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[Q] Google voice and the Use Message App option

So, I have been a frequent user of the google voice app, I was toying around with the settings and noticed that there is an option to use the messaging app.
By using the messaging app does it count against the messaging plan?
I am not having voice send me SMS notifications (The option available on the website).

Google Voice messages do not count against the phone's AT&T SMS messaging count.
Google Voice introduces a whole new number with unlimited voice calling minutes (with no long-distance charges) from anywhere in the US to anywhere in the US or Canada, (plus unlimited text messages to/from both those places, as well); along with its own voicemail (which you may or may not want to actually use if you prefer to have all voicemail land in one place... specifically the phone's AT&T voicemail; or you could use it instead of AT&T-provided voicemail; or both... your call).
Google Voice is true VoIP, so any phone calls, SMS messages, etc., all happen using the phone's AT&T data (3G/4G) plan, not the phone's normal AT&T telephony (voice calls, text messaging) plan. Regarding texts, though -- and this is partly why I think some people with certain Samsung phones get confused -- you can set things on the phone so that incoming texts to the Google Voice number either make their own noise on the phone, and may be seen/replied-to only in the Google Voice app, or you can have them integrate with your normal text messages as far as how they appear on the phone. In neither case do they count against the phone's AT&T messaging limit.
Parenthetically, if text messages -- and by that, I mean the normal SMS/MMS to your AT&T phone number, and not Google Voice SMS -- is a concern, I've found that the AT&T unlimited texts with combination unlimited voice calls to cell phones (regardless of provider) is pretty useful. I forget what it costs for individuals, but on a family plan it's only $30 for all phones on the plan; and the first thing I noticed after three phone bills is that our number of regular voice calling minutes, through the AT&T (not the Google Voice) phone number, is seriously reduced because my wife, at least, pretty much mostly only calls other cell phones. I make a lot of business calls to business landline numbers, so I still use a lot of minutes; but with her minutes so seriously reduced because she calls (and receives calls from) so many cell phones, and because we've got the unlimited voice call minutes to other cells with combination unlimited texts plan, I'm toying with reducing the number of regular calling minutes on the family plan. But I want to have a few more months of bills to see if we ever get close to our current voice minutes before I do that. Still, the unlimited-texts-with-unlimited-voice-minutes-to-other-cells-(regardless-of-carrier) plan is way cool... for whatever that's worth.
The bottom line, though, regarding your question, is that nothing you do on Google Voice counts against either AT&T voice calling minutes, or AT&T text (SMS or MMS) messaging; however, both voice calling and texting via Google Voice uses the AT&T 3G/4G data plan. Fortunately, voice calls via Google Voice are fairly low bandwidth; and text messages, at a maximum of only 140 bytes per message, barely use any of your data plan at all, to speak of. Just, if you use Google Voice for voice calls, pay attention to how much bandwidth a typical 10 minute call makes, and then adjust your overall use accordingly. The 64-thousand-dollar-question has always been whether a typical month's worth of voice calls via Google Voice would actually be cheaper, in real dollars paid to AT&T for 3G/4G data, than would that same month's worth of calls had they been made via regular AT&T Wireless voice calling.
Another FYI: Google Voice, for most users, is SMS-only (no MMS); though, that said, it appears that Google's slowly rolling MMS out to all Google Voice users.
SEE: http : // bit . ly / x9BH3m (remove spaces to make the link work)
Hope that helps!
___________________________________
Gregg L. DesElms
Napa, California USA
gregg at greggdeselms dot com

DesElms said:
SEE: http : // bit . ly / x9BH3m (remove spaces to make the link work)
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Thanks for that bit of info! I somehow missed that in my various news feeds.
FlyingIsFun1217

Google Voice

I wanted to get some opinions on this. I am getting sick of paying out the ass for talk, text, and data with VZW. I am looking to switch after my contract to a prepaid service. But, I am currently thinking about dropping the minutes and texting parts of my plan to use Talkatone with Google Voice so that I only need data, which I have unlimited.
I am wondering if anybody has any experience with this or thoughts on it.
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CarRamrod234 said:
I wanted to get some opinions on this. I am getting sick of paying out the ass for talk, text, and data with VZW. I am looking to switch after my contract to a prepaid service. But, I am currently thinking about dropping the minutes and texting parts of my plan to use Talkatone with Google Voice so that I only need data, which I have unlimited.
I am wondering if anybody has any experience with this or thoughts on it.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using Tapatalk 2
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With unlimited Google voice in conjunction with an app like sipdroid is the answer to your prayers. I use Google voice as my primary voicemail service & text. Highly recommend just for the ability to check your voicemail with the push of a button.

