Whether you’re calling across the street or across the globe, it’s quick and easy to make calls to landline and mobile phones using Yahoo! Messenger. First, make sure you have a funded and active Yahoo! Phone Out account. If you don’t, please go to the Yahoo! Voice website to sign up.

Then just type the number you want to call, and Yahoo! Messenger will do the rest.

If Yahoo! Messenger isn’t recognizing your domestic phone numbers, open the Preferences from the Yahoo! Messenger main menu. Go to the Voice & Calls section and under Phone Out, verify the “Home country to use when dialing” matches your home country. Then you won’t have to add the country code at the beginning each time you dial a number.

If you still encounter problems, the easiest way to call phone numbers is to use the standard international dialing format:

1. Enter a “+”.
2. Followed by the country code. See here for a list of country codes.
3. Followed by the area code.
4. Followed by the local number you wish to call.

This method of dialing will always work—no matter where you are calling from or calling to—as long as you have the correct country code, area code, and local number.

Let’s walk through an example:

Your friend lives in the UK, and her number is (020) 7356 5000. What should you enter into the Yahoo! Messenger input box?

1. + (always start with a plus)
2. 44 (The country code for the UK)
3. 20 (The area code with the leading '0' removed. See below for more details)
4. 73565000 (The local number)

Using the above information, enter +442073565000 into the Yahoo! Messenger dialpad box and have a nice talk with your friend!

Note: The leading '0' in front of the area code (020) is not included in the number. This is standard practice for international dialing. If you’re unsure whether to drop the 0 or not, try the call without the 0 and then with the 0 if the first call didn't work.

More Examples

Country (Code)
Area—STD (Code)
Number
Dial

India (91)
New Delhi (011)
8765-4321
+911187654321

India (91)
Mobile Phone (No STD)
98450-12345
+919845012345

France (33)
Paris Region (01)
1234-5678
+33112345678

Germany (49)
Bonn (0228)
1234567
+392281234567

China (86)
Baoding (0312)
1234567
+863121234567

Philippines (63)
Baoding (02)
12345678
+63212345678

Mexico (52)
Veracruz (01229)
1234567
+522291234567

USA (1)
San Francisco (415)
384-2399
+14153842399

Thailand (66)
Bangkok (02)
1234567
+6621234567