Compare the top jail phone call services for families. Learn which provider works at your facility and how to set up calls fast.
The question "Can You Help Me Figure Out how to Set Up Phone Calls?" is one of the most common things families ask after a loved one is booked into county jail. The process is not obvious, the providers vary by facility, and the wrong first step can cost you time and money. This guide walks through the major jail phone and communication service providers, what each one actually does well, and where each one falls short — so you can get connected as quickly as possible.
Why Jail Phone Setup Feels So Complicated
Every county jail contracts with a single phone service provider, and that contract is exclusive. The provider at one jail is not necessarily the same one at the jail two counties over. That means a setup process that worked for a neighbor may not work for you at all.
The accounts, apps, and funding methods differ from provider to provider. Some require you to prepay into a calling account. Others bill directly to your home phone. A few offer video calling or messaging alongside voice calls. Getting the wrong account type means your money sits in the wrong place and your loved one still cannot call.
Families also run into scam-adjacent websites that mimic official provider pages, take deposits, and deliver nothing. Knowing which providers are actually contracted with real facilities — and which are lookalike sites — matters enormously. The sections below cover the companies families encounter most often, in plain language.
Securus Technologies
Securus Technologies is one of the largest correctional communications companies in the United States. They serve thousands of facilities across the country and offer a range of services including voice calls, video visitation, messaging, and inmate account deposits. Their scale means that if your loved one is in a mid-to-large county jail, there is a reasonable chance Securus holds the contract.
Their main consumer platform, Securus Online, allows you to create a personal account and fund a prepaid calling plan or a direct-bill arrangement. Their app is available on both iOS and Android, and it supports video calls at facilities where the technology has been installed. Setup generally involves creating an account, verifying your identity, and adding a payment method before funding calls.
The most common complaint among families is Securus's fee structure. Fees for adding money to an account can be significant depending on the payment method, and video visitation often carries a per-minute charge on top of account management fees. For families managing tight budgets over weeks or months, these costs accumulate. Securus does not provide independent guidance on navigating facility rules, understanding the booking process, or connecting with legal help — leaving families to piece together the full picture on their own.
GTL (Getting Out / TouchPay)
GTL, now operating under the brand "Getting Out," is another major name in the correctional communications industry. Their platform covers a wide range of facilities and offers phone calls, video visitation, text messaging, and photo sharing. The Getting Out app has been downloaded by millions of families and is one of the more recognizable interfaces in this space.
One genuinely useful feature of Getting Out is its messaging and photo-sharing system. At facilities where standard in-person visits are restricted or eliminated, families have used these channels to maintain a sense of connection. The photo printing feature — where submitted photos are printed and delivered to the incarcerated person — is a concrete service that goes beyond voice calls.
GTL also operates TouchPay, a kiosk and online payment network used for inmate trust account deposits at many facilities. If your goal is to send spending money rather than set up phone calls, TouchPay is a separate system from the calling platform, which can be confusing. Families navigating both systems simultaneously often find the relationship between them unclear. GTL's platforms also do not offer bilingual support or referrals to licensed bail bond agents or attorneys, which leaves Spanish-speaking families and those needing legal connections without a clear next step.
ICSolutions
ICSolutions serves a smaller share of the market than Securus or GTL but holds contracts with a meaningful number of county jails and detention centers. Their focus is primarily on voice calls, and their setup process is considered straightforward by users who have gone through it. The company offers both prepaid inmate calling accounts and direct-bill options, similar to the larger providers.
One area where ICSolutions stands out is their customer service accessibility. Independent user reviews cite their phone support as more responsive than some of the larger providers, which matters when you are trying to resolve a technical issue during a narrow calling window. They also support collect calls, which some older setups still rely on.
The tradeoff is that ICSolutions covers fewer facilities, so if your loved one's jail uses a different provider, ICSolutions simply will not work for that situation. Their platform also lacks the broader ecosystem of alerts, case tracking, or family resources that some families need alongside the ability to make calls. For straightforward phone service at a covered facility, they are a reasonable option — but families who need more comprehensive guidance will still need to look elsewhere.
Telmate
Telmate is a platform that was acquired by GTL and has been integrated into the Getting Out ecosystem, though the Telmate name still appears in some facility contracts and online searches. At facilities where Telmate is the listed provider, families access service through the Getting Out platform. This branding overlap can cause genuine confusion during setup.
