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General discussion

Having my US number show up on caller ID while aboard

Oct 6, 2018 2:30PM PDT

Hello,

I'm looking for a service that allows me to keep my existing US phone number with T-Mobile and because of their terms & conditions I can only use roaming features for less than 50% of my time during a 3 month period which does not work me. I've had my # with T mobile for a long time and I don't want to change it and part of my requirement is the ability to make phone calls from Mexico (or other countries) with my local US number showing up on Caller ID of the receivers so they know its me while having a different SIM card in my phone based on the country I'm in, I also need this to prevent my employer that I'm working outside the country. After doing some research I've come up with 3 solutions below and wondering if anyone can help me figure out which one is best or if there is another solution I'm not aware of. Thanks for any help as this is really important to get figured out before T-Mobile cuts my international roaming capabilities.

# 1 - Port my T-Mobile number to Skype or Google Voice which cancels my T-Mobile service but with my existing number being used on Skype or Google Voice I imagine making calls from outside the country the people I call will see my Google or Skype number that was ported on their caller id (assuming I call through the Google or Skype App) Although the problem I see with this is once I port my t mobile number to a service like Skype or Google Voice it cancels my T-Mobile Service and I no longer have a phone provider in the US causing me to sign up with another provider.

# 2 - Sign up for a call forwarding service that allows me to forward calls from US #'s to International #'s (as t-mobile does not allow this) so that when I'm in Mexico I can enable call forwarding to the local number in Mexico and I can receive all my calls made to the US # i have. The problem with this, when calling from my phone in Mexico with a local SIM Card the number showing up on caller ID will not be my US number but my international Mexico # showing people that I'm calling from outside the country. So I don't think this option will work unless there is something I don't know.

#3 Learn more about caller ID spoofing and if i can use it for legal and legit reasons allowing me to make calls from Mexico and use a spoofing app so that people I call see my local US number showing up on their caller ID. The problem with this is I don't know if its legal despite no bad intentions and not sure if there are services I can use that are reliable.

#4 Find another US phone provider that lets me roam freely in other countries and receive/make calls from my local US number but I have found that other providers besides T-Mobile charge a hefty fee for making calls on international roaming and T-Mobile was perfect until I found out about the 3 month limit if using your phone abroad.

This is really important for work and would truly appreciate any input or ideas before trying one of the approaches above.

Regards,

Duncan Krebs

Discussion is locked

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I'd post this
Oct 6, 2018 2:59PM PDT

Over in Howard's Forum as well.

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Crazy thing is...
Oct 7, 2018 8:30AM PDT

T-Mo is the most international friendly carrier we have. Seriously.

Just tweak your plan and you will be good to go. Don’t expect your rates however to be priced like you are making US based calls to all US or Canadian numbers (etc.). I don’t see any of your options as viable.

Keep in mind that even if you port to Skype or GV, caller ID is a whole other issue. Your contacts ideally will already have you stored in their devices. YMMV

See if a dual-SIM handset would alleviate at least part of the pain.