Is there a way to call overseas landlines for free or at a low cost?

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Confusedbutthappy@reddit

I use the satellite app. If I am out of Europe, then with a vpn. 100 minutes Free per month or 4,99€ with all incl.

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Confusedbutthappy@reddit

Need wifi or cellular. Does not charge extra.

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Primary-Leadership-5@reddit

Can people who live outside of germany use it (i saw it requires a german address)

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Primary-Leadership-5@reddit

I think he’s talking about satellite - mobil telefonieren a german app

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I used to have a business partner in Japan and have to call often there. At that time may be 20 years ago the international calls to landlines were a rip-off and I had huge bills every months. Obviously because we didin't have such a wide choice of apps like we have today. But since 2020 or so I use Boss Revolution and I don't have any problems with that bills or call quality. I keep on calling with this app to parners in asian countries including Japan and I like the rates. Very much reasonable.

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Timely_Meringue1010@reddit

DialHard is what I've been using lately. It's around 2-3 cents per minute to most places and you just need a browser. Works fine with banks since it connects to regular phone numbers.

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d3adnode@reddit

You're the developer of DialHard correct? I made the mistake of signing up for this service and adding credit. It's completely broken. I can't make a call across various browsers and devices. I just get the same generic error that the call attempt failed.

Completely underhanded to post this comment and not be forthcoming with the fact that you are the developer, and that the application is no where close to fit for purpose.

To anyone else considering DialHard.... just don't. It's a buggy mess that doesn't work

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Timely_Meringue1010@reddit

u/d3adnode, you're totally right to be pissed off, and I should've mentioned upfront that I'm the dev. That was shady of me, my bad. I get how frustrating it must be to throw money at something and then have it just... not work at all.

Honestly, I really appreciate you calling this out even though you're (rightfully) annoyed. This kind of straight-up feedback is super helpful, especially since you actually tried multiple browsers and devices.

Here's the thing that's got me scratching my head though. We've got 700+ folks who've made over 3k calls without issues. Just this week someone said the calls were "crystal clear" and a guy in Greece literally said we "saved his ass" when he was stranded and needed to call his rental car company.

Since you're getting the same error across different browsers, I'm wondering if it's your OS blocking mic/speaker access (WebRTC needs those to work). Want me to hop on and help you troubleshoot? I can walk you through checking permissions and stuff. And honestly, if we can't get it working, I'll just refund your credits myself, no hassle.

This should definitely work for you, so let me know if you're up for giving it another shot together.

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Timely_Meringue1010@reddit

Just wanted to close the loop here. I talked directly with this user over email. Turns out their security setup was basically Fort Knox level. We're talking enterprise-grade network protections, locked-down browsers, the works.

After extensive testing, they could only get DialHard working on one specific device using Chrome with built-in mic, and only after temporarily disabling a bunch of security features. Which is basically like trying to make a casual phone call from inside a military bunker using civilian equipment, not exactly gonna work smoothly!

While their security game was impressively hardcore, no web app should require people to temporarily dial down their defenses just to make a phone call.

For context: we have 700+ users who've made 3,000+ successful calls and clocked 8,000+ minutes in just 2 months since launching in April. Most folks are running standard setups and everything works fine. But this highlighted some WebRTC compatibility gaps with ultra-secure environments that we need to address.

Full refund issued, and we're looking into better compatibility for users who take their security seriously (which honestly, good for them).

Thanks for the incredibly thorough testing. Even if it was frustrating, this kind of feedback helps us build better stuff.

If anyone else runs into weird issues, just hit me up directly!

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rimadownesyahoocom@reddit

Not cheap! $10 for 60 min landline to the middle east

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dialhard_com@reddit

Our rates to the Middle East are competitive when you factor in HD quality, no connection fees, and reliable service. We're working on bringing costs down!

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NomiMaloneGoddess@reddit

Same question. I used Skype for years but now it’s dead. I can’t believe there’s not a similar service.

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Standard-Yak-5330@reddit

Same here- just tried to use skype - still have credit but it's telling me to use Teams and there is no landline feature in Teams. Thanks microsoft, you've just closed a perfectly good system (Skype), to force us to use a very inferior one.

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Away-Ad3201@reddit

Todo e qualquer produto da Microsoft é um verdadeiro lixo.

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kulukster@reddit

I use my skype subscription. But I've had it for several years, I don't know what the rates but I pay 3 a month just to the US from any country.

