Tossable Digits

One of the most frustrating things about being an expat, and moving country to country, is constantly changing your phone number.

It may seem like a minor inconvenience, but staying connected to friends and family becomes just a little bit harder, the hurdle just a little higher when you have to contend with a new number. You have to update your contact information on your phone and with certain apps. And even if you text friends and family with your new number, there is bound to be some confusion and missed calls or messages.

When we moved to London back in 2013 I really wanted to keep my US phone number. I had that number since I got my first cell phone, an LG flip phone that I thought was high tech. I could have parked my number with Verizon for around $20 by suspending my account, but the maximum time you can suspend an account was 6 months. After that, it was bye-bye phone number. We were planning on living in London for 2 years at least, so a 6-month hold provided no relief.

So I changed my number. Updated my friends and family. Changed my number in apps like WhatsApp and Viber. That old number was gone forever.

Now, because we live in the future, there is another way. For people looking to move abroad or even traveling overseas, there is Tossable Digits. They provide virtual numbers around the world and allow you to park your phone number for an unlimited amount of time, for a low monthly fee.

If you want to keep your precious number, Tossable Digits is your savior.

Tossable Digits

How Tossable Digits Works

Virtual numbers work by what is called “porting” (fancy term for transferring) and it can apply to any phone number, whether it is a landline or a cell phone number. By “porting” your old number with Tossable Digits, it becomes a virtual number and you can have phone calls to your old number automatically forwarded to a new, local number.

Confused? Take my situation with my old Verizon number (RIP 207-232-7xx4).

When I arrived in London, I would have bought a new local SIM card from a mobile phone provider with a UK number, just like I actually did. The big difference is that I would then instruct Tossable Digits to forward calls or text messages from my old US number to my new UK number. So, in essence, my cell phone could receive calls from both my old US number and my new UK number with ease.

As for my friends and family, they would be calling the same local number they had been using for years, and my phone would ring where I was located. Plus, they would continue to be billed at the standard local rates, so it wouldn’t cost them extra to call overseas (a huge hassle to deal with, I promise).

Even if you don’t need the call-forwarding service, Tossable Digits will park your number for $3.50/month for however long you need. Whether you are traveling for a month or living overseas for 5 years, when you return home, Tossable Digits will help you get your old number working again with a cell phone provider, free of charge. No hidden fees, no ridiculous cancellation charges.

Epic European Road Trip

Getting Set Up with Tossable Digits

The process of setting up your virtual number is easy and straightforward, and the customer service team from Tossable Digits is always around to chat if you have any questions. Once you have ported your old number, you can log into your account and instruct Tossable Digits what to do with your phone calls or messages.

Do you want to avoid awkward 3am phone calls from the US because your grandmother forgot how time zones work? You can set when you want the calls forwarded directly to your phone, and when calls should be sent directly to your voicemail (like at 3am perhaps?).

The best part is that since Tossable Digits is a month-to-month service, you can use it for a short trip if you just need coverage for a few weeks. The cost per/min is low for calls, especially compared to many US cell phone companies. For anyone who has spent a holiday overseas only to return to an unexpectedly large cell phone bill, you know just how expensive it can be, even if you pay extra for an international plan. And with the price of virtual numbers from only $2.99/month, there are no big surprise charges after signing up.

No matter what, you still need a local number to forward calls to, but the existence of inexpensive SIM cards pre-loaded with local minutes and data in most countries makes setup a breeze. They are usually available in any international airport or train station, so you can grab one while you wait for your luggage. After getting your new SIM card installed, just pop in your local number into your Tossable Digits account, opt in for call forwarding, and any calls to your old number will begin forwarding to your new local number. It is as simple as that.

Tossable Digits

Tossable Digits Can Work For Anyone

Whether you want to just park a number for a while, or want to use your phone with an old number while you are on the road, Tossable Digits offers something for everyone. There are dozens of options for call forwarding, including caller ID, Robocall blocking, call recording, “outdial” (which shows your virtual number in the receivers call ID, hiding your local number), and text messaging, which can be received in your account on the Tossable Digits website or sent directly to your phone.

