Setting up free internet phone service

If you live in an area with poor cellphone service but have access to the Internet, or maybe just want to save money on expensive cellphone plans, it is quite easy to set up a free internet phone service for yourself, using Google Voice and Google Hangouts.
To get started, you’ll need an Android or Apple device. When setting up a new Google Voice number, you’ll need to link your new number to an existing phone number, such as a landline or cellphone number. However, once you have this configured, you won’t need to use the existing phone number anymore, so you could quite safely borrow a family member’s or friend’s phone for this step.
Let’s get started.
Android
First, download Google Voice, Hangouts, and Hangouts Dialer from the Google Play Store.
Open Google Voice and follow the prompts to select a number. This will be your new phone number, so I suggest picking one that is easy to remember! Now pick an option to link your Google Voice number to an existing phone number. You can choose to receive either a text message or a phone call with the verification code.
Once you have linked the number, go to Settings, and under Calls, tap Incoming Calls. Turn off the option to forward calls to the linked number by tapping the slider to the left (shown below).

Now go to Hangouts Dialer. Again, go to Settings, then tap the Google account you’re using. Under Google Voice, next to Incoming phone calls, tap the slider to the right (shown below). This allows incoming phone calls to ring in the Hangouts Dialer app.

Now, to start or answer a phone call, use the Hangouts Dialer app. To send or receive text messages, use the Google Voice app. As shown above, there is also an option to send and receive text messages from the Hangouts Dialer app. If you prefer to use Hangouts Dialer for messaging, next to Messages, tap the slider to the right.
Apple
The process should work similarly on an Apple device. However, you only need to install Google Voice and Hangouts.
Final Thoughts
I hope you found this guide helpful. If you have any suggestions or feedback, or run into any problems, please leave a comment below!