I recently jumped from a Captivate to an Epic 4g, of course that means AT&T to Sprint, but I didn't want to sell my Captivate I love it so...
I decided it was time to manufacture an @home landline. A couple hours of fiddling have resulted in my ability to use Google Voice for free inbound and outbound on a phone with no cell service, all just over wifi. I didn't know where to stick this... so here it is.
I found this method a little bit easier than using PBXes.org as honestly I didn't find an updated guide to setting up such a thing, and I wasn't following those guides very well anyways, but wanted a project that I could grind out in an evening.
Have an Android phone without current cell service? Or just have a geek gnawing on your insides? Follow along.
Step 1, Install Google Voice, Google Voice Call Back, and Sipdroid on your Android phone, reset the phone.
Step 2, Sign up at sip2sip.info for a SIP number.
Step 3 Register that sip info (found in your email now) at www.ipkall.com, also enter that same info into your Sipdroid app in the sip account settings on said phone.
Mandatory! Test call the number ipkall assigned you from another phone, your SipDroid should ring, answer it and verify. This way if the number is not valid in Google Voice, ipkall will assign you a new number the next time you signup. If you don't test call, you will get assigned the same number, over and over.
Step 4 (possible tedium) Find a number available from ipkall that isn't already sitting registered but expired in Google Voice, this may require registering and deleting your account at IPKall multiple times to get a valid number for use at Google Voice.
Note: Ipkall gives you only Washington state numbers, I recommend the (206) area codes as I tried 12 of the (425) area codes all of which failed as they had previously been registered in Google Voice. Don't worry about what state this number is in, this number is just a go-between, you will in the end be using your Google Voice number.
Step 5 Register the inbound only washington state number ipkall assigns (the one you found that works) into google voice so that it is your forwarding number.
Test call Google Voice number, your SipDroid should ring.
Step 6 Make sure Google Voice app is used for all outbound calls on your phone, I can't guarantee this is needed, but theres no point in not having this assigned as the phone is otherwise dead to the world.
Step 7 Make sure that Google Voice Call Back is intercepting all calls.
Outbound test call... call someone who cares.
The way Call Back works in this fun little project is GVCB will intercept all calls made, call you back from your google voice number... which in turn is forwarding to your ipkall number which is forwarding to your SIP number which will cause SIPdroid to ring your phone, then when you answer the "call back," it will immediately ring the number you dialed. All free, but perhaps a bit tedious for the average phone user. This circumvents the need for a mobile number associated with the phone being used.
Awesome! this is what I need! Pbxes doesn't seem to want to let me register, and I have almost zero signal at my new place. So, I got to step 3, tried calling the number and i get a recording telling me that my call can't be completed due to network error, error #101. Not sure what that means...
edit-nevermind, bad setup. Now I've got it to ring sipdroid, but I can't hear anything. Trying to verify the number with GV, but this lack of audio is troubling.
did you reboot the phone after getting sipdroid installed?
Also try playing around with the audio codecs, limiting it to a couple at a time to see which will work. I had the same problem at first but after one of these things the audio came in clear as a bell and havent had a problem since.
sevenvt said:
did you reboot the phone after getting sipdroid installed?
Also try playing around with the audio codecs, limiting it to a couple at a time to see which will work. I had the same problem at first but after one of these things the audio came in clear as a bell and havent had a problem since.
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alright, i'll try rebooting and different codecs. Only problem now is that I don't have a second phone to test it with, so i'll be waiting until Monday to use the work phone.
thanks! great thread
Yes, the 2nd phone makes this process easier, otherwise you can't complete the test calls to the ipkall phone number, and you also can't test any changes or audio. I popped half a headset each on either side of my head one plugged into each phone and tested my setup that way, muting either phone and making sure audio was getting through to the opposite ear.
Edit: I also found that if i was testing the phone side by side with the phone used to call it, I had to practically yell to get my voice to register on my sipdroid. After muting the other phone, sound worked perfectly.
I am having trouble getting my Sipdroid to dial out. I have not had any issues with receiving calls either through the IPKall issued number, or through Google Voice redirected to the IPKall number.
Whenever I try to dial out using either IPKall or Google Voice it attempts to make the call and immediately ends.
Nevermind, I now realize the need/use of Google Voice Callback. Everything seems to be working just dandy now. Thanks!
