Skype Requirements To Call Landline Phones In Us From Los

[Genericnic]

Happy holidays all.

When I arrive in Thailand, I will have Skype on both my Macbook and my iPhone. I have done Skype-to-Skype in the US but have not done any Skype-to-landline here or anywhere else. Is there anyone currently using Skype in Thailand that is calling landlines in the US? If so, can you tell me what I need in addition to Skype on the machines? I'm pretty sure I need to purchase some type of credit with Skype but their website it not the most informative I have seen.

Any assistance is appreciated.

David

[retiredusn]

You may want to look at Magic Jack which is available just about anywhere. with MJ you can call any land line in the US for free ($19 per year) and another great thing about it is folks from there can call you also for free. The wife talks with her mother a couple times a week from here to Seattle so that alone pay for the yearly fee.......

[lopburi3]

You pay for credit and they have other plans. I did long ago and have to use one time within six months (at least a one second call) but they have other methods now. The cost of calls is so low still have most of the 10 (whatever) deposit still available years later.

[Genericnic]

You may want to look at Magic Jack which is available just about anywhere. with MJ you can call any land line in the US for free ($19 per year) and another great thing about it is folks from there can call you also for free. The wife talks with her mother a couple times a week from here to Seattle so that alone pay for the yearly fee.......

Thanks for the information. I checked it out and unfortunately, it won't work with the iPhone. I won't always have the laptop with me as I travel so having Skype will be more in line with what I need.

David

[Genericnic]

You pay for credit and they have other plans. I did long ago and have to use one time within six months (at least a one second call) but they have other methods now. The cost of calls is so low still have most of the 10 (whatever) deposit still available years later.

Thanks lopburi. That was what I thought but wanted to confirm with someone that had actual experience with it. I won't have to make many calls back to the states but cheaper is better even for them.

David

[krading]

I buy credit at $16 a time hooked to a credit card and it automatically tops up when the amount drops to $4.

I only call through the computer tho.

[lopburi3]

This seems to be the home page for payment options.

http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/prices/

[lomatopo]

It looks like the iPhone Skype application only works on 3G or WiFi, so make sure you have network access and/or a mobile data plan for your iPhone.

I suspect you could try all this before you leave. Get a Skype account, load some money, call the fixed-line (of someone you might call from Thailand from your PC), have them call you back; call your current iPhone, or another mobile, from your PC, have them call back; call your fixed-line from your iPhone using Skype, call a friend's mobile from your iPhone, etc. You'll experience more delay, and some other anomalies (echo) from Thailand but the basic experience will be the same. This way you know if this method will work for you, or maybe you need a back-up? For $40, a magicJack might be a reasonable back-up plan?

I've been using magicJack for ~ 3 years; I'm still amazed how well it works - call completion is 99.5%, and on 95% of the calls delay is manageable, on ~ 2% of my calls far-end echo (hearing my own voice) is a problem which I either deal with or make another call. Their voice-mail to email service is really great; any voice-mail gets emailed to you, within ~ 5 seconds, with the audio file attached.

You also might consider getting a Google Voice account before you leave as you can only sign up if you are in the U.S.

And take a look at Line2 http://www.line2.com/index.html , and VOIP.MS http://voip.ms/

Finally you might want to port your current numbers, mobile and/or fixed to a pre-paid service provider to protect them.

[Genericnic]

Thanks guys for the useful information (as always). Lomatopo, thanks for reminding me about Google Voice. I had totally forgotten about that.

David

[Thaigreg]

Thanks guys for the useful information (as always). Lomatopo, thanks for reminding me about Google Voice. I had totally forgotten about that.

David

Hi David,

If you use a VPN or proxy server Google Voice is free for calls in the US. I just finished talking to a friend in WA state.

Greg

[WilliaminBKK]

Skype has a call plan as well, I pay 6.99 a month for unlimited call to Canada and the USA, I also set up thier SKYPE IN which allows me to get a USA phone number and the calls are free.

You can also set your Skype In phone number for call display so people will know it is you calling, if you don't then Skype will show 0000000000 or 123456 sometimes it will show the most bizzare area codes so the callers wont answer the phone.

I found the pay as you go option tiring as I used the credit quickly and it would auto charge my credit card but when I was running low on credit it would take a day, the plan allows you to buy it for 3 months up to a year.

Invest in a good quality head set, I find the one that hooks up to the USB to be superior.

[WilliaminBKK]

David, I forgot to mention you can load Skype on your Itouch, Ipad you will need the ear buds that have the mic. I purchased the one from the Apple store expensive like all Apple products but it has only one jack and is compatible with all Apple products.

[craigt3365]

I've used Skype for years, in probably 40 different countries for calls all over the world. Works great. What I love is the auto-recharge capability (I use PayPal, and it seems to work instantly) and the ability to use it from any PC anywhere that is connected to the internet.

I often travel to far off places and travel without a laptop. Works great.

