My landline phone service dates to long ago, and lots of people know that number. I'd like to keep the number, cancel outgoing service, but forward all incoming calls to another number. The landline provider wants a high a fee to do that, so I'm looking for other options. Online searching turns up many services that say they can park a number for a few dollars per month, but I gather parking is not the same as call forwarding. I want a reliable provider that can forward. Anyone have advice or experience to share?
phone number call forwarding
- Thread starter GrayHare
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ERD50
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Can't you just port the number to your mobile (I assume you have a mobile?). Or another mobile (or VOIP) with cheap monthly rates, and set that up for forwarding? You might not even need a phone or adapter - I have my VOIP set up such that when it can't connect to my adapter, it just FW the call to my mobile.
-ERD50
-ERD50
ERD50
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Check CallCentric - they have a $1 incoming only plan (plus 911 fee and tax) Wasn't clear if you could port a number to that plan though. My sister-in-law set up our MIL with Callcentric VOIP, and they were fine.
https://www.callcentric.com/did/
-ERD50
https://www.callcentric.com/did/
-ERD50
OldShooter
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Ooma might be worth a look. I know they have some kind of call forwarding but I don't know if it is available on their free plan. If you decide to go with them eBay is your friend for their "Telo" VoIP interface box. Twenty or thirty bucks, IIRC.
Funny, that's the exact reason I dumped our 30 year old landline number.
You could port it to Google Voice, and then forward the GV number to another number. GV is totally free to do that. But IIRC it's $20 (one-time) to port a number. Also IIRC, you can't directly port a landline number to GV. You have to first port it to a temporary mobile number and then to GV. Sounds like a hassle but it's actually quite easy with tons of online step-by-step tutorials.
But still, my instinct would be to dump it and say goodbye to robo calls.
easysurfer
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Took me awhile (mentally) to drop the old fashioned landline. Security blanket.
Eventually went to Ooma, porting my landline's number over. I do have the premium service for the call blocking. Worth the added about $10/month cost, IMO.
I know many have gone cell only but I like the feel of an old fashioned handset in my hands and on my face.
Eventually went to Ooma, porting my landline's number over. I do have the premium service for the call blocking. Worth the added about $10/month cost, IMO.
I know many have gone cell only but I like the feel of an old fashioned handset in my hands and on my face.
EastWest Gal
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We have Ooma but have not used call forwarding. It looks like call forwarding is only available for premium service.
We like premium service as well for its call blocking features. As time goes on, we are getting less and less robocalls. We should probably use the call forwarding feature when we travel.
We ported our landline phone number to Ooma, but like GV, it is not direct, and it takes a few days to go into effect.
We like premium service as well for its call blocking features. As time goes on, we are getting less and less robocalls. We should probably use the call forwarding feature when we travel.
We ported our landline phone number to Ooma, but like GV, it is not direct, and it takes a few days to go into effect.
I got the cheapest magic jack service and ported the number. Then forward that number to google voice. If someone is legit and needs to reach me they can leave a message - GV sends me a text and recording of any messages left. I can still dial out - which is good because we have wireless phones attached to this number.
ERD50
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Not sure I follow you. VOIP doesn't have a different type of number, I can (and have) forward from my VOIP to my mobile, or any other phone. I can probably go the other way, never tried but I don't see any reason why not.
Agree, and there is a solution that works well. IIRC, MichaelB found one for a relative, and it worked out.
Look for a Bluetooth enabled 'land line' phone. Like these:
https://www.amazon.com/DECT-6-Phone-Base-Station/s?k=DECT+6+Phone+Base+Station
https://www.amazon.com/AT-TL96273-Expandable-Bluetooth-Speakerphone/dp/B00CGYCONY
You pair your cell phone to it (most take multiple cell phones for a family), and when it sees your cell they connect and you receive and place calls from what looks like a standard "land line" phone. It is easy, and worked flawlessly when I set it up for my DM.
You don't need any actual 'land line', just use it with your cell phones. This way, you can have extensions all over the house, always charged and ready to go. Never tied to a charger when you are on hold with a low battery, just go pick up another extension. And a real keypad!
-ERD50
Brat
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I have a GV number I use for my long-term care ombudsman role. It used to forward to my cellphone but it won't do that anymore (legacy account). Can you tell me how to call forward from GV?
RetiredAndLovingIt
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Have you installed the google voice app to your cell and set up your phone number to ring on the app?
ERD50, you are mentioning VOIP and cell options but those don't match my needs. My present situation involves no VOIP or cell, nor do I wish to add either. Maybe the better alternative is to simply park the number, but which provider should I pick?
OldShooter
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You actually already have VoIP because you have an internet (IP) connection. You really don't "add" it. To use Ooma, for example, you connect their Telo box to your router and plug your phone or phones into the box. You then go on line to their site and give them your info. That's about it. They initially give you their $10/month premium service for a free trial, but you can just drop that any time before the trial is over. I'm sure other services are similar.
(All of the wireline phones in your house are connected to the same pair of wires that run around the house. If you disconnect those wires from the "demarc" where your wireline enters the house and instead plug into the Telo box you are done. You can make this connection by simply connecting a standard phone, aka RJ-11, cable between any wall jack and the Telo. All of your phones now use the VoIP connection. Same phones, same wires. VoIP or wireline, you won't know the difference.)
ERD50
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I guess I'm not following you. You want to keep the old number, and have calls to it forwarded to another number, right? Well, that involves keeping the old number active, so that it can receive and forward calls. You nee something to do that.