Well, tried all of the different codecs, some don't allow the call to connect, but in the end, none of them allowed me to have audio either incoming or outgoing, so I guess this isn't going to work for me....can anyone that has this working, possibly with Cognition, give me their EXACT settings?
call options i have "sipdroid only"
audio video I have all gains to medium (no audio if i increase or decrease any of these)
I have pcma pcmu and bv16 codecs enabled over wlan only, others disabled.
Wifi is set to never sleep and sipdroid itself is not allowed control over power.
All other settings are stock.
Again, I noticed that if the one of the lines was not muted, my sipdroid didn't give me audio back, but would still feed my test line audio.
So I call my googlevoice, I pickup, I talk into sipdroid and hear my voice on the test phone, I talk into testphone (without sipdroid muted) and I get no audio. I mute sipdroid and talk into test phone and sipdroid picks it up just fine. Same in reverse muting.
sevenvt said:
call options i have "sipdroid only"
audio video I have all gains to medium (no audio if i increase or decrease any of these)
I have pcma pcmu and bv16 codecs enabled over wlan only, others disabled.
Wifi is set to never sleep and sipdroid itself is not allowed control over power.
All other settings are stock.
Again, I noticed that if the one of the lines was not muted, my sipdroid didn't give me audio back, but would still feed my test line audio.
So I call my googlevoice, I pickup, I talk into sipdroid and hear my voice on the test phone, I talk into testphone (without sipdroid muted) and I get no audio. I mute sipdroid and talk into test phone and sipdroid picks it up just fine. Same in reverse muting.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the info! I tried your settings, still no audio. Really annoyed. Oh well.
Trying calling 3333 on SipDroid. That will connect to sip2sip's audio test. If you do not hear any audio then there is something wrong with your settings to sip2sip.
Shouko said:
Trying calling 3333 on SipDroid. That will connect to sip2sip's audio test. If you do not hear any audio then there is something wrong with your settings to sip2sip.
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Tried, no audio. What should I have for settings? here's what's there now-
server - proxy.sipthor.net
Domain - sip2sip.info
username or caller ID - not entered
port - 5060
protocol - udp
and then I've only checked off "Use WLAN".
I've tried TCP for the protocol, but then the program never logs in, dot just stays yellow.
These are the same settings I have except of course with my username
One thing we haven't considered is your port handling on whatever router you have going on or firewalls.
Authorization Username
<sip2sip2 phone number>
Server or Proxy
proxy.sipthor.net
Domain
sip2sip.info
Port
5060
Protocol
UDP
Use WLAN
These were the settings I used for SipDroid. If it still does not work, you can try CSipSimple.
Shouko said:
Authorization Username
<sip2sip2 phone number>
Server or Proxy
proxy.sipthor.net
Domain
sip2sip.info
Port
5060
Protocol
UDP
Use WLAN
These were the settings I used for SipDroid. If it still does not work, you can try CSipSimple.
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Click to collapse
OK...so, CSsipsimple is nice, i like the interface more than Sipdroid, but it too lacks audio. Could this be a network problem? I've yet to try this on my home router, since I have no phone to test it with there. I guess I could test it over 3g?
edit- yep! 3g works...annoying. guess I can go ahead and set the rest up, and hope that I can get it to work at home. Called my GV number, Csipsimple rang, so it's routing correctly, I heard myself on both ends. Confused as to how GV call back works, and if I really need it.
ryboto said:
OK...so, CSsipsimple is nice, i like the interface more than Sipdroid, but it too lacks audio. Could this be a network problem? I've yet to try this on my home router, since I have no phone to test it with there. I guess I could test it over 3g?
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Click to collapse
If you are using a public or work wifi, most likely some ports will be blocked.
ryboto said:
edit- yep! 3g works...annoying. guess I can go ahead and set the rest up, and hope that I can get it to work at home. Called my GV number, Csipsimple rang, so it's routing correctly, I heard myself on both ends. Confused as to how GV call back works, and if I really need it.
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Click to collapse
IPKall only allows incoming calls. So you would need to use Google Voice Callback to make outgoing calls. GVCB uses Google Voice to call your IPKall number. Then when you pickup (free incoming), GV will connect you to the number you want to call. When you configure GVBC, you need to set your callback number to your IPKall number.
