Connect a phone number

Your assistant answers calls on a phone number you get through Ringhum. You can buy a new number in a few clicks, and it is set up automatically: there is nothing to configure with a phone company. If you want callers to keep using the number they already know, you can also forward it to your new number, or on the Scale plan move it to us.

Buy a number

You need permission to manage numbers (workspace owners and admins).

1. Open Phone numbers in the sidebar and press Buy number.
2. Choose a Country. Countries where the numbers can also send and receive texts are tagged SMS.
3. Choose a Type. What is offered depends on the country: Local, National, Mobile or Toll-free.
4. Optionally enter an Area code, then press Search.
5. Pick a number from the results. The price box below shows what it costs (see the next section).
6. Optionally enter a Label, such as "Main line", and choose an assistant under Assign to assistant. You can also leave it for Later.
7. Press Buy number.

When the number is ready you see "… is yours and ready to answer calls." It is connected to Ringhum straight away, and calls to it go to the assistant you assigned.

Important: A number with no assistant assigned does not answer. Calls to it are declined. Assign an assistant before you share the number.

You can also get a number during the guided setup, under Get a number. There it is set up as soon as your plan starts.

What a number costs

The price box in the buy dialog shows the exact cost before you buy.

• Included with your plan. Every plan includes at least one number: Starter and Solo include 1, Team 2, and Scale 2 plus a toll-free number. Included numbers are limited to certain countries and low-cost lines. The dialog tells you when a number is included with your plan.
• Paid from credit. Any other number is paid from your prepaid credit balance: a one-off setup charge and the rest of this month when you buy, then each following month on the last day of the month before. If your balance is too low, the dialog shows how much to add.

Calls cost more on some numbers than others. A toll-free number, or a number outside the US and Canada, can use your minutes faster. The dialog shows this as, for example, "Your … minutes are … on this number". To compare countries, use Call rates in the sidebar. See How minutes are counted.

How many numbers you can have

Numbers waiting for documents and numbers being moved to us count towards the limit. The Phone numbers page shows how many you have used.

Numbers that need documents

In some countries the phone company must check who a number is for before it can be used. When that applies, the buy dialog says that the country requires documents and lists what is needed.

1. Tick I will provide these documents and buy the number. It is reserved and shown under Waiting for documents.
2. Press Provide documents. Fill in the details asked for, such as your name or business name, an address in the area the number belongs to and a contact person, and upload clear scans or photos (PDF, JPG or PNG, up to 10 MB).
3. Press Send for review.

You have 24 hours to send the documents. Review usually takes 1–2 business days. The number is activated, and charged, only when the documents are approved. If they are declined you can send them again. If you miss the deadline, the order is cancelled and nothing is charged. You can press Cancel order at any time before activation.

Note: Documents go straight to the phone company for review. We do not keep them.

Assign or change the assistant

Each number in the list has an assistant picker. Choose an assistant to route calls to it, or — Unassigned — to stop the number answering. One assistant can answer several numbers.

Texting and WhatsApp

Receiving texts works on numbers that support them. To send texts as well, press Enable texting in the number's Texting column; approval usually takes 1 to 5 business days. See Text messaging. To add WhatsApp to a number, see WhatsApp.

Delete a number

Open the menu on the number's row and choose Delete. This cannot be undone, and the number may later be given to someone else. If you delete an assistant, its numbers are cancelled too. Archiving an assistant only unassigns them.

Troubleshooting

"Your plan includes … phone number(s). Upgrade to add more." You have reached your plan's limit, counting numbers waiting for documents and numbers being moved. Delete a number you no longer need, or change your plan.

"No numbers found." Try another area code, type or country.

"That number is no longer available." Someone else took it between your search and your purchase. Search again and pick another.

Callers abroad cannot reach my toll-free number. Toll-free numbers only work inside their own country. Calls from abroad are blocked by the caller's phone company and never reach your assistant. Buy a local number as well if you have callers outside the country.

"Number purchasing is in test mode." Numbers bought while this message shows are sandbox numbers for trying things out, not real lines.