5 ways you can use the Ooma free calling app

Dennis Peng profile image March 12, 2024 | 4 min read

Are you an Ooma home phone customer who’s already downloaded the Ooma Home Phone app? If you haven’t, you’re missing out on some amazing features that can enhance your calling experience.

The Ooma Home Phone app expands your service to be accessible wherever you are. Here are five major calling app features we’re excited for you to take advantage of:

Take your home phone on the go

Your landline is your family’s communication hub. If people are trying to reach you, home is a good place to start.

With a VoIP app like Ooma, you can take your home phone on the go. That means you can use your home phone number to make unlimited calls from the app in the U.S. and Canada. If you have an Ooma Premier plan, you can also receive unlimited calls no matter where you are.

The best part? All of these calls are free; you pay only applicable taxes and fees, which are typically $6 to $9 per month, depending on your location. Premier membership is only $9.99 per month, and you’ll even be able to make unlimited calls to Mexico and Puerto Rico!

So if you’re lounging on the beach in Tahiti and someone calls home, you can pick up the call right away.

Check voicemail

Expecting an important call? Maybe you’re waiting for a call from your accountant during tax season, or a family member abroad. If there’s something time sensitive, every second counts, and with the Ooma app you won’t have to worry.

While Ooma customers can check their voicemail by either calling their own phone number or logging into their My Ooma account, it’s far easier to just access them in the Ooma Home Phone app. The app offers voicemail notifications to let you know when you get a new one.

Even more convenient, Premier members can have voicemails forwarded to their email addresses with transcriptions so they can peruse them when they get a second and listen to them in full later.

When you think of a VoIP app, you may have thought it would just allow you access to calls and voicemail, but there’s more. Apps give you options that let you communicate when you want, giving you access to the features you care about.

Multi-ring so you won’t miss a call

As we said, it’s all about choice. How do you want to answer your home phone? Do you want to tether yourself to wherever your home phone is physically located, or would you like to take it with you wherever you go?

If you have Premier service, Multi-ring gives you even more choice. Here’s how it works: You can choose which devices you want to ring when there’s an incoming call. Choices include your home phone, the Ooma Home Phone app, or even an external phone line.

This will give you expanded access to your home phone, allowing you to choose how you engage with an incoming call. You’ll stay connected and available in the way you like staying connected and available. Isn’t choice a beautiful thing?

Access Ooma’s low international calling rates

Did you know that you can also use the calling app to access international calling options that cost just pennies per minute?

Both Basic and Premier customers have access to an easy and affordable way to stay in touch with loved ones in other countries. If you make frequent international calls, there are also unlimited calling plans—Ooma World and Ooma World Plus—to give you wide global access for a low monthly fee.

Voice over IP cell phones are convenient for international travelers, and Ooma’s app is no different. Whether you’re vacationing, studying abroad or on a business trip, the app gives you as much functionality abroad as you have while you’re home in the U.S.

And no, you don’t need an international plan while you’re traveling. Just connect to local Wi-Fi® to avoid international data charges and call U.S. phone numbers for free. Remember, if you’re a Premier subscriber you’ll also be able to receive incoming calls. Say goodbye to expensive international roaming charges.

E911 service

On top of all that, the Ooma Home Phone app also gives you access to E911 services.

Every minute counts in an emergency. Ooma’s home phone service provides E911, connecting calls made through your Ooma home phone or with the Ooma app immediately to first responders in your area and displaying your home address on their screens.* This means you can get help even if you can’t speak, or if the call is being made by someone who doesn’t know your address, like a guest or housekeeper.

For added protection, you use Ooma’s 911 alert feature to get notified if anyone in your household calls 911 using your Ooma home phone. So if you leave the kids with the babysitter or have an elderly relative at home, their call to 911 can automatically generate a notification text message or email.

Preparing for emergencies may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you’re thinking about a VoIP app. However, it’s helpful to have advanced communications tools to keep you safe and in the loop when someone in your home dials 911.

iPhone users can find the Ooma Home Phone App in the Apple App Store and Android users can find the app in the Google Play Store. Learn more about Ooma VoIP home phone service at https://www.ooma.com/home-phone-service/

*E911 availability depends on the E911 capability of the applicable 911 call center and that customers keep their addresses updated so the correct address is provided for E911.