How to Make Skype/VoIP Calls on Your iPhone
28 March 2009
UPDATE: Skype released a native iPhone application on Monday, March 30, 2009, eliminating the need for the third-party Fring application to make VoIP calls. Accordingly, I’ve written updated instructions here.
My wife is traveling internationally next week and we’re not keen on paying AT&T $3.49 PER MINUTE from the country she’s visiting for every phone call. Skype, the internet telephony service, provides a way to make computer-to-computer voice chats for free or, for a relatively small charge, from computer-to-phone. Buying SkypeOut minutes (AKA Skype Credit) allows you to make these computer-to-phone calls, whether landline or mobile. Although Skype is not available directly for the iPhone, there’s a kind of backdoor solution with an app called Fring. Armed with Fring/Skype and Wi-Fi access, you should be all set.
We spent the better part of two hours searching various sites and forums before we got it to work. To save you the trouble, here’s what we did:
- Get yourself a Skype account and install Skype on your computer. If you intend to call from your iPhone to a landline or mobile phone, you’ll also need to buy some Skype Credit. We bought a block of credit for $10. If I understand the fee structure correctly, this should give us around 480 minutes of talk time.
- Install Fring on your iPhone. You can find it online or in the iTunes app store. Set up your user ID and password with Fring.
- If Skype is running on your computer, close it.
- Start Fring and “subscribe” to Skype services. You’ll need to add your Skype ID and password. Some users at the Fring discussion forums have reported long login times with Skype. Keep trying. You may have to reboot your iPhone after installing Fring before it will subscribe to Skype services.
- You can now use Fring/Skype to voice chat with another Skype user by calling their Skype user name.
- Set up the phone numbers for the phone contacts you want to call with Fring/Skype on your iPhone. VERY IMPORTANT! In order for Fring to use Skype to call someone’s phone, the phone number has to be configured like this: + country-code area-code number. For example, a US number might look like +12175555555. Here’s a list of international country codes.
- You should now be able to use Fring/Skype to call another person’s phone number.
Once you get to your destination, you’ll likely want to ensure that you don’t make or receive cell network calls and accrue those $3.49 per minute charges. Remember–you’re using Fring/Skype to call over the internet, not through the cell network. Do this:
- Set your iPhone to Airplane Mode (Settings > Airplane Mode > On).
- Turn Wi-Fi on. Airplane Mode turns off Wi-Fi, so you’ll need to turn this back on manually. Fring/Skype should now work over the Wi-Fi network, thus enabling your VoIP calls.
We’ll report back after my wife’s trip on the success of this. Readers who have experience with Fring/Skype–has this worked for you?
Filed under: Computing, Lifehacks by Michael
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