over a week), I'll try to get my MFA changed to using the passkey.  What a headache for something that should be resolved instantly. I'm surprised they're not asking me to fax them. 

15 hours ago, topt said:

Have you looked at https://www.localphone.com/ ?

You can get a local number apparently. I don't need that but the only thing for me that is a vague question mark is reliability based on reading some online comments and memory from some time ago.

Yes, I looked into it and saw some potential issues... sorry, I don't recall exactly what they were. I seem to remember something about not being able to port my US Skype number or having to change my Skype number from a landline (which it is now) to a mobile number. That would greatly decrease the chance of it being useable for verification codes and OTPs, which is my main reason for having Skype.  I have wasted so much time as I'm sure many of you have too. This sucks. 

1 hour ago, Thailandbuckeye said:

First off I have spent too much time on this. For info I use Apple products and I need a number in the USA preferably the Houston area since my mailing address is there.

 

I subscribed to Hushed lifetime offer (25.00 USD), it came with 1000 phone minutes per year and SMS which counts against your phone minutes. I have only tried it a couple of times but the phone quality has been excellent. It also has a number in Houston. I am not sure about security so I decided to look further.

 

Next up was Sonetel. Still in progress after 6 days, initially upon signing up I could make a call to the US, to get a number in the US I had to verify my identity. Once that was approved I could no longer make calls. Support has been timely but they have not been able to fix and have offered to refund all the money I signed up with. I am giving it a couple more days and then decide. The support is closed on weekends.

 

I also looked into Zadarma but didn’t sign up at this time due to id verification for phone number.

 

I have briefly look at Fanytel and this looks promising.

Once  I see what happens with Sonetel I’ll look into Fanytel a little further. I do not know about 2fa codes on any of these services since I don’t need. My banks use my Thai number and my credit cards are tied to these banks.

 

I have ruled out GV, Google Fi and Teams for various reasons.

 

Hopefully this info good or bad will help others.

Thanks for doing the research as I was looking at some of these options. I assumed they sucked... you verified it. 🙏

25 minutes ago, wasabi said:

I haven't seen any noteworthy updates to Skype for a few years yet millions still use it. Why not keep it on life support and continue raking in a few hundred million a year? I've searched and found no viable VOIP alternative that allows you to purchase unlimited calling to cell phones worldwide for a reasonable price. A combination of GoogleFi and Wifi calling may be an option. But wifi isn't always available when you need to make a call. 

Yeah, seriously... just raise the price.  I'd pay more for Skype.   I have a buddy who travels constantly and uses GoogleFi.  He says if he doesn't pop back in to the US periodically he'll lose it. I only visit the US every 3 or so years. When my mom passes, I have no reason to ever step foot on US soil again. 

49 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

The below is a cut an paste from the email Microsoft sent me.   This tells me both will work after the 5th May, but I will not even bother downloading Teams. 

 

 

• Skype Dial Pad: After May 5, 2025, the Skype Dial Pad will be available to remaining paid users from the Skype web portal and Teams, where you will continue to be able to use your subscription or Skype Credits.

From ChatGPT: If you have a Skype Number → No, Skype does not support receiving SMS to a Skype Number.

That's me out then. I ONLY care about being able to get bank codes and OTPs. 

Teams is of absolutely no interest to me. It's not a replacement for Skype at all!  MS drops the ball yet again. 

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I cancelled my Skype account, UK landline, expires start of April.

Just got an email saying I can reactivate by paying before expiry.

Not a hint Skype was ending, so what are they up to?

 

Seems to me they want to keep our subs going, for a service they won't be offering.

Crikey... this isn't rocket science. If they have an alternative plan whereby we can keep using Skype they should CLEARLY say that. 🤦

3 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

Instead of signing into the Skype app, you type in www.skype.com.  Then, in the top right hand corner you sign in.  A drop down box will appear and you select "Use Skype Online" and then enter your username and password. 

 

You will then be inside the Skype web portal, which Microsoft say will continue to work after the 5th May.  

 

You will notice the "User Interface" (UI) is the same as the app and what you are used to. 