Shouko said:
If you are using a public or work wifi, most likely some ports will be blocked.
IPKall only allows incoming calls. So you would need to use Google Voice Callback to make outgoing calls. GVCB uses Google Voice to call your IPKall number. Then when you pickup (free incoming), GV will connect you to the number you want to call. When you configure GVBC, you need to set your callback number to your IPKall number.
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Yea, I figured out how it worked, made some calls. There's a HUGE delay though, possibly around 1-1.5 seconds, and apparently my audio breaks up. I made some calls over wifi at home when this happened. Also, CSipsimple has trouble registering my SIP randomly, whereas Sipdroid always connects. I just need this to be a little more reliable. There's no way I can have a conversation with that much delay.
has anyone tried this over or virgin mobile? does this work over cell internet? because an optimus or intercept with this for $25 month with unlimited internet would be awesome. even better if you can get a modded epic or fascinate on virgin mobile. maybe the speeds would suck but it beats what i am paying right now.
even better, metro pcs has lte in my area (seriously, they beat verizon and att to that wtf?) and a phone that is like a galaxy s with a crappy screen and camera on it. still should be fast and cheap, just need a way to get around paying for talk minutes.
Does anyone use sip with voip.ms? I get no reception at all at my school but get wifi. Are there any free sip accounts available for canada? If not, I wouldn't mind trying out voip.ms for sip calling.
I already made an account, and got the username with the server name. Do I just need to add in funds and will be able to make/receive calls through sip?
I use voip.ms on my Nexus. I use an app called CSipSimple - I can't remember why I don't use the client that came with the phone, but I did have a reason.
Not sure how well it will work over wifi, I've only used it over 3G. I had to forward the ports for SIP to my ATA, so your mileage may vary.
Once you add funds you should be able to make calls using voip.ms. To receive them you'll need to order a DID through them.
Hope that helps
Thanks
Brian
Hey guys,
About Groove IP. How on Earth do I program it so that calls to my TMO number will automatically be forwarded to my Google Voice number? I can make outbound calls using Groove IP with no issues as I just access and call via the app directly. But it seems to me incoming calls just go straight to my phone. I don't use minutes too often, but I'd like to save my monthly 100 minute allotment if possible!
In case anyone asks, yes, I have call-forwarding set to Google Chat and I've unchecked the box next to my cell #.
Check your individual contacts and group settings
If I am reading your post correctly, it sounds like you pretty much have the basic settings correct. Groove IP works via Google Talk so it is important that you have added Google Talk as a "phone" on the "Phones" tab in the Google Voice setup via their web interface. It sounds like you have done that though. Since you do not want calls to your GV number to forward to your cell phones number, you need to ensure that you have unchecked the box next to your cell phone entry on that same "Phones" setup page (if you leave the receive text messages and voicemail notification boxes checked, those two things will still work even if you have unchecked the phone for voice forwarding). Once again, it sounds like you have already done this.
I have found that if both Google Talk and the cell phone number are set to forward, the cell phone number will always start ringing before Groove IP starts ringing. Groove IP usually starts ringing around the 3rd ring of the cell phone number. If you are answering your phone on the first few rings, you may not know if Groove IP is really ringings through or not. This does not solve the problem of why your cell phone number is ringing if you have forwarding to it shut off but you might want to do a test call to your GV number and let it ring while watching the display on your cell. If it is ringing through to your cell's number, a screen displaying the caller ID and options to answer the stock dialer should appear. If Groove IP is properly forwaarding to Goole Talk, the the Groove IP screen should come up over the stock caller ID screen somewhere around or after the third ring of your actual cell phone number. If Groove IP does eventually forward through then you know that the Google Talk forwarding is working and you then just need to solve the cell phone forwarding issue. If Groove IP does not forward via Google Talk, there are several things you need to check.....
Groove IP works by default over WiFi but can also use your 3G/4G network if you are not connected to WiFi. That ability is not enabled by default though so you need to go into the Groove IP settings on your cell phone and check the box allowing 3G/4G calling. This sounds like a pretty obvious thing to setup properly but you would be surprised at just how many people overlook that setting.
