How LineFerry works

LineFerry has two halves. The gateway is an Android phone that holds your SIM. The LineFerry app runs on your iPhone. Between them, LineFerry passes every call and text to the iPhone and back.

When someone calls you

1. The call arrives at your SIM, in the gateway, like any phone call. The caller hears normal ringing.
2. The gateway hands the call to your iPhone over the network they share. If LineFerry is closed on the iPhone, the gateway wakes it with an Apple push notification first.
3. Your iPhone rings on the standard call screen. When you answer, the gateway answers the real call and carries the audio both ways.

The gateway phone itself stays quiet while this happens. It only rings on its own when no iPhone can be reached; see Networks and ringing.

When you call someone

Dial from the Keypad, Contacts or Calls tab in LineFerry, or tap a LineFerry call in your iPhone’s Recents. The gateway places the call from your SIM, so the other person sees your number.

Texts

Texts to your SIM appear in LineFerry’s Messages tab, with a notification. Replies go out from the gateway, from your number.

What stays where

• Your SIM and your carrier plan stay exactly as they are. Calls and texts are billed by your carrier as normal.
• Contacts and call history come from the gateway phone, so your Recents and favourites reflect calls on that number.
• The call itself travels between your two phones over your own network.

LineFerry is in early access. The phones need to share a network today: your Wi-Fi at home, or the gateway’s hotspot. Calls from anywhere, over the internet, are on the way.