The options compared
Landlines, Google Voice, call forwarding, smart intercoms and buzzer apps, with the trade-off each one actually makes.
How to choose an apartment buzzer app: seven things to check
Before you give a buzzer app your building and your roommates’ numbers, check these seven things: the number, the door, who rings, privacy and how you leave.
4 min readA virtual phone number for your apartment buzzer: what has to be true for it to work
A virtual number can run your buzzer if it passes three tests: local to your building, rings fast, and carries the door digit. How to check each before you pay.
4 min readUsing a free Fongo number for your apartment buzzer
A free Fongo number can give your building a local number to dial. Here is what Fongo itself says it takes to keep that number ringing, and where it stops.
11 min readA free local phone number for your apartment buzzer in Canada: the real options
Fongo, TextNow, Freephoneline or a second SIM for your buzzer in Canada. What each one fixes, what keeps the number alive, and what it costs you at the door.
9 min readA second SIM card for your apartment buzzer: what it costs and what it still misses
A second SIM gives your building a local number for about $22 a month plus tax. It still rings one phone, and that phone has to be charged and nearby.
8 min readUsing a free TextNow number for your apartment buzzer
A free TextNow number can give your building a local number to dial. Here is what TextNow says keeps it alive, and what your buzzer does the day it is reclaimed.
9 min readCall forwarding for your apartment buzzer: the codes, and why each kind fails
How carrier call forwarding handles a buzzer call: unconditional versus conditional, the published codes on Rogers, Fido, Freedom and Bell, and where each one fails.
10 min readUsing Google Voice for your apartment buzzer
Google Voice is free and can ring several phones, which makes it the obvious buzzer fix. Where it is available, what gets in the way, and how to test it.
5 min read