Effective ways to call china from cell phone

[drunkrussian]

hi guys,

looking for some advice.

I'm trying to find a cheap but more importantly effective way to call china. I am calling from my cell phone, to a cell phone to someone who is in china.

Skype uses about 3MB of data per minute for voice to voice so i am wanting some options that use my voice plan not my data plan. I use keepcalling.ca which is sort of like aphone card sort of service, and it works fine for most places, but for china it usually takes 15 rings and 1/5 calls gets through. On the other end, they only get 1 ring. So obviously there's an issue.

Is the issue i'm having normal? Can anyone recommend any methods for calling china in my situation that will work? Calling cards (which ones/where)? Something else?

[saiko]

Not sure if this is the best one available, but I use chinaone calling card often and have no problems.

link: eCallingCard.ca: ChinaOne

[Phozy]

Calling cards: You can get them at almost any asian market. I know Henlong in Surrey does, as well as a few places chinatown. Probably be able to find them in richmond. You get about 4 hours of talk time for $5, usually are the ChinaOne cards, but others work just as fine

[drunkrussian]

thanks very much guys, do you recommend i go to aberdeen or something and pick up one of these china one cards? you guys dial from cell phone to cell phone and it works with no issues? or do you use a land line? my initial thought was that it's because i'm going cell phone --> calling card number --> china but could just be that the keepcalling service is not the best for china

[Yodamaster]

Am I the only one that laughed slightly as I read the title before the page loaded?

[drunkrussian]

i bought a china one card online and the pin works and all but it says the number's not in service when i dial it lol...maybe their phone is off or something who knows...man haha..

[Nssan]

Look into iTalkBB services..

[BossFrancis]

Yeah @ calling cards, my mom uses the home phone with the calling cards so fuck long distance fees.

[saiko]

Did you dial. 604-484-2888?

[Edison_Chen]

+1 Chinaone calling card. My wife uses it all the time she calls her mom. Sometimes there is a promotion and they throw in a free $5 card.

[drunkrussian]

im thinking the persons phone is off right now cuz i tested it by calling straight to it without the catd and got the same phone not in service message. so the card is working at least, will try again later

also yeah i agree the thread title does sound weird lol i guess i wanted to be as descriptive as possible and it just sounds awkward lol

[dogeatcookie]

I use Skype on my phone. 14 dollars a month for unlimited calls to 40 countries, China's included.

[drunkrussian]

skype is definitely preferred as it's clear. Unfortunately i may need to use data rather than wifi a lot of the time and it eats it up like crazy (that's what she said)

[dogeatcookie]

Originally Posted by drunkrussian

skype is definitely preferred as it's clear. Unfortunately i may need to use data rather than wifi a lot of the time and it eats it up like crazy (that's what she said)

Well if eating up data is one of your concerns, then I recommend you using services like Tel3Advantage, or ChinaOne, or w/e calling services that get good reviews online. Personally I used Tel3 a lot because of better call quality, but maybe it's just me.

[LuHua]

Definitely look into iTalkBB, it's a VOIP service for your home, but they have a system like the calling cards that works really well. If you're going to call China a lot, it may be worth it.

[Mr.HappySilp]

Just a tip for those of you who uses VoIP with a VoIP modem (ATA for short). If you bring it with you to any country and use it to dial back to Vancouver it will be free. It is because the ATA you have is program with a Vancouver phone number with your VoIP service.

I got Dell Voice on my iphone and when I call their tech support they said the same thing. As long as I am dailing Vancouver number I won't get charge even if I am in another country (as long as I am using WiFi of coz or I will have to pay romaning....).

[Hehe]

Have you tried the Skype to go?

Basically you set it up to call a specific number, skype then gives you a local number to call. Whenever you call to that specific number from your cell, it connects directly to the number you set, and the cost is the same as if you were calling from your PC. (it charges to your skype account. Of course the local minute still counts)

I have my parents' number setup this way and I set the skype number as one of my Fav10 number. As long as I have money in my skype, I can literally make unlimited call to my parents.

[yray]

Originally Posted by drunkrussian

im thinking the persons phone is off right now cuz i tested it by calling straight to it without the catd and got the same phone not in service message.

it doesn't say "This person is not allowed to recieve this call"? If it does, you have to spam the hell out of it. Fucking communists blocking calls... took forever for my ex to call her mom because CCP member .

[drunkrussian]

the china one card does work now i wasnt dialing the. umber properly lol. still issues where the first call didnt go thru but the second did but when it does connect its quite clear. theres like a 2 second lag tho ao ill say sth and theyll hesr it two seconds later lol

[valent|n0]

rebtel

[saiko]

I forgot what I used when I was in the US, but the calling card features was so much better.

You were able to register your mobile number with the calling card; so that you don't need to punch in the password each time you dial the calling card number. You just dial the 604-484-2888 and it will know, "DrunkRussian's Cell# has $8.99 left on the card# 1234-1234-1234".

I'm not sure if China One has it.. but look into it? It's much more convenient and you don't have to remember the darn password.. though after about a 5-10 calls you'll be remembering the pin no problem haha

[drunkrussian]

^yup china one has it i think a lotta diff calling card services do. for the chinaone card u preess #15## and it rrmembers ur phone so u dont need to remember ur pin

[fa48]

Check out localphone.ca they have an App for phones from where you can call directly to China for real good rates.

[blkgsr]

skype wifi

[$_$]

You can also think about just paying for more data. 30$ for 6gb from fido/rogers means unlimited talk and surf. A way better deal then paying for lots of phone cards IMO because you also get the internet