so i just set up google voice today finally but i have some questions that i couldn't find the answers too easily online and i figured this was probably the best place to ask.
First off, is there anyway to choose certain people to always call using google voice?
and secondly, this one applies more to t-mobile, are calls through my phone using google voice count as minutes on my plan? because i'm hoping to use google voice so i can get on a cheaper voice plan.
thanks and sorry for the n00bish questions
neok44 said:
so i just set up google voice today finally but i have some questions that i couldn't find the answers too easily online and i figured this was probably the best place to ask.
First off, is there anyway to choose certain people to always call using google voice?
and secondly, this one applies more to t-mobile, are calls through my phone using google voice count as minutes on my plan? because i'm hoping to use google voice so i can get on a cheaper voice plan.
thanks and sorry for the n00bish questions
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Choosing which contacts to use GV for requires a 3rd party app thru the Market. GV doesnt seem to have a native selector. Voice Choice is pretty nice.
And using GV does take from the minutes, especially on T-Mobile unless you have the old MyFaves plan. Sprint, Verizon, & AT&T all have a plan where you may call unlimited to certain numbers and adding your GV number to it (usually) works. But T-Mo no longer offers MyFaves to newer subscribers.
If you want to reduce your call loads, there is another option for T-Mo, AT&T, & GSM users... Vonage over WiFi calling is a free app in the Market, and it does work fairly well. There is a CDMA version of Vonage, but thats for Verizon, Sprint, & Cricket, and it doesnt offer the WiFi calling.
NexusOneOwner said:
Choosing which contacts to use GV for requires a 3rd party app thru the Market. GV doesnt seem to have a native selector. Voice Choice is pretty nice.
And using GV does take from the minutes, especially on T-Mobile unless you have the old MyFaves plan. Sprint, Verizon, & AT&T all have a plan where you may call unlimited to certain numbers and adding your GV number to it (usually) works. But T-Mo no longer offers MyFaves to newer subscribers.
If you want to reduce your call loads, there is another option for T-Mo, AT&T, & GSM users... Vonage over WiFi calling is a free app in the Market, and it does work fairly well. There is a CDMA version of Vonage, but thats for Verizon, Sprint, & Cricket, and it doesnt offer the WiFi calling.
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very nice app there, a little expensive for a small function.
Right now i'm on myfaves but i'll be leaving it soon to go onto a family plan and i was hoping this would work like that.
With it not working like that, almost makes me wonder what the point is lol.
guess i'll give vonage a shot.
Try "Google Voice Callback" on the Market. You can set it up to set certain people to always be called via GV. You can also set it up to detect when you make a call and prompt you to use GV. When you choose to make a GV call, the app calls you and the person you're calling via GV (your phone will ring and then you answer which initiates the call). This way no minutes are used.
There's a free version and a paid version which are identical. The paid one is just there so you can make an easy donation.
If you want free incoming calls, you'll need to download and setup Sipdroid which is a little more complex since you need to find a SIP provider (I use Sipgate).
Is there something like google voice for Windows phone? I'm buying a Nokia Lumia 521, as it's cheaper than a new Android phone. I'm coming from the sprint galaxy nexus and I'm switching to the tmobile 30 dollar plan. Is there a VOIP app, like google voice, that I can use so I won't use 100 minutes?
Skype service isn't completely free, though it's a good deal even when using the not-free bits. That's the recommended VoIP option on WP8. There are a number of GVoice apps too; I'm not sure if any of them integrate with the OS as well as Skype (they could in theory, but I'm not sure if third-party apps are permitted to use the relevant Capabilities or APIs), much less as well as GVoice on Android.
Another question. How can I set up metro talk to not use my minutes?
I have it set to call through google voice but its using my precious minutes. What do?
Should I port my number to Google Voice?
What are the issues with having your number on Google Voice?
I will soon be switching from AT&T to an MVNO (probably straight talk). I don't totally understand the process and benefits. It seems like people recommend doing this in order to avoid hassles when changing MVNOs. I know it costs $20 but it gives you some benefits like backing up your communications and more ownership of your number.
I have an unlocked T-Mobile Moto X.
Do you MMS?
Skip Google Voice
Texting isn't as reliable over data than via cell radios in my experience.
MVNO's have high data pings, if you can stand this then you are fine saving $15 a month, otherwise just go with GoPhone, same ping as postpaid, no data speed caps, roughly same coverage map, and you keep AT&T customer support.
Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk
Almost 2 years ago I ported my number from Verizon to Google Voice before switching to Straight Talk, primarily because it was my published business number and I wasn't comfortable trusting Straight Talk with it. About 5 months ago I switched to GoPhone, and a few weeks ago I ported my number from Google Voice to GoPhone, and posted "Why I'm ditching Google Voice as my public number" at Android Forums:
Almost 20 months ago I ported my number from Verizon to Google Voice, bought a Galaxy Nexus, and activated it on Straight Talk (I've since switched to AT&T Go Phone). I told no one, and used my Google Voice number as my only number. Immediately I noticed the latency on voice calls, resulting in lots of me talking over the other party, or vice versa. During the 20 or so months of use, I've seen absolutely no improvement in this area. As a result, this morning I put in a port request to transfer my Google Voice number to AT&T.
There have been other issues too, like:
The crappy UI and pathetic attempt at threading GV conversations
The inability to use Google Voice for quick responses when ignoring an incoming call (the API and permissions have existed in Android since 4.3)
Lack of MMS support
Incompatibility with some services (i.e. banks) that send texts to mobile numbers
The concept of Google Voice is great - one number, forever and always. It made it very easy for me recently when I was testing out the Nexus 5 and Moto X - I could use either phone and no one knew I was changing phones on a (sometimes) daily basis.
