Q. What type of calls can I make when I am using PC-to-Phone Prepaid?
A. PC-to-Phone Prepaid allows you to make PC to phone calls to any number--national, international, and mobile.
Q. Are there any numbers that I can not call?
A. Calls cannot be made to:
911, emergency services
411, directory assistance, operator assistance
900, caller-pays services
Q. How can I make a call if I am already connected to the Internet?
A. After you have signed up, downloaded and run the PC-to-Phone Prepaid client, you will be asked to log in. Once you have logged in, you can make calls by keying in the full telephone number, starting with the country code, followed by the area code and the number. As soon as you click on the Call button, the PC-to-Phone Prepaid will dial the number.
Q. Will I be disconnected from the Internet once I make the call?
A. To make calls from your PC using PC-to-Phone Prepaid you have to be connected to the Internet. You will not be disconnected from the Internet when making a call.
Q. Can I receive incoming calls when I am using PC-to-Phone Prepaid?
A. No, you cannot receive incoming calls to your PC. You can only make calls from your PC.
Q. What operating system do I need in my PC?
A. The PC-to-Phone Prepaid client can be downloaded on Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME and NT. Primus recommends using Windows 2000 or XP for best audio performance.
Q. Do I need any special software or hardware to use PC-to-Phone Prepaid?
A. Apart from the PC-to-Phone Prepaid client software (which you download from this site), your PC will need a sound card, and either a headset or microphone/speaker set. We recommend you to use either a headset or a USB port compatible handset. This should eliminate any possibility of echo to the party you are talking to resulting from their voice traveling back into the PC speaker on your end.
Q. Does my computer need additional memory?
A. No
Do I need to change telephone carriers or ISP?
A. No. There is no need to change your telephone carrier or your ISP in order to join PC-to-Phone Prepaid. All you have to do is to set up a pre-paid account with PC-to-Phone Prepaid.
Q. What is the sound quality of these calls?
A. Sound quality may vary due to your connection to the Internet, i.e. dial up versus broad band, and the congestion level of your Internet access resulting from bandwidth available from your Internet provider at the time of your call.
Q. Are my calls secured?
A. Calls are as secure as the calls that you make from your telephone.
Sign Up
Q. How do I set up or open a pre-paid account?
A. To set-up your pre-paid account with PC-to-Phone Prepaid all you have to do is click on the Sign Up link and you will be guided through the set up steps. The account can be open with a minimum of $10.00. There is no activation or monthly fees.
Q. What payment methods are available?
A. Credit cards are the only method of payment accepted. We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Diners Club.
Q. Do I need a PIN and a password?
A. When you sign up, you will be asked for your preferred username and password. If this username is available, we will create your account with this username and password.
Q. How do I add more money/credit into my account?
A. You can add money in increments of $10, $20 or $50 through account recharge. There are two options to add money into your account:
Auto-recharge
Manual
Q. How do I check my account balance?
A. Once you login into the PC-to-Phone Prepaid client, click on the Account button on the dialpad. This will take you to the Account page where you will be able to see your account balance and call activities.
Q. How do I cancel my account?
A. From the Account page, you can elect to cancel your account. The page guides you through the cancellation process.
Q. Are there any cancellation fees?
A. There are no cancellation fees.
Q. Can I reactivate my account?
A. You can create a new account by following the signup process again.
Q. Will I have access to my account from another PC?
A. Yes. Simply go to the Account page directly, or download the PC-to-Phone Prepaid client onto your new PC. All your account details will remain the same.
Q. What happens if I do not have enough money/credit in my pre-paid account?
A. Without enough credit in your account, you will not be able to place any calls. You can top up your account at the Account page.
Troubleshooting
Q. The call is connected, but I cannot hear the person at the other end.
A.
Check that you have a sound card, and either speakers or headset
Adjust the speaker volume on the dialpad
(there are arrows next to the speaker icon to increase or decrease the volume)
If you are using a router or firewall, see the router-related questions below
Q. The call is connected, but the person at the other end cannot hear me.
A.
Check that you have a sound card, and either a microphone or headset/microphone combination
Adjust the microphone volume on the dialpad
(there are arrows next to the microphone icon to increase or decrease the volume)
Q. My internet access is a 56kbps dialup line. Will this work?
A. Running PC-to-Phone Prepaid under Windows XP will usually achieve acceptable results when the internet is accessed over a dialup (telephone) line. Actual performance may depend on the PC configuration, level of internet congestion, and the quality of service provided by your ISP. Earlier versions of Windows may require the latest Service Packs for that operating system.
Q. The call is connected, but the audio keeps breaking up.
A. The source of the problem may be:
Congestion on the internet. If access to normal web sites is slow, this is the most likely cause. This must be resolved by your Internet Service Provider
The sound card on your PC. Use the tools available in the Windows Control Panel to test your sound card.
Q. When I start the PC-to-Phone Prepaid client, it doesn´t progress beyond the login screen, or tells me that the "server did not respond or could not be found". What does this mean?
A. Either your internet connection no longer works (you can check this easily with your web browser) or you are trying to use PC-to-Phone Prepaid from behind a firewall or router that uses Network Address Translation (NAT). You must configure your router to enable the SIP messages to pass between the PC-to-Phone Prepaid client and the Primus server. Some routers refer to this as Port Forwarding, while others call these Virtual Server or Special Applications settings. The steps you need to take are:
Find out your own PC´s private IP address. Do this using either the ipconfig (for Windows 2000 or XP) or winipcfg (for Windows 95 or 98) commands from the DOS prompt.
Configure your router to forward UDP packets on Port 5060 to your PC´s IP address (Port 5060 is used by the Session Initiation Protocol [SIP] to set up your calls).
If you can successfully make calls, but cannot hear any audio, you may also need to forward UDP packets on Ports 8000 and 8001.
