How To Get Free Internet Calls To Cell Phones

The rise of the smartphone has changed how we communicate. We rely less on home landlines and payphones and more on these personal do-everything devices that we can use to call anyone at any time.

While the smartphone has changed how we communicate, a lot of our communication infrastructure hasn’t caught up. It’s still cheaper to call landlines than cell phones, but there are ways you can make free internet calls to cell phones. Here’s how you do it.

The benefits of internet calls.

There are two ways to make a phone call. You can use a phone network or you can use the internet. Phone networks are what we’ve used for decades. You pick up the phone, you dial a number and it routes through telephone wires.

More recently, we’ve used wireless spectrum to power our mobile phone-based calls. While they use very different technologies, they both require you to sign up with a telecom provider and pay them a monthly fee that’s usually expensive.

And not only is it expensive, there are usually some restrictions in place. You don’t always get unlimited minutes, and when you don’t you get charged per minute. If you want to make an international call, you’ll end up spending hundreds of dollars for a chat with loved ones.

Internet calls solve a lot of these problems. They route your number over the internet, which means they don’t have to pay for the infrastructure of a traditional phone line or even a wireless network.

That means that these calls are usually free. Even better, you can call people around the world with either spending very little or nothing at all. Plus, many of these internet-based phone calls come with extra features like visual voicemail, video calling, transcripts, powerful call blocking and more.

Types of internet calls.

Just like traditional phone calls are split between landlines and wireless, there are a number of types of internet-based phone calls that you can make.

PC

PC-based calls are what you’re used to using when you’re at work. They’re services like Skype, Zoom and even FaceTime. They’re easy to use on your computer and let you call a lot of people.

All they have to do is access a link and they’re good to go. However, there are some restrictions. For instance, only Skype-to-Skype calls are free and you’ll need to buy some credits to make calls to landlines and mobile phones.

Additionally, someone needs to plan out a call ahead of time with something like Zoom or Google Hangouts as they’ll have to send you a link you need to access at a certain time. And of course, Apple’s FaceTime requires two people with an iPhone, iPad or Mac.

App

Your smartphone is a great communication tool, and a big reason for that is how many apps there are. You can text away with apps like WeChat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and more.

One of the secret weapons of all of those apps is that they also provide internet-based phone calls. You can easily call up most U.S. phone numbers in the app, for free. You’ll even be able to use advanced features like games, emojis, face filters and more.

These apps are a great way to call the world for free, but they’re also very limited. You can only call someone if they also have the same app you’re using. If you can’t convince your friend to sign up for WhatsApp because they’re a big fan of Messenger, then you can’t call them.

Even worse, different countries have different priorities. Apple’s iMessage and Facebook Messenger are huge in the United States, but in China iMessage isn’t a big deal and WeChat reigns supreme. Meanwhile, WhatsApp is the most popular messaging platform in India.

Getting your entire family or friend group on a single app to communicate is tough work, which means this is only a great option for people who share similar technological preferences.

Wi-Fi

The final internet-based call option is a newer technology called Wi-Fi calling. Essentially, it allows you to make calls with your phone number over Wi-Fi. It simulates the benefits of internet calls with your old phone number.

However, there are a lot of hoops to jump through here. First, you need a phone that supports Wi-Fi calling. Then you need to make sure your phone’s software supports Wi-Fi calling. For instance, your phone hardware might support it but you might not be able to download the Android software update that enables it.

Finally, you need your carrier to support Wi-Fi calling. Some carriers are very specific with what phones can access it and which ones can’t. Other carriers restrict Wi-Fi calling to a select few plans that tend to be more expensive than normal plans.

A free app for free calls.

There is a simpler way to get free international calls to cell phones. It’s a free calling app that will let you call most U.S. phone numbers, anywhere for free.

Talkatone is that app. You’ll get your own personal number that you can use to call most landlines and mobile phones for free. You won’t have to sign up for a subscription or pay any rates or even use any cell minutes.

Also read the Textnow vs Talkatone comparison here.

It’s all completely free. You can just use your number to make your calls, and you’ll even get features like free texting to most U.S. numbers, visual voicemail, call blocking and the ability to burn your number to protect your privacy.

You won’t even have to convince any of your friends to download Talkatone. You can call most U.S. phone numbers, whether or not they have Talkatone.

With Talkatone, you’ll avoid all the headaches of buying credits, convincing friends to download an app or jumping through a bunch of hoops to make a simple internet-based calls.

Craig De Borba