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mobile data vs wifi for google voice calls?

i had my thunderbolt set to wifi which i hardly ever do, left my house, and made a phone call using google voice while going for a walk. after i hung up, i noticed i had never turned mobile data back on. so, how did google voice handle my call half a mile from home without the verizon network? did it somehow switch seamlessly from wifi to mobile data without me agreeing to turn mobile data on?, just curious.
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wrb123 said:
i had my thunderbolt set to wifi which i hardly ever do, left my house, and made a phone call using google voice while going for a walk. after i hung up, i noticed i had never turned mobile data back on. so, how did google voice handle my call half a mile from home without the verizon network? did it somehow switch seamlessly from wifi to mobile data without me agreeing to turn mobile data on?, just curious.
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Google voice isnt VOIP... its using your cell signal, not your data. It does use a few packets to initiate the call over a data network, but after that, its using your minutes and your cell connection. The only real benefit for your average user is free text messaging (no mms) and visual voicemail for free. Its the same as using your cellphone otherwise, with far worse call quality.

if it's using cell connection, why would call quality be any different? I have only recently started using voice to dial out on calls and haven't really noticed a difference.

johnchad14 said:
if it's using cell connection, why would call quality be any different? I have only recently started using voice to dial out on calls and haven't really noticed a difference.
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There is no difference. Whether you are on WiFi or not, it still uses regular Verizon cell network as though you dialed the call normally. It still uses your minutes and doesn't use data.
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johnchad14 said:
if it's using cell connection, why would call quality be any different?
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Because you're going through more hops, which means more transcoding and latency.

hmm seems like the quality is fine to me... its not like im calling into a recording studio to lay down the vocals for my next track anyway.
the real question is more about how google voice can just turn my mobile data on without asking me when i turned it off, whereas something like google maps has to prompt me every time to turn gps on. it would be nice if google maps could just remember my preference "yes, its okay to enable gps when i launch maps/navigation or click to show my location" rather than being sent to the location settings from maps every time
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I'd heard about lower quality on voice calls but just haven't experienced it. Is the call still connecting through a third party between callers these days? My understanding was callers are connected by the service but once connection is established they are directly connected. Would be curious to know the technical details
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You mean you are getting free text messages with GV? It doesnt count towards your text mesaging plan

Most of you are misunderstanding the GV service. Quality is the same, because you your "voice" is not being re-encoded, altered, or even rerouted in any way. All the Google voice service does is accept/make calls then hand them off. Just like calling a secretary and them transferring you to another office. Your GV number is the secretary, when someone calls it it informs all your phones that someone wants to talk to you and when you pick one up it "transfers" the call to you on that phone. Just as if they directly called you. Absolutely no difference. This is not voip, like skype, vonage, etc.

trikotret said:
You mean you are getting free text messages with GV? It doesnt count towards your text mesaging plan
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yep, but google voice can't handle picture messaging. i just told everyone, hey... can't get picture messages anymore. post stuff on facebook or email it to me. awesome to be able to save $10 or so a month doing this on verizon. on sprint they don't let you decline text messaging on a smartphone plan that im aware of, so it doesn't matter on sprint. very happy with verizon on this issue!
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TsaiKimon said:
Most of you are misunderstanding the GV service. Quality is the same, because you your "voice" is not being re-encoded, altered, or even rerouted in any way. All the Google voice service does is accept/make calls then hand them off. Just like calling a secretary and them transferring you to another office. Your GV number is the secretary, when someone calls it it informs all your phones that someone wants to talk to you and when you pick one up it "transfers" the call to you on that phone. Just as if they directly called you. Absolutely no difference. This is not voip, like skype, vonage, etc.
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thanks for the explanation - good to know.
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TsaiKimon said:
Most of you are misunderstanding the GV service.
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Especially you.
When a secretary transfers a call, it's to another DN on the same PBX, the connection is simply rerouted within the same system. If they "hand you off to another office," then they are adding a hop, and possibly transcoding, unless the PBXs are in a common VoIP domain, or in very specific cases, are coordinated to do anti-tromboning (e.g. all calls enter the main office, which then trunks them to remote sites - if a call is then transferred back to the main site or to another office, anti-tromboning may be used).
With GV, when you call out, your phone calls a special number belonging to GV (you can see this if you have detailed billing). From that point, the number you dialed is in turn connected. GV can't reach into the carrier's system and reroute the call there. So, it's another hop of latency and transcoding. It wouldn't surprise me if Google had SIP trunks, since they tend to be cheaper at scale.
It's similar in reverse, someone calls your GV number, they're connected to a Google site, which in turn forwards the call to your cell number (or whatever number you define). Again, another hop.

the call quality is fine
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My call quality actually went down after starting to use GV on my Thunderbolt. I have a severe 2-3 second lag with almost all my calls I start. I have no problem when receiving a call, there's no lag. Anyone else in the same boat?
Sent from my Thunderbolt.

yes to lag when starting calls, but that is due to the connection method certainly. Has to connect to voice, then voice connects both parties.
But haven't noticed any call quality degradation from switching (yet?)

