Make it a local call for anyone back home to call or message you anywhere!

More ways to get extra numbers

By popular request, we’ve added more ways for you to pick up additional numbers and add them to your EasyRinger subscription.  When you click on the “Numbers” button, you’ll see three sub-menus:

• “My Phone Numbers” – this is the same screen that shows you the numbers that are currently assigned to your subscription.
• “Add Numbers” – This is a new screen which allows you to choose another number in almost any location across Canada and the United States.  This gives you access to the same selection as when you signed up with EasyRinger.  Numbers are currently limited to the United States and Canada but international numbers is on the way.

Here’s a screenshot of the “Get More Numbers Screen”.  You can see that it works the same way as the signup page.  Choose your country, then region, then area code, then finally the number.  For the second step, just set your destination number, submit your request and your done.  Your number should be set up and ready to go right away.

iPhone App 1.1 Released

We’re happy to announce the release of our mobile app, version 1.1, for iPhone.  With the release of the iPhone app, all of our supported platforms are now the same.  On to version 2.0!

Version 1.1 gives users the ability to:

• Set your destination on the fly
• Make a callback

There are also several fixes and stability improvements.  Users running iOS 7 can now successfully log on (can’t believe that iOS 7 broke this in our app still!).  We’re really happy to get this out the door.  We are now working on version 2.0 which will offer a lot of expanded functionality like:  purchasing additional numbers, easily viewing call rates, access to subscription info like your current credit, and more.

This is a new app and not an upgrade to the Call Me in China app.  So, all users, please uninstall the Call Me in China app and install this one.

Android App 1.1 Released

We’re happy to announce the release of our mobile app, version 1.1, for Android.  This new version gives users the ability to:

• Set your destination on the fly
• Make a callback

There are also several fixes and stability improvement.  We’re really happy to get this out the door.  We are now working on version 2.0 which will offer a lot of expanded functionality like:  purchasing additional numbers, easily viewing call rates, access to subscription info like your current credit, and more.

This is a new app and not an upgrade to the Call Me in China app.  So, all users, please uninstall the Call Me in China app and install this one.

iPhone App Tips

If you’ve had problems with the callback feature of the iPhone app, check this out.  The symptoms of the problem:  You try to either update your destination or make a call, but when you submit your request by pressing a button the wait cursor just spins and spins forever.  Or, as some users have reported, when they log in, their password fills in automatically – a wrong password.  Try this solution as well.

We’ll have this fixed in the next version of the app, but here’s how you can deal with this now:

• With your iPhone connected to iTunes, uncheck the app and press sync (a notification will pop up say if you delete this you will lose all data) after it finishes syncing.
• Sync your phone.
• Re-check the app again and sync. It should start with blank data.

Android App Tips

We’ve heard some complaints about not being able to use the functionality of the Android application.  The symptoms:  You try to either update your destination or make a call, but when you submit your request by pressing a button, you get just an empty little box that appears for a while and then goes away.

We’ll have this fixed in the next version of the app, but here’s how you can deal with this now:

1. Open your phone’s Settings.
2. Go to “Application manager” or “Applications”.
3. Find the “CallMeInChina” app and click on it.
4. Press the “Clear Data” button.

Clearing the app’s data will require you to log on again, which will establish a new authentication token and allow you to use the app.

For the next version, we’ll also give you a way to log off.  That’s a popular request.

Security Tip:  On another note, check out the second arrow at the bottom of the screen.  This is where you’ll see the app’s “Permissions” or what the CallMeInChina app is requesting that it be allowed to do.  As you can see, we require the minimum set of permissions:

1. We need to read your contacts so that when you make a callback, you can raise your contacts and pick a number.
2. We need network access, of course, so your app can communicate with the CallMeInChina/EasyRinger service.

Be careful of other applications that are requesting more permissions than they need.  Android is generally not as safe an operating system as Apple’s iOS, so you have to pay a little more attention.  You could download an application that is actually trying to do something malicious.  The permissions help you manage this.  If you see that an app is requesting very little permissions, or just enough permissions to accomplish it’s mission, then you can likely place more trust in it.  Watch out for apps that ask for all sorts of permissions that seem to be unrelated to the app’s purpose.  When in doubt, do some online research, ask around, and try to determine the reputation of the app.

Rates drop to China and Hong Kong

We’ve got some great news: Rates to China and Hong Kong have dropped! As you may recall, there was a sharp increase in rates to China a few months ago. Well, we’re really happy to be delivering this bit of good news. Of course, there’s no guarantee that they will continue to drop or even stay steady, but we’ll take the good news when when we can get it.

Also, as part of the transition to the global service offered by our new service, EasyRinger, there are now thousands of rates to monitor. Notifications of price changes will become increasingly difficult so please use our FAQ often to check rates. For now, we’ll try to pay special attention to China and Hong Kong and let you know when there are significant rate changes.

Thanks so much for being a member and enjoy the new lower rates!

CallMeInChina will soon be EasyRinger

Here’s some really big news: CallMeInChina is going worldwide! And, we are  therefore changing our name. CallMeInChina will soon become EasyRinger. We will expand beyond just China, Hong Kong, and select areas in the region. We are excited to be offering worldwide service to our customers. You can soon take your phone number anywhere with you worldwide, anywhere that you have phone service.

More good news is that our service will work exactly the same for all the new countries that we’ll support. And, of course, our service will continue to provide the focused clarity and low cost to China; none of that will change. You can visit our FAQ page to see which countries that we support.

The mobile apps will continue to work exactly the same although you will probably notice that they will still sport the CallMeInChina graphics. That will change with the newest release of our mobile apps which will expand the functionality and fix bugs as well.

Other changes to the service will be appearing incrementally over the next couple of weeks.

We are very excited about this next phase!  We look forward to helping new customers who are long term or regular visitors to other countries stay in close contact with their friends, family, and customers as well.  And, of course, our original China and Hong Kong customers will remain extra special to all of us here – you were with us from the beginning!

Stay tuned for more announcements and special offerings as we begin these changes.

Voicemail is now available

You may have noticed voicemail from CallMeInChina!  We quietly rolled that out a few months ago as a standard part of our service.

Automatic Voicemail:

The voicemail service will automatically pick up an unanswered call after thirty to forty seconds and your party will be directed to leave a message for you.  As soon as the message is left, we’ll send you an email notification with the voicemail attached as an mp3 file.

Direct Your Calls to Voicemail:

You can also direct the service to ring straight to voicemail by changing your destination prefix to “Voicemail” as shown in the image below.  After logging in on the website, click on the “Edit” link to get the “New Destination” dialog box, select “Voicemail”, then click “Save”.

Your number will then show that calls are being directed to voicemail by showing “Voicemail” followed by your number between parentheses in the “Destination Number” column:

To take calls again, simply change your destination prefix back to the country of your choosing.

Rate drop to Hong Kong

Good news!  To temper the rise in rates to China, we’ve been able to squeeze out a little more value for our customers in Hong Kong.  Starting April 1st, our rates to Hong Kong are now below $0.03!

Rate increase to China

Oh no!  We are sorry to announce that starting April 1st, our rates to China will be increasing.

Calls to China have been steadily increasing over the past six months, mostly due to increased regulation and taxes. We have done our best to absorb these costs, but they have increased rather dramatically in the past two months. China is still relatively competitive compared to many other destinations, fortunately, but they are increasing. The new monthly rate to China will be $0.058. These rates will go into effect on April 1st, 2013. We hope this will not discourage you from remaining in contact with your friends, family, and customers!

Hong Kong rates will fortunately not change. Remember, you can always visit our FAQ page for our rates.