I'm self employed. I do not have an international plan, I have Cricket. I need to be able to forward my calls from my US number to an Phone app or such so I can receive client calls while in Portugal.
When I went to Europe in September I forwarded my US number to my US Textnow number. TextNow has since booted me. I think it was because I used the service to forward my calls while outside of the US.
Does anyone have a solution?
We have T Mobile which is owned by the German telephone company.
Our local calls rang in Budapest just like they did here. Our 3 year old granddaughter was calling us at 3:00 a.m. in the morning.
We switched several years ago to T-Mobile, and no longer had to have an International Plan add-on, which we needed with Verizon. Now, making calls while in Europe costs 25 cents per minute (not extravagant), but receiving calls is free, and sending or receiving texts is also free. Well, not entirely free, because we’re paying for our monthly service, but getting calls and texts are included in the regular service, and my husband and I each keep our regular U.S.A. phone numbers. Making calls in the U.S. has no additional fee.
Thanks for the responses. I know about T mobile. I'm not interested in switching my cell plan. I'm looking for a temporary solution while I'm in Portugal.
I’d suggest seeing if you can buy a SIM card before you go to Europe. Forward your calls, put in the new sim and hope it works. Amazon sells one from Orange If you have a second phone I think it would be easier
25/min? I pay 2/min using Skype.
In past years I bought SIM cards for EU through Amazon or bought cards in individual countries. You get new phone number though.
I get calls now while traveling with my normal plan. I let them go to voicemail and then call back using Skype.
You can also get a new phone number with Skype or google voice which works both in US and outside. Skype requires a paid monthly fee maybe $5, while voice is free.
One solution would be to rent a number from Skype (Microsoft) and send it to your clients, letting them know its for temporary use while you're traveling.
It will be a U.S. number with an area code of your choice. Then, download the Skype app to your phone (assuming you have a smartphone) and when someone calls the number your Skype app will indicate an incoming call no matter where you are, as long as you're connected to the Internet. Answer the phone call through Skype and talk as usual.
If you do the Skype option, you could also just put a message on your current phone with that new phone number.
Recently an expat group discussed how to stay connected for the least $ for US 2-Factor Auth. Options have reduced. There's a pay-as-you-go $5 a month Tello plan or a $10 a month T-Mobile (better customer service), no contracts. Afterwards, hopefully you can leave the new one and go back to your previous plan since these don't have contracts. You'll be able to keep your number. Verify that you are supported overseas and can leave after one month.
If you use an Orange Holiday (e)SIM, you will get a European telephone number. You can leave a message on your home service advising any client to call you on that number. Of course, your client would have to incur long distance charges.
Alternatively or additionally, you can set up WhatsApp on your phone and leave a message on your home service advising any client to contact you by WhatsApp.
Hate to state the obvious, but have you looked at your options with Cricket? They indicate that with their unlimited plans, you can receive calls and texts anywhere in the world. You may not be able to make calls, but you sound like you want to answer if someone calls. The caller and you would incur no costs (They are just calling your regular number, you are not charged for receiving calls).
For returning calls or calling them, a local SIM card with international calling minutes, or a web based option would be best.
