Sign up for a Google Voice account

1. Go to www.google.com/voice and sign in to your Google Account.
2. Select the option to get a new Google Voice number.
3. Choose which of your phones you want to ring when people call your Google Voice number. You can add more forwarding phone numbers later if you'd like.
4. Follow the prompts to choose a number and complete setup.

With Google Voice, you can customize your account to manage your various phones, set custom voicemail greetings and set call rules for different contacts.

Make and receive free calls and texts

Now you're ready to make calls to and receive calls at your Google Voice number. You can make and receive calls either within Google Voice or with the Google Voice mobile app.

To make and receive calls within Google Voice, follow these steps:

1. Go to www.google.com/voice.

2. Click the Call button and choose the phone you want to call from.

   

3. If you don't see the Call or Text button in Google Voice when you log in, click Upgrade My Account to complete the Google Voice signup (it's free).
4. We'll call your phone, then connect you through to the number you dialed.

To receive calls, send your Google Voice number to your personal and professional contacts. When they call your Google Voice number, your phone will ring and connect to voicemail based on the customized call rules you've set for your contacts.

To make and receive calls with the Google Voice app on your phone, follow these steps:

1. Create your Google Voice account (see steps above).
2. On your phone's web browser, visit m.google.com/voice to install the app on your phone.

3. Make calls using the dialpad inside the Google Voice app. When you place a call, Google Voice will call your Google Voice number, and you must accept the call to connect.

   

Please note that calls made from the Google Voice app will use minutes on your mobile phone plan. With the app you can also listen to and read your voicemail, send free text messages and more.

Free calls can only be made within the U.S. Outside of the U.S., calls can still be made for practically nothing.