Yahoo! Messenger Tutorials

Using Yahoo! Phone Out

Signing Up for Phone Out Placing a Phone Out Call Leaving a Voice Message Putting a Call on Hold Managing Your Phone Out Account
Premium Voice Feature This is a premium Yahoo! Messenger with Voice feature. Learn More 

Signing Up for Yahoo! Phone Out

Yahoo! Phone Out is a service that lets you make calls from your PC to regular phones and mobile phones in over 30 countries (and at a very low price). This premium service requires a pre-paid Yahoo! Voice account of $10 or $25. To learn more, go to Yahoo! Voice.

It's easy to sign up for the Phone Out service while using Yahoo! Messenger. You can also specify your calling country so that any number called within this country doesn't require the country code. You can change the country as many times as you like. So, if you're temporarily residing in Brazil, change your country to Brazil.

WARNING: You cannot dial 911 and other emergency service numbers using Yahoo! Phone Out and Yahoo! Messenger. Use regular phones or mobile phones to dial 911 and other emergency service numbers. Please inform others who are using your Yahoo! Voice services and Messenger that they must dial 911 and other emergency service numbers using regular phones or mobile phones.

 

Here's How

  1. While signed into Messenger, click the Phone Out link in the box below your Messenger List.

    Click the Phone Out link in the box below your Messenger List.

    The Yahoo! Voice web site opens. (You may have to sign in.)

  2. Follow the online instructions to sign up for Yahoo! Phone Out.

  3. To update your Messenger interface and to begin making Phone Out calls, sign out of and back in to Messenger.

    Several changes occur in your Messenger window.

    • A dial pad button appears to the right of the Contact Search bar.

      A dial pad button appears to the right of the Contact Search bar.

      Clicking the button opens a dial pad where you can select the numbers of the phone number you want to call.

      Select numbers from the dial pad.

      Tip: You'll see in the next task how easy it is to call someone who is in your Yahoo! Address Book.

    • The box below your Messenger List displays your current Phone Out balance. Each time you complete a Phone Out call, this area of the Messenger window shows how much money you have left in your account.

      The box below your Messenger List shows your Phone Out balance.

      Click this balance anytime to go to the Yahoo! Voice web site where you can view your Phone Out account and add more money.

  4. Specify your country in the Preferences window.

    • Select Preferences from the Messenger menu, then select the Yahoo! Voice category.

    • Select a country from the pull-down list in the My Country section.

      Select a country.

 

What's Next

Once you've signed up and checked your headset or microphone and speakers for sound quality (as explained in the Introducing Yahoo! Messenger's Call Features tutorial), you can begin calling your friends just about anywhere in the world.

 

Words to Know

  • Messenger List: a list of coworkers, friends, family, and associates who also use Yahoo! Messenger.