free softphone on linux? setup after buying SIP file?

[cpbl]

So, I've bought the 50$ SIP info file from freephoneline.ca. Now can someone provide (nice) setup instructions for the recommended free (like freedom) softphone on GNU/Linux? I'm running the latest update of Ubuntu.

freephoneline.ca needs to have a recommended (or multiple recommended) softphone suggestions for GNU/Linux, with instructions for setup. Can anyone get me started?

(Sam from freephoneline.ca recommended (by phone) a commercial softphone, Bria-3 from Counterpath as a good softphone, which they use for testing. It claims to have a GNU/Linux version, but not full-featured. It costs another 50$. But I want a one-click install supported through Ubuntu...)

Thanks,
c

[cpbl]

My own answer for linphone-3, which comes as a single-click install under the Ubuntu software centre:

Create a new account, fill out as shown in the attached image, using your own phone number (starting with 1 and area code) in place of the number I'v eused, and click "okay". You'll be asked for a password. It's the one that came in the email when you paid 50$ to freephoneline.ca (and is shown under SIP info if you log in to their web site).

That's it.

Everything seems to work beautifully for me for incoming and outgoing calls, at least when I am connected directly to the internet. I suppose I'll try with NAT at home.

[cpbl]

Other clients that seem promising: (tried after paying the 50$, under non-NAT, ie direct, connection)

Empathy:
(1) add SIP support:
sudo apt-get install telepathy-sofiasip libtelepathy-farsight0 python-tpfarsight
(or maybe just the first of those).
(2) Then SIP is listed under the account types. Takes 20 seconds to set up! calling in/out tested.
If they improved their SIP interface, this would/should/could be the thing to use.

(2) SFLphone
apt-get install sflphone-gnome
Looks nicer than linphone or empathy interface. But I couldn't get the audio to work.
Anyone else?

[THUFIR]

Seems quite simple. I just need to test my connection first, never got ekiga working.

[cpbl]

As well as the direct (university) connection, above, I've tested calls under Telus's "extreme" speed network in Vancouver, as well.

[cpbl]

(This appears to be a serial monologue. Blogging along, then...)

Unfortunately, while the quality has seemed pretty good on my end, it turns out that making calls from my soft SIP phone through freephoneline is landing the other end with really poor quality, at least sometimes, so that all my hopes for embracing VOIP, or doing so through freephoneline, as a reliable find-me-anywhere telephony system for 50$ plus network costs are falling apart.

[Jake]

I think Twinkle was the only one I ever had any luck with. Very simple, but it did what it said on the tin.

Android 2.3 has a native sip client on it (at least it does on my Desire HD). If you are looking for something on the go and have a new smartphone, that might work for you.

Did you try running the FPL softphone, or other sip phone as you have the config file, under a VirtualBox instance? From what I remember that worked for me also.

[cpbl]

Thanks, Jake.

No smartphone. I'm looking for a native desktop app.
Virtualbox will surely work fine, but that's not a solution!
This is to be my phone, at home and work, and when my computer turns on it should be up and running.

I have tried Twinkle; thanks for the tip, though the client is no longer my biggest concern (see my last post).

[nauru]

So, I've bought the 50$ SIP info file from freephoneline.ca. Now can someone provide (nice) setup instructions for the recommended free (like freedom) softphone on GNU/Linux? I'm running the latest update of Ubuntu.

freephoneline.ca needs to have a recommended (or multiple recommended) softphone suggestions for GNU/Linux, with instructions for setup. Can anyone get me started?

(Sam from freephoneline.ca recommended (by phone) a commercial softphone, Bria-3 from Counterpath as a good softphone, which they use for testing. It claims to have a GNU/Linux version, but not full-featured. It costs another 50$. But I want a one-click install supported through Ubuntu...)

Thanks,
c

I am also in the same position. No idea how to get started with Twinkle, what I should be filling the configuration fields with, or whether this is the softphone I should be using for Linux. Currently unable to use any softphone.

[cpbl]

I show above the settings that work for me on linphone.

Under twinkle,
I have 1438123457@voip.freephoneline.ca for "User name"
I have voip.fre... etc for domain AND for realm
I have just my number 14381234567 for "authentication name"
and the 50$ password for password.

[tbrummell]

(This appears to be a serial monologue. Blogging along, then...)

Unfortunately, while the quality has seemed pretty good on my end, it turns out that making calls from my soft SIP phone through freephoneline is landing the other end with really poor quality, at least sometimes, so that all my hopes for embracing VOIP, or doing so through freephoneline, as a reliable find-me-anywhere telephony system for 50$ plus network costs are falling apart.

I have no problem using Windows sip clients (eyeBeam, 3CX, Jitsi) with FPL, so I'd be focusing more on the Linux/Network side of things. Since it is the far end having issues hearing you, have you looked at the network performance? Is there sufficient upload bandwidth available at the time? Have you tried using G729 codec to limit the required bandwidth? (At the cost of sound quality, but it's not as bad of a trade off as it sounds). CPU resources aren't spiking for some strange reason, are they? And a Wireshark trace filtered on RTP & SIP may help pinpoint the issue.

[cpbl]

Meaning that all your call recipients are telling you it sounds like a real telephone? I have no visible trouble, as I stated, with linphone, either, but my friends seem to prefer to call me on my desk phone (landline)
I can't imagine there's anything wrong with my bandwidth; I seem to get 100Mb/s / 70Mb/s ! from/to the off-campus world. CPU load is unaffected by a call. I haven't tried G729.

[tbrummell]

So, my understanding is that you intermittently have call quality issues, but only when people call you? So they prefer to call your desk number instead? Port the desk number, problem solved. They probably 'prefer' that number because it's already programmed as a speed dial for them. I know I had this issue with my friends. Killing off the old number fixed that (in my case).