Recently, I use VoIP to call my
family and some friends from Linux community. I use one of the easiest VoIP client available for Linux, Zoiper. Zoiper is available for Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, Android, and iOS. I will show you how to use Zoiper to make a call and receive a call in Ubuntu. I use voiprakyat as VoIP provider here. This tutorial can be applied in another distros too.
VoIP in Brief
VoIP is a telephone via internet technology. It allows us to make a call to another via internet. VoIP is very popular because it reduces telephone cost. VoIP requirements are just a VoIP account and a VoIP client application. User can obtain a VoIP account from VoIP provider. You can choose one from many free VoIP provider over the internet. A VoIP client is often called softphone.
Download Zoiper
You can download Zoiper from http://www.zoiper.com/en/voip-softphone/download/zoiper3. Select the Community edition (Free).
Install Zoiper
- Extract Zoiper package first.
- You will have two packages, Ziper 32 and 64
- By Terminal, execute the package. Choose 32 bit or 64 bit one. Use command sudo ./The_Zoiper_File_Name
- A Zoiper installer window will appear. It is same with usual software installer in Windows. Just click Forward (Next) button.
Setup VoIP Account
After installing Zoiper, first you should enter your VoIP account credential (username, password, server address). For further usage, you may add any account as many as possible from any different provider.
- Open Zoiper.
- Open Settings > Create a new account.
- Select SIP. In this case, I use voiprakyat provider which use SIP as the communication protocol. Refer to your provider for which protocol to use.
- Then you should enter your account credentials. It consist from username, password, and server address. In my example, I have 100913@voiprakyat.or.id, mypassword, and voiprakyat.or.id respectively. For your information, 100913 is my phone number from voiprakyat service.
- Then you may change the account name for Zoiper. It is just a name displayed so you will recognize when you have multiple accounts later. You may don't change this default name.
- Finish.
Receiving A Call
When there is no problem, e.g. server fault, you can receive phone from your friend. Just let Zoiper idles when the internet connection connected. To answer the call, click Answer button. See picture below.
Calling Someone
To call someone, you can type the number directly on the text box and press Call button. Or, you can open Dialpad tab and click the number.
