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Gerany Phone turns a phone number you already own into a proper phone on your iPhone or iPad. The app is unlocked by a subscription; the phone line is separate, and you buy it from your provider.

What the app does

• Native calling. Incoming calls use the system call interface, so they ring and answer like any other call — lock screen, AirPods, even when the app is closed.
• A real keypad. Dial a number, or type a name the way you would on a classic phone: the letters on the keys find your contacts as you type, with their photos. An unknown number can be added to a contact from the keypad.
• Your contacts. Names and photos instead of numbers, on the keypad, in the call log and on the call screen.
• A call log of its own. Every call made, received and missed, with duration, which line it was on, and a details screen per call. Filter by period, line, missed calls, voicemail or recorded calls. Apps other than Phone cannot read the system Recents list, which is why the app keeps its own.
• Voicemail and call recording. Messages and recordings arrive in the app within a minute, with transcripts made on the device by Apple's speech recognition. See the sections below.
• Text messages. Read the texts sent to your line, by line or all together.
• More than one line. Keep separate numbers on the same phone and pick which one places a call. Only the line you select rings — the app registers one credential at a time.
• Unread badges. Missed calls, new voicemail and new recordings count on the app icon and on each section.
• Two looks. Gerany Phone's own, or the stock iPhone Phone app's — in Settings.
• iPad. A sidebar in place of the tab bar.

What you need from a provider

Three things, in this order: an account, a number on it, and something to sign in with. The links below are the providers' own instructions rather than ours — their consoles change, and their documentation is the version that stays current.

Either provider works, and the app behaves the same once a line is up. Telnyx signs in with a SIP credential and can additionally do voicemail and call recording, which Gerany Phone turns on for you and transcribes on your phone. Twilio signs in with an API key that guided setup creates; calls in and out work the same way, but voicemail and recording are not offered on a Twilio line yet.

On Telnyx

1. A Telnyx account. Signing up is free. Calling is pay-as-you-go, so the account needs a balance before a call will connect.
   Get started with a Mission Control account →
2. A phone number on that account. This is the number people see when you call them.
   Search and buy numbers →
3. A SIP credential — a username and password from a credential connection. This is what the app signs in with, so it has to be the credential type rather than IP authentication.
   SIP connection types →
   Where to find the username and password →

Guided setup can do the second and third steps for you once the account exists, in which case you also need an API key. It is used once, to configure your line, and is never stored — see the privacy policy for exactly what happens to it.
API keys and how to use them →

If a line refuses to come up, Telnyx's SIP registration article explains what has to be true for it to register.

On Twilio

1. A Twilio account. Signing up is free, and calling is pay-as-you-go against a balance.
   Open the Twilio console →
2. A voice-capable phone number on that account.
   Search for and buy a number →
3. Your Account SID, on the front page of the console under Account Info, and one credential beside it: either an API key or your Auth Token. The key must be type Main (Console → Account → API keys & tokens → Create API key → Key type: Main), and you should delete it as soon as setup finishes — it is needed for about thirty seconds and never again.
   Neither narrower kind can do the job: a Standard key is blocked from the Keys resource, so it cannot create the key your phone signs in with, and a Restricted key has no permission for creating a TwiML app or a push credential. The push credential is the one that settles it — it carries the certificate that wakes your phone for a call, that certificate is ours, so the setup page has to upload it for you. Guided setup uses it for one request and never stores it. Prefer the API key — it can be deleted on its own, while the Auth Token is full access to your whole account.
   What is an Account SID →
   How API keys work →
   Auth tokens and how to change them →

A trial account will not work. A Twilio trial only accepts calls from numbers you have verified, so a line on it registers and then never rings for anyone else. Upgrade the account before setting a line up — guided setup checks, and tells you if it finds one.

What guided setup makes on your Twilio account: an API key for the app, a push credential so incoming calls can wake your phone, and a TwiML app that points your number at Gerany Phone. All three are visible in your console.

Removing the line in the app deletes the TwiML app and the push credentials again, and stops the number being routed to Gerany Phone. The API key is the one thing left for you — the key the phone holds is a Standard key, and Twilio does not let those delete keys, not even their own. The app shows you its SID when you remove the line.
How API keys work →

Setting up a line

Guided setup

In the app, open Settings ▸ Lines ▸ Guided setup. It opens a page in your browser that asks which provider carries your number, lists the numbers on that account, and configures the one you choose.

On Telnyx that means creating a connection with a daily spending cap, attaching the certificate that lets incoming calls wake the app, and pointing your number at it. On Twilio it means creating an API key for your phone, uploading the same certificate as a push credential, and pointing your number at a TwiML app.

Either way the page then shows a short code and hands the line back to the app. The code is single-use and expires after ten minutes, which is how a password or a key secret reaches your phone without travelling inside a link.

By hand

1. Open Settings ▸ Lines ▸ Add line manually.
2. Name the line — "Personal", "Work". Only you see this.
3. Enter the number it should present as, in full international format (for example +16175550123).
4. Choose the carrier, then enter what it signs in with. A Telnyx line takes the SIP username and password from your credential connection. A Twilio line takes six values from your console — Account SID, API Key SID and Secret, TwiML App SID, Push Credential SID, and the client identity your TwiML dials — which is why guided setup is the easier route.
5. Save. The dot beside the line turns green once it registers.

