Did PM remove the states from the 300minute international addon ?

[BearFBI]

I have a family member trying to call the states with her 300 minute international addon, Its asking her to purchase an addon to do so even though she has an international talk addon with 250 minutes left. 

On PM's site that shows an overview of the addons, It dosen't look like the USA is included in the 300 minute international addon anymore. 

Did PM remove the US from the international addon ?

[computergeek541]

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@BearFBI wrote:

@darlicious "Well this is an old way of doing things but you could program the calling cards toll free number into speed dial then record the touch tone of the calling card number and necessary pauses then the touch tone numbers of her most frequently called numbers. Then she just hits speed dial and play for the recorded touch tone number(s) till it connects."

Can you explain how to do this ? I'm not sure if it'll work. The Alcatel go flip 3 assigns speed dial from a contact. 

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In the past, some phones dialed a paused and would show a "p" in the number after pressing the # key a few times in quick succession.   For Android phones, this is done by starting to dail the number and then choosing the "add 2-sec pause" option" from the menu. On my phone this can be done in the contacts list when adding a new contact by hold down the # key when typing in the number and a few options will appear.  I have seen some other models that insert a pause after hold down the # key.  Whie I don't have specifics for your phone model, the pause command is likely achieved using some type of cobination of similar steps.

[darlicious]

@BearFBI 

I have worked for greeks most of my adult life! I am very familiar....

[BearFBI]

@darlicious Ah that makes sense. 

I like the Greek names 😂

[darlicious]

@BearFBI 

Too bad I can't experiment with my flip phone ever since the bf managed to smash the screen I can't see what I'm doing.... But the basic idea would be programming the calling cards toll free number in the phone and then on a separate device ( anything that could allow playback of a recording from a handheld tape recorder to another phone or a tablet etc...) a touchtone recording of the contact number either labelled or recorded for your grandmother to easily identify..... ie cousin Maria, son Kosta etc....that she just uses speaker phone to pick up the touchtone recording to "dial" the phone number.

[BearFBI]

@darlicious "Well this is an old way of doing things but you could program the calling cards toll free number into speed dial then record the touch tone of the calling card number and necessary pauses then the touch tone numbers of her most frequently called numbers. Then she just hits speed dial and play for the recorded touch tone number(s) till it connects."

Can you explain how to do this ? I'm not sure if it'll work. The Alcatel go flip 3 assigns speed dial from a contact. 

[darlicious]

@Anonymous 

Lol....cheers!🥂😁

[Anonymous]

 @BearFBI : I started a thread about an un-announced enticement promo that mysteriously appeared. After the fact, I received an email describing that it was a reactivation enticement and said as much. I suggested to Luddite not to bother granting a solution. And I certainly wasn't going to do an own-solution. And there it sits.

Edit: lol. Yeah I said the yes for a laugh because no one had really actually answered the question as far as I could interpret. Oh well. Way t' whine for the solution there darlicious 🙂

[BearFBI]

@darlicious Your right, I should've just kept your post as the solution. 

It wasn't a direct awnser to my question, You didn't say that they dropped the US specifically but you did say that they changed the addon and dropped a few countries. 

I think ill just leave your post as the awnser, It didn't directly awnser my question but it awnserd the idea and gave a solution. 

[darlicious]

@BearFBI 

I suppose if you were looking for a one word answer which I am pretty much incapable of doing then YES @Anonymous  answered your question. But one could argue I did answer your question in this paragraph.

When public mobile rejigged their long distance add ons by adding more countries and lowering prices for the most part they did drop a few countries from "one for all...all for one" $15/400 minutes add on that priced all countries contained there in at $0.0375/min. The price went up for a few countries and countries previously unreachable were added for $0.05/min. India, China, HongKong, Macao, Taiwan and Pakistan have now dropped to $0.02/min and the US and the UK to $0.015/min.

[BearFBI]

@Anonymous I know I don't have to grant one, I just don't want an oracle to see that the post doesn't have a solution and then accept one that I wouldn't have wanted. 

