Call forwarding on the $15 plan.

[LurganIeUk]

I have the $15 plan and have an iPhone SE. If I call forwarded iPhone to my home phone would  this be correct?

Inbound call is included on plan

Call forward would be considered outbound and would count against my 100 minutes?

Texts would remain as is...on the iPhone?

Voicemail would be taken by home phone?

Does iPhone need to be on?

Does iPhone even need to exist as long as I have a paid up plan with existing minutes?

Thanks. 

[kselmak]

Are you forwarding voicemails or texts too?

Since you need 3rd party app to forward the texts you will need the phone on and a person you trust to restart the phone if needed (things happen)

For the calls you can forward and take out Sim/airplane mode it/switch it off. But if you turn it on while in USA it will stop working as it will register you on att/TMobile network (unless you purchase roaming)

[kselmak]

@LurganIeUk 

The lingo is really tied to landline times

800 minutes are not long distance that's why they are called 'free'.

When I was on measured Rogers plan, speakout wireless or pc mobile it counted as local call not long distance call, but I had to pay my local calls so it did count. The landline was all inclusive local, so there it didn't count.

Those who subscribe to 800 service are paying more definitely as their number is not long distance for most in North America.

[Nezgar]

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

I think a lot of providers do outbound 800 calls free. My voip.ms is free to 800 numbers too. The free call must be reimbursed by the 800 provider??

Calls to 1-800 numbers have been free of long distance charges since they were created 70 years ago. This also makes sense that it applies to your voip.ms line. However, these calls traditionally still consumed "airtime" when calling from mobile phones.

What's new here is that outbound toll free calls from a mobile phone are "airtime-free" as well as "toll-free".

[LurganIeUk]

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@kselmak wrote:

@LurganIeUk 

From experience here

I know it's not supposed to but it doesn't

Very good glitch that 18xx and forwards are never counted against

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I think a lot of providers do outbound 800 calls free. My voip.ms is free to 800 numbers too. 

The free call must be reimbursed by the 800 provider??

ie I pay in US$:

Outgoing .005 min

Incoming .009 min or unlimited for $4.25 a month and this is a savings

An 800 #

Incoming is .027 min

A 310 service #

Outgoing .0125 

[Nezgar]

Now have some fun with call forwarding. Take a read through this topic - none of my minutes were consumed in testing in its creation: 😁

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Fun-with-Conditional-Call-forwarding-and-...

[kselmak]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here it is

I make a one minute call to ask a friend to call me back in 5 minutes. I take a screenshot of my used minutes, I change my forwarding, take screenshots before and after, she gives me a call then I take screenshots of my used minutes.

I took screenshots before and after my call to show that usage is reflected almost instantly, I waited another 5 minutes after the first forwarded phonecall, if there was a charge/count for it or would have happened by then

[LurganIeUk]

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@iliketotalk wrote:

@LurganIeUk now I don't know if I am incoming or going 🤣😱😜

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 Lol. I guess the bottom line is to record my minutes used, set call forward, have a grand daughter call me, go back and check my minutes. 

I was was thinking this would be useful while iPhone is in house. But @iliketotalk you have a point as I have no idea where that call would go now that I thought more about it. 

Number xxx xxx xxxx calls my mobile phone mmm mmm mmmm and is then forwarded to VoIP landline hhh  hhh hhhhh. The after thought is the land line forwards all incoming calls as well, to mobile phones mmm mmm mmmm and www www wwww. I will try. 

I see one of those Excel circular reference errors here. 

Edit. Overall, if the call forward option from mobile phone to landline goes into hinterland we would find it handier for the landline forwarding calls to both of our mobile phones. 

[Nezgar]

@LurganIeUk if you don't have another line handy, you can call yourself from https://hangouts.google.com/

Or textnow app

[iliketotalk]

@LurganIeUk now I don't know if I am incoming or going 🤣😱😜

[LurganIeUk]

So will some one call me so I can test it out????

[Nezgar]

@LurganIeUk Yes, but people would understandably be upset if incoming calls that "conditionally" went to voicemail consumed their minutes, so they didn't.

So it was nice of PM to basically extend that courtesy to "unconditionally" forwarded calls as well with the current version of the $15 plan.

Also, traditionally with cell phone plans I've had since like 1993 always included call forwarding without using "airtime" - since when you think about it, does not use airtime. So to me it would be weird for a forwarded call to consume your airtime, now it operates more in line with the traditional expectation.

[LurganIeUk]

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@Nezgar wrote:

@LurganIeUk look 2 points below what you outlined... it says right there "Unlimited incoming calls".

Call forwarding is not defined there, but functions as I described.

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Yes incoming.....but logically call forwarding turns the call into an outgoing call. 

