Seeking techy advice - for laypeople :)

[SkiFanE]

Starting to work at home 3 days/week soon. Need to figure out phone situation.

I can forward office phone. But I can't use it for outgoing. Need a SIMPLE solution. I'll pay a few bucks extra/month for a simpler solution.

My my cell phone gets 1-2 bars at home, unless I setup at mailbox lol. Landline (Verizon) charges for every call, we've got it on bare bones service. And, when I'm calling people at work (medical staff) I don't want them all to have my personal phone #. So what should I do?

Someone suggested Google voice, another said Vonage. Get a cheap/free phone # and forward to cell. Is it really that simple? Would I be dialing my Google # all the time from my cell, or need to switch back and forth?

or with my ATT family plan, get a cheapo android phone ($50) and add to act ($35 then $15/month).

I cannot stress simple. Like only have to concern myself with this 5 mins/week. KISS!!! I don't use my phone for anything really, no CC or accts linked to it. So I kinda wig out at stuff being sent to my phone. I log in here each and every time lol.

I suddenly think the new phone idea is easiest and cheapest overall (if you charge per minute of aggravation time too lol). Just never deal with phone after work hours.

 

[gmcunni]

Press *67 to block your personal number from showing up?

people might not take your call tho. is it important that they know who is calling them?

 

[SkiFanE]

Press *67 to block your personal number from showing up?

people might not take your call tho. is it important that they know who is calling them?

Hmmmm. After I posted I remembered buying cheap cell phone won't work due to 1-2 bars. Unless we switch from Att to Verizon

If I call from landline the charge is per minute even 800 calls. So even my remote conferences would cost. And "blocked caller" isn't very professional. Incoming I can give them my office desk - it's outgoing. Maybe google voice forwarded to my work #? Ugh....I'm so confused.

 

[Jully]

That's really weird that a landline costs per minute. I recently received a few mail offers from Verizon and Xfinity for an unlimited landline for like $15 a month.

Not AT&T though.

 

[deadheadskier]

Get a separate land line and ask employer to pay for it. They should be able to absorb the expense

 

[gmcunni]

employer doesn't offer a remote solution? VOIP integration with corporate phones is fairly common.

 

[Puck it]

Skype?

 

[gmcunni]

i work from home full time. my setup is far from "simple".

i have a hard phone(VOIP) on my desk which has VPN connection back to my company. i receive and make calls which show my office DID number. i can forward to my cell phone if needed and if i'm on my cell phone i can transfer call back to my hard phone

my cell phone is company issued but under my name so if/when i do make a call their caller ID shows my name and local to CT phone number. since it is a work provided service i don't have any expectation of privacy but i don't go around publishing that number. if i were to ever leave my company i'd probably take the number with me.

i can also use my PC as a phone, jabber client, and use my same work DID extension to receive/make calls.

since the company provides all this i am not eligible to expense any personal land/cell lines. and recently company has declared that home internet, even for people like me full time remote, is no longer a permitted expense item. it is considered a common now, like electricity.

i do occasionally use the *67 feature if i have to call a vendor back while mobile. they might not answer (as i would not either when caller ID is blocked) but i leave a message and initiate the game of phone tag

 

[SkiFanE]

Get a separate land line and ask employer to pay for it. They should be able to absorb the expense

Remote is a nice to have. Their response "there's a perfectly fine phone in office you can use". So I have to absorb all costs (I go from paying $250+/mo in parking to zero with new office...so I'm already ahead). I get a laptop and Aruba box, that's all. I don't mind paying - but want to get something easy.

 

[SkiFanE]

That's really weird that a landline costs per minute. I recently received a few mail offers from Verizon and Xfinity for an unlimited landline for like $15 a month.

Not AT&T though.

Verizon, like copper? Ours is almost $50/mo and that's with no long distance and limited local I think. Been a year since I called to say WTF so expensive. I think it's because they want me to go FIOS. But even if I add a plan that would be unlimited - still have my phone # showing. But maybe an additional landline is worth it?

So so if you use Skype or Google Voice - I understand how you can forward calls to a phone, but how do you work outgoing calls? That's what I wonder about. When on wifi on my call at house, doesn't matter how many bars.

I have no idea what my company has - all I know I as I can forward to a phone and that's all.

 

[gmcunni]

never used it but saw commercials on TV

http://www.magicjack.com/index.html

 

[gmcunni]

my first home office (different company) i got a $15/month "land line" as part of bundle with my cable tv and broadband internet. i just put an old phone on my desk, it gets a land line connection back to box provided by the cable company.

of course, depends on who you have for tv/internet at home. we have Charter.

 

[Jully]

my first home office (different company) i got a $15/month "land line" as part of bundle with my cable tv and broadband internet. i just put an old phone on my desk, it gets a land line connection back to box provided by the cable company.

of course, depends on who you have for tv/internet at home. we have Charter.

That's pretty much what I've heard. By Verizon I unfortunately did mean FIOS. If you got a different landline, you could simply silence the phone if you didn't want to be contacted by work (assuming that is the only reason you don't want work having your exact phone number).

An online option might be better though if you can figure out how it works and can trust it. I've heard good things about Google Voice. Skype has been annoying whenever I've tried to use it, but that was a little over a year ago now, so maybe they have improved things.