Hello,
I am not looking for a VOIP number but a real number. What would be the best tool to get access to one cheaply? I am on GrapheneOS.
Are you opposed to having it as a SIM in your phone? That would help narrow things down
I want to phone number to be a secondary one, so it would have to be an eSIM or entirely within an app.
Are you based in the US? I know some options there but I’m not familiar with anything international.
If in the US, you have number portability and that portability works between various technologies. For example, we ported our old land line to a VoIP provider twenty or so years ago. If you query what type of phone line that number is it still shows that it is a land line in the city we once lived in.
So you can get a “real” phone number for some physical address then port it to a cheap VoIP provider. There will be some cost and hassle in setting that up but that is a one time effort. After that you only have the monthly cost of your VoIP provider.
The VoIP provider we use has a nice “call treatment” facility where you can automatically filter calls, do telemarketer blocking, forward from know people to alternate numbers, etc. You can, for example, have people known to you automatically forwarded to your cellphone and send the rest to voice mail with a copy of the voice mail sent to an email address of your choice.
Or you can setup up a SIP app on your phone to directly call and receive calls from that number. All up to you.
The key is that the number was originally assigned to a land line so all the lookups that can be done on it all report that it is a “real” rather than a VoIP number.
Yes, I’m in the US
Do you have a tutorial on how to do either of those things?
Not really.
You need to start with a “real” phone number. If you have one already (current land line or current cellphone number) that you can use you are past the first step. If not, then you will need to get a real number which will likely include having to supply a bunch of identifying information. My current numbers (cell and VoIP/landline) are over 25 years old so I am not up on what the current procedures are.
Once you have a “real” number, you need to pick a VoIP provider. That provider will have a help page for porting a number into it. Follow their instructions.
For what it is worth, I’ve been using Callcentric for 15 or more years. I haven’t shopped around for price, feature, reliability in years so I don’t know how they compare with other current offerings. In my case I used an Astrisk SIP PBX that I self hosted for a while so I could look at my usage and I determined that a low cost with a fee per minute plan was better for me than a higher cost unlimited calling plan. Your usage will be different.
On your cellphone, the easiest way to access the VoIP number would be using a SIP app. One might be provided by or recommended by the VoIP provider you selected. If the VoIP provider you select supports incoming call routing features (Callcentric calls them call treatments) you are basically limited by your imagination about how you handle incoming calls. I forward calls from people I know to my cellphone number and send all others to voice mail.
I’m not too familiar with privacy-focused services that give you a non-voip number, so others can chime in if they have any ideas. Your cheapest option for a traditional eSIM with a regular cell provider would probably be Tello and their Build Your Own Plan option. You can get 100 minutes and unlimited texts for $5/mo if you opt for no data.
They’re definitely not going to be as private as some voip providers, but they’re probably not any worse than other carriers, and they could definitely fit a threat model where you’re more worried about giving people a number that’s not your personal one than hiding information from the carrier itself. You might also be able to get away with some harm reduction techniques like a fake name, email alias and masked payment card if you’re worried about those things, but you’d probably have to do some research on whether they do any sort of ID verification (for what it’s worth, I’ve never had to do any of that for any of the prepaid services I’ve used).
As for @OldGuy’s advice, I’ve heard reports that non-voip numbers that get ported into a voip service do eventually get reported as voip, so your mileage may vary if you choose to go that route.
I am not sure your threat model, but re-reading your original question I think your easiest option is this from @BionicBison
I would not rule out non-VoIP numbers eventually being reported as VoIP if ported to a VoIP provider. However I have no indication that has happened to mine which I ported to VoIP many years ago.
For only a single number, Tello for $5/mo (plus taxes) is a good option. If you prefer a specific carrier that has better coverage in your area, you can consider US Mobile. Their cheapest plans are $96/yr or $10/mo (taxes included). I mention them over others because you can choose between T-Mobile (Light Speed), AT&T (Dark Star), and Verizon (Warp).
I believe landlines are the exception to this, they are always classified as landline numbers regardless of where they are eventually ported. Cellular and VoIP numbers are handled differently.
YMMV though