Out of curiosity, I did a little looking into 'parking' a number. From the first site I found, it still costs ~ $2/month just to have a message played to anyone that calls it, and another $6/month to be able to forward calls. You can get a VOIP service for less than that, and just set it up to forward the calls to you.
So you replace you landline fees with a lower VOIP fee. The callcentric site I linked is $1/month (plus 911 fee and tax), and has unlimited incoming calls, and does forwarding.
https://www.callcentric.com/did/
and check if you can port your number to them here:
https://www.callcentric.com/lnp/
What is missing from that option?
-ERD50
rk911
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not quite your situation, OP, but we ported our copper landline nunber to an Xfinity VoIP and then set up that VoIP to also ring both of our mobile numbers. this allows us to continue to give our "landine" number to businesses, doctors, banks, brokerages and keep our mobile number for friends, family, etc. the AT&T copper line was running about $100+ p/m. the VoIP is ~$30 p/m.
ERD50
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I don't think he would have to do any of that. No adapter, no phone lines, no RJ45 jacks, no nothing.
https://www.callcentric.com/how/
I had MIL's account set up like mine - on the web page for your account, you enter the number you want to forward to as the "fail rollover" number. if the system can't find your adapter on the network (because internet is down, power is off, or you don't have one!), it will forward the call the number you gave it.
They even have instructions for setting up their app on your smart-phone or computer. So no need to buy anything. OP could use that to try it out, but I'm 99.999% sure he would never have to do anything but set up the "fail rollover" on the account web page.
-ERD50
Judging by their site, a service that appears to do what I want is numberbarn.com. With them I don't need to add any VOIP or any equipment since they purport to forward the call to a number I already have, which is what I'm looking for. Anyone here used them? Feedback on them (or an equivalent company) is welcome.
Brat
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I didn't know I needed to do that. I will give that a try.
ERD50
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Maybe you missed my previous post, you don't need to add any equipment to get an account for any VOIP phone - just set the account to forward to the number you want.
From what I saw, Numberbarn is going to cost you much more per month (~ $8) than a receive only CallCentric account ($1/m + $1.95/m 911 fee).
-ERD50
RetiredAndLovingIt
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If you're planning to forward the number to your cellphone, then Google Voice is the best option in the long run. $20 to port to Google after porting it to a cell phone number first for a few days and then totally free after that. You just install the GV app on your cellphone and set it up to ring on the app. Tons of options, you could even have it ring on more than one phone if you want.
I ported my landline over to GV in 2013 and have not paid a cent since. The number rings on my cellphone and also every extension in my house (using an OBI which is only needed to use the existing phone jacks in the house, if set to ring on cellphone only, OBI not needed)
I ported my landline over to GV in 2013 and have not paid a cent since. The number rings on my cellphone and also every extension in my house (using an OBI which is only needed to use the existing phone jacks in the house, if set to ring on cellphone only, OBI not needed)
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RetiredAndLovingIt
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Since you already have a GV number start at 4.17 if you have any questions on the setup. Legacy is going away but the upgrade is still free with more options
Since Callcentric's site boldly says "We're a BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE phone company" my impression is I'd need some device (beyond the existing dumb phone). I don't want that. Instead, I want to tell a service provider "Here's my existing number, here's the number to forward its calls to." Can Callcentric do that? If so, I don't see it on their site. I don't have any of the devices they list, nor do I want to add such devices or install software. A few dollars more for simplicity is worth it to me.
ERD50
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I think that only means you can use a generic adapter (OBi, etc) that you bring to the party. Some companies have their own proprietary adapters.
You did see you can just use a phone or desktop - so that's could be your 'device'. But I don't think you even need to bother setting that up. To answer your question:
Yes. As I said, just get the account, and on the web page interface, set up the forwarding number. As long as the system doesn't see the device (or the phone or desktop you might have used for a test), it forwards the call.
As I said, we had this set up for MIL. Of course she did have a 'box (Obi 100 IIRC), but if it was off, I got her calls. The caller didn't even know they were forwarded.
Just to cover the 0.01% - since MIL did have a device (the OBi 100), I suppose that might have been involved in setting up the account, but I really don't think so. The alternative is use the software they list for just that purpose, then trash it.
It would only cost a few bucks to try it.
edit/add - I see one catch - a "forwarded call" is considered an outgoing call, so you'd need to pay for one of the slightly more expensive plans that include outgoing calls.
-ERD50
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He doesn't actually need the GV mobile app.
Just go into Google Voice (GV) settings on a browser and confirm that your cell number: (a) is linked to your GV number, and (b) is set to receive forwarded calls from your GV number. I believe there is a check box next to each linked number to indicate whether or not you want GV to forward incoming calls to that number.
As ERD50 keeps pointing out, there is absolutely no hardware required. You just get on a browser, set up a GV number, and set it to forward to your cellphone. Give people the GV number and it will ring your cell. Simple as that. Porting a specific number to GV adds a minor complication.
I first used this feature years ago when I was working and traveling a lot. I had several office lines in different locations and 2 cellphones. I set up a GV number for family and friends that would ring all those devices.
I don't use GV call forwarding today, as I don't really see the point. I just use the assigned Google Voice numbers as a separate phone number on my devices. I have one that serves as our landline number, using an Obi-200 VoIP device. And one that serves as my primary number on mobile devices as well as laptops, tablets, and PCs. Same number I set up for friends and family while working.
I don't actually use or share the phone number assigned by my cellphone carrier. I change carriers a lot and this avoids porting and/or changing numbers. My GV number follows me around. Any device where I'm logged into Google... my phone number is right there.
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