I'm looking for an Android app that:
- Can receive via the internet calls made to a registered landline number (specifically, a UK number). I don't mind how this is implemented (VOIP, SIP, etc?) and I don't mind paying for such a number.
- Reliably notifies me of incoming calls, and missed calls, any time I have a data connection.
Reliability of notifications is my #1 criteria for this app, and my problem with the options I've found so far (see below).
I set up a Skype number so that overseas clients could call me as easily as calling a local landline. Unfortunately, a major bug with Skype for Android that has gone unfixed for a year and has no workaround makes Skype for Android unsuitable for this purpose.
Despite claiming to run in the background, it doesn't notify you of incoming calls unless you're sat with the app window open and the screen on, constantly refreshing the screen. Even worse, it doesn't notify of missed calls until you next open the app window. I've had major problems where a client has tried to call me about some urgent matter, and I've not even known that they called until weeks later.
There are literally hundreds of comments, questions and bug reports about this on Skype's forum (one example among many) with no useful response from Skype.
There's a similar discussion on the Skype forum where someone recommends the app Local Phone which has an Incoming Number service. This sounds like a good fit - however, I've not (yet) been able to get it to work and it has some pretty poor reviews. I'm not sure if it's fundamentally not functional or if there's some step in the setup that both me and these reviewers are getting wrong.
To be clear, the #1 thing I'm looking for is reliability:
- If someone calls my overseas number, I want my Android phone to ring any time I have a data connection. Every time so long as I have a data connection and haven't purposefully logged out, like Whatsapp calls.
- If I miss a call, I want a notification to appear as soon as I next have a data connection, that tells me who called and when.
- Ideally, it'd be nice to also be able to pay to make outgoing calls to landlines and mobiles at a rate similar to the local rate using the app, but this is very much secondary (this is the one thing Skype for Android can actually reliably do)