Phone & campaigns

How to use my own number

You don't have to rent a number from us. Keep the mobile number your customers already have, and let your agent answer the calls you can't get to — the ones that ring out while you're on a job, or come in after hours. The number stays on your own mobile plan, so there is nothing extra to pay for it and no monthly number fee from us.

It takes two things: telling us the number is yours, and telling your phone to send us the calls.

Adding your number

  1. Open Phone numbers and press Use your own number.
  2. Type your mobile number with its country code — for example +1 555 123 4567.
  3. Press Text me a code. We send a 6-digit code to that phone. It's an ordinary text message, so your carrier's standard message rates may apply.
  4. Type the six digits into the box on the number's row. We check them as soon as the last one lands, and the number then shows as Verified.
  5. Choose the answering agent — the agent that picks up the calls you forward. You can change it later, and the change applies to the next call.

If the text doesn't arrive within a minute, press Resend code. Codes expire, so use the newest one.

Forwarding your calls

Verifying proves the number is yours. It doesn't move a single call on its own — that part happens on your phone.

Open your phone's call forwarding settings and forward your calls to the number shown in the Use your own number window. That number is on screen with a Copy number button beside it; we don't print it here because it can change, and the one in the dashboard is always the current one.

We suggest forwarding only when a call is unanswered or your line is busy, rather than everything. Your phone still rings first, you still pick up whatever you can, and your agent takes the rest.

Most phones can also do this from the keypad. With the forwarding number in place of {number}:

  • *004*{number}# — forward the calls you miss (unanswered, busy, or phone off).
  • *21*{number}# — forward every call, so your own phone never rings.
  • ##002# — turn all forwarding off again.

Dial the code like a phone call. Your phone confirms straight away that forwarding is on.

If the codes don't work

Not every plan lets you set forwarding from the handset. It's most common on prepaid, budget and reseller plans, and it looks like the settings screen spinning forever or coming back with an error. That's your carrier refusing, not your phone failing.

Two things to try:

  • Look for a call forwarding option in your carrier's own app or account website — many carriers that block the keypad codes still offer it there.
  • Ring your carrier's support and ask them to switch call forwarding on for your line, then point it at the number from the dashboard.

The agent isn't answering forwarded calls

Work through these in order:

  • Check the forwarding is really on. Ring your mobile from another phone and let it ring out without answering. It should end up with your agent rather than your voicemail. If voicemail picks up, the forwarding isn't set — or your voicemail is answering sooner than the forwarding does, in which case ask your carrier to lengthen the ring time before voicemail.
  • Check the number says Verified. An unverified number is one we can't route, however the forwarding is set. Open the window again and finish the code step.
  • Check an agent is chosen. The number needs an answering agent selected on its row.
  • Rarely, the carrier doesn't tell us where the call came from. Some carriers pass a forwarded call along without saying which number forwarded it, and without that we can't tell whose caller it is. If everything above is right and calls still aren't reaching your agent, email contact@vocarium.co and tell us your number and roughly when you tested — we can see what the carrier sent us.

Good to know

  • Your caller pays nothing extra. They dial your usual number as they always have, at their usual rate.
  • Your own carrier may charge for the forwarded leg. Forwarding a call is a call your plan is making, so whatever your mobile plan says about forwarded calls applies. Many plans include it; some don't. Worth checking before you forward everything.
  • Calls answered this way are normal inbound calls. They appear in Call history under your own number, with the transcript and outcome, and they are billed as ordinary inbound minutes.
  • Removing the number stops the routing, not the forwarding. Removing it in the dashboard means your agent stops answering, but your phone carries on sending calls to us until you turn forwarding off on the handset as well — dial ##002#, or switch it off in your phone's settings.