Skype going - voice calls - using SIP / VOIP services and clients as alternatives

[ukrules]

I've been doing some research recently and as Skype is apparently going to be turned off I decided to look into the various VOIP systems that exist.

 

These are a little more complex to setup - not much but more than just installing some software and entering the user/pass like you do on Skype

 

However some of them do appear to be very straightforward but to get an incoming number the process differs between providers.

 

I have quite a specific requirement in that I want to record phone calls and do so in MP3, not WAV format.

 

With this type of system you get some VOIP SIP software and configure it to connect to the 'SIP gateway' which is a separate paid for service and not related to the software - some of the gateways offer software as part of the package - but my MP3 recording requirement made this useless to me.

 

First I purchased a Zoiper 5 Pro license which is a piece of software that connects to a VOIP/SIP account - this works but it only records in WAV format - so that's out - wasted money there - for me - however it does appear to be a decent piece of software if you don't need to record or are not too fussy about disk space usage when you do record - WAV files are not small compared to MP3 files.

I only use it for voice calls to landlines and mobile phones and for this to work reliably you do need to obtain a phone number for the account.

 

So I then download MicroSip which is a free cilent and offers recording in MP3 format - note this is from microsip.org - don't use any other domain to download this piece of software. It's free, works well and offers auto recording in MP3 format.

 

Then I setup a VOIPStudio account over at voipstudio.com - it was some hassle to get a number attached to the account - I wanted a local number in the UK, they needed some kind of proof of ties to the country where you get the number, I did a ticket with them and mentioned that surely my uk registered credit card would be enough and they agreed. Now I did the same with another SIP provider and after setting it all up they said they had put a verification code in the mail - as in normal old fashioned letter mail - it still hasn't arrived after half a week so they're out.

 

Anyway I managed to test MicroSip with VOIPStudio and it works just fine, call recording and all.

 

Now this type of system is more of a business orientated system - the kind of setup that callcenters often use but it is widely available for single users like myself and the VOIPStudio has a 2000 minute per month calling plan which should be enough for most months for me.

 

So for those of you who are looking for this kind of solution - this is it, as described above.

It's for calling land lines and mobiles in different countries at heavily discounted prices / included minutes - which is exactly what I used Skype for to mostly speak to elderly relatives who are not altering their phone systems in their lifetimes.

 

this type of setup is the solution - forget Microsoft Teams - it's pure garbage and requires a business account and subscriptions to Microsoft 365 plus a Teams Phone license and even then subscription plans on top of all this - there seems to be like 4 levels of accounts, software and config to get through before getting Teams to do voice to landlines / mobiles so I quickly gave up on that.

 

[ukrules]

The above is long but worth a read if you want a Skype alternative that just works and in a very similar way......

[rough diamond]

24 minutes ago, ukrules said:

The above is long but worth a read if you want a Skype alternative that just works and in a very similar way......

Do you have any alternatives without the need to record etc.

i.e. Just a one to one "telephone" call from a mobile in Thailand to an overseas Government/business landline?

[ukrules]

12 minutes ago, rough diamond said:

Do you have any alternatives without the need to record etc.

i.e. Just a one to one "telephone" call from a mobile in Thailand to an overseas Government/business landline?

 

I was personally only looking for Windows solutions but yes, there are plenty that have apps.

The Zoiper software is available on desktops, Android and IOS so yes, that's why I mentioned it even though it doesn't fit my use case.

It is a professional piece of software and works just fine - however it's not for me - but for many people this a very usable option - it's available at zoiper.com

 

Check it out : https://www.zoiper.com/en/products

It's worth noting that there are many many different pieces of software for desktop and mobiles that do this kind of thing and some of them are free with the phone service provider subscriptions - there's also 1000s of companies providing the phone service.

 

[phetphet]

As far as I can gather, Teams charges a monthly subscription for the ability to make phone calls. There is a free version, but itdoesn't have a phone keypad.

 

The good thing about Skype was the ability to keep a small amount of credit there just for the occasional calls when needed.  It was great for free video calls to friends and for educational purposes. Obviously not a good business plan for Microsoft.

I can now just use FaceTime, Signal or Telegram for  free voice and  video calls.

A lot of those who used Skype for educational video calls will have likely switched to Zoom.

 

i found this webpage that lists some alternatives:

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/skype-alternatives/

 

Also this chart to help decide what might be a good replacement:

If it is unreadable, here is the website I took it from. It shows some other alternatives.

https://www.kdan.com/blog/skype-alternatives

 

 

 

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, phetphet said:

As far as I can gather, Teams charges a monthly subscription for the ability to make phone calls. There is a free version, but itdoesn't have a phone keypad.

 

Yeah this is where Teams falls apart and it fails badly. Only Teams for business with the multiple associated business software licenses and subscriptions will allow landline and mobile calls - you can't get the phone software or subscription to work with a personal account - it simply rejects it immediately and instantly - believe me - I've tried to do it. This is what made me reconsider the real VOIP services which have really been around for a long time now.

 

Just try and use Teams to call a land line and you will see a kafkaesque path of licensing and subscriptions open up in front of you.

 

Unless Microsoft make big changes to Teams and how it handles Skype type accounts or open it up for use with personal accounts then there's going to be big problems.

None of the apps are worth anything if you need to call a landline, mobile phone without apps or a government office or bank in a foreign country - not one of them are suited to the task.

 

[topt]

3 hours ago, phetphet said:

Also this chart to help decide what might be a good replacement:

Unfortunately I don't think any of those options do what many of us are looking for - as you said -

3 hours ago, phetphet said:

he good thing about Skype was the ability to keep a small amount of credit there just for the occasional calls when needed

 

20 minutes ago, ukrules said:

None of the apps are worth anything if you need to call a landline, mobile phone without apps or a government office or bank in a foreign country - not one of them are suited to the task.

Agreed.

One option I am still thinking about is localphone

https://www.localphone.com/call/united_kingdom

[ukrules]

The best thing about voipstudio is the 2000 minutes per month plan which costs just £17 a month and comes with a local number - I do make a LOT of calls every month and could use most of those minutes.

I also setup a secondary account with 'SipGate' which allows pay per minute in case the first one stops working for any reason. both accounts have separate local numbers in the UK for me but have worldwide options.

I found that I can also add an additional piece of software to my computer which cleans up the audio automatically so it's incredibly clear on the other end and on the recorded calls - there was a lot of air conditioner related background noise when I first used it as the VOIP software contains no way to remove background noise at all, I believe Skype does some kind of processing but it's not that good.

In case anyone is interested and has an Nvidia graphics card I used something that's free called 'NVIDIA Broadcast' and it has these options which completely remove any background noise / hiss / echo - also keyboard typing sounds - it just sounds like you're sitting in professional a studio speaking into a high end microphone.

Now my microphone is on the better end of the home user scale - it's a 'Yeti' by Blue but even so the sound quality sitting right in front of the microphone with this free app named 'NVIDIA Broadcast' is perfect - the best I've heard.

 

 

So I have my full Skype replacement solution and it works better than the previous setup - I'm all set for years to come.