Why a Chromebook needs a calling service
A Chromebook has a microphone and speakers but no phone line and no SIM-based dialer. Chat and video apps call other people who have the same app; they do not ring an ordinary phone number. Google Voice can, but it opens personal accounts only in the US and asks for an existing US number.
A browser calling service closes that gap: Chrome sends your voice over the internet to the phone network, and the person you call picks up an ordinary phone.
Step by step on a Chromebook
- Open Chrome and go to twin-phone.com.
- Sign up with your Google account or an email. No card or phone number is needed to sign up.
- Add credit from $10. Unused credit never expires.
- Type the number with its country code. The rate for that exact number shows before you press Call.
- When Chrome asks for the microphone, choose Allow.
If you blocked it earlier, click the icon left of the address → Site settings → Microphone → Allow, and reload. School and work Chromebooks may have the microphone or the site locked by an administrator.
What it costs, and what the other person sees
Calls to the US and Canada are $0.02/min. Every other country has its own rate on the rates page, shown again in the dialer before each call. Billing is in whole minutes, rounded up, with a one-minute minimum and no connection fee, and there is no subscription for calling.
The person you call sees a shared TwinPhone number unless you rent a US or Canadian number from $3.19/month and pick it in the "Call from" menu. A rented number also rings in the Chrome tab when people call you back.
Getting good sound from a Chromebook
- A USB or Bluetooth headset beats the built-in speaker and microphone, which can echo.
- Keep the TwinPhone tab open for the whole call; closing it ends the call.
- On busy school or café Wi-Fi, sit near the access point, and turn off a VPN if audio cuts out.