If that is setup properly and Groove IP is still not ringing through to your cell phone via Google Talk, then you will need to go into the Google Voice settings via the Google Voice webpage and check the settings for your "Groups" (if you have contacts assigned to groups). All of the groups have individual settings for what phones the contacts assigned to that group will ring on. These settings will override the settings on the "Phones" tab in the main settings panel. If Google Talk is not checked for you groups, that will be a problem. You may also want to uncheck your cell phone in the group settings.
You will also need to check how you have each contact setup. If you click on the checkbox next to a contacts name the far right panel will display the information entered for that contact. At the bottom of this there is a link you can click to "Edit Google Voice Settings". Clicking that link will take you to the individual GV settings for that contact. If you have your contacts assigned to groups, then ideally each contact within this individual settings display should be getting their settings from their group assignment. There is a setting at the very top of this page Where you can choose the group you want to use the settings from for that contact. The individual contact will then get thier settings from the group. This can be overriden though and the individual contact settings will override both the group and main settings in Google Voice. Under these individual contact settings there is an area where it lists what to do "When this contact calls you" If it is using the group settings to determine what phones to forward to it will say "Use "Group Name" Phones" in this area and there will also be an edit link next to that. If you click on the edit link, individual entries and checkboxes for the phones you have setup in GV will appear. If the contact(s) has not been assigned to a group then these entries and the boxes to chose them will be there by default. If you do have groups assigned, chosing these individual entries will override the group settings for the phones to ring on. How you want to gio about setting all of that up is really up to you. Groups, no groups or groups for everyone but a few important contacts also have individual phone settings that override their group membership? It does not really matter as long as you have ensured that Google Talk is properly setup in these areas and that your cell phone is not set to forward to its number.
If all of this is properly setup then Groove IP should ring on your cell phone. If your cells number is still forwarding even though it is unchecked throughout the Google Voice settings, try temporarily deleting your cell phone for the Google Voice settings altoghther. Then go ahead and call your GV number and ensure the Google Talk is ringing through to Groove IP on your call. If all of this works, then go ahead and add your cell phone back to the list of phones in Google Voice. You will probably have to ensure the it is not checked by default in the group and contact settings after adding it back.
If your cell number is still ringing through and Groove IP is not ringing (and you are not attached to WiFi), look at your cell phone to see what type of data connection you currently have. If you are currently in a bad area for reception you may not have a 3G or 4G connection. It might say 1G in your notification area. Groove IP needs either WiFi, 3G or 4G and if you do not have any of those currently connected, Groove IP will not work. The Groove IP icon in the notifiaction area will be red instead of green if you do not have a good enough connection for Groove IP to work.
If all of that is good though and all of your settings have been verified as correct and it still does not work, then I have no idea what might be causing the problem. If that is the case you may want to send an e-mail to the Grrove IP developers to see if there are any known issues with your cell phone or if they have any other suggestions.
USCanthony said:
Answer
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I've e-mailed the developers. Someone on a different forum has told me that the answer is no, GrooveIP can only receive calls made to GV #s.
I mis-understood what you were asking. You can make your gv number ring on your cell but if your cell number is dialed you cannot make that number utilize GGroove IP. The trick is to only give out your gv number and to those people that already have your cell number, just tell them to utilize your gv number from now on.
The best solution I've found to save minutes using the same setup is to let the call go to voicemail and then call the person back...may not be the best, but it works.
jdmarano said:
The best solution I've found to save minutes using the same setup is to let the call go to voicemail and then call the person back...may not be the best, but it works.
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Yeah, I've been doing that on and off. Only problem is both Groove IP and Skype (wasted $10 just to test the damn thing out!) are both spotty and too unpredictable.
zeth006 said:
Yeah, I've been doing that on and off. Only problem is both Groove IP and Skype (wasted $10 just to test the damn thing out!) are both spotty and too unpredictable.
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i know this is an old forum
but what i also use is the Vonage app...when Groove is being crappy i let it go to voicemail and call back using the Vonage app...it works for me
Anyone else seen this yet... simonics.com/gvgw
You need a Google voice number... (free)
NO im not spamming this.. i found it ON MY OWN and found it to be really useful since it works. Don't be haters... try it or not... its free and up to you.
I use this with my phone. There are places at my work where the only connection i have is WiFi... this solves the problem and i don't need stupid software to use it... just go to the site, set it up, and put the settings into your phone settings for internet calling.
Ive been using this for a few months now... and no, my Google account has not been hijacked and is a secure encrypted connection through a asterisk server and secure ports.
