Using Skype to battle cell phone dead zones

This is going to be a big year for Skype as the FCC opens up. 50% of homes in the US do not have seamless wireless coverage. Do a zip code search in your neighborhood for dead zones at http://deadcellzones.com

sonrie siempre

AT&T signal at my work place is very weak, but Wifi is excellent. I deal wiht this by giving people my Skype-in number and set Skype to forward calls to my AT&T cell phone #
when I'm not in a Wifi network or when Skype on my I phone is not on. This way you only have to give people one #, your Skype-in #. With Skype's unlimited US/Canada calling subscription ($3/mo and Skype-in number only cost $30/yr if you also subscribe to one of Skype's unlimited calling plans), you don't have to use your AT&T minutes when ever you r in a Wifi area.

The only problem is Skype-in doesn't work on my i phone 3gs on incoming calls after the phone has been locked for a while, even with "stay Online" set to "On" in I Phone/Settings/Skype. I have to set the phone to "never" lock to receive Skype in calls. Anyone with a solution for this???

AT&T has just announced a few days ago that it will allow VoIP calls on its 3g network. Soon Skype will work on both 3g & Wi-Fi!

My cell flat out doesn't have any signal at my house. I got a magicjack, $40 first year with adapter, $20/year thereafter. I have a google voice number which I've told everyone to use now. That rings both the cell and the magicjack. I also forward my iPhone to my magicjack. Google voice is awesome though because with the jailbreak app people can still send me txts and google converts them to push email. So I get an email and then go into the google voice app and reply back as txt. Totally free. My dependence on AT&T is waning slowly. I can get microcell actually but why pay extra for another voip adapter?

How do you get the iphone to ring when a skype in number is dialed? doesnt work for me, I can only dial out from my phone. Yes, I have my preferences set to always stay online.

One simple solution to offline notification is Growl on the desktop and Prowl on the iPhone. When any event happens on skype, a contact logs on, a message is sent to your account or an in coming phone call, Growl forwards those events to your iPhone via Notifications.

Prowl is the receiver and it can do an audible, pop a message to the home screen and even automatically launch the associated app (Skype in this scenario) once you click the notification.

This is perfect for me as I have two adult children on opposite sides of the world where Skype is our primary means of communication. When either one signs onto Skype, I get a notification immediately and can proactively talk to either one without prior coordination.

I use the same method to keep in contact with family members via Facebook.


Skype+Growl+Prowl = Answer to no background apps.

Not working for me on my iPod. Does it only work on the iPhone? It's pretty annoying that I only get Push when my email wakes up the wifi to check my mail, but until the 3.1 jailbreak comes out I can't get the SBSettings plugin to keep the wifi awake.... very annoying...

I've been looking for this solution for a while. I haven't tried Skype yet, but I'm considering it. I'd love to use Google Voice though. Although any solution means costing more money and eating up the minutes of my cell plan, as most of my calls are to people on my plan.

I'm waiting for the MicroCell, but am not excited about paying another $150 for it.

Any other solutions out there? I'm especially interested in suggestions on signal boosting.

I use an free app called Whistle Phone. Its dead simple to use and integrates nicely with my address book. You get a free 3 day trial when you sign up and after that you can activate the unlimited calling (inbound and outbound) service for $9.95 a month, plus you get a phone number.

You can actually tie it to your existing phone #'s using a pretty cool follow me feature. It rings your other #'s if you do not have your Whistle Phone app up and running.

Check it out, ive found this to be the best remedy for att dead zones.

I use Skype for making calls at work where the O2 signal is absolute crap. I don't use it to receive calls, I just forward all calls to the work phone once I arrive. I also us Skype to make calls when abroad to avoid the insane roaming rates.

For SMS I now use Ping! Yes, it iPhone to iPhone only, but 95% of my SMS is to my girl, who is also using an iPhone. I'm looking forward to seeing how much less SMS usage there is on my bill come next month. I may even be able to move to a cheaper tariff because of it