# Can I Make a Test Call?

> How to check that your microphone, your number, and the price are all right before you spend anything - and what a real test call actually costs.

**TL;DR:** There's no special free test number, but you can check your microphone, the number, and the exact price for free before calling. A real test call costs one minute at that destination's rate, because connected calls are billed from a one-minute minimum.

It's a completely reasonable thing to want: before calling family abroad, or before trusting CallTuv with an important call, you'd like to know it actually works. There isn't a free test number to dial, but almost everything you'd want to check can be checked for free, and a real test call is inexpensive and quick.

## What you can check for free, before spending anything

These three cost nothing and place no call.

1. **Test your microphone.** Open our free [microphone test tool](https://calltuv.com/tools/mic-test). Speak normally and you'll see a moving indicator react to your voice. If it moves, your browser can hear you, which is the single most common thing that goes wrong on a first call. If it doesn't move, [Fixing Microphone and Audio Issues](/help/2946815-fixing-microphone-and-audio-issues) walks through the fix.
2. **Check the number is right.** Type the number you want to reach into the dialer. CallTuv checks it as you type and tells you whether it's a landline or a mobile. If the number is wrong or incomplete, you'll know before you spend anything. [Entering Phone Numbers and Choosing Countries](/help/3517926-entering-phone-numbers-and-choosing-countries) explains the formatting.
3. **See the exact price.** Once the number is complete, the dialer shows the **per-minute price** for that exact number. This is the real rate you'd be charged, not an estimate, and it accounts for the caller ID you have selected.

None of this requires credit on your balance. You can sign in and do all three on an empty account.

## Making a real test call

When you want to hear it for yourself, the best test is to call a phone you can pick up - your own mobile, or a friend or relative who's expecting it.

1. Add credit first. A new account starts at zero, and the minimum top-up is $5. See [How to Top Up Your Balance](/help/8412937-how-to-top-up-your-balance).
2. You'll need enough credit for **three minutes** of calling to that destination before CallTuv will start the call. That's a safety margin so a call doesn't cut off mid-sentence, not a charge - see [Minimum Balance to Start a Call](/help/6829471-minimum-balance-to-start-a-call).
3. Dial the number and let it connect. Say a few words, check you can hear each other clearly, and look at which number showed up on the receiving phone.
4. Hang up whenever you like.

> A test call costs one minute at that destination's rate, even if you speak for five seconds. Connected calls start at a one-minute minimum and round up to whole minutes, so there's no way to make a call cheaper by keeping it very short.

Calling your own second phone is genuinely the most useful version of this: you hear both ends of the audio yourself, and you see exactly what number is displayed.

## What the test actually tells you

- **Audio quality both ways.** Can you hear them, and can they hear you? If one direction is silent, that's almost always a microphone or permission issue rather than a CallTuv fault.
- **Which number they see.** By default your calls show a number from CallTuv's shared pool, picked to suit the country you're calling, and it can be a different number on different calls - that's normal and explained in [What Recipients See: Shared Numbers Explained](/help/5641209-what-recipients-see-shared-numbers-explained). If you'd rather your own number appeared, see [Verify Your Own Number as Caller ID](/help/8927354-verify-your-own-number-as-caller-id).
- **What it cost.** Open **History** afterwards and you'll see the call, its length, and exactly what it cost. [Your Call History](/help/7482016-your-call-history) has more.

## If your test call didn't go well

Nothing here means CallTuv won't work for you - each of these has a common, fixable cause:

- **They couldn't hear you, or you couldn't hear them:** [Fixing Microphone and Audio Issues](/help/2946815-fixing-microphone-and-audio-issues).
- **The call wouldn't connect at all:** [Why Your Call Won't Connect](/help/5108742-why-your-call-wont-connect).
- **You were charged for a call that never connected:** that shouldn't happen, and [Charged for a Call That Didn't Connect?](/help/5820647-charged-for-a-call-that-didnt-connect) explains what to check and how to get it put right.

And if the test left you unsure about anything at all, [contact us](https://calltuv.com/contact) - a person will look at the actual call on your account and tell you what happened.