rwilem

When is your due date? And when did you submit the report that the system shows is PENDING? And to clarify, for in-person reporting there is a 'grace period' of up to 7 days AFTER the due date, during which time you can submit it without being fined.

Had not thought of that. Seems like that would be an ideal way to go to sample localphone. Yeah, about the search, some agonizing...I hear you. Well, getting my U.S. TextNow number getting zapped, then Skype going down, you're out in the wild, U.S. number-less and no call-out ability, when things had been running on auto-pilot for years. On the True tourist Sim, the link didn't show, or maybe I missed it, what the initial outlay is for buying and funding it. And the costs for extending it, keeping it funded. But certainly 1 baht a minute calling to the U.S. is decent, and I would venture that the call quality should be better than VOIP.

Interesting.... I guess you'd have to get a 'tourist sim' and set that up. Lot of questions, though. How long is a 'tourist sim' going to be valid for? Forever, as long as it's funded? Not a lot of info at the site, but I'll look for it.

Wow, good to know. I didn't try that, just had the idea on the back burner after reading accounts of that process. I'll not pursue that method, no. After getting some call-out service, I'll be covered. I may just wait till my next trip to the U.S. to get a Voice account, get one on the up-and-up.

No, not accurate. There's no 'citizenship test' for acquiring a Voice account/number. (And it is available in some other countries in addition to the U.S.) In the U.S., to make an account you would have to be present, or fool google that you are (VPN), and have a U.S. mobile provider phone number able to receive the code to confirm the account.

So far, seems like it's tough to beat localphone's basic rate for calls to the U.S. I've contacted support at Mytello, to clarify if a purchase of a block of minutes is a one-off buy (with minutes having no short-term expiration period) or if it's based on a recurring monthly subscription model (with the minutes valid for only a month.) Received two conflicting, opposite answers from the same rep. First, he said it was a monthly subscription, the minutes do expire. Your subscription would be renewed. OK. Then I pointed out some info from the same 'U.S. rates' page on their website at the bottom, the details, which said the opposite, that your minutes don't expire. Brought that to his attention, and he changed his tune immediately. 'Yes, it's a one-time buy, not a subscription, the minutes don't expire.' So which is it? Doesn't inspire much confidence. That's for Mytello. Have contacted localphone support with a couple pre-buy queries, no response yet. If you want to make a test call with all these calling outfits seems you have to sign up first, get an account. I guess easy enough, but... Oh, well. Seems the top contenders for replacing the Skype call-out function are localphone, Mytello, Yolla and Viber. And one more that I came across yesterday, DialHard, which is web-based, no app. Want to look closer at that one. Will have to get something in the next couple days, as my Skype subscription is gone now. Ended yesterday or Sunday. No more Skype. Had a 16-17 year run with them.

Yeah, looks like your count is accurate, if counting April 4th as day 1 of the new time frame. But it doesn't matter. Could look at it this way, you got a one-day 'bonus' on your 90.😉

Yeah, who knows? I set up the new account on the laptop, via the google web site, and got going on the Voice set up, again via the website. But when it came time to confirm the code, it fizzled. I was actually looking at Sim cards on ebay and noted at least three sellers who were offering activation, or 'pre-activation' of the cards and shipping them out. That idea popped up here in these forums, a post from a year or so ago? I don't know if the poster actually bought the Sim card he was discussing, but I did. The Ultra sim, $3/mo plan, 100/100 T&T, 100 mb. I went, I guess, 'Cadillac'? The seller would activate it and add $35 credit to the card, so if you stay within the monthly limits it won't need to be 'topped-up' for another 10-11 months. (Have to see what additional taxes, charges, are applied to the monthly drawdown of the credit.) So that $35 is reflected in the cost I paid, which was a tad under $90. And the card was activated, account established up-and-running after getting here. How that's done, I don't know, but it's done and working fine and I've got management of the account now. Some other Sim 'activator-sellers' activate the card before they ship it, and get a number in an area you may not want. The seller I bought from got me a number in my preferred zip/area code. Great to hear it's worked out except for that hiccup you mentioned. Yeah, I'm gonna get that set up. The entire thing that I have experienced, my 'main' number held for five years from TextNow getting zapped, because using it from here violated the TOS, and then about a week later, the news of Skype's pending shutdown is a double whammy. I feel like taking a 'shotgun approach' to covering me to be able make calls when you need to call out to the U.S.

And have you noted your 'next due date' on the APPROVED pdf file? (Was it 'counted' 90 days from the date you submitted it, April 4th, I believe?)

This is correct. Ideally you want to do the online report on the first day you are allowed to. And that is two calendar weeks before your due date. Either that day or the next one is the best time to do it. The email, don't wait or look for it. (May end up in the junk folder, too.) Note your due date. Going to the date two weeks prior to it and doing the report that day seems to be the path to APPROVED land!

I don't know about that subscription. My read from what's being reported is that it's not going to be an option, at least in my case. I don't have credit. I have had a monthly subscription, of some kind, whether it be a 'world' or 'U.S. subscription', unlimited calling, for 16, 17 years. They're not renewing those subscriptions. People who have credit, who have used Skype that way, they might be able to do something within the Teams app, but even that seems unclear at this point. Teams is geared for more for business and corporate customers. The individual customer who wants to make 'calls out' is not really welcome there, that's the consensus emerging from what people are reporting. Did you use the Tello app? Do you make an overseas call first calling a local number here--as some of the outfits seem to operate--or you dialed directly to the overseas number? Many (maybe all?) of these providers and/or apps give you a chance to make a sample call. Good idea to do that before deciding to go ahead with a purchase.