I changed your post to the solution because well.. it actually awnsers the question asked lol. 

Sorry @darlicious ! 

[LurganIeUk]

Try this on April fools day!!

[Anonymous]

 @BearFBI : You went off ranting so I didn't bother 🙂 . I just said something because you said something about the solution and then I noticed you accepted one. You don't have to grant one. There's no obligation. Except mine of course which answered the question posed. 🙂

[BearFBI]

@Anonymous It kinda drifted off...

I was waiting for someone to actually say yes. Considering the fact that it wasn't working with that addon but it was working on my phone with the older addon, I sorta confirmed it myself, then I took all my anger out on that second post. 

There really shouldn't be a solution to this post. I awnsered my own question basically,  I feel like @darlicious earns it because she suggested a solution to my problem that I awnsered myself and it was to use calling cards. 

I was waiting for all the people to ask if she was dialing the number wrong... I'm surprised not one person said that either, Are you guys okay today or what ? 😂

[Anonymous]

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@BearFBI wrote:

I'm not sure who to accept as a solution to this post yet. 

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 @BearFBI : lol

4 pages of discussion and nobody said...

Yes.

Even your chosen solution doesn't answer your actual question. There. lol

[BearFBI]

@BlueB My final solution is a calling card, If not I might just stick with the 15$ 300min addon on her PM phone, she rarely calls the US so she can borrow my parents phone if she wants to. 

10 months ago I've made the desicion to switch her to a cellphone over a VoIP solution and she's liked it ever since, not planning on switching back.  

At the end of the day, It still beats the 80$ a month she payed with Bell for only her landline. 

I'm not sure who to accept as a solution to this post yet. 

[BlueB]

Sounds like you've thought it through, @BearFBI... 🙂  I'm curious, what's your final solution after talking through all these different options?

Smart idea @softech about VoIP services... we see that it's not the option BearFBI want to go with, but still a smart suggestion!

[LurganIeUk]

I hear ya!! But just one more thing. On our voip.ms set up we have all calls also forward to our mobile phones. No cost on the PM side but a tid bit of cost to receive and forward on voip.ms but really only a cost to forward. Also the Zoiper app...you can put in any number you want for caller id. So I have 2 set ups one with my PM number and one with the home number. But when I think about it .....why should I bother with the home number?  The idea is to call out on voip.ms via zoiper and then it will show my PM number to call me back on. I do same for wife's phone and use her PM number. 

[BearFBI]

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

Cell phone is good for her if she has a good regimen of charging and when she takes a walk or goes shopping. 

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Im not going to bother to switch back to a landline or VoIP alternative. She's been living with a cellphone for probably 10 months and she's getting used to it, she also likes that she can take it out of the house with her for walks.

Trust me, Before the switch I explored a VoIP option for her and all the problems and the solutions to the problems just aren't worth it. Cell is much better for 911 dialing and reliability. Also the rates to Greece with fongo fluctuates, Landline rates are okay but the minute you call a cellphone its like 15-30 cents a minute. PM long-distance was a better option because it was just 15$ for 400min to any phone in Greece, I also was factoring in rewards when I thought about PM.

"Also voip.ms will run on a smart phone using wifi and NO ATA box. The APP is called Zoiper but there are others. Some here have used the Panasonic set that using the cell phone over blue tooth."

That may be a problematic setup but I was exploring something similar. Its a WiFI handset that basically works like a landline but you can load your SIP credentials onto it and it conntects via Wifi. One of those would've been sweet with Voip.ms but the handset is way to expensive.

With all the hardware cost of going with VoIP, It would take around 3 years to break even with PM. Not worth it considering she's 90 and the fact that the cellphone has more benefits than VoIP.

[BearFBI]

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@softech wrote:

@BearFBI  in case you are still checking the Fongo setup, would a set of cordless phones work ? then you don't need to worry about jack.