[Q] phone capabilities with ICS?

Heya,
just wondering, will the Xoom have support for being a phone with ICS? Texts are said to work in HC with some hacks, so one can hope for more?

Zhenech said:
Heya,
just wondering, will the Xoom have support for being a phone with ICS? Texts are said to work in HC with some hacks, so one can hope for more?
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Click to collapse
With Google Voice and an app like GrooveIP you can use the Xoom to make and receive voip calls as well as texts. Of course you need a wifi connection, and the Xoom is rather ridiculously large to use as a phone, but it does work. As far as making regular 3/4G calls, I wouldn't know.

I can use Groove IP and Google Voice to make calls over 3G/4G, although
I never do... I purchased Groove IP thinking that I would use it all the time.
I've used it twice. I keep it installed though and sometimes activate it. It's just not practical. Now Skype I use all the time.

For some reason I can't get Groove IP to send the audio to my Bluetooth headset, or use the mic from it either. I've tried a bunch of different settings and none of my combos have worked so far. Emailed the developer, but he hasn't had s solution either.
What sucks is that the caller on the other end hears an echo since their voice is coming out the speaker and going right back in the mic. When I muted the mic and the caller talked, they didn't hear the echo anymore. So if I could get my headset working with it, I'd actually be able to use the app...

On another note, any findings on tablet/phone interactions? I know this was touted as a big feature for ICS, but the only thing I've heard of is transferring files via wifi, like Apple's airdrop..

Help with Google Voice/wifi calling

OK i know wifi calling built in doesn't work if I upgrade to ICS/JB.
What I'm curious about is there a way to set up GV with sipdroid say that would call my phone on cellular and my sip # on wifi?
I've been searching all morning, and most guides are about VOIP over data ONLY. Not having the seemless switching like the built in wifi app provides.
Curious if there is a way to do this. Otherwise still stuck on GB for now.

Not sure I understand exactly what sipdroid does..
but google voice works over wifi. it will also use your GV number over data as well if you set it up that way.
I tried two other wifi calling apps which work with GV, but they had terrible call quality compared to the GV app.
I tried it for a couple of weeks, but ended up going back go GB because of that and a couple of things I liked in TW roms.

The app you need is called Talkatone...its voip that logs onto your google voice account...syncs with your gv contacts and also allows texting all over wifi or data
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You could also take a look at GrooVeIP....
Sent from my DROIDX using xda app-developers app

Groove IP had terrible call quality when I used it. Sometimes got stuttering and patches of silence (and this was on a 15MB 4-bar wifi connection). And the other person said they got a lot of echo. I tried different settings of echo cancellation, but nothing fixed it.
it might work better for you, but you'll probably need to try a bunch of them out.

Ok
Take a look at Auto Air. It allows communications on either WiFi or cellular. Set up your sip app to work only on WiFi and that might do it for you....
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[Q] Wifi Voip w/o cell service

Hi to make a long story short me and my now ex broke up but she turned off my cell phone the same day, Bi***, but i still have my phone and i had previusly set up a google voice account with my old cell number and i can make phone calls but i need to be able to recieve call as well but cant so any suggestions that are either free or really cheap would be great thanks for reading

T-mobile has some low cost plans, and currently offering a free SIM kit. You will need to unlock the phone but that's easy to do... Several threads here on how to do it.
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You can receive calls on your google voice number if you have Talkatone or GrooveIP....both very easy to set up. A more complicated option is Sipdroid and similar programs
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electricpete1 said:
You can receive calls on your google voice number if you have Talkatone or GrooveIP....both very easy to set up. A more complicated option is Sipdroid and similar programs
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Alright i have set up a pbxes.org and sipdroid account i am able to send and recieve calls but after a minite or so i cant use my default dialer anymore just says "to make a call turn off airplane mode" did that and now it says "network unavailable" i want to use the default dialer any suggestions