A line added by hand places calls straight away, but incoming calls also need a push credential attached at your provider — guided setup does that part for you.

You can add more than one line and choose which places outbound calls, from the selector at the top left of the keypad.

Any line can be renamed later: open Settings ▸ the line and tap Name. The name is shown only to you and changes nothing at your provider.

Common problems

The status dot is grey and calls will not go out

The line has not registered. Check the username and password with your provider — a SIP username is often not your phone number or email. Confirm the account is active on the provider's side, then use Reconnect in Settings.

Outgoing calls work, incoming calls never ring

Incoming calls arrive by push notification. Check that notifications are allowed for Gerany Phone in the iOS Settings app. If you set the line up by hand rather than through guided setup, the push credential may not be attached at your provider — guided setup does that for you, and re-running it is the quickest fix. On a Twilio line, also check that the number points at the TwiML app guided setup made, and that the client identity on the line matches the one that app dials.

A call connects but there is no sound

Almost always the microphone permission. In the iOS Settings app, find Gerany Phone and switch Microphone on. If audio is one-way, the cause is usually network-side at your provider rather than in the app.

Calls to some countries are rejected instantly

Most providers restrict which destinations an account may dial, and a blocked destination is refused before it rings. Check the permitted destinations on your account.

Contacts show as numbers

Contacts access was declined. Turn it on for Gerany Phone in the iOS Settings app. The app works fully without it — you will just see numbers.

Voicemail

Voicemail and call recording are offered on Telnyx lines. A Twilio line places and receives calls in exactly the same way, but Gerany Phone cannot turn voicemail or recording on for it yet — anything you set up in the Twilio console is yours to manage there.

Telnyx records a message when a call to your number is missed or declined. Gerany Phone can tell you about it and transcribe it.

• Lines set up with guided setup have voicemail on already. The setup page showed your PIN; it is also under Settings ▸ the line.
• Lines added by hand: under Settings ▸ the line, tap Turn on voicemail notifications — one tap, the app sets it up. If the number is on your own Telnyx account, a page asks for your API key once, the same way guided setup does.
• New messages appear under Calls ▸ Voicemail and as a notification. The transcript is produced on your iPhone by Apple's on-device speech recognition; the recording is downloaded from Telnyx to your phone and never passes through us. If your language has no on-device model, the message stays untranscribed rather than being sent anywhere.
• Telnyx gives a link to each recording that expires after a few days. A message that reaches this phone is downloaded and kept; one that never did can show as no longer available — that is your provider's retention, not a fault here.
• You can always call *98 from the line and enter the PIN to listen the traditional way.

Call recording

Recording is done by Telnyx on your line; the app turns it on and off for you. Guided setup asks whether to record calls on a number, and under Settings ▸ the line, Record calls on this line does the same at any time.

• Settings ▸ Call recording decides whether recordings are kept here and transcribed. Turning it off also turns recording off on your lines.
• Tell the other person. Many places require it before a call is recorded. Gerany Phone cannot speak into your call, so at the start of every call on a recording line it shows a red notice and the sentence to say. Whether you need consent, and from whom, depends on where you and the other person are — that is your responsibility, not something the app can decide for you.
• Recordings appear under Calls ▸ Recordings, downloaded from your Telnyx account to your iPhone and transcribed there, the same way as voicemail. Telnyx keeps its own copy under your account.

What it costs

The app is $0.99 per month after a free first month, billed by Apple as an auto-renewable subscription. There is no account with us; Restore Purchases is on the app's subscription screen, and the terms of use cover cancellation and renewal.

Your calls are billed by your provider to your own account with them, at their rates. Gerany never charges you for a call and cannot refund one — a billing question is a question for your provider.

Compared with Google Voice

People often ask. The honest answer is that the two do different jobs.

What Gerany Phone does that Google Voice does not

• It works wherever you are. Your number rings on your iPhone anywhere with a data connection. Gerany Phone has no US phone to verify and no residency check — your agreement with your provider is the only one that applies.
• It collects nothing. No account with us, no analytics, no server of ours carrying your calls. Calls, contacts and history stay on your phone.
• It is your line, not ours. You hold the number and the account with your provider, you can run several lines side by side, and you can leave at any time and keep the number.

What Google Voice does that Gerany Phone does not

• Texting. Gerany Phone is calls only today.
• Ring groups, auto-attendants and other team features.
• Android, a web client and desk phones. Gerany Phone is for iPhone and iPad.

If you need those, Google Voice is the better fit. Gerany Phone is the phone app, not the phone system.

Google Voice is a trademark of Google LLC. Gerany Phone is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google.

Privacy

The app collects nothing and sends us nothing. Guided setup is the one thing that runs on a server of ours, and the policy sets out exactly what it touches and for how long: gerany.com/phone/privacy.html.

Reaching a person

The quickest route is from inside the app: Settings ▸ Help ▸ Send a support request. It carries your app version and whether the line is registered, and it can attach the diagnostic log — which is usually what shows why a call failed. That screen tells you exactly what the log holds and lets you read it first; passwords and tokens are redacted before anything is written.

Writing by email works too. Say roughly when the problem happened — the time is how we find your call.