True that...but just remember gvoice will never let you delete your number unless you feed it a new one. You basically can't quit.

I've been thinking about it too and using it conjunction with ting. How easy is it to port your number back out if you aren't happy with the setup?
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You need to use a new number / GVoice number with any of these options right? Can't keep your VZW number right? Also, is it possible to have only data with a provider and not talk/text?
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Voice let's you choose a number that is your acct number & that number is linked to whichever phone you want it associated with. Specifically, Voice allows you to add and delete cell phone numbers that you indicate should be associated w/your Voice account telephone number. So, I choose Voice acct telephone #617 555-1234; then I link/associate that latter number w/my Vzn cell #617 555-4321. If I change my cell number or just don't want the 4321 number linked to my Voice acct, I just go into Voice and delete the 4321 number.

Oh ok. So if they are linked can people get through to you by calling/texting your vzw number? I mean this in the situation where I would be using Gvoice and Talkatone and not vzw for anything but data.
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Google Voice is pretty amazing. Just remember you'll need a data connection to make calls. Not too much of a problem on Verizon, but you never know where you'll be when you need to make a call.

Yeah well where I live, Pittsburgh area, I'm pretty sure all cell service sucks due to the old/terrible infrastructure and terrain.
Can you have a VZW plan with data only and no voice?
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I've been doing exactly this with a basic 450 min voice, no text and unlimited data plan and using Google Voice with Groove IP to get unlimited calls and SMS over data. It used to work great until the frequent Verizon data disconnects that render it useless. Haven't determined if it's a handset or network issue but hoping it's the former and will be fixed once I upgrade to a new Galaxy Note II handset. Paying $60 total with work discount. BTW, works great over WIFI on home broadband. I was contemplating going all data by dropping voice minutes, if it's even possible, from plan but decided to hang on to it as backup such as driving through areas with no or only 1x data like to Vegas.

I use voice to avoid texting fees on Verizon largely, but don't bother with sipdroid etc as I don't use many minutes.
Pros
$10 saved from dumping text fees
easier access to text and voicemail (I can check via any browser)
Improved voicemail which integrates into android entirely
Neutral
Number change/call forwarding. Plus for me as I can filter calls better and even redirect forwarding to work/home. Getting the new number out can be a pain depending on your situation. If someone dials my old number it still gets to me, but wouldn't use your sipdroid free time.
Data. Probably slight batt drain compared to SMS, but worth getting away from archaic text services to me
Cons
No MMS and it does not even let you know if someone unsuccessfully tries to send you a MMS (I just tell people to email me but people always forget)
No short code texts (so uh, less spam, but I can't get notifications from UPS,Amazon,Pharmacy either)
Voice integration in android leaves some to be desired. Apps that interact with SMS often don't recognize Voice SMS.

mi7chy said:
I've been doing exactly this with a basic 450 min voice, no text and unlimited data plan and using Google Voice with Groove IP to get unlimited calls and SMS over data. It used to work great until the frequent Verizon data disconnects that render it useless. Haven't determined if it's a handset or network issue but hoping it's the former and will be fixed once I upgrade to a new Galaxy Note II handset. Paying $60 total with work discount. BTW, works great over WIFI on home broadband. I was contemplating going all data by dropping voice minutes, if it's even possible, from plan but decided to hang on to it as backup such as driving through areas with no or only 1x data like to Vegas.
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Will this work for you if Verizon takes away your unlimited data?

T-Mobile Wifi Calling Alternatives?

This has been a work in progress over on the N4 forums, with little progress. I have zero cell reception in certain parts of my home with T-Mobile USA. What can I use as an alternative? Without using a different phone number (i.e Google Voice). Does Hangouts send SMS over Wifi or Cellular? What are you guys using?