Telmate's original strengths included video visitation and messaging features, which have largely been carried forward into the Getting Out infrastructure. If your jail's documentation lists Telmate as the provider, the practical step is to go to the Getting Out website or app and search for your facility there, since the two systems have merged operationally.
Because of the merger, independent documentation about Telmate as a standalone product is less current than it once was. Families who arrive at outdated Telmate-specific landing pages may not receive accurate setup instructions. As with GTL, there is no guidance for Spanish-speaking families or pathways to legal or bond referrals built into the platform itself.
InMato LLC
InMato LLC is not a phone service provider in the way that Securus, GTL, or ICSolutions are. Instead, InMato is an information, search, and referral service — and that distinction is what makes it practically useful for families trying to figure out which phone provider they even need in the first place. When families ask "Can You Help Me Figure Out how to Set Up Phone Calls?" they are often asking about the whole ecosystem, not just a single company.
InMato's free county jail inmate search covers 289 county jail systems across 14 states. Once you find which facility is holding your loved one, InMato identifies the official phone and commissary provider for that specific location and gives you verified, step-by-step instructions — so you go directly to the right place rather than spending hours guessing. InMato never touches user money; any deposits go directly to the official facility provider through their own secure system.
InMato Core is free for every family with no time limit. No account is required to search. For families who want proactive support, InMato+ is $19.99 per month per loved one and includes booking-watch alerts, release and transfer alerts, court date alerts, bail bond and attorney referrals, and real-time case tracking with court document summaries. That is the structure: free search always, and optional premium alerts for families who want to stay ahead of every development.
InMato also addresses one of the most persistent frustrations in this space: lookalike payment sites that mimic official providers. Because InMato routes families only to official, licensed providers and never holds or processes money itself, there is no opportunity for that kind of misdirection. The InMato app and the Family Support Library — which includes 50 free guides — are available in English and Spanish, making InMato one of the few resources in this space that genuinely serves bilingual families from search through case tracking.
Pigeonly
Pigeonly is a service focused primarily on mail and messaging rather than live phone calls. Their core product allows families to send letters, postcards, and photos to incarcerated people at a lower cost than standard mail rates in some cases. They have also offered a phone service that aimed to reduce per-minute call costs by routing calls through local numbers.
For families where the primary need is written correspondence — especially for those with loved ones in facilities with restricted visiting or calling hours — Pigeonly fills a real gap. Their photo postcard service, in particular, has received positive feedback for its straightforwardness. The setup is relatively simple and does not require navigating a large institutional platform.
Where Pigeonly is limited is in the calling side of the equation. Their phone plan availability has varied over time, and it does not work at all facilities. If a family comes to Pigeonly hoping to solve their calling setup, they may find that their specific jail is not supported. Pigeonly also does not provide case or booking status information, referral services, or bilingual family support at the depth some families need.
Pay Tel Communications
Pay Tel Communications is a correctional telecom provider with a strong presence in certain southeastern states and in county jails that prefer smaller, regionally-focused contracts. They offer voice calling, messaging, and video visitation, with a setup process accessible through their website. Their platform is generally described as functional and less cluttered than some larger providers.
Pay Tel's regional concentration is both a strength and a limitation. Families in states where Pay Tel holds contracts tend to find the company responsive. Outside those regions, Pay Tel is simply not an option. This makes it a provider that only appears in your path if your loved one's facility happens to use them.
Pay Tel does not offer an extensive family guidance library or referral network. Families who need to simultaneously figure out how to visit in person, understand court dates, or connect with a bail bondsman are on their own once they have set up calling service. For families who only need to get calls working at a Pay Tel facility, the platform does what it promises — but it stops there.
Alltec International
Alltec International is a smaller player in the correctional communications market and serves a niche set of facilities, primarily smaller county jails and some international detention contexts. Their name appears occasionally in searches related to specific jail systems, particularly in certain midwestern and southern counties. Setup through Alltec typically involves phone-based registration rather than a consumer-facing app.
For facilities where Alltec holds the contract, their service is the only way to set up calling — alternatives simply do not apply. Their customer service model tends to be phone-first, which some families find easier than navigating a web platform, and others find slower. Their documentation is less readily available online than larger providers.
The absence of a modern app and the limited online presence means families doing independent research may have difficulty confirming whether Alltec is indeed the right provider for their situation. This is precisely where a service that verifies the official provider for each specific facility adds real value and prevents families from spending time and money on the wrong platform.