Read the FAQ on the site... its really simple and works.
our certyles
I've been testing it out a bit, it seems to work pretty well. I plan to drop my phone plan soon actually and just use a Verizon LTE hotspot.
I want to make sure I've got a method fairly reliable in place to make calls/texts with GV, and so far I've had success with the callback method, grooveIP (though the audio still sounds a bit funky), and using simonics and csip simple.
simonics + csip seemed to be the most reliable, though I've hit a snag: It's not allowing me to register my simonics account when I'm connected to my LTE hotspot. Works fine on any other wifi though.
silverwater25 said:
I've been testing it out a bit, it seems to work pretty well. I plan to drop my phone plan soon actually and just use a Verizon LTE hotspot.
I want to make sure I've got a method fairly reliable in place to make calls/texts with GV, and so far I've had success with the callback method, grooveIP (though the audio still sounds a bit funky), and using simonics and csip simple.
simonics + csip seemed to be the most reliable, though I've hit a snag: It's not allowing me to register my simonics account when I'm connected to my LTE hotspot. Works fine on any other wifi though.
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How does this work? Doesn't a Google Voice number have to forward to a real number and be attached to one? Do you have another number that the GV is attached to?
I don't use a single app for this.
*Setup a Google voice (free)
- set your ringback as Google chat.
*Setup a pbxes.org account (free)
- set a trunk that points to your gchat
If you're on an AOSP ROM, open dialer, go to settings, scroll to bottom, internet call settings, accounts, point to your pbxes account.
Done!
Now you have free incoming + outgoing calls over WiFi or 4G. Even 3G as well.
If you use the sipdroid app (by pbxes.org ppl) instead of the built-in AOSP SIP stack you get more audio encoding options and the ability to pass your calls thru a VPN. Pretty sweet
kennyglass123 said:
How does this work? Doesn't a Google Voice number have to forward to a real number and be attached to one? Do you have another number that the GV is attached to?
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I'm still learning about all this, it's been pretty confusing as it's all new stuff for me. I'll try to explain what I know (or what I think I know)
Internet calls (VOIP) are typically free when connecting to another internet connection (ex. Skype, Kakao, Seed, etc). PSTN (regular phone numbers) cost money to connnect. Google Talk, which is VOIP,. lets you call a PTSN for free from your desktop. This seems pretty unique and likely will not last forever I'm guessing.
Install a softphone on your device, and you're bypassing your carrier's calling network.
Calls coming in:
Now, it's possible to setup a free VOIP account and attach a "real" number to it as a way to connect to the outside world. This service called IPkall can give you a recycled Wash. state number and let you get calls on iit for free. I attached one of these to a Callcentric VOIP account..When someone rings my google voice number, it will ring my IDKall/Callcentric number, which oh yeah doesn't cost me anything.
Calling out:
Callback method: Using apps like the Google Voice Callback, you can do the same thing as you can from your desktop, which is have Google Voice ring one of your numbers while simultaneously calling the number you want to call. Google Voice is acting like the bridge between your phone and the one you're calling. Like you said you need a "real" number to make calls like this with google voice, but if your VOIP account is attached to a "real" number then it doesn't know the difference.Typically your carrier would charge you money/minutes to call your google voice number, but since you're connecting for free with a softphone/VOIP then you're only be charged for whatever data you use.
GrooveIP/Simonics Google Voice Gateway: I really don't know how these work, but my best guess is they're just simplifying the process for you, setting up the second VOIP account automatically.
So I'm annoyed that Csip Simple/simonics isn't working for me when I connect to my verizon sch-lc11 jetpack I picked up a few days ago (the verizon guys were pretty confused when I turned down a free iphone 4s, heh). Groove IP seems to be working all right now, if that fails then I can go back to the callback method, or maybe try setting up a pbx.
Setting the phone up so that it can receive SIP calls tends to chew through battery a little quicker.
Having said that...if you want to do your own thing and have an old pc (or even Raspberry Pi) laying around, check out PBX in a Flash (sorry I can't post links, just Google it). I've been running this setup for about two years to replace my land line with a google voice number and it works great. I've expanded my setup to have a home office number as well. All free. You can also set up your cell as a SIP or IAX extension and have the satisfaction of doing it yourself.
You can also purchase an obi100, and use the ObiTalk app.