First, great reply, thanks! I did this a couple weeks back. On the laptop, VPN, in conjunction with a friend standing by in the U.S., ready to receive and relay the code from his mobile. (I didn't have a U.S. mobile number, more on that in a minute). In real time, just prior to the code being sent to his phone a popup scam warning message appeared on his end. I said, 'hey, just go ahead, disregard it', he did, told me the code which I inputted on my end here. Nothing. Failure. Nothing 'registered', and I don't have an idea where it went wrong. My friend was not really enthused about making another try after that. Yeah, it did it all. Sideloaded the app in preparation for getting an account, and did the set up of Voice on the laptop, had even chosen the U.S. number. But it failed, for whatever reason, along the way. The code receipt/relay point was where it seemed to come apart. I then learned about acquiring a 'short time' number or SMS service to facilitate receiving the code directly, to set up a Voice account while outside the U.S., but haven't/didn't pursue it. This! Yes, and I have done that. In a roundabout, but direct way. Again, the friends there, just about everyone has an iphone, and they are locked to their postpaid service provider plans. (AT&T seems to the carrier of choice.) Mention Sim cards to them, activating there, mailing to me here...nah, it's not gonna fly. They don't quite grasp the concept, but nothing they ever have to think about, right? But I don't think they'd be able to activate an Ultra, or T-mobile Sim, anyway, and I realized that. (I've never had a 'contract' phone service, always unlocked, a 'free agent' so to speak, going prepaid, just my preference. So swapping Sims is something I do. So I kind of forget about limitations imposed on many provider customers in the States, friends among them. 'Oh yeah....you couldn't do it, anyway.' Good news is on ebay I bought that same $3/month Ultra Mobile Sim you are talking about from a seller who was able to activate it there, in effect providing the activate there and send to me here service. Just got it, just got it set up, and I plan soon to try to get a Voice account using that Ultra Mobile number for receiving the code. Maybe today or tomorrow I can try that. Great to have the Ultra Sim, but still need the Skype replacement for my needs. (Because the Ultra sim is limited in minutes, and for those times you are 'waiting' in a queue, you wouldn't want to use it. (And calls received count against the monthly limit as well.) One catch about Voice, though. It seems is they can dump you if you are not careful about usage from overseas. Exclusive usage from overseas could be dicey, or maybe not. I don't know. But some people have lost their number over this issue. So in that regard it's not fail-safe as Skype has been. I will try out one of the call-out apps that utilize wifi-calling. It's worth buying minutes or credit and take a shot. Talk360, I think with them you can buy a batch of minutes at a single time, and they are good for 18 months. 250 baht for 740 minutes, they offer that. How it all works in actual usage, maybe just make an account, buy that and find out.

I know that. But I do not have a google voice number. Have you been able to set up a google voice account while being in Thailand? I've been trying, with assistance from a friend or two in the U.S., and still not able to get it going. If you have any advice on the steps to successfully set up a google voice account while overseas, and not present in the U.S., please advise, myself and others would like to know.

Ouch! That is far too much to contend with. When you put it like that, with all the breach of your info, well...then a bank transfer is preferable. But even that leaves me skittish. OK, I saw one outfit, can't recall off the top right now, but I can locate it, and I think it is SIP-connected. They were offering 500 minutes for $2.00. And not a monthly subscription type plan but a one-time purchase. I contacted support, asking if there was any expiry of the minutes, i.e. did they have to be used within a certain time frame or expire if they weren't used? Got a reply saying the minutes never expire. 500 minutes...that is probably enough for me to cover me for 6-8 months, if not longer. Now, is that a 'too good to be true' offer here? I'll look a little closer at that one, see what the catch is.

Thank you for your reply. I've seen your thread and posts on VOIP on the forum. You have an abundance of knowledge and expertise in VOIP technology, you are the go-to guy on VOIP in this forum. Even if some of the info is going over my head, I'm still learning a lot from your contributions. I had not really known anything about SIP until a few weeks ago. Yet, it's been around for a long time already. And seems to have a lot of potential to be the answer here, for being able to make the calls to numbers in the U.S., and at a good rate. That said, the tech seems to be more oriented toward heavier duty, for businesses and calling from computers. I'm strictly mobile, not making calls from a computer but from a mobile phone. But it is good to see some niche for mobile calling in the SIP eco-system. Anyway, the bank transfer mode of payment you mentioned here isn't an attractive option, for me at least. I'd just prefer to use a credit card. I assume there are going to be some SIP providers (or clients, is that the term?) who accept payment on a U.S. credit card. I have downloaded the Linphone app, and a couple other 'work with SIP' apps, but haven't proceeded with any of them yet. Callcentric is another outfit, and I saw that customers can 'rent' a phone number, which comes at a cost of about $3/month. OK, something to consider. If you want a number, which I really don't need. I made some of my last Skype calls yesterday. I told one customer service rep at some point during the call that I was calling on Skype, from here. She was surprised. I asked her what was showing up on her end as to where the incoming call was from. I did not hear a clear reply, and it wasn't that important anyway, as we just carried on with the business at hand. Oh yes, the scammers are out in force. Skype worked like a charm. There were even many months when I didn't make any calls, but it was worth it to have the subscription and keep it because when you did need it, it was there and was reliable. That's what I'd really like to replicate.