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Firefly softphone - Frequently asked questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Firefly™ softphone

What is Firefly?

The term softphone is short for software telephone. Firefly is a VoIP Softphone; that's just a fancy way of saying Internet telephone. A softphone is essentially an Internet telephone that allows you to make free phone calls to other people who are also running Firefly on their computers.

Traditional telephones use phone lines that run back to your local telephone exchange to make phone calls. When you call someone, your local phone exchange sends the call to the phone exchange nearest the person you are calling and the phone company charges you for the call. When you make a call using Firefly, your voice is first turned into digital packets which can be used by your computer. These packets are then sent over the Internet from your computer to the computer of the person you are calling where the packets are turned back into voice.

The wonderful thing about this is that it does not cost you anything beyond your normal ISP costs! You will of course need to be connected to the Internet to use Firefly, but the actual softphone call costs nothing! And it does not matter if the person you are calling is across the road or on the other side of the world, since the call is sent over the Internet.

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How do I get Firefly?

You can download Firefly for free here.

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Can I call people on landline or mobile numbers with Firefly?

Yes. If you're on one of our monthly plans or if you have credit in your account, you can call any landline or mobile number.

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Why is Firefly free?

Well, there are actually several reasons. Firstly we wanted to show that is is possible to set up a free telephone network and make it work for hundreds of thousands of people around the world - it's a great challenge. The other reason is that we hope you will be totally impressed with our Firefly softphone and may decide to buy some of our other services. However there is absolutely no requirement to do so. After all, it costs us nothing to give you a copy of Firefly, and it costs us nothing when you make a call, so enjoy!

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Is there any adware, spyware, spam or other nasties?

Absolutely not! The last thing we want to do is add anything like that to our software. We firmly believe that Firefly is the world's best softphone and we will not do anything to tarnish that image.

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How do I use Firefly?

You can find information about how to do this here.

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How can I test Firefly?

You can dial our test number on *80001234, or click on the Test Number contact in Firefly. You can also dial our Echo number on *1001 - everything you say will be repeated back to you a half-second later.

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What hardware do I need to use Firefly?

You will need a PC with a working internet connection, and some form or microphone and speakers. We recommend using a headset or a handset for improved sound quality.

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How much bandwidth does Firefly use?

Like all Internet based applications, Firefly is going to use some of your Internet traffic - mostly when you are making or receiving calls. Although Freshtel does not charge you for calls that are made from Firefly to Firefly, your ISP may charge you for downloading and uploading data. This is the same as when you view a webpage, or check your email.

Whilst it is usually free to browse websites and so forth, your computer is downloading data which your ISP may charge for. If you're on a call with Firefly for an hour, you'll use about 10MB of data.

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How can I choose the audio device to use with Firefly?

From Firefly, go to Menu > Options > Audio, and set the Audio In and Audio Out device to the desired audio device.

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How do I dial landline numbers using Firefly?

To call an Australian landline number from your Firefly on-screen phone, simply dial the number, including the area code prefix, unless you have set your Local Call Prefix.

For example, to call the Melbourne number 03 9915 6415 you would dial 61 3 9915 6415 or 03 9915 6415.

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How do I dial mobile numbers using Firefly?

To call an Australian mobile number from Firefly, simply dial the number.

For example, to call the mobile number 0400 123 456 you would dial 0400 123 456 or 61 400 123 456.

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How do I dial overseas numbers using Firefly?

To call an overseas number from Firefly, you'll need to add the the country code and the area code before the number.

For example, to call the UK (Country Code 44) number 208 123 4567 you would dial 44 208 123 4567.

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How do I dial 13 and 1300 numbers using Firefly?

There's two ways of doing this, depending on whether you have Local Call Prefix enabled in your account. If you do have Local Call Prefix enabled, to dial 13 1234 you would need to dial 13 1234 from Firefly. If you have not set a Local Call Prefix, you can dial 61 13 1234.

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How do I dial 1800 numbers using Firefly?

There's two ways of doing this, depending on whether you have Local Call Prefix enabled in your account. If you do have Local Call Prefix enabled, to dial 1800 123 456 you would need to dial 1800 123 456 from Firefly. If you have not set a Local Call Prefix, you can dial 61 1800 123 456.

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How do I change the volume on Firefly?

The sliding volume controls on the bottom left and right of Firefly will increase and decrease the volume of the speaker and microphone.

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Will my firewall block Firefly?

Most software firewalls will inform you the first time Firefly tries to access the internet. If you tell the firewall to always permit Firefly to access the Internet, you should be fine. If you find that Firefly is being blocked, the following may be of some help, depending on the firewall you happen to be using.