I have similar setup with Freephoneline, which is basically Fongo.. I find FPL/Fongo more reliable than cell, especially for older people, you want the reliability and peace of mind

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I have to disagree with that, cellphone is definitely more reliable than an internet phone. 

A set of cordless would work, But we would've had to buy new handsets. Also its weird having the base far away from her actual room where the phone should be, Its also weird having it ring there, even weirder having two grandstreams. A grand-stream HT802 would be nice but that means that fongo would be out because its not a BYOD service and im not a fan of FPL and the fact that its basically an abandon division of fongo. 

[LurganIeUk]

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@BearFBI wrote:

@LurganIeUk said - "Also take a look at voip.ms rates. That is what I use for home phone."

"Or if she has Telus, Shaw or Bell...what LD rates/packages do they have that might meet her LD calling needs. But that will be a monthly charge...used or not used. So the vicious circle will have you back to buying the PM  add-ons!!"

@LurganIeUk said - "DID I MISS SOMETHING...YOUR MOM.....LIVES WITH YOUR PARENTS??"

Haha okay, First let me straighten everything out here. This is my grandmother I'm talking about, yes she's still around surprisingly, and she's 90 years old, my grandmother lives with my parents.

My parents have Fongo Home Phone and PM cell phones. My grandmother had her own landline but we decided it would be a better idea to switch to a cellphone with PM. It would've been cheaper to go with fongo but there were a few complications. First of all they would have needed to buy a switch because the ports on their router are maxed out, second of all, her line in the house was seperate and it wasn't as simple as finding a phone jack near the router to backfeed the signal. We would've had to run ethernet so I could hook the ATA up to her line and her handsets. With those complications we thought a cellphone was the better bet, Also safer because it'll work in the event of a power outage and 911 dialing isint compromised like it is with VoIP. 

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Keep in mind BOTH voip.ms and PM has E911. Also if you have an ATA with 2 ports you could not even need any jacks as you could place a Panasonic main set of a cordless set close the the ATA.....no jacks in house needed. 

Here in BC only Telus supplies power to your phone line. So will work on the newer phone sets with leaving charged phone in the main set. Other wise no phone!!!! Shaw phone is battery back up too. So the best land line, is one hard wired phone using Telus. 

Also voip.ms will run on a smart phone using wifi and NO ATA box. The APP is called Zoiper but there are others. Some here have used the Panasonic set that using the cell phone over blue tooth. 

But for her....if you had to make ONE change what would be the best for her calling??

Cell phone is good for her if she has a good regimen of charging and when she takes a walk or goes shopping. 

[LurganIeUk]

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@softech wrote:

@BearFBI  in case you are still checking the Fongo setup, would a set of cordless phones work ? then you don't need to worry about jack.

I have similar setup with Freephoneline, which is basically Fongo.. I find FPL/Fongo more reliable than cell, especially for older people, you want the reliability and peace of mind

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 Good play on words. Fongo = no phone "jack". 

But keep in mind Fongo Free is for Canada calls only and must be on Wifi or Data. 

[softech]

@BearFBI  in case you are still checking the Fongo setup, would a set of cordless phones work ? then you don't need to worry about jack.

I have similar setup with Freephoneline, which is basically Fongo.. I find FPL/Fongo more reliable than cell, especially for older people, you want the reliability and peace of mind

[BearFBI]

@darlicious said - "Well this is an old way of doing things but you could program the calling cards toll free number into speed dial then record the touch tone of the calling card number and necessary pauses then the touch tone numbers of her most frequently called numbers. Then she just hits speed dial and play for the recorded touch tone number(s) till it connects"

That might work. I'd have to see, She has an Alcatel Go Flip 3. 

[BearFBI]

Oh and my grandmother needs her own line. My parents are constantly on their phones and so is my grandmother lol. 

They all need their own phones, It's complicated if they start sharing them. 

[BearFBI]

@LurganIeUk said - "Also take a look at voip.ms rates. That is what I use for home phone."

