Managing phone calls without porting your number

Enchant can be used to send and receive calls for numbers that are not managed by Twilio.

For this, you would setup two channels in Enchant. One for incoming, and one for outgoing.

Receiving calls on a number that has not been ported to Twilio

If you already have a phone number that all your customers are aware of, you can route incoming calls to Enchant by setting up automatic call forwarding from your number to another number managed by Twilio.

This forwarding would be setup at your existing phone service provider.

You would need to add a call channel in Enchant for the Twilio managed number that it is being forwarded to.

To prevent outgoing calls from that Twilio number, set the Available for incoming calls only flag in the channel settings.

Making calls from a number that has not been ported to Twilio

To make outgoing calls from Enchant using a number that is not managed by Twilio, you would setup Enchant to make outgoing calls using a Verified Caller ID in Twilio.

To set this up, first you would need to get your existing number into Twilio has a Verified Caller ID.

Head to Phone Numbers -> Manage -> Verified Caller IDs and click on Add new Caller ID.

Fill out the form and click Verify number.

Once the number is verified, you can add a call channel in Enchant. For the Number Type dropdown, select Verified Caller ID in Twilio and select your number.

This will create an outgoing only call channel in Enchant.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I only setup the outgoing channel?
Yes. If you don't setup the incoming channel, you will only be able to make calls in Enchant.

Can Verified Caller IDs be used for SMS?
No. Verified Caller IDs in Twilio are only for outgoing calls. They cannot be used for SMS.