For those of you who want the best quality out of your $30 smartphone plan, I made a 12-part video tutorial showing how to do it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9DzN1Pu6-Q&list=PLE_de-PBwrTSUMm-Y48aiOOHt_YyT69t0
It's much better than GrooveIP, Vonage, Talkatone, Pbxes.org, and everything else, especially those with the "one big green button" solution.
This method gives you HD Voice (G.722 codec), bettery battery life, and much better options for logging/blocking/recording. You can even set up hold music. Yup, I said hold music.
It used to be difficult to set up until I made it as clear as the nose on your face in the video tutorial (with actual commentary instead of techno music).
Spread the word if you do it and it works out for you. I believe everyone deserves high quality and limitless VoIP WiFi/4g calling.

If someone is using Google voice to connect it seems like the easier solution may actually be better in this case because you can't get that higher quality audio on Google voice. Every person I have phone discussions with utilizes phone numbers vice PBX accounts. I guess the people here aren't average. However, I wouldn't even think about going down a route that would take hours unless I could use the resulting features often. If I am wrong about being able to use the higher quality audio with Google voice, please correct me.
It would be nice to have an app that used Google voice for phone calls and SMS but also had call recording ability. I live in a state where I don't have to tell the other party I am recording them (for the purposes of legal record) unless I am being polite.

VOIP on the Nexus 5

My fiancée and I got ourselves a pair of Nexus 5's a couple of weeks ago, switched from Verizon to the T-Mo $30 100/Unlimited/5GB(Unlimited) plan and are now happily saving over $100 a month in the process. Yay us!
However, I've been struggling with VOIP with varying degrees of success. I've spent a considerable amount of time researching and configuring and tweaking, and I'd like to share my findings, as well as get some feedback on some things I may have missed.
One of the first things I tried was the Google Voice/PBXes/CSipSimple method, which produced terrible call quality. Everything from echo to background noise. No matter what I did (and believe me, I tried everything I could find) the call quality was just terrible. Changing the mic source, enabling mode audio API, changing the SIP audio mode, changing codecs, nothing really helped. Battery life was great, but the call quality was pretty much unusable. I could hear myself echoing, the other party could hear their own voice echoing, and/or there'd be too much background noise, or I'd be too quiet, etc.
Next, I tried Talkatone (paid for premium). Connection problems galore! I'd have several "lag fests" over WiFi (never tried it on LTE) even when I was sitting right at the router. Everything would cut out for about 30-45 seconds and then resume as if nothing happened, and this occurred 2-3 times over the course of a 10-15 minute call. Yes, I ruled out a connection/router issue. Battery life was "OK" but it wasn't as good as it was with CSipSimple.
I then tried GrooveIP (paid). Lots of echo here. Again, no setting or combination of settings really seemed to get rid of it. Tried as I might, the echo was always there. Battery life was on par with Talkatone.
Next, I decided I'd go a different direction and tried Skype. The voice quality was much improved, with no echo, but complaints of background noise, especially while on speakerphone. This has been passable, though not "ideal" (I know, VOIP isn't perfect). The big issue with Skype has been the absurd battery drain. A 30 minute call drained my battery by almost 20% and Skype was topping the charts by a long shot on the battery usage.
I know there are other options out there such as Viber, but I've not seen a whole lot out of them in terms of reviews, etc. I may just end up trying Viber and seeing how it pans out, but the options are starting to run out.
I know part of the problem is the same one the Nexus 4 had with the microphone(s) but, I'd like to think I just might be overlooking something. If anyone feels they've "solved the problem" please share your settings, as I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels as though they're banging their head against a wall here.

Fenuxx said:
I know there are other options out there such as Viber, but I've not seen a whole lot out of them in terms of reviews, etc. I may just end up trying Viber and seeing how it pans out, but the options are starting to run out.
I know part of the problem is the same one the Nexus 4 had with the microphone(s) but, I'd like to think I just might be overlooking something. If anyone feels they've "solved the problem" please share your settings, as I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels as though they're banging their head against a wall here.
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Viber works well for me and I only hear a slight echo if I'm talking with Nexus 4 users. Give it a shot. Tango might be worth a try, too. Good luck.

