Get your phone number and forward calls

Get your number

Phone numbers come with plans that include phone or text: Starter, Growth, Phone Only and Text Only (Growth and Text Only open soon). Numbers aren't available during the free trial. In some countries a local number costs more to keep, so it has a monthly local-number fee. If yours does, the exact amount is shown to you first, and the number is only set up once you confirm it.

1. 1Subscribe to a plan with phone or text on Plan & Billing.
2. 2Open Integrations and click the Phone calls tile (under Channels). On its card, click Get my phone number. In the US, Canada and Puerto Rico the number is yours in seconds; in most other countries the card asks for your business documents first and connects the number automatically once they are approved, usually in 1-3 business days.
3. 3Want to pick the number yourself? Click Choose a specific number instead, search by area code or digits, and click Get this number.
4. 4The card changes to Connected and shows your number, with a Next steps list: call it to test, forward your existing line, check it works. Each step gets a tick as you go. You also get an email with the same three steps and your forwarding code.

Saved an existing number but haven't forwarded it after two days? We send one reminder with the code. Ignore it if you'd rather give customers your Frontivo.io number.

Many countries require business documents before a local number can be issued. If yours does, the card shows Send your documents: add your business address and details and upload what your country asks for (PDF, JPG or PNG). Approval usually takes 1-3 business days, and your number is connected automatically once it comes through. If the regulator needs something changed, the card shows Fix and send again with what to fix.

If the card says Requested

In the US, Canada and Puerto Rico your number is connected within a few seconds. Elsewhere, the yellow box on the Phone calls card tells you what happens next - nobody has to wait for an email.

• Send your documents: your country needs business documents before a local number can be issued. Fill them in on the card - the number is bought automatically once they're approved.
• Get a US number instead: our phone provider doesn't sell numbers in your country yet. Click the button and you get a US (+1) number in a few seconds. Your AI answers calls and texts on it and WhatsApp runs on it too. Callers in your country pay international rates to ring a US number, so it's best for WhatsApp, texts and customers abroad - or forward your existing line to it.
• We try again automatically: our phone provider had a hiccup. We retry every 10 minutes and email you the moment your number is connected. Nothing to do.
• Confirm the monthly fee: in some countries a number costs more to keep, so it has a monthly local-number fee (for keeping the number - not a charge per call). A pop-up shows the exact amount; click Get my number to confirm, and the number is connected in a few seconds. Click Not now and nothing is bought.
• Our team confirms the price first: in the few countries where a number costs a lot more to keep, a person on our team checks the price with you by email and sets the number up - usually within 1-3 business days. You get an email when it's ready.

Changed your mind? Click Cancel request on the card. You can ask again any time.

Not sure what your country gets? See phone numbers by country - every country, with what works there.

Connect texts

Calls and texts use the same number but connect separately, so you choose which ones your AI answers.

1. 1On the Text messages card, click Connect texts.
2. 2US number? Click Get texting approved, check the details we filled in, add your EIN (the 9-digit federal tax ID on your IRS letter CP 575 or 147C) and a phone number where the carriers can reach you, and click Send for approval. We submit it to the US carriers and follow it up - approval usually takes 1-7 days (about 3 business days for a toll-free number). Once sent, the card says Already sent with the date - you don't need to send it again. If the carriers ask for a change, the card shows Fix and send again with what to fix, and we email you the outcome either way.
3. 3Click Send a test text from your phone and check your AI replies. The conversation appears in your Inbox.

US phone companies only deliver business texts from approved businesses, so replies on a US number start once approval comes through. Calls work in the meantime.

A normal text to the US or Canada counts as 1 from your text allowance. Texts to other countries count as more, because carriers there charge more. See how texts are counted.

Forward your existing number

Call forwarding is a setting from your phone company that sends calls from your existing number to your Frontivo.io number. Customers keep calling the number they know.

1. 1Get your Frontivo.io number first (see above).
2. 2On the Phone calls card, click Forward my existing line.
3. 3Choose Only calls I don't answer (recommended) or Every call, then choose your phone company. The pop-up shows one code with your Frontivo.io number already in it. For a landline or office phone, it shows what to tell your phone company.
4. 4On the phone with your existing number, dial the code and press Call.
5. 5Click Test my forwarding, or call your existing number from another phone and don't answer. Your AI picks up, and the card shows Forwarding is working.

• Only calls I don't answer: your phone rings first, and the AI picks up if nobody answers or the line is busy.
• Every call: every call goes straight to your AI receptionist.
• Turn forwarding off: dial this code any time to stop forwarding.

Phone companies can't forward text messages. For texts, give customers your Frontivo.io number, or move your number to Frontivo.io (below).

The codes for every phone company are on call forwarding codes.

Move your number to Frontivo.io

Moving (porting) your number means Frontivo.io becomes its phone company, so your AI answers both calls and texts on it. Your service with your old phone company for that number ends when it moves.

1. 1On the Phone calls card, click Use my existing number and type the number. Click Check this number to see what kind of line it is.
2. 2Choose Move it to Frontivo.io (number porting).
3. 3US numbers: fill in the details exactly as on your phone bill (name, account number, billing address, and a transfer PIN for mobile numbers), upload a recent bill and click Start the move. Then sign the authorization Twilio emails to the account holder. The move takes about 1-2 weeks, and the card connects the number by itself when it's done.
4. 4Other countries: add your current phone company and the name on the account, and click Request the move. We email you the next steps: reply with a recent phone bill, then sign the short transfer form (a letter of authorization) we send you. The move takes 1-6 weeks.
5. 5Until the move finishes, keep forwarding calls to your Frontivo.io number.

If your plan ends

We hold your Frontivo.io number for 30 days after your plan ends, and email you 7 days and 1 day before it's released. Choose a plan in that time to keep it. Moving to another phone company? Click Move my number to another company on the card: we hold it longer while the transfer goes through, and our team emails you the transfer PIN and details your new phone company asks for.

Test it once your number is ready

When calls are connected, use the Phone call tab in the Channel tester to have a test call with your AI in your browser.