[Nezgar]

@LurganIeUk look 2 points below what you outlined... it says right there "Unlimited incoming calls".

Call forwarding is not defined there, but functions as I described.

[LurganIeUk]

Thanks

[LurganIeUk]

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@Luddite wrote:

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@computergeek541 wrote:

@LurganIeUk To add, when your voicemail picks up at the forwarded phone number, that counts too.

If you aren't forwarded to your other phone number, a call going to your voicemail when someone calls you doesn't count as outgoing minutes.

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@computergeek541  So, an anomaly: I've noticed call forwarding to my voip line (Fongo) does not seem to count. Do you think this results from switching the call to a data based service? I haven't noticed if there is a data charge.

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hmmm as a Voip.ms user I see another bonus..... if on the $15 plan for call forwarding IF your Voip number is an 800 number. 

[Nezgar]

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@kselmak wrote:

From experience here

I know it's not supposed to but it doesn't

Very good glitch that 18xx and forwards are never counted against

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It's never been officially documented whether it's supposed to work or not, but the fact that it does, and in our favour, is good. 🙂 Features like call forward are probably considered "uninteresting" and niche for marketing purposes these days.

[iliketotalk]

@Nezgar hello very interesting didn't realize that thanks for the info @geopublic seems to agree with you that's good enough for me 😄

[kselmak]

@LurganIeUk 

From experience here

I know it's not supposed to but it doesn't

Very good glitch that 18xx and forwards are never counted against

[computergeek541]

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@Luddite wrote:

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@computergeek541 wrote:

@LurganIeUk To add, when your voicemail picks up at the forwarded phone number, that counts too.

If you aren't forwarded to your other phone number, a call going to your voicemail when someone calls you doesn't count as outgoing minutes.

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@computergeek541  So, an anomaly: I've noticed call forwarding to my voip line (Fongo) does not seem to count. Do you think this results from switching the call to a data based service? I haven't noticed if there is a data charge.

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I suppose that nothing should suprise me any more. The fact that you're sending your calls to Fongo shouldn't make a difference. You'lre forwarding your calls to another phone number. Whatever that phone number's carrier is doing after that is none of Public Mobile's concern. If Public Mobile doesn't want to counts those as minutes used, who am I to argue?

[geopublic]

@LurganIeUk My understanding is that unofficially it will not count as minutes when the call is forwarded.

The easiest way to verify this is to setup the forward and check the minutes counter before and after.

[Nezgar]

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@iliketotalk wrote:

@LurganIeUk hi yes call forwarding will count towards your outgoing minutes all the other things remain the same no phone does not need to be on, plan just needs to be active 

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The above statement is only true for the previous version of the $15 plan.

The previous version of the $15 plan did not include unlimited incoming calls, and unconditional call forwarding did consume minutes, conditional call forwarding did not. (busy, unanswered, offline)

The current $15 plan includes unlimited incoming calls, and all call forwarding, conditional or unconditional, do not consume minutes.

Extensively tested myself with the current plan ... Maybe the old plan always consumed minutes, not sure.

[Luddite]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

@LurganIeUk To add, when your voicemail picks up at the forwarded phone number, that counts too.

If you aren't forwarded to your other phone number, a call going to your voicemail when someone calls you doesn't count as outgoing minutes.

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@computergeek541  So, an anomaly: I've noticed call forwarding to my voip line (Fongo) does not seem to count. Do you think this results from switching the call to a data based service? I haven't noticed if there is a data charge.

[LurganIeUk]

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Thanks

[iliketotalk]

@LurganIeUk yes you are correct calling from another phone to your voicemail will not count toward your minutes

[LurganIeUk]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

@LurganIeUk To add, when your voicemail picks up at the forwarded phone number, that counts too.

Yes I assumed that. 

If you aren't forwarded to your other phone number, a call going to your voicemail when someone calls you doesn't count as outgoing minutes.

Ah good point, Thank You. And too, I have also read here that you can call into your voicemail from a land line at no count against your minutes. 

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[gblackma]

@LurganIeUk 

• Yes
• No it doesn't. 
• Yes and no, if the phone is off will be stored for a minimum 3 days( I dont know how long PM stores messages). Then deleted
• If the call gets there. Yes. If the signal is too low and the call never connects it will go to PM's voicemail.
• No but see above.
• Technically no. As long as the SIM is in Canada. And you don't care about messages.

Stay safe. 

[computergeek541]

@LurganIeUk To add, when your voicemail picks up at the forwarded phone number, that counts too.

If you aren't forwarded to your other phone number, a call going to your voicemail when someone calls you doesn't count as outgoing minutes.

[iliketotalk · Accepted solution]

@LurganIeUk hi yes call forwarding will count towards your outgoing minutes all the other things remain the same no phone does not need to be on, plan just needs to be active