All iPads Receiving calls on a Wi-Fi iPad

I was wondering if there are any recommendations for receiving calls on an wifi only iPad (or wifi Android tablet).

I've been using Talkatone along with a Google Voice number. The quality is horrific. And receiving calls seems to be broken at the moment.

I'm figuring that I will need a pay service for this. Not a problem. Here is what I've tried.

Ringcentral: I really like this service. Quality, customer support, is great. Can make outbound calls no problem. But no inbound calls - that was the deal breaker.

MagicJack: I was really surprised by this app because I hate their commercials & the salesman seems like a real shyster. But this app makes great quality calls. But cannot receive calls without paying. I know I said I would pay for inbound but before signing up, I wanted to see if any had used it before signing up.

Skype: I think it has the capability to receive inbound phone calls via a paid version. But I'm not familiar with it beyond the standard video Skype-to-Skype. Nor how good the quality is.

ObiHai: This requires a piece of hardware that resides on your home network. As far as I can tell, incoming VOIP calls are routed to it and then out to one's iPad. Not sure of the quality and hesitant to buy the device without more reviews.

Any other services: If others have their own recommendations, good or bad, I'd like to hear. Again, I don't have a problem with paid services. But want to avoid the pain of signing up and then canceling if the service doesn't work as advertised, or sucks. They always making signing up easy. And canceling very, very difficult and time-consuming.

Jetson said:

Have you tried Facetime?

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Thanks for the suggestion. But Facetime I don't think will accept phone calls from a regular phone number.

What I'm looking for is the ability for someone to call from any phone...Android, iPhone, landline, payphone...and my iPad to ring.

HobeSoundDarryl said:

I think your challenge is trying to keep it all free. Spend a little money to get the better quality...

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I have no problem spending for a service. Actually it was buried in my long lengthy post (third paragraph). My problem was really the pain is to sign up for service, then trying to cancel if I didn't like it. These services always make it so hard to cancel. Just wanted to get recommendations before signing up. And you've provided some good tips. I had forgot to look into vonage. Thanks.

I am curious about what you said about talkatone and Skype. Why use both? If Skype is better quality, why not use it for both inbound and out. Actually, more to the point of my post. I'm looking for high quality inbound calls.

u235 said:

WRT android devices as requested by the OP --
I've had a good experience with groove ip (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gvoip&hl=en). This lets you use a google voice number for in-bound and out-bound calls via voip. There's also a "lite" version you could try before buying it.

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That's interesting. I will look into that. Thanks.

baypharm said:

I use MagicJack app to make and receive calls while on WIFI. Works great been using it for a year now. Best part? It's free!

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You are correct. While searching, there is a workaround to allow one incoming calls with MagicJack's free service. It's cumbersome, and probably only suitable for friends and family. But it works.

In order to receive calls using the free account you have to use the number they assign you. This is where it's a little more challenging as your MagicJack number is not a standard phone number it's a number that looks like this: *0123456789* including the "*" on both ends. This is the number that identifies you on the MagicJack system and you can call another MagicJack user using their special number. If you want someone to call you from any other phone then they will need to first dial an access number like this one: 1-305-848-8255. Once they dial the access number they'll be prompted to enter the MagicJack number that you want to reach. I tested this by calling the access number/my MagicJack number from a regular landline and my iPad rang.

I ended up going with magicjack. It's about $2.00/month. Actually, even as cheap as it is, I might end the trial membership anyway. People just don't call much any more. I get by far more texts these days.

Good suggestions from all. Thanks for your help.