 

What I am planning to do early May is uninstall the Skype app on my desktop computer and make a desktop shortcut icon for www.skype.com, and use the Skype symbol which you can download off the internet from various sources, and have it on my desktop.   So, I basically click on the Skype symbol and it takes me to www.skype.com and I sign in.  

Everything I'm reading says Skype will close and we'll have to use Teams. I just signed in at the www.skype site and didn't notice anything to the contrary.  What am I missing?  I'd really like to keep my Skype US (landline) number for bank codes and OTPs. 🤞

1 hour ago, exant said:

I know people over 15 years living isolated in Thailand USA relatives ftiends dead, and continue denial of USA SSA services trashed by sloopy untrained

temporary hired fired SSA agents.

Are you saying that you know some US expats who lost their Social Security?  If so, could you explain how they lost it, please?

15 minutes ago, exant said:

Galone outstanding education instruction for old age retired pernament USA citizens living in Thailand. Keep up the details of your struggle contacting communications with SSA.GOV International / Manila / FBU.  The trouble

desctibed inside SSA.GOV ASEAN blogs are scattered amd sloopy remarks that  has no practial dependable top down management solutions 

 

WHY these problems from a hand full of old age USA citizens should be focused towards and delivered toward the SSA.GOV paid managers who

continue to ignore 2025 agency  communication trouble.

 

I know people over 15 years living isolated in Thailand USA relatives ftiends dead, and continue denial of USA SSA services trashed by sloopy untrained

temporary hired fired SSA agents. We get old we get senile we get dead we get no respect... The past memory of a dedicated motivated enthusiastic help full knowledge full and able worker is now smoke and mirrors projected by a

hand full of happy Thailand  campers.

 

USA Citizen Customer services shall continue to degrade probably worse  for

retired ignored older expats, unless they vote together and combine together to educate, repair, replace, supervise USA customer service complaints herein

adjuticated       

Thanks, Exant... you nailed it. We seem to be cast aside when we're old. I started working a regular job at 14 (started paying SS as soon as I could) and there were no gaps in my employment until I moved to Thailand. SS is mine! I should be able to access it from anywhere. 

I don't see the communication issue getting any better in the next few years... quite the opposite. ID.me is NOT a government agency. They should communicate better or the government should give the identification contract to someone else... ID.me is robot-driven and these robots have a minimal vocabulary skill/data from my recent experiences. I asked simple direct questions and got an unrelated (obviously) cut-and-paste responses. 🤦🤦🤦  I then submit a ticket and cross my fingers.  Finger crossing shouldn't be part of the US government's way of doing business. 😤

7 minutes ago, Pib said:

Preaching to the choir I know....this is just for others who may not know how IDme, Login.gov, etc., works....why they exist....what they do.

They need an 800 number!

3 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

A seriously doubt a  hardware passkey is going to help from possibly get temporarily suspended unless when selecting as passkey as one of the 2FA methods available on IDme that use of a passkey overrides/prevents use of any other 2FA method such as Google Authenticator, SMS, etc., which I don't think it does. 

 

But a "passkey" does greatly help in phishing/using a fraudulent, fake website as doing the passkey setup the corrrect site to log into is part of the passkey setup.    And some websites, like some banking websites, are now starting to offer "software-based passkey" login where one of your devices, like mobile phone or computer, acts as a "passkey"...basically it simulates a hardware-based passkey.   Software-based passkeys may make hardware-based passkeys unneeded....and software-based passkeys are free; can't say the same for hardware-based passkeys.

 

IDme article on use of a passkey on IDme

https://help.id.me/hc/en-us/articles/10295798300951-Setting-up-passkey-multi-factor-authentication-MFA

What I've read is you can make the passkey the default MFA method and if for some reason it doesn't work, you can try the user name/PW option. This is all unnecessarily sketchy given that there is no emergency way to contact ID.me if everything fails. Roy needs to be fired. 😒

2 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

 

You said earlier you did a video chat to get re-verified...to get back online.  How did you do that? 

 

I tried to get a human again during a chat all kinds of ways but couldn't....was stuck with Roy, their "virtual agent,"    I even tried trying in things like "representative, agent, etc...etc....in initiating a chat to see if that got a human into the chat which works on other websites I've used over the years.   But no, I had to deal with Roy, say what my issue was, and then Roy would answer with a Link to click to continue like a link for a suspended acct. It was frustrating not being able to get a human....and as mentioned they do not provide phone support....they say such on their website.   