Have you ever called tmobile about this. They have given people cell boosters for similar problems
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I'm having the same issue with T-Mobile. I have full LTE signal all around my city but the second I walk into my apartment I have absolutely no service. It's quite frustrating and I'm trying to find an alternative. I tried calling T-Mobile about it but they said their cell boosters are "only for stand alone homes and won't work in an apartment complex", which seems ridiculous but whatever.
I'd be willing to switch to Google Voice but I haven't been able to confirm whether or not Google Voice makes/receives calls and texts via Wifi, or if I'll need a separate app to make it work. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The typical method these days is Google Voice (since that's not specifically an SIP/VoIP thing itself) + either GrooveIP or Talkatone (which ARE those things) and you can then do SIP/VoIP calling from the Google Voice number, but as noted in the T-Mobile $30 plan thread multiple times (and other places as well) Google is removing the ability for third party apps to interact with GV at the end of April 2014 so that's when we (people that GV + third-party apps) will be forced to find other solutions to make SIP/VoIP calls).
And the other thing is that T-Mobile Wi-Fi calling setup uses minutes from your service plan - most people don't know this and it's not a big hassle on a 1500 minute or unlimited calling plan, but for those of us with the $30 plan it's basically pointless to use it when other alternatives (such as those I just described, at least for another 5 months or so) exist.
Skype is another option but you could be looking at some money involved based on what/who/where you're calling, and then there's stuff like Vonage if you use that service but that's an expenditure as well.

Google Voice for the Home via ObiTalk
sn0warmy said:
I'm having the same issue with T-Mobile. I have full LTE signal all around my city but the second I walk into my apartment I have absolutely no service. It's quite frustrating and I'm trying to find an alternative. I tried calling T-Mobile about it but they said their cell boosters are "only for stand alone homes and won't work in an apartment complex", which seems ridiculous but whatever.
I'd be willing to switch to Google Voice but I haven't been able to confirm whether or not Google Voice makes/receives calls and texts via Wifi, or if I'll need a separate app to make it work. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Just FYI; I told AT&T to go fly a kite about 8 months ago for my home phone and have been using Google Voice on my home line as well as my cell phone for FREE. Yes; that's FREE incoming and outgoing calls.
I am using a small VoIP phone adapter found on Amazon called OBi202 from ObiTalk.com
Costs about $80 bucks and there is even a wifi adapter for $25 if you can't plug it in via Cat5 to your internet connection at home.
Anyway; you configure the phone adapter to use Google Voice and voila! You can connect 2 separate lines. I have mine and my wife's hooked up to cordless phones so I now have free home phone service.
Down side? The caller ID is a numer and not a name. I read about services available for a subscription that will give you the Name on Caller ID but if this is so important to you I guess you are OK with paying $60+ for phone service. (Yea right)
When you get a call it will ring simultaneously on your home phone and your mobile.
Free service; I LIKE THAT. And if you get bad reception at home from your mobile the nice part is that this could solve your issue because you give out your Google Voice number out and the phone will automatically start be ringing on your cordless when you are home.
Hope this helps you!!:good:
---------- Post added at 08:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:50 PM ----------
sn0warmy said:
I'm having the same issue with T-Mobile. I have full LTE signal all around my city but the second I walk into my apartment I have absolutely no service. It's quite frustrating and I'm trying to find an alternative. I tried calling T-Mobile about it but they said their cell boosters are "only for stand alone homes and won't work in an apartment complex", which seems ridiculous but whatever.
I'd be willing to switch to Google Voice but I haven't been able to confirm whether or not Google Voice makes/receives calls and texts via Wifi, or if I'll need a separate app to make it work. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Oh; to answer your question I sent myself and back texts using Google Voice over Wifi only and it worked. I have called with it via Wifi also when traveling.
So it does.

You can use MagicJack. They also have a android app. I heard it pretty good, however to use the android app, you need to register your phone. Once you register your phone, you can't unregister it. This is info I pulled about a year ago. Look into it though.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Port your number to Google Voice.
Get a VoIP account at a provider that has good latency for your location (I use voip.ms, costs $0.014/min outgoing, ~$0.01/min incoming).
Set up CSIPSimple on your phone (use g729a for good quality on slower connections, PCMU on faster connections; be prepared to fiddle with settings to get it down right)
Make calls using CSIPSimple from your voip.ms account
Set up Google Voice to ring both your voip.ms number when you receive calls, as well as your T-Mobile number (in case you don't have WiFi or data when the call comes through).