Setting up Norton Personal Firewall to connect to Freshtel

Here is how to set up Norton Personal Firewall to work with Freshtel if you experience difficulties:

  1. Open Norton Personal Firewall.
  2. Select "Status & Settings" from the left menu bar.
  3. Choose "Personal Firewall" from the middle column.
  4. Click "Configure".
  5. In the new window, open the "Programs" tab.
  6. Find "Freshtel" in the "Manual Program Control" table.
  7. Click the "Internet Access" column for Freshtel, and select "Allow All".
  8. Click "OK".

This should get you up and running with Freshtel. If you have any difficulty, please contact our friendly helpdesk staff on 1300 373 748.

Setting up PC-cillin Internet Security settings to connect to Freshtel

Here is how to set up PC-Cillin to work with Freshtel if you experience difficulties:

  1. Open PC-Cillin Internet Security.
  2. Click "Network Security" along the left side.
  3. Click "Edit".
  4. From the "Personal Firewall Profile" window, open the "Exception List".
  5. Click "Add".
  6. Enter the following information in the appropriate fields: * Description: Freshtel* Target: "Specified Application" (enter "C:\Program Files\Firefly 3\FreshtelIP.exe") * Action: Allow* Ports: All Ports.
  7. Click "Save".

This should get you up and running with Freshtel. If you have any difficulty, please contact our friendly helpdesk staff on 1300 373 748.

Setting up McAfee Personal Firewall settings to connect to Freshtel

Here is how you set up McAfee Personal Firewall to work with Freshtel if you experience difficulties:

  1. Open McAfee Personal Firewall.
  2. Select "Personal Firewall Plus" along the left side.
  3. Click "View the Internet Application List".
  4. Find "Freshtel" in the "Application Name" column.
  5. Right-click "Freshtel," and select "Allow Full Access". (If you don"t see "Freshtel" in the "Application Name" column, click "Allow New Application" and enter "C:\Program Files\Firefly 3\FreshtelIP.exe")
  6. Exit McAfee Personal Firewall.

This should get you up and running with Freshtel. If you have any difficulty, please contact our friendly helpdesk staff on 1300 373 748.

Setting up ZoneAlarm settings to connect to Freshtel

Here is how you set up ZoneAlarm to work with Freshtel if you experience difficulties:

  1. Open ZoneAlarm.
  2. Select "Program Control" along the left side.
  3. Find "Freshtel," and click each red "X" so they are now green.
  4. Select "Allow".
  5. Exit ZoneAlarm.

This should get you up and running with Freshtel. If you have any difficulty, please contact our friendly helpdesk staff on 1300 373 748.

Setting up Tiny Personal Firewall settings to connect to Freshtel?

Here is how you set up Tiny Personal Firewall to work with Freshtel if you experience difficulties:

  1. Open Tiny Personal Firewall.
  2. Go to the "Administration Center".
  3. From the "Groups" menu, click "Trusted".
  4. Click "Enroll".
  5. Enter "Freshtel" in the application name field, and then enter "C:\Program Files\Firefly 3\FreshtelIP.exe".
  6. Click "Save".

This should get you up and running with Freshtel. If you have any difficulty, please contact our friendly helpdesk staff on 1300 373 748.

If you use an external firewall, the following destination ports need to be opened in order for Firefly to work:

  1. UDP 4569
  2. UDP 5070

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What protocol does Firefly use?

The new Firefly uses either SIP protocol on port 5070 or IAX2 protocol on port 4569. For more information on how to configure this, please see the Getting started with Firefly guide.

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What codecs does Firefly support?

Firefly uses the ILBC codec.

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Can I send Instant Messages to other Firefly users?

Yes. Right-click on the contact you wish to message, select Send Message, and enter the message you wish to send.

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How can I see which version of Firefly I'm using?

In Firefly, go to Menu > Options > About. We recommend always using the latest version of Firefly.

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Can I change my Firefly ringtones?

Yes. You can select whatever WAV file you like for your incoming & outgoing ringtones. In Firefly, go to Menu > Options > Audio. Click the Browse button next to Incoming File or Outgoing File, and select the WAV file you wish to use.

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Can I put different skins on Firefly?

No, not at this time.

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Can I change my Firefly hold music?

Yes. You can select whatever MP3 file you like for your hold music. In Firefly, go to Menu > Options > Audio. Click the Browse button next to Hold Music, and select the MP3 file you wish to use.

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Can I run two versions of Firefly on the same PC?

No. You can only have one installation of Firefly per PC. It is possible to switch users by going to Menu > Options > Networks and entering a new Freshtel number and password.

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Voicedot Compatible

* Standard Australian phone number - Available to Australian residents only.