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If your phone can send and receive email, shouldn’t your email be able to make free phone calls? Well, it can if you use Gmail and have a free Google Voice account.
You can receive calls through your Google Voice number and even make a call to just about any number worldwide, right from within the Gmail.com website. You can be in your email, reading or composing new messages, and start a phone call with ease.
Free Phone Calls
Keep in mind that this only works through Gmail when you use it from a computer, meaning you’ll need to have a microphone attached in order for it to work like a regular phone. However, if you do want to make a phone call from your Google account via a tablet or smartphone, just download the Google Voice mobile app.
Note: Using Google Voice and Gmail does not let you call an email address. What you’re doing is calling a phone number like you would from a regular phone, but since Google Voice (which gives you a free phone number) is tied into Gmail’s interface, you can access Google Voice’s features without leaving your Gmail account.
How to Call Someone Through Gmail
Follow these steps to use Gmail for placing a phone call to just about any number:
- Make sure the Google Hangouts plug-in is installed.
- Locate the small phone icon at the very bottom right side of Gmail.
- Click or tap that Phone Calls button to expand a new menu.
- If the number is not already in your list of contacts, enter the phone number you want to start a call with and then click Call when the number shows up below the text box.
If the number is in a different country than what’s shown, choose the flag next to the text box and pick the appropriate country to have the country code automatically attached to the number.
You can mute the call and use the buttons while on a call. Click or tap the red Hang Up button when you’re ready to end the call.
If you have the contact in your list, hover your mouse over the contact and choose the phone icon to the right. It should say Call (Name). The phone call will start immediately.