"Or if she has Telus, Shaw or Bell...what LD rates/packages do they have that might meet her LD calling needs. But that will be a monthly charge...used or not used. So the vicious circle will have you back to buying the PM  add-ons!!"

@LurganIeUk said - "DID I MISS SOMETHING...YOUR MOM.....LIVES WITH YOUR PARENTS??"

Haha okay, First let me straighten everything out here. This is my grandmother I'm talking about, yes she's still around surprisingly, and she's 90 years old, my grandmother lives with my parents.

My parents have Fongo Home Phone and PM cell phones. My grandmother had her own landline but we decided it would be a better idea to switch to a cellphone with PM. It would've been cheaper to go with fongo but there were a few complications. First of all they would have needed to buy a switch because the ports on their router are maxed out, second of all, her line in the house was seperate and it wasn't as simple as finding a phone jack near the router to backfeed the signal. We would've had to run ethernet so I could hook the ATA up to her line and her handsets. With those complications we thought a cellphone was the better bet, Also safer because it'll work in the event of a power outage and 911 dialing isint compromised like it is with VoIP. 

[darlicious]

@BearFBI 

Well this is an old way of doing things but you could program the calling cards toll free number into speed dial then record the touch tone of the calling card number and necessary pauses then the touch tone numbers of her most frequently called numbers. Then she just hits speed dial and play for the recorded touch tone number(s) till it connects.

[LurganIeUk]

.......what....?? She has a flip phone on PM or she uses your parents mobile phones? 

DID I MISS SOMETHING...YOUR MOM.....LIVES WITH YOUR PARENTS??

[LurganIeUk]

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@BearFBI wrote:

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@darlicious wrote:

There is always the option of purchasing a $5 calling card with a toll free number to call that then allows calling to the US for a few pennies a minute rather than making the $15 investment in the new US calling add on.

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Actually, Thats not a bad idea. 

I'm looking at Greece calling cards and they are really good prices. I might consider one, Thanks. Only problem is that it'll change the way she dials, She uses speed dial but she wouldn't be able to anymore. 

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You are very lucky that your Mom can handle a flip phone. My MIL is getting deafer and blinder every day. Hard to read iPad or TV, a remote or her iPad. Now has a lamp at lap level and a magnifying glass. Not fun for her. She has a Telus prepaid plan on an iPhone 5s and there is no way she could dial it...but we hope she can in an emergency. She has had no calls or texts on it for months!! We have bought 2 new phone sets...one from CNIB ...and the other has the voicemail that she now neglects to check as it is not her MAIN phone. 

So if you get a calling card..which I have had years ago and found hard to use every now and then just because I did not remember the routine, what phone will she use? Home phone or PM phone...just thinking about air time. 

Also take a look at voip.ms rates. That is what I use for home phone. 

Or if she has Telus, Shaw or Bell...what LD rates/packages do they have that might meet her LD calling needs. But that will be a monthly charge...used or not used. So the vicious circle will have you back to buying the PM  add-ons!!

Like @darlicious says......buy it and give her an I Love You card along with some flowers. 

[BearFBI]

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@darlicious wrote:

@BearFBI 

You know @LurganIeUk makes a good point....just buy her the add on as a gift with a big "I love you" and let her call the US to her hearts content. She would probably call more knowing she isn't using her more expensive minutes she prefers to reserve to call Greece.

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Ahaha.

Really its all good. She doesn't live by herself, she lives with my parents who have their cell phones. I made her use theirs to make the call. 

In the future I might just consider moving on with a calling card. 

[BearFBI]

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@darlicious wrote:

There is always the option of purchasing a $5 calling card with a toll free number to call that then allows calling to the US for a few pennies a minute rather than making the $15 investment in the new US calling add on.

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Actually, Thats not a bad idea. 

I'm looking at Greece calling cards and they are really good prices. I might consider one, Thanks. Only problem is that it'll change the way she dials, She uses speed dial but she wouldn't be able to anymore.