I also have an international calling card with access numbers in pretty much every country in the world. You can just pickup the phone in your hotel room and dial away...the numbers are usually local/800 numbers so there is no local fee. Works great if you are somewhere that has very poor internet service. Also works great for when I land in the US and have to call from the pay phone as I don't have a cell phone anymore in the US. Great for when you are at the airport trying to find your ride!!!

[Genericnic]

Thanks for all the help guys. Looks like it will be Skype with Google Voice as a back-up. I'll look into the router suggestion too, Greg.

David

[nikster]

David, I forgot to mention you can load Skype on your Itouch, Ipad you will need the ear buds that have the mic. I purchased the one from the Apple store expensive like all Apple products but it has only one jack and is compatible with all Apple products.

Any "iPhone compatible" headset with Mic will work, doesn't need to be from Apple. iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Macs all support both normal headsets (with no mic) and headsets with mic. I use my iPhone headset on the Mac and iPad.

Have been using Skype for years, works fine. You can top up from within the Skype app.

The best feature for me is the ability to call 800 numbers for free - that's the killer. Our company uses conference call lines and these take hours. Calling from a regular phone outside the USA, it wouldn't be a toll free call, and it would get expensive very quickly. With Skype - free!

Another cool thing is the ability to send SMS from skype - just discovered this. I verified my phone number so it looks like it came from my Thai phone. The advantage over sending SMS from the phone is that those sent with Skype arrive reliably. Sending texts to the USA is otherwise hit and miss - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. With Skype - just works (and costs next to nothing).

I've been thinking about getting Skype In to work - sounds like a good service. But then again, I'd much rather people send me emails, and if they call it better be important enough to warrant them making an international call.

Edited December 26, 2010 by nikster

[gamini]

I find calling from skype to a landline much clearer than calling by phone. Skype to Skype is not very clear at times

You pay for credit and they have other plans. I did long ago and have to use one time within six months (at least a one second call) but they have other methods now. The cost of calls is so low still have most of the 10 (whatever) deposit still available years later.

Thanks lopburi. That was what I thought but wanted to confirm with someone that had actual experience with it. I won't have to make many calls back to the states but cheaper is better even for them.

David

[lomatopo]

Skype has a call plan as well, I pay 6.99 a month for unlimited call to Canada and the USA, I also set up thier SKYPE IN which allows me to get a USA phone number and the calls are free.

You can also set your Skype In phone number for call display so people will know it is you calling, if you don't then Skype will show 0000000000 or 123456 sometimes it will show the most bizzare area codes so the callers wont answer the phone.

I found the pay as you go option tiring as I used the credit quickly and it would auto charge my credit card but when I was running low on credit it would take a day, the plan allows you to buy it for 3 months up to a year.

Invest in a good quality head set, I find the one that hooks up to the USB to be superior.

http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/prices/pay-monthly#US

Also, if you choose SkypeIn after you choose a calling plan you get a 50% discount on SkypeIn ($30/year vs. the normal price of $60/year, presumably for the first year only). magicJack gives you a telephone number with initial purchase, and free calling inbound/outbound, in the U.S. Still hard to beat.

FWIW, you cannot currently port a number to Skype, nor to Google Voice nor to magicJack, but you can port to higher level VoIP/SIP providers like Vonage, Ooma, et al.

[smiling mantis]

I was amazed on my first trip to Thailand two or three years ago to find that I could use Skype from my MacBook tethered to a Nokia N95 over EDGE! Couldn't do Skype-Out for some reason, but Skype-to-Skype worked brilliantly!

But yesterday I try to Skype-Out using the hotel's wifi and I get a voice recording telling me the number I was dialing is blocked. I read later that Skype is still having issues with its supernodes. I hope that's it and that numbers in the U.S. are being blocked. Odd that this should happen during Christmas.

The only other criticism I have is that sometimes it's difficult using the keypad to navigate voicemail menus. Trying to talk to your bank back in the U.S. for instance can literally drive you insane cause they constantly want you to press 1, 2, 3, etc. It's gotten better over the years but still not perfect.

[SantiSuk]

I was amazed on my first trip to Thailand two or three years ago to find that I could use Skype from my MacBook tethered to a Nokia N95 over EDGE! Couldn't do Skype-Out for some reason, but Skype-to-Skype worked brilliantly!

But yesterday I try to Skype-Out using the hotel's wifi and I get a voice recording telling me the number I was dialing is blocked. I read later that Skype is still having issues with its supernodes. I hope that's it and that numbers in the U.S. are being blocked. Odd that this should happen during Christmas.

The only other criticism I have is that sometimes it's difficult using the keypad to navigate voicemail menus. Trying to talk to your bank back in the U.S. for instance can literally drive you insane cause they constantly want you to press 1, 2, 3, etc. It's gotten better over the years but still not perfect.

Buy a Skype phone for 500baht in the big telecom/IT retail centres that all big towns have in Thailand and use that instead of headphones. Using the phone pad is easier than the on-screen key pad