Well, I believe Csipsimple is the best voip client available. So, you'll most likely want to go back to your first solution, but replace pbxes with Callcentric, voip.ms or another voip provider. I've tried everything you did as well (plus a few more options) and with the exception of Skype, found the quality to be unacceptable. What I'm suggesting won't be free, but the cost is extremely low. Actually, voip.ms could be a very good solution for you. You would establish and fund one "account", but set up separate "sub-accounts" for yourself and your fiance. If you wanted to use GV exclusively, you could then purchase a couple of DIDs and set up GV to forward to them. I use an app on my phone called Groove Forwarder that changes my GV forwarding settings based on my data connection. If I'm on LTE, etc..., it forwards to my T-Mobile number. When I'm connected to Wi-Fi though, it switches to my Flowroute (another voip provider) number. Also fwiw, you can use voip over LTE if you want. Being in a moving vehicle set up that way will cause issues however.

adrman said:
Well, I believe Csipsimple is the best voip client available. So, you'll most likely want to go back to your first solution, but replace pbxes with Callcentric, voip.ms or another voip provider. I've tried everything you did as well (plus a few more options) and with the exception of Skype, found the quality to be unacceptable. What I'm suggesting won't be free, but the cost is extremely low. Actually, voip.ms could be a very good solution for you. You would establish and fund one "account", but set up separate "sub-accounts" for yourself and your fiance. If you wanted to use GV exclusively, you could then purchase a couple of DIDs and set up GV to forward to them. I use an app on my phone called Groove Forwarder that changes my GV forwarding settings based on my data connection. If I'm on LTE, etc..., it forwards to my T-Mobile number. When I'm connected to Wi-Fi though, it switches to my Flowroute (another voip provider) number. Also fwiw, you can use voip over LTE if you want. Being in a moving vehicle set up that way will cause issues however.
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Yeah, I also tried the Callcentric+PBXes route for the iLBC codec, which didn't seem to help. I'm not entirely convinced it's the PBX provider that's at fault, as I don't have these weird audio issues with CSipSimple+PBXes/Callcentric on my "home phone" (separate Google Voice account) which is an old DROID Incredible 2. Voice quality there is fine.
I did look into voip.ms, but when I signed up (late at night), they forced a "manual authentication" on me (why, I don't know) and I needed to contact support. I tried logging in the following morning, only to be greeted with a message about my IP address not being whiteflagged and not being authorized to access the account. Being that my IP address is dynamic, I don't think I want to constantly fight that battle about "approving" my IP address whenever it changes.

Create a ticket with voip.ms support to inquire. I've only good things to say about their response times and help.

Does anyone have bluetooth headsets working with csipsimple? On my nexus 5 I've yet to find a sip phone that works correctly with a headset.

Fenuxx said:
I then tried GrooveIP (paid). Lots of echo here. Again, no setting or combination of settings really seemed to get rid of it. Tried as I might, the echo was always there. Battery life was on par with Talkatone.
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groove and google voice gave me no echo when calling a landline from my wifi connection. i think this has to be your internet access that would be messing this up. . .or maybe it's just bad for voip to voip calls

I can personally attest to voip.ms + csipsimple + g729 codec ($10 dollars in the playstore) reliability as a voip setup for my Nexus 5. My set up is basically that GV forwards to my voip.ms DID which rings directly to my Nexus 5's csipsimple app. In the event that im not registered in csipsimple (e.g. lose connection, servers go down, etc) I have failover set up w/ voip.ms to ring to my real tmobile phone number. I have zero issues with call quality or echo and I have had full conversations with people on the phone even while driving. I also used this guys tip when first setting up, these may or may not change a thing but Ive had my csipsimple configured with these settings since day 1 also.
1. Go to settings
2. Click the menu button -> Expert Mode
3. Go to “media” -> select echo mode and choose WebRTC (probably already chosen)
4. In “media” go to “Audio troubleshooting” -> “Mic source” -> Voice call
5. in “Audio troubleshooting” -> “Audio implementation” -> Java

I use flowroute + csimpsimple (G729). Call quality is excellent and low latency on WiFi and LTE, and not bad over HSPA/HSPA+.
My main issue at the moment is bluetooth. I cannot get it to work with the bluetooth in my car (only bluetooth I have). I can get incoming audio OK, but it appears to be using the phone microphone for outgoing audio instead of the car microphone and it's very garbled and noisy.

There was a software issue in 4.2 regarding inline mic gain, 4.2.2 fixed it. GroovIP free worked fine for me after the update. There is only a few months left of google voice as they are shutting it down on May 15, 2014.

I have been using Viber for over two years. Works perfectly fine. Try it.
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