 

And a person can't create a 2nd IDme acct as that's forbidden.    And the only way I could find to do a video chat from looking at the IDme website/help articles was to schedule one but that required you to login into your IDme acct to schedule the chat which I couldn't do because of the temporary suspension which prevents login.  And such a video chat seemed to be for verification....like initial verification or if IDme sent you correspondence you need to schedule a reverification video chat for some reason.   

 

Yea, it was frustrating.  Hopefully it will not happen again.  But if/when it does I now now that that immediate assistance is probably not available...it's set back and wait for a IDme reply which took a week in my case.  Just glad I'm back online.   I logged into my acct again a few minutes ago....forth time today....two times directly into my IDme acct and two times when logging onto my IRS acct....all VPN connections.   Will keep my fingers crossed it don't happen again.

 

 

 

When it first happened, I got a video chat right away. I tried to login without using a VPN, which is what I usually do. It didn't work. I tried next with a VNP and got in!  A bit later, I tried the regular way and that's when I actually got my first 'temporarily suspended' notification.  Prior to that, it simply didn't work. 

I put in another ticket a couple of days ago and haven't heard back. Now, I want them to wait until I get a new Passkey from BKK. I'll hopefully be able to set that up with ID.me and eliminate the problem. 🤞  Passkeys are not cheap.  I got one of the cheaper ones and it was still 1,800 baht.   Oh well, I'll use it to log into other things, so not a waste if it doesn't work for ID.me.

8 minutes ago, Tom100 said:

I had this problem when I tried to login using Chrome. Logging in with Microsoft Edge was easy.

Most government logins are optimized around Microsoft...and the contacters that build these <deleted>ty websites are not the best. 

Try Edge!

They (ID.me) recommend Chrome, but what you're saying makes sense. I did try Edge and couldn't get it. I have zero idea why my account is 'temporarily suspended'.  The bots that talk to me don't understand plain English.   

20 minutes ago, Pib said:

For IRS acct logon, ID.Me is the one and only option. 

 

Login.gov is not an option.  I read something around a  year ago that since Login.gov didn't have the capabilities of ID.me, especially video chat verification to accomplish verfication for people who do not have a US drivers license, th at IRS was sticking with ID.me but will hopefully add Login.gov as another login option once Login.gov expands its capabilities to verify people who have challenges in getting verified like not having a US drivers license/State ID.

I don't know how Login.gov's customer service/help works, but ID.me's sucks! There's no way to contact them directly that I've found.  they need a complaint department too so I can go 'full Karen' on them. 😉  I hope the lose their government contract. They don't deserve it. 

I've got a legit driver's license for another year and a half. I've got a passkey coming soon. Once I've got that. I'll contact ID.me again and see if they can help AND I'll see about creating a login.gov account... with the help of my brother's mobile phone. I have his house as my legit US address so that part is sorted. 

16 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

The login.gov login is for my wife.  My memory is no longer consistent enough to say for sure, but I think she signed up after we moved to Thailand and before we set up an UltraMobile PayGo number.  We may have only had Google Voice.

Thanks for your information.  I've watched a few YouTube videos this morning about setting up a Login.gov account. The problem I'll have is no US phone number in my name.  However, login.gov apparently lets you continue by using old fashion mail to complete the process. I just ordered a passkey (electronic authenticator) and once I've got that, I'll attempt to get a login.gov account. I don't trust ID.me... and I'd simply like to have both ID.me and login.gov 

6 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

I honestly don't remember, sorry. It's been a few years. One of these 2 systems required a video call to set up but not sure which it was. 

 

 

I did a video chat with ID.me on the initial setup and again early this week to re-verify my identity.   ChatGPT says, "No, Login.gov does not require a video chat verification for identity verification. Instead, the process involves uploading photos of your government-issued ID and, in some cases, a selfie."

So, if I end up not being able to get ID.me resolved (and it's not looking like their side is interested in helping me), I might give login.gov a shot. 

Thanks for the info. 🙏