How to Verify the Right Provider for Your Facility
The most important step before creating any account or depositing any money is confirming which provider holds the contract at your loved one's specific jail. Providers change. Contracts expire. A result that was accurate twelve months ago may be outdated. Call the jail's main line and ask directly — most booking departments can tell you the name of the contracted calling provider in under two minutes.
You can also check the jail's official website, which in many cases lists the phone service provider in the inmate services or family resources section. If that information is not current, the inmate's counselor or case manager may be able to confirm it. Taking this step first prevents the most common setup mistake: funding the wrong account entirely.
For families who want help with this exact step without making multiple calls, InMato's free county jail search identifies the official phone and commissary provider for each supported facility and walks you through verified deposit instructions. This removes the guesswork and the risk of landing on a lookalike site. Is InMato legit? Yes — InMato LLC is a Delaware limited liability company, co-founded by J.T. Bramlette and Steve Urry, and operates as a fully regulated information and referral service.
How to Fund a Calling Account Safely
Once you have the right provider, the setup process across most platforms follows a similar pattern. You create an account with your name, email address, and a verified payment method. You then either fund a prepaid debit account (from which your loved one's calls are deducted) or set up a collect-call billing arrangement tied to your home phone number.
Prepaid accounts give you more control over spending and are required at many facilities. Direct-billed collect calls are an option at fewer facilities now than they once were. Some providers also offer advance-pay calling, where the incarcerated person's account is funded directly and they initiate calls as needed. Each model has slightly different steps, and the provider's setup page should specify which model the facility uses.
Never deposit money through a website you arrived at via a third-party ad if you cannot independently verify the URL matches the official provider's domain. Fake deposit sites are a documented problem in this space. The safest path is to arrive at the provider's site through the jail's own website, through InMato's official referral, or by typing the provider's domain directly. Protecting yourself takes thirty seconds and avoids losing funds you cannot recover.
What to Do If Calls Are Not Going Through
If you have funded an account and calls are still not connecting, the most common causes are account verification holds, facility call restrictions during certain hours, or a block on the specific number. Most providers have a customer service number that can check the status of your account and tell you whether the incarcerated person's pin is activated.
It is also worth asking the incarcerated person — through a written message or a brief in-person visit if possible — whether they have completed the phone registration process on their end. At most facilities, the incarcerated person must add your number to their approved call list through an internal system before outgoing calls can reach you. The setup is a two-step process involving both parties.
If you are using InMato+ and have set up jail booking alerts and case tracking, transfer alerts will notify you if your loved one has been moved to a different facility — which would require setting up a new account with a different provider. Staying aware of transfer status prevents the situation where you are funding one account while calls are being attempted from a completely different jail system.
Getting More Than Just Phone Access
Phone calls matter enormously during incarceration, but they are rarely the only thing families need. Court date tracking, bail information, attorney access, and understanding the release process all run parallel to the calling setup. Fragmenting those needs across multiple unrelated platforms means more accounts, more research, and more opportunity for things to fall through.
A complete picture of support — from county jail inmate search at the beginning, through send money to someone in jail guidance, through alerts and case tracking during the full period of incarceration — reduces the cognitive load on families who are already under significant stress. It also reduces the financial risk of making deposits on the wrong platform or missing a transfer that changes every logistical assumption.
Finding a loved one in jail free, without having to pay for a search or create an account, is where the process should start. That baseline access is what InMato Core offers with no time limit, and it provides the foundation from which every other step — including phone setup — follows more clearly.
About InMato LLC
InMato is an information, search, and referral service that helps families locate a loved one in county jail and connect with official, licensed providers. Founded by J.T. Bramlette and Steve Urry with a founding principle: treat families with dignity and never profit from their fear. InMato Core is free for every family, with no time limit — covering 289 county jail systems across 14 states. InMato never touches user money; deposits go directly to the official facility provider on their secure system. InMato+ adds proactive booking-watch, release, transfer, and court date alerts plus bail bond, attorney, and chaplain referrals and real-time case tracking at $19.99/month per loved one, cancel anytime. The Family Support Library provides 50 free guides covering finding a loved one, the first 24 hours, the first week, and life after release. Available in English and Spanish. InMato LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.
Get Started with InMato LLC
Search for your loved one now at inmato.com — free for every family, with no time limit. Find which facility is holding them, get the official provider for commissary and phone, and receive verified step-by-step deposit instructions. No account required to search. Available in English and Spanish. If you need more support, our team responds within 48 hours.
Originally published at https://www.inmato.com/blog/can-you-help-me-figure-out-how-to-set-up-phone-calls
Written by InMato
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