Common Whistle Questions

Table of Contents

1. Can I sign up with a Canadian postal code?
   
2. Why does Whistle keep prompting me for my password?
   
3. Can I get a new Whistle Phone number?
   
4. Can I receive inbound phone calls to Whistle?
   
5. What is HD calling?
   
6. Are my calls secure?
   
7. Why can't people hear me when I call them with Whistle on my Mac?
   
8. I already have a Whistle account, how do I tie it to my Whistle Phone?
   
9. How do I access my address book with Whistle?
   
10. What is Bonjour and how do I use it with Whistle?
    
11. Can I save my credit card to my account and use it in the future?
    
12. How do I enter a password when using a third party SIP service?
    
13. Can I redirect all my phone calls to my Whistle phone number?
    
14. Can I use speakerphone or a Bluetooth headse (t with Whistle?
    
15. Have a question about Google Wallet?
    
16. Can I use texting and voicemail with Whistle?
    
17. How do I set up my voice mail greeting?
    
18. How do I change my voice mail greeting?
    
19. How long do I have to activate my account after receiving my email?

Can I sign up with a Canadian postal code?

Yep! Just make sure to enter a single space between the first and last three characters, like so: A1B 2C3

If you still have trouble, let us know.

Why does Whistle keep prompting me for my password?

If you repeatedly get an Authentication screen when you try to make calls, your app may not be configured properly. Please check the following:

• Make sure your account has been activated and you've given us five minutes to get your number ready on our systems.

• Click the "Account" link on your app and log in. This provides the phone with your most recent information. You may have to enter your password one more time for security purposes, but you should be able to make calls. If not, let us know.

• One other quick thing you can take a look at before getting in touch with us: make sure that the number in the pop-up authentication box is your number. If not, you'll need to correct that in Settings (iOS), Preferences (Mac), or Settings (Windows).

Can I get a new Whistle Phone number?

Yes, you can. You'll need a Premium account, and there is a $7.99 fee for each change. When you have a Premium account with at least $7.99 in your balance, you can change your number using the following steps:

General:

1. Open your Whistle Phone app
   
2. Go to Account Management by clicking the "i" icon
   
3. Sign into your account (if necessary)
   
4. Go to the My Info section
   
5. Click the "Change Whistle Number" button.

iPad/Desktop Users:

1. Open your Whistle Phone app
   
2. Go to the Account Management section of the Whistle Phone app
   
3. Sign into your account (if necessary)
   
4. Click the "[change]" link next to your current Whistle phone number in the right column.

Can I receive inbound phone calls to Whistle?

Free service:

You can receive free inbound calls from other Whistle users. You cannot receive calls from land lines or cell phones outside your free trial.

Premium service:

Yes, you can receive inbound calls from anywhere. Inbound calls from other Whistle users are free; inbound calls from cell phones and land lines are one (1) cent per minute.

What is HD calling?

High Definition calls have far better sound fidelity than your average phone call or calls to/from Whistle clients previous to 1.30.

This does not prevent network-related sound quality dropouts. If you have spotty wireless, HD doesn't help with that, except that the packets that make it through will sound better than they ever have.

HD calling is only available for Whistle-to-Whistle calls on Mac, Windows, iPads and the iPhone 4 or 4S.

Are my calls secure?

Starting with Whistle version 1.30, we encrypt calls from Whistle clients to our platform with Transport Layer Security. That's the same level of security that's provided on secure sites on the web.

We don't encrypt calls that go out from the Whistle platform to the public telephone network. So, when you make a Whistle-to-Whistle call, the whole call is encrypted, but if one leg is on the PSTN, that part of the call is no more or less secure than a standard cell/land line call.

Secure calling is only supported on Mac, Windows, iPads and the iPhone 4 or 4S.

Why can't people hear me when I call them with Whistle on my Mac?

It is possible your input volume for your input device is too low. If this is the case:

• Go to your Mac System Preferences.
• Select "Sound" from your Hardware System Preferences.
• Select Input.
• Adjust the input volume for your desired sound input device.