For those who primarily use data and texting, and make/receive few voice calls, it may not be a deal breaker, but for me the frustration of the voice latency far outweighs the benefits, even if all the other issues I listed are fixed.
But... once my port is complete, I'll probably get another GV number for use as voicemail, and for exchanges with possible Craigslist buyers, or others I don't want to give my real number to. In that case, the benefit of anonymity outweighs the downside of the latency.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
pa5tabear said:
Should I port my number to Google Voice?
What are the issues with having your number on Google Voice?
I will soon be switching from AT&T to an MVNO (probably straight talk). I don't totally understand the process and benefits. It seems like people recommend doing this in order to avoid hassles when changing MVNOs. I know it costs $20 but it gives you some benefits like backing up your communications and more ownership of your number.
I have an unlocked T-Mobile Moto X.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
UncleMike said:
Almost 2 years ago I ported my number from Verizon to Google Voice before switching to Straight Talk, primarily because it was my published business number and I wasn't comfortable trusting Straight Talk with it. About 5 months ago I switched to GoPhone, and a few weeks ago I ported my number from Google Voice to GoPhone, and posted "Why I'm ditching Google Voice as my public number" at Android Forums:
Almost 20 months ago I ported my number from Verizon to Google Voice, bought a Galaxy Nexus, and activated it on Straight Talk (I've since switched to AT&T Go Phone). I told no one, and used my Google Voice number as my only number. Immediately I noticed the latency on voice calls, resulting in lots of me talking over the other party, or vice versa. During the 20 or so months of use, I've seen absolutely no improvement in this area. As a result, this morning I put in a port request to transfer my Google Voice number to AT&T.
There have been other issues too, like:
The crappy UI and pathetic attempt at threading GV conversations
The inability to use Google Voice for quick responses when ignoring an incoming call (the API and permissions have existed in Android since 4.3)
Lack of MMS support
Incompatibility with some services (i.e. banks) that send texts to mobile numbers
The concept of Google Voice is great - one number, forever and always. It made it very easy for me recently when I was testing out the Nexus 5 and Moto X - I could use either phone and no one knew I was changing phones on a (sometimes) daily basis.
For those who primarily use data and texting, and make/receive few voice calls, it may not be a deal breaker, but for me the frustration of the voice latency far outweighs the benefits, even if all the other issues I listed are fixed.
But... once my port is complete, I'll probably get another GV number for use as voicemail, and for exchanges with possible Craigslist buyers, or others I don't want to give my real number to. In that case, the benefit of anonymity outweighs the downside of the latency.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
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Correct me if I'm wrong but.... I'm under the impression that if you port your number to google voice you don't have to use the google voice app.
I'm sure you could just set up the call forwarding and avoid using the google voice app so you could still have the benefits of your own actual phone number?
drago10029 said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but.... I'm under the impression that if you port your number to google voice you don't have to use the google voice app.
I'm sure you could just set up the call forwarding and avoid using the google voice app so you could still have the benefits of your own actual phone number?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are two things to consider with Google Voice: calls and texting.
Porting your number to Google Voice does not necessarily require you to use the Google Voice app. You can setup the forwarding so that all calls to your GV number get forwarded to your real number. If you subsequently change your real number, you can easily change the GV forwarding to that new number and callers won't know the difference. For outgoing calls, you can choose to use Google Voice for no calls, all calls, international calls only, or to ask each time you make a call. If you don't use GV for a call, your real number will appear to the called party - ruining the transparency of Google Voice (that I enjoyed while testing phones). This may not be a problem for you.
For texting you have several options:
use the GV app to read and send "texts" - this maintains the transparency of Google Voice, and others send texts to your GV number and receive texts from your GV number
Skip GV and use another messaging app (including the stock app) - this totally eliminates the transparency since all texts are sent to/from your real number
Use GV's "mapping" feature - others send texts to your GV number, but the GV redirects them to your real number, making them appear in your default messaging app. The caveat here is that the messages you receive this way will appear to be from a number that's different than the number of the person that sent the text, but the message body will be prefixed with the senders name (taken from your contacts). If you send/reply to this other number, the recipient will see the text as coming from your GV number. To really make this method useable, you have to add these alternate numbers to each contact that you text. Also, until you receive a text from someone, you have no way of knowing what their "other" number is.
If you are rooted, you can use xvoiceplus which allows you to use other messaging app instead of Google voice to send or receive text message. You can even make google voice voicemail appear on the phone call log, so you never really have to use the Google voice app directly. But then voice mail thing is kinda buggy; old voicemails sometimes reappear as notification when you restart the phone.
If you can live with sms only then google voice can save you a few bucks every month. Since texting will be done through data instead of cellular signal, it won't be as good when you are in a bad signal area.
I recently ported my Google Voice number out of GV and into Verizon, replacing my old Verizon number. The port process is "complete" (still not receiving texts from carriers other than Verizon, but that is another issue that is apparently solved by waiting a few days) and GV automatically removed my number (so now it only says "Get a Google Voice number." Is there a way to get my SMS history from Google Voice into my Moto X? I used Google Takeout to export my Voice data, but I have no idea how to get it into my phone. I plan on using Hangouts as my default SMS app if that makes a difference.
I use my Google Voice number as my primary means of communication for text and calling. Currently the only solution I know of to use it on the phone is through the Hangouts App.
My wife has a N6 and also Google Voice, but signed up for Project Fi (works great, btw). I LOVE how Project Fi integrates with all the stock apps. Is it possible to have this type of integration without switching from Verizon to Project Fi (still in an Unlimited Data Contract).
I see VZW now offers wifi calling, so I was curious there's a way to accomplish this without porting my number from GV to VZW.