[Q] Problems making SIP calls on TMO's $30/100 minutes plan

I visit the US regularly and always pop my trusty TMO SIM into my current phone and take advantage of the data plan to make SIP calls and get over the 100 minutes limit.
I might use one of Vonage, Google Voice Callback (with a Callcentric SIP account as the callback number) Localphone or GrooveIP.
This worked fine on my last trip in August last year on my GN.
This time I found I could not make any SIP calls over the 3G network (no LTE because my phone is the international version of the N5). Calls would be placed only to be greeted with silence and GV callback would never call me back. The only method that worked was GrooveIP but apparently that's going to stop soon because of the way Google manages some API with Google Voice.
All the processes worked fine over WiFi.
Just to check I tried my daughter's N4 on the same plan and she could make all those calls without any problem.
I see TMO has blocked tethering on the N5 which can be overcome through Root and modifying some file but does anybody know if TMO has also blocked SIP calls on the N5 also?
Might have to take my GN with me next time as my US phone and keep the N5 with the home SIM card in it.
Thanks

lchiu7 said:
I visit the US regularly and always pop my trusty TMO SIM into my current phone and take advantage of the data plan to make SIP calls and get over the 100 minutes limit.
I might use one of Vonage, Google Voice Callback (with a Callcentric SIP account as the callback number) Localphone or GrooveIP.
This worked fine on my last trip in August last year on my GN.
This time I found I could not make any SIP calls over the 3G network (no LTE because my phone is the international version of the N5). Calls would be placed only to be greeted with silence and GV callback would never call me back. The only method that worked was GrooveIP but apparently that's going to stop soon because of the way Google manages some API with Google Voice.
All the processes worked fine over WiFi.
Just to check I tried my daughter's N4 on the same plan and she could make all those calls without any problem.
I see TMO has blocked tethering on the N5 which can be overcome through Root and modifying some file but does anybody know if TMO has also blocked SIP calls on the N5 also?
Might have to take my GN with me next time as my US phone and keep the N5 with the home SIM card in it.
Thanks
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tmobile didnt block tethering on the n5, i tether my other devices and tablet to it frequently. but tethering is a paid service with tmobile(free unlimited on all plans except the completely unlimited high speed data plan, 2.5gb of tethering comes with that plan). but tmobile wifi calling does not work on the n5.

[Q] tmobile and google voice?

ok, so im getting the 100 minute, unlimited data 30$ tmobile plan on my sprint nexus 5 cause sprint totally sucks.
i have a google voice number and i was just wondering, now that hangouts has calling integrated, can i just use google voice number to make and receive calls over data?
im reading conflicting things, like some people want call forwarding from tmobile (im thinking they want their cell number forwarded to google voice) which 1)isnt an option and 2) not really needed since people will be calling my seperate google voice number
also reading that tmobile blocks google voice on their prepaid plans for some folks
is anyone using the 30 month 100 minute unlimited tmobile data plan and making and receiving calls using a seperate google voice number?

It's working for me. Just make sure you check the option in hangouts settings to receive calls on the device, as well. Now trying to forward phone calls made to my T-Mobile number to my GV Voice Mail doesn't work since it's prepaid. At least, last time I tried it didn't.

As long as you have good service it works fine. Tried it over edge and kept falling to place calls. Where as edge works fine to place calls over normal cell network not using data.

Google confirmed calls to and from your Google voice number that you answer through the hangouts app are 100% data usage.

For any of you who have merged hangouts with Google Voice, is sending SMS *incredibly* slow?
Even when the keyboard doesn't freeze, a fast text message takes about 5-10 seconds to send.
App loading and navigation is also laggy. I wonder if it has to do with the mmssms database merged and having to load it.

First, you sure can just use Google Voice number to make and receive calls over data. In fact, Hangouts only use data, not voice/talk minute at all.
Second, prepaid mobile phone plans do not have conditional forwarding which is required to forward incoming calls to mobile DID (Direct Inward Dialing -- telephone number) to Google Voice DID. Therefore, you are correct. It is not an option. Moreover, you are also correct as to there is no such need to forward calls from mobile DID to Google Voice DID due to people will be using separate Google Voice DID. I would suggest you port Sprint mobile DID to Ring.to and have Ring.to forward all incoming calls and texts to your Google Voice DID. Consequently, people have been using your current Sprint mobile DID will continue be able to contact you without changing your DID. You just get a new DID from T-Mobile when you sign up for $30 prepaid plan for 100 minutes talk, unlimited text and data with first 5 GB up to LTE speeds.
Third, I am using $30 prepaid plan for 100 minutes talk, unlimited text and data with first 5 GB up to LTE speeds and using Hangouts for outgoing calls. It just work flawlessly! I use Voxox for incoming calls and do not use mobile DID came with T-Mobile $30 plan at all.