If this does not fix your input sound issue, please contact Whistle Support through the Customer Support forum.

I already have a Whistle account, how do I tie it to my Whistle Phone?

• Launch your Whistle Phone.
• You will be prompted to "Create an Account," "Use Existing Account," or "Use Generic SIP."
• Click the "Use Existing Account" link.
• You will then be prompted to enter in your Whistle Phone number and www.whistlephone.com password.

Once the credentials have been submitted, you will be able to make calls on your Whistle Phone.

How do I access my address book with Whistle?

On the iPhone or iPod Touch:

• Touch the address book icon in the upper left corner of the screen.
• Address book will appear.

On Mac OS X:

• Click Window on the Whistle Application Tool Bar.
• Select Directory from the drop down list.
• Select the Address Book option from the Directory window that appears.
• This will load all your contacts from your Address Book.

What is Bonjour and how do I use it with Whistle?

Bonjour is an "instant networking" technology developed by Apple. Whistle utilizes Bonjour to allow users to automatically discover other Whistle users on their network. When you find another user with Bonjour and you want to call them, simply click their name and you will be connected, free of charge.

Can I save my credit card to my account and use it in the future?

At this time, you cannot save your credit information to your account.

How do I enter a password when using a third party SIP service?

Whistle will prompt you for the password when the server challenges it to authenticate. If your password changes, the server will reject Whistle's attempt to authenticate and Whistle will re-prompt you for an updated password.

Can I redirect all my phone calls to my Whistle phone number?

Currently our platform does not support direct call forwarding to your Whistle phone number from outside services.

Can I use speakerphone or a Bluetooth headset with Whistle?

Speakerphone compatibility is currently supported in the Mac OS X and Windows versions, as well as multitasking-capable iDevices.

Unfortunately, Bluetooth is not fully supported and may not provide the best call quality. We are working on addressing this issue. If you would like to use Whistle hands-free on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, simply plug the headphones that came with your device into the headphone jack. The headphones included with these devices include a microphone and allow you to make hands-free calls with Whistle.

Have a question about Google Wallet?

Google Wallet is currently only supported on the Windows Whistle app, Windows web browsers, and Mac web browsers. If you encounter issues signing up for a Google Wallet account through the Windows Whistle app, please try again using the Firefox or Chrome web browsers.

If you encounter a security warning, simply choose "No" to proceed with the process. If you encounter any other warnings, simply choose "OK" to proceed with the process.

Here's how to add to your balance with Google Wallet:

• Log into your Whistle account
• Go to "My Service"
• Click "Add to Balance"
• A pop-up window will appear from Google Wallet that will ask you to choose the desired amount you would like to add to your account
• You will be prompted to add your credit card information or select from credit cards you've previously added (NOTE: this credit card information will be stored by Google, but Whistle will never be passed or store this credit card information)
• Confirm your purchase by clicking "Finish" at the bottom of the pop-up window
• You will receive a confirmation within the pop-up from Google Wallet outlining the details of your purchase
• Click "OK." Whistle displays a record of your purchases under "My Orders" under the "Order History" tab on your account page.

Can I use texting and voicemail with Whistle?

Texting and voicemail are available with Whistle version 1.40 for iOS and Mac.

If you have other questions about texting or voicemail, please see this help article.

How do I set up my voice mail greeting?

Pull up your whistle application
dial your dedicated whistle number
The application will direct you on how to set up your voice mail for the first time.
You will only be able to get "new" messages after you set up your voice mail greeting.

How do I change my voice mail greeting?

You can only change your greeting at this time if you have voice mails waiting.
Dial your whistle number.
when you hear you have __ voice mails
hit three
follow the prompts to change your voice mail greeting

How long do I have to activate my account after receiving my email?

Once you sign up for your Whistle account, you will receive an email to activate your account. Once you receive that email you will have 3 days to activate your new account or you will lose your number.