How to set up speed dials for international calls

If you call the same people abroad every week, typing the access number and then a long international number every time gets old quickly. There are two ways to cut it down: speed dials on your Planet Numbers prepaid account, and a combined contact saved in your phone. Both work with the prepaid access number, 0161 328 7777.

Speed dials on your account

1. Log in to your account.
2. Open Speed Dials.
3. Enter the international number in full, starting with 00 and the country code, for example 00 1 212 555 0123. Each number is given a short speed dial code such as 1, 2 or 3.
4. To call, dial 0161 328 7777 from a phone registered on your account, wait for the tone, then press * followed by the speed dial code, for example *1.

Speed dials belong to your account, so they work from every phone number you have registered on it: your mobile, your landline, or a partner’s phone.

One-tap calling from your mobile contacts

Most smartphones let you save a contact that dials the access number, pauses, then dials the international number automatically.

On an iPhone:

1. Create a new contact and type the access number, 01613287777.
2. Press and hold the * key until a comma appears, and do it once more so you have two commas. Each comma is a short pause.
3. Type the international number starting 00, for example 01613287777,,0015417543010, and save.

On Android: in the phone dialler, type the access number, open the menu (the three dots) and choose Add 2-sec pause twice, then type the international number and save it to a contact. On some phones the pause is on the long press of the * or # key.

Tap the contact and your phone dials the access number, waits for our tone, and then sends the international number for you. If the call does not connect, add one more pause.

Things to check

• You must call from a phone registered on your account, because we recognise your number instead of asking for a PIN.
• Keep some credit on the account. It never expires, so a regular top-up is never wasted.
• If someone’s number changes, update it in your speed dials or contact, not just in your head.

New to Planet Numbers? Set up a prepaid account in a couple of minutes, or read how to make cheap international calls. For help with speed dials, use the support form, email support@planetnumbers.co.uk or call 0333 370 7333.