Honestly, this service is so easy to use, I’d even recommend it to my parents, and that’s saying something. Now that we’ve been on the complicated end of switching international phone numbers twice, trust me when I say that I will never make the mistake again.

Interested in a virtual number so you can hold onto your precious phone n ber, while traveling or living abroad? There is a deal through November for 50% off your first month. Just head over to Tossable Digits and enter coupon code TDSPOOK50OFF to receive the discount.

In the interest of full disclosure, Drive on the Left earns a referral bonus for anyone that’s approved through some of the above links. Thanks for your support!

FANCY A DRIVE WITH US?
SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER AND OUR AWESOME EBOOK, “LIVING ABROAD: AN EXPAT’S GUIDE”, THE PERFECT STARTER GUIDE FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN EXPAT LIFE!
  • November 17, 2017

    Super idea guys. Especially for expats. I just weaned folks off the phone LOL, so everything these days is social media unless there is a life threatening emergency, phone-wise. Other than that we do Skype or Facebook video chats, or again, the foreign digits are used for my cellie, for an emergency. I am a crazy stickler like that but perhaps this is why I am a wee bit prolific with my online campaign 😉

    Ryan

  • November 18, 2017
    Anisa

    Are you able to forward texts as well?

    • November 20, 2017

      Yes. Texts can be forwarded, and can be seen on your Tossable Digits account, or sent to your phone. Quite useful.

  • November 19, 2017

    Interesting, I’d never heard of this service! In Canada you used to lose your number if you switched around carriers- fortunately that’s since been changed, and now it’s mine for life 🙂

  • November 19, 2017

    I’m glad someone finally offered this service! Perfect timing, I was actually just thinking about my old phone number that got deactivated when I moved abroad — and how I wish I could still have it… Oh well, RIP to that number, too. Anyway, thanks for sharing — I’ll have to check out the Tossable Digits service if I ever move away again.
    Jolina S. recently posted…Visa-Free Countries for Philippine passport holdersMy Profile

  • November 19, 2017

    Not being an expat I had no idea that you couldn’t keep a US number. Tossable Digits sounds like a great idea. It’s almost like Google Voice. Love the call forwarding aspect.

  • November 19, 2017

    Wow, this is a very helpful tip! I long wished I could retain just one number because it is really a hassle to keep updating phone and having your friends to update their contacts too! I honestly didn’t know this could be done! Thank you.

  • November 20, 2017

    This is a great tool for expats, I’m sure! I’ve had the same phone number since I was 16. It would be so insane to change it all the time! Luckily, with wifi, we can FaceTime all of our people while we travel, so we haven’t had to change our number yet, but if it ever came to a point that we were going to be in one country long-term, this is absolutely what I would use!

  • November 20, 2017
    Eloise

    That’s a great service! I had never heard of it, thank you for sharing. I love that it can work around the issue of the time difference and of waking up in the middle of the night for something not urgent! That’s a function I have with my iPhone (it only rings if someone calls multiple time in a row), and I love it.

  • November 21, 2017

    Tossable Digits is a wonderful idea. It definitely is a great use when someone is traveling abroad and has to change their number. It has also happened that our local number most of the times is out of the network even on roaming Tossable Digits will for sure be useful in our case too.
    Rashmi and Chalukya recently posted…Top Things to do in Piran Slovenia – The Gem of Slovene RivieraMy Profile

  • November 22, 2017

    This is such a great concept! I love that friends and family can still use the same number and that they aren’t charged long distance! Definitely makes it easier to stay in touch with everyone back home. It’s great that they don’t’ have cancellation charges, and the fact that you can set calls to be forwarded to your voicemail at a certain time of the day is genius too! Will definitely keep Tossable Digits in mind for future travels!

    • November 23, 2017

      A very useful tool, especially for expats. Constantly changing your number can be so frustrating, it is nice to have a little continuity!