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shivam1996207@reddit

Skype has closed now. Webbphone allows you to make cheap international calls from browser, and even lets you add your own caller id. You just need to pay for what you use and credits never expire. No monthly subscription.

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littlemetal@reddit

Spoil us next time, share any related information.

Where are you are calling? Where you are from? Where are you calling from?

Skype used to be a great option, but I think they've gone to subscription only now. If you are calling frequently that might work, or sign up for 1 month.

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shivam1996207@reddit

Webbphone allows you to make cheap international calls from browser, and even lets you add your own caller id. You just need to pay for what you use and credits never expire. No monthly subscription.

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dendaera@reddit (OP)

I added some details to the OP.

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CapitalAd5339@reddit

A bit old school - but what about Skype? Works for both landlines and mobiles, and costs about 0.005c/min or so. Costs will of course depend on where you call, landline vs mobile, etc. but it will still be considerably cheaper than calling directly.

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Manicred321@reddit

They stopped skype and migrated it into MS Teams, but no longer support land calls for that. Supposedly you can still use old account and credit for land calls, but I have big trouble signing in with that account as they require some other email as ID and when you have to verify that, it goes into a death loop, where you gotta verify that email and then you cant log in. Nightmare. I hate MS.

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NoFun3340@reddit

so what have you found as a suitable solution. I also hate MS and the same thing happened to me too

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Manicred321@reddit

Dialhard

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cr1zzl@reddit

I use Skype.

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SingleManufacturer73@reddit

Thats closing down in May and trying to get Microsoft Teams is a nightmare

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Manicred321@reddit

yep, I have another MS account, but when I try to migrate the old skype account into teams for the credits, I end up stuck as they want some other email for some reason and when trying to verify that it ends in dead end with too many attempts.

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best_0815@reddit

Skype wird jetzt ganz eingestellt. Ich hatte Weltweit Monatsabo für ca. 15 EUR und konnte mit Internet Anschluss auf Reisen überall in die Länder oder woanders hin anrufen auf Festnetznummern. Eine eigene Nummer hatte ich nicht. Was für Alternativen gibt es?

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Eric848448@reddit

Google Voice is pretty cheap but it depends on which country. I had to call Australia recently and it was 5 cents per minute.

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General_Zucchini_01@reddit

Google voice uses your original mobile plan minutes and your carrier will charge you later for those calls : https://support.google.com/voice/answer/7491761?hl=en

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MotownMan646@reddit

Can’t get it without a US number and set it up in the continental USA.

Also, OP hasn’t left any details for people to give him specific advice.

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dendaera@reddit (OP)

I added the details to the OP around 15 min before you commented this. Do you mean it's not detailed enough? If so, what do you think is missing.

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Eric848448@reddit

It won’t work for you. You need a US number and a US Google account to sign up for it.

Can Skype call land lines?

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MotownMan646@reddit

Update didn’t load for me, only the original post without specifics. But the points still stand.

Being vague to protect privacy is silly if you need specific advice and will always end up drawing comments about needing specifics.

If you can find someone with Google Voice or Google Fi (only Americans will have it) the prices are relatively inexpensive but Fi subscribers tend not to be around for the long haul because Fi cuts you off if you are overseas too long. But you won’t be able to get your own line due to a bunch of hurdles Google puts up to get a Fi or GV number.

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katmndoo@reddit

US only.

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Telecom_VoIP_Fan@reddit

You can certainly call landlines freely or very cheaply using a VoIP service. For example, I use a European business internet phone service called Zadarma, and can get many free call minutes. This will work well if you want to call the bank to speak to one of the staff, but if you need to receive verification codes from the bank, I advise you to first check that they allow verification codes to be sent to VoIP phone numbers - not every bank agrees to send SMS to VoIP numbers.

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Tigweg@reddit

I downloaded Skype and paid a very small amount of money (~VND 200k) for 400 minutes to UK a month. It was less for some countries. Was glad of it after waiting for an hour on the line to the tax office. Got my problem sorted, the return was more than a hundred times as much as the minutes cost. I'm going to cancel it after this month

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texas_asic@reddit

you want a voip service with cheap calling from japan to sweden. Google for that.

When I do that, I see https://www.voipbuster.com/calling_rates at $0.005 USD per minute

or mytello.com

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dendaera@reddit (OP)

Viber had a better price since 4.5h was more than enough for me. Cost me 740 JPY (around 5 USD.)

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