Can 800 service forward to any number?

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Aug 16, 2006 Posts: 3

Can a toll-free number be forwarded to any phone number, like the standard line can, or can it only forward to an existing Vonage line?

Posts: 164 · Last edited by Pepperoni on Fri Jun 01, 2007 2:23 am; edited 1 time in total

VoIPn00b wrote:

Can a toll-free number be forwarded to any phone number, like the standard line can, or can it only forward to an existing Vonage line?

Yes. The toll-free number features work exactly like your main number features.
*****edit**
forwarding will ring one of your other accounts and can be configured further from there to also ring outside lines.
My "yes" answer is correct as to your question, but will also need to ring one of your other accounts to do so. The answer should be "no" as to ringing directly from the 800 line; it forwards first to another Vonage account.
*****end edit***

Toll free configures from Dashboard exactly as your main account. It is convenient for temporary use, and cheap enough to be a valuable business or personal tool. It is also a great special purpose tool enabling privacy as to your main number and can be dropped or another number added as your circumstances require.

i find it a much better feature than a virtual number (for instance) because of it's additional configuration features.

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Aug 16, 2006 Posts: 3

Ok, cool. One more clarifying question - could I add a toll-free line, then forward its calls to an outside line, such as a cell phone, and then not have the toll-free line forwarded to any of my existing Vonage lines? Thanks for the detailed reply!

Posts: 164 · Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 8:52 pm Post subject:

VoIPn00b wrote:

Ok, cool. One more clarifying question - could I add a toll-free line, then forward its calls to an outside line, such as a cell phone, and then not have the toll-free line forwarded to any of my existing Vonage lines? Thanks for the detailed reply!

You may forward to any number. You may also forward to all your numbers at once, or in series. Check the FAQ for forwarding for detailed info. Search term "ring lists" may be very helpfull.

I generally forward toll-free to my softphone and not the main line. (this is not possible with virtual numbers ,for instance) Configuration is very flexible and designed to be manipulated quickly online as your requirements change. All of your calls will be listed on the same "activity" page in Dashboard. A little green "bug" will show forwarded calls, and time and duration, etc. will be available. Very simple once you've become familiar with the interface.

****on edit*****
On the forwarding configuration page, click the "Call Forwarding FAQ" link. Clicking that link leads to the following text:

"Call Forwarding lets you easily forward your calls to your cell phone or any number in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico at no extra charge! You can set it to ring your home phone first for up to 50 seconds then forward the call – it doesn’t matter, because we give you the power of flexibility.

PLUS, Vonage is the only company that offers you Enhanced Call Forwarding featuring SimulRing®. This Vonage exclusive feature simultaneously rings your Vonage number and up to 5 more phone numbers that you choose in the US, Canada or Puerto Rico – and you can still answer your calls immediately, as if they weren’t being forwarded at all."

There does seem to be some confusion (see response below from jcovert)
A "virtual number" is tied to your main account (and rings there), a toll free line is configurable just like your main account and does not necessarily need to ring your main account (but may be configured to do so) An 800 line also has its own answering machine.
800 forwarding config page

I stand by my "opinion" that an 800 line can ring your cell phone. (see quoted FAQ above) However, it does appear that on forward, it must *also* first ring one of your Vonage accounts. So.... jcovert is correct on that issue; your other acount will ring. Mine is set to ring softphone, softphone rings my main account so when ringing it isn't clear which number was dialed. Whichever of my phones is at hand will ring (without delay) regardless of which number was dialed.
******end edit*****

Posts: 153 · Vonage Forum Master Joined: Jan 11, 2007 Posts: 153

Pepperoni is wrong.

You cannot forward a Vonage 800 number directly to a non-Vonage number. Vonage Toll Free Plus numbers must be configured exactly like virtual numbers to land on one or more real Vonage numbers (either physical phone lines or softphone lines -- and yes, both virtual numbers and Toll Free Plus numbers may be configured to go to physical lines or softphone lines) in your own account.

If you have the 800 number set up to go to a single number, rather than to a ring list, then, and only then, can you forward THAT NUMBER to anywhere in World Numbering Zone 1, and calls to the 800 number will also be forwarded.

*** I see that Pepperoni has edited his reply. He is still wrong. He keeps saying, even in his edit

Pepperoni (wrongly) wrote:

A "virtual number" is tied to your main account (and rings there), a toll free line is configurable just like your main account and does not necessarily need to ring your main account

The configuration for a Toll-Free-Plus number is exactly like that for a Virtual number. The only numbers that you can enter into the ring list for either TFP or VN are numbers on the same account, either physical (ATA) numbers or softphone numbers. The call forwarding feature is not applied to the TFP or VN, but to the physical number or softphone number to which the the TFP or VN is forwarded.

The only way to get either a TFP or VN to go to a non-Vonage number (such as a cell phone) is to configure it to go to one of your Vonage numbers and then forward that Vonage number. There is no call forwarding option on the configuration page for the Toll-Free-Plus number. The only settings for a Toll-Free Plus Number are the ring list of other Vonage numbers on your account. In fact, you actually showed us exactly that on the image of your TFP configuration page for your account that you provided in the link in your reply.

Note that if you set the ring list for your Toll-Free-Plus number to go to a softphone (or ATA) number and forward the softphone (or ATA) number outside of Vonage, calls to the TFP number will use up both TFP minutes and softphone (or ATA) minutes.[

Posts: 153 · Vonage Forum Master Joined: Jan 11, 2007 Posts: 153

New info added by both Pepperoni and jcovert.

Posts: 208 · Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:38 am Post subject:

Just like a Virtual Number, you can ONLY forward calls from your Vonage Toll-Free number TO OTHER Vonage numbers.

However, you CAN forward the Toll-Free to a Physical Vonage Line, then call forward from the physical Vonage line to any other number, even non-Vonage.

Hope this clarifies.

Posts: 3 · New Forum Member Joined: Aug 16, 2006 Posts: 3

Thanks for the detailed answers and clarifications